Oct 10, 2017
As Paul opens his second letter to the church in Corinth, he does so with his normal salutation, offering them grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. But in verses 1-11 of 2 Corinthians, he gets right to the point of his letter. Much of what he is going to attempt to do with this letter is defend himself against those who have questioned his motives and raised doubts about his apostleship. After all, Paul wasn’t one of the original twelve. He had received his calling on the road to Damascus and had, since that time, claimed to be an apostle on an equal standing with Peter, James, John or any of the other disciples of Christ. He claimed to have been called and commissioned by Jesus Himself. So, his words carried divine weight. His admonitions and teachings were not his personal opinion, but the words of God. And Paul will begin his letter by conveying the suffering he has endured as an apostle of Jesus Christ. His life had been anything but easy. He had endured a great deal for the cause of Christ. And now, he wanted to pass on to the Corinthians believers all that he had learned in suffering for and being comforted by Christ. He wanted them to learn to lean on God.