2ND EPISTLE TO GOD'S CHURCH IN CORINTH

THURSDAY 29 JUNE 2023

In his 1st epistle, Paul could address the church at Corinth as those who knew of the personal character of Jesus, and yet not willing to possess them due to their seeming conformity to the mind and attitude of the inhabitants at the city of Corinth. He also mentioned their abuse of operation in their treatment of the Lord's Supper. Pauline admonition to the Corinthian saints was rested on a general acquaintance with the truth of the glorious Gospel. In this article, let's find out about his 2nd epistle to the Corinthian church.

Reference: 2 Corinthians 1:1-2 New Living Translation (NLT) "_To the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia. Grace to you and peace from God our father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

Paul's greeting, in our referenced Scripture, was a means of acknowledging the source of grace and peace, being that through which the glory of the church is made manifest, and through which God enlightens all things pertaining the saints.

After his first letter, the Corinthian church was swayed by false teachers who stirred many saints against Paul. So they thought about Paul in an inferior manner, spoke scornfully of the apostle, claimed he had low thoughts and reproach him. In a nutshell, they claimed that he was inconstant, proud, dishonest, unimpressive in appearance and speech, and not qualified to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. The false teachers and their party, ridiculed his threatenings in his former letter, and so, in the second epistle, his address was obviously shaped based on the precise ethical significance and consideration of the former.

In the midst of all this, Paul sent Titus to Corinth to deal with these issues, and upon his return, he rejoiced and celebrated as he heard that the Corinthian saints have had a change of heart. To that effect, Paul wrote this second epistle (which was mainly directed to those who have acknowledged his apostleship), to express his thanksgiving for the repentant majority and also, to appeal for the stubborn minority to accept his authority. Noticeably, throughout the epistle, he defended his conduct, character and calling as an apostle of Jesus Christ.

His words and discourse, full of simplicity and godly sincerity, denote the established course of the calling of the Gentiles under the Gospel dispensation, and the amplitude of Christ's Kingdom in all the earth (see 2 Corinthians 1:6 NKJV). Shalom!

Scripture Reading - 1 Corinthians 11:1-2; Hebrews 13:20-21; 2 Corinthians 7:8-16; Galatians 5:25; 2 Corinthians 10:7-11.

Guided Prayer: Heavenly Father, I stand amazed in your presence, giving thanks to your Holy name and acknowledging the glory of your divine perfections, in relation to giving the body of Christ - apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers - for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ, in Jesus' Name, Amen.