The Context and Content

Introduction

A text from Christine this past week:

“GOAT. . . 6pm”

Several texts before stated she was going to make “gameday nachos”

These are texts that for me make total sense but for you may need some context.

“A text without a context is a pretext for a proof text.”

— D. A. Carson

Everyone should go get a goat at 6pm! This is a proof text when the text is taken from it’s context.

As we start a new series we need to have some context to fully understand what Paul is saying to the Corinthian church and what God is saying to as we better understand it.

The power of Christ works in “real life.”

2 Corinthians 1:1–2 “1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God that is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Paul the Person

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,

Acts 9- Paul’s conversion

Acts 9:3–6 ESV

3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him. 4 And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?” 5 And he said, “Who are you, Lord?” And he said, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do.”

Acts 13 - Paul and Barnabas sent out to mission

Acts 13:2–3 ESV

2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” 3 Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

First Missionary Journey

Acts 13-14

Antioch, Cyprus, Perga, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, then return trip.

Second Missionary Journey

Acts 15:36-18:22

Antioch, Derbe & Lystra (Timothy Joins), Troas, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, Corinth, Ephesus (short), Return to Antioch

Third Missionary Journey

Acts 18:23-21:17

Galatia & Phrygia, Ephesus (3 years), Macedonia, Greece (Corinth), Troas, Miletus, Tyre & Cesarea, Jerusalem (arrested)

and Timothy our brother,

The Place of Corinth

To the church of God that is at Corinth

146BC - Corinthians tried to rebel against Rome who oversaw them at the time. Because of this, the Romans completely razed the city, killing every man and selling all the women and children.

The city was burned to the ground.

For 100 years, the city sat completely empty.

44BC - Julius Caesar ordered Corinth be rebuilt and filled it with:

Retired Roman soldiers

Freedmen looking for a fresh start

Business speculators.

(When Paul visits the city, it is less than 50 years old)

Location:

on an isthmus between Greece and Peloponnesia

about 4miles wide

Port of Lechaion (Lechaeum) to the West on Gulf of Corinth and Cenchreae (or Kenchreai) to the East on the Saronic Gulf.

Corinth was young.

The culture was still being established

Corinth was rich.

Before the modern Corinth Canal was dug in the 1890s, sailors faced a nightmare: sailing 250 miles around the southern tip of Greece (Cape Malea), which was famous for ship-destroying storms.

Corinth’s solution was the Diolkos. This was a 4-mile-long paved limestone road that ran across the narrowest part of the Isthmus.

How it worked: Small ships were hauled out of the water, placed on wooden rollers or wheeled carts, and literally dragged across the land by slaves from one sea to the other.

The Result: Sailors saved weeks of time. While they waited for their ships to be moved, they stayed in Corinth.

The Economy: Thousands of sailors with "shore leave" money, combined with high tolls, made Corinth incredibly wealthy and incredibly transient.

This made Corinth very diverse.

Corinth was immoral.

In the ancient world, if you wanted to call someone a degenerate, you’d say they were "living like a Corinthian" (korinthiazesthai). Here is why the city earned that reputation:

The Temple of Aphrodite: High atop the Acrocorinth (the mountain overlooking the city) sat the temple to the goddess of love. Ancient historians claimed it housed 1,000 "temple prostitutes." While scholars debate the exact numbers today, the city’s culture was undeniably saturated with sexualized pagan worship.

The "Vegas" Effect: Unlike Athens, which prized old-money intellectualism, Corinth was "new money." It was a city of sailors, merchants, and freed slaves. It was loud, fast-paced, and lacked the traditional social restraints of older Greek cities.

Achaia’s Capital: Because it was the Roman capital of the region, it was the center of power and politics. This brought in high-ranking officials and lobbyists, adding layers of corruption to the mix.

Corinth was an evangelistic hub.

Paul didn't choose Corinth by accident. He was a master of "Urban Missions."

He knew that if he could plant a church in Corinth, the Gospel would "hitchhike" on the ships. A sailor converted in Corinth would carry that message to Rome, Ephesus, or Alexandria within weeks.

To the church of God that is at Corinth

The Planting of the Church

Acts 18:1–17 ESV

1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. 6 And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. 12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. 15 But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.” 16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

(Problems they faced?)

with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia

Battle over church leaders

Sexual immorality in the church

Lawsuits

Division in the church

etc.

(The pain Paul felt)

ESV notes in Acts 20:1

AD 50–52

Paul founds the Corinthian church

AD 53–54

“Previous Letter” (lost)

AD 54–55

1 Corinthians written (from Ephesus)

AD 55

Painful visit

AD 55

Severe letter (lost)

AD 55–56

2 Corinthians written (from Macedonia)

AD 56–57

Final recorded visit to Corinth

The Purpose of the Letter

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is more than a greeting. It is what Paul wants for the Corinthians.

“Grace” - play on typical Greek greeting:

The ESV Study Bible Chapter 1

“Hello” (Gk. charein), the Christians said, “Grace” (Gk. charis)

“Peace” - followed the Jewish idea of shalom - not simply the absence of issues but the presence of wholeness.

John 14:27 ESV

27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.

Paul’s hope and intention for these people is that they will experience the grace of God which is the power for transformation and sufficient for all our needs, and that it will lead them to the peace of God which is the goodness and wholeness for life.

In Paul’s effort to do this, we can identify several themes in the letter that highlight the purpose.

The gospel is for a real-life church dealing with real-life situations.

The Corinthian church was a complicated church. The diversity of the city created a diversity in the church, and at times, it was messy.

Religious Jews and pagan Greeks - now following Christ

Broken marriages

Church members angry with each other

Debates about where Christian liberty ended and sin began (food offered to idols)

Some people in the church accepting of unbiblical sexual lifestyles

Sexual immorality tolerated within the church

Complaints about the leaders of the church

Syncretism that often led the church to look barely different from the culture surrounding it.

These do not sound like issues relegated only to the First Century AD.

They seem like real-life issues in a real-life church - ones that you and I might face.

Interestingly, even with all of these “real-life” issues, Paul calls believers in the church “saints.” Warts and all!

This is no mistake by Paul or simply a typical greeting. It is a reminder that a “saint” isn’t a super Christian - it is a Christian.

Sainthood is not an attainment to earn by doing good things - it is your identity as one redeemed by Jesus and from that identity you should naturally do good things. Anything in your life that is not good is foreign to who you really are.

God ministers to his people through his people.

God comforts his people through his people comforting others.

2 Corinthians 1:3–4 ESV

3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

God saves people through the gospel witness of his people.

2 corinthians 5:18

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

God displays his power to others through the weakness and suffering of his people

2 Corinthians 4:15 ESV

15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

“We are instruments in God’s hands to build up and shape one another.”

— Samuel Parkinson

In a world where many churches beat each other up or are benign to the issues others are going through, let’s be a church that builds each other up!

God redeems suffering.

Some have suggested that 2 Corinthians develops the most robust theology of suffering that is found in all of Scripture.

Two errors in dealing with suffering:

minimize it. - make it seem as though it shouldn’t hurt or be a big deal.

monstersize it. - Make it seem catastrophic leading to despair - making the suffering seem as though it were pointless.

Paul does neither in 2 Corinthians.

He allows us to see and feel the pain and then pur it in perspective without dismissing it, pointing to an ultimate redemption to ALL suffering.

2 Corinthians 4:7–12 ESV

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

2 Corinthians 4:17–18 ESV

17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

We need to be a church, to be people, who rightly understand suffering. We don’t hide it, we don’t long for it, yet we are not afraid of it.

Few churches have a shortage of people in the pews suffering, while many churches suffer a shortage of sermons willing to teach on it’s reality and redemption.

“Suffering is real, and it is sanctifying.”

We want to be “the kind of people who have biblial reflexes when it comes to suffering. It will shape [us] into the kind of people who bear the burdens of their suffering members in an informed way — in a way that appreciates the gravity of pain, and the eternal weight of glory that makes it light by comparison.”

— Samuel Parkinson

God displays his power through our weakness.

This is the great paradox seen throughout Scripture and Paul describes is seen in the church.

ILLUST - sleeper cars - Where did that power come from?! Mr. Vlasits Ford Ranger.

Joseph

Moses

David

Gideon

Peter

Part of the issues at the Corinthian church was that they began to pride themselves on “shiny” leaders. Seeing power and polish as evidence that God was at work.

Paul will remind the Corinthian church that God routinely works through those whom the world deems incapable or unimpressive. In fact, it is in these “jars of clay” that God stores his greatest treasure - the transformation power of the gospel.

2 Corinthians 4:7 ESV

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

Authentic ministry is ministry that displays a powerful God not a polished person or people.

The true church is not measured by how full it is but by how faithful it is.

Our goal is not to win the world with entertainment to comfort, but to show the world transformed people and to call them to Christ!

You are never stronger than when you stop trying by your own strength and lean fully on the powerful grace of the gospel to change you and work through you.

Our sufficient God gives us sufficient grace.

To turn out temporal defeats into spiritual victories. 

The Believer’s Apparent (Temporal) Defeat

The Believer’s Actual (Spiritual) Victory

2 Corinthians 1:8–9 “8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. 9 Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead.”

2 Corinthians 1:10 “10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.”

2 Corinthians 2:12–13 “12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though a door was opened for me in the Lord, 13 my spirit was not at rest because I did not find my brother Titus there. So I took leave of them and went on to Macedonia.”

2 Corinthians 2:14 “14 But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.”

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 “8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our bodies.”

2 Corinthians 4:16–18 “16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 17 For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”

2 Corinthians 12:7 “7 So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.”

2 Corinthians 12:9 “9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”

All that Paul went through and that the church may go through, and that you and I will go through will have a grace that can accompany it sufficient for its need because we have an all-sufficient God.

The power of Christ works in “real life.”