Read for This Week’s Study: 2 Cor. 1:3-14, 2 Cor. 2:17, 2 Cor. 4:2, 1 Cor. 16:5-7, 2 Cor. 7:5-13, 2 Cor. 2:5-17.

Memory Text: “For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the love which I have so abundantly for you” (2 Corinthians 2:4, NKJV).

Opening Question: How much suffering would you be willing to endure in the pursuit of some chosen mission?

This week, we are going to encounter some very interesting passages from Paul’s letters to the Corinthians that have to do with recording many of the difficulties he experienced as he traveled around preaching the gospel, at one point noting that they had been troubled beyond measure to the point they thought death would be their lot. But God delivered them and sent them again on their way.

One of the most remarkable sets of verses on this matter of Paul’s sufferings is found in 2 Corinthians 11:24-28. READ this passage.

• It is hard to realize that one person endured all of these hardships.
• Which one strikes you as the most difficult to endure?
• An interesting one is that he experienced shipwreck three times, a testimony to the dangerous nature of travel by sea in antiquity. Part of those experiences involved him being “in the deep for a night and a day,” which must mean he was floating in the ocean for that long!
• Probably the most painful were the beatings!

One has to wonder what motivated the man to continue onward given these adversities with the sure knowledge that there would be more to come! The answer comes in v. 28 – “my deep concern for all the churches.” This kind of concern could only be motivated by love. Once a church was established, Paul did not wash his hands of it but retained his concern for their well-being. He maintained contact with them by visiting them again, by writing letters back and forth, or by having an associate visit them to observe what was happening then to bring back a report.

It is very interesting to see how Paul talks about finding comfort in the midst of his sufferings. We do not usually link those two things together, suffering and comfort. But Paul is able to talk of comfort because he had been comforted by God so that in turn, he was enabled to comfort others. This point is made in 2 Cor. 1:2-3 where Paul points out that God comforts him and his fellow workers so that they can comfort those in the churches. One of the outcomes of this whole process is that affliction refines character. Few people desire affliction, but many testify after having endured affliction, that they would not trade it away because of what they learned about God and themselves. In so many cases, suffering made them more focused and more efficient in carrying out their tasks.

Another feature of Paul’s letters is that he talks of his work as being characterized by simplicity and sincerity. He was not among those who preach in hopes of making money. He worked with his hands to support himself then used his “spare” time to preach. These facts added significantly to the genuineness of the message he proclaimed. It made it difficult for those who heard him to question his motivations, to call his integrity into question. It seems the same holds true for this day.

Another interesting aspect of this second letter to the Corinthians is that it indicates Paul changed his plans along the way. It is clear that Paul had four significant interchanges with the Corinthians, some in person the rest by letter. And we learn that at one point, he decided not to visit in person because of the fear a personal visit would be too much for those he was writing to, to endure. He wanted them to correct some ideas and behaviors but used a letter to produce the change rather than coming in person. That is quite interesting and is something to note, that the path of prudence is often a very good course to follow. Let the people hear the bad news about themselves, but without the actual presence of the one rebuking them which would then let them have time to mend their ways. And this is precisely what happened in this case. Paul found out later from Titus that his strategy had produced a good effect. We might say Paul changed his plans because of love!

One other interesting thing in this section (2 Corinthians 2:5-11) has to do with the instructions Paul gave the Corinthians about dealing with someone who had done wrong. It is not known whether this is a reference to the person mentioned earlier in his letters, or if it is another person, but the lesson to be learned from what Paul had to say is that sometimes church discipline is necessary. It may well be difficult, but when it has to be done it should always be as redemptive as possible. This is often a very challenging thing to pull off. The difficult part is letting the offending person know that what they have done cannot be approved, but yet that person is loved. Any hint of self-righteousness on the part of those administering discipline will cause havoc. If the person can be brought to the point where they acknowledge their wrong, then there is hope of reconciliation. It has to be kept always in mind that we are called to love wrongdoers, and we can love wrong-doers because we ourselves are the recipients of love.