The epistle opened with a reference to the suffering the apostle and his team were currently facing; to them it was death stirring on their faces, and here was his responds: “Yes, we had the sentence (answer) of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead” 1:19; he has come to know the resurrection life through faith in Christ. Throughout the epistle he made reverence to these sufferings, and summed it up as “light afflictions” because of the hope of eternal glory that far outweigh the sufferings. Besides the physical sufferings and depravations, the apostle exposed the inner struggles he was going through; his apostleship and motive was called to question by the very people he so loved and poured out his life for; the very people he had opened his heart widely to, would not open their heart to him; the more he loved, the less he is love (2cor.6:12-13, 11:15); nothing could be more trying than this! On the other hand was the fear that his labour might be in vain, owing to the sinful indulgence of some in the church, and false teachers infiltrating the church, this seem to affect him inwardly more than anything else as he stated: “Beside those things that are without that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches…” 11:28.
PWC Bible Study
Thematic Study of Paul’s Second Letter to the Corinthians
