2 Corinthians 1:1-2

Grace and Peace to Corinth and Beyond

We are beginning a new series today - the book of 2 Corinthians. And we’ll just be considering the first 2 verses this morning. Chapter 1 verses 1-2 and you can find that on page 1145.

As you will hear, this book is a letter written by the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth.

In his opening greeting, Paul includes that this letter is also from Timothy. Now, that does not mean that Timothy is a co-author. Most of the book is written using the first-person singular, “I.” …and throughout, Paul talks about his own travels, his relationships, and his struggles.

Rather, Paul includes Timothy because Timothy was with Paul. And Timothy was very much known by the church in Corinth. Paul is saying that he and Timothy are unified in this letter that he is writing.

Let’s now come to God’s inspired and inerrant Word.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 1:1-2

Prayer

Over the last century, several books have been written about The Lost Art of Letter Writing.

And as you would imagine, these books lament how people today no longer sit down to write thoughtful and engaging personal letters. Or when we do communicate, we are not sensitive or thoughtful about our words. Salutations and concluding words are sparce. Etc. etc.

You would probably agree with those assessment. And if you think back over the last 100 to 150 years, there have been remarkable changes in communication technologies. We’ve gone from the telegraph, to the telephone, to email, to the cell phone… then came instant messenger and texting, and now video calls. As the technology has advanced, it has led to helpful and unhelpful communication habits.

But there is something special about an old-school letter written in pen and on paper. A letter with many personal elements. Life updates and feelings and struggles. Hopes and dreams. A letter that recalls times together and plans for the future. A letter with intentional thoughts about important matters. One that conveys love and care and longings. A letter that you can hold in your hand and read and ponder and read again.

Well, 2 Corinthians has it all. It is a letter of letters. I would say, out of all the New Testament letters, which we call “epistles,” 2 Corinthians is the most personal and engaging. What I mean is that 2 Corinthians contains more details about personal matters and events and relationships than the other letters in the Bible. Now, to be sure, I am not minimizing the other letters. Each is engaging and thoughtful and has a context.

But there’s something special about 2 Corinthians. In it, the apostle Paul conveys his love and care for the church in Corinth; he works through difficult things that he has gone through; he defends his calling and teaching; and he applies the truths of God in Christ to the situations that they are experiencing. In all of it, Paul encourages them, directs them in truth, and challenges them.

It’s beautiful.

Are we allowed to have a favorite book of the Bible? I think so. As long as we are not minimizing the relevance and authority of the others. Well, if so, my favorite book is 2 Corinthians.

And my hope is that over the next few months you will likewise come to love 2 Corinthians… and you will also be challenged as we apply it to our lives.

So let’s dive in. And this morning, as an introduction to the book, we’ll touch upon the city, the situation, and the significance. The city (what do we know about Corinth), the situation (what was happening in the church and what were the reasons Paul wrote this letter), and the significance (what does it say and why does it matter).

1. The City

Alright, Corinth.

Please turn to the back of you bulletin. I thought it would be helpful to include a map. The arrows represent the apostle Paul’s travels on his third missionary journey. We’re going to come back to that shortly.

But first, notice Corinth. It’s right there on the southern part of Greece. And actually, the circle there for Corinth should be a little northeast of where it’s positioned on the map. That’s because Corinth sat between two inlets. On the east side of Corinth, there was access to the Aegean sea. Ships would travel back and forth between Asia Minor (modern day Turkey) and Greece, going to both Athens and Corinth. And on the west side of Corinth, was access to the Adriatic Sea. Italy is not pictured in this map, but it’s right there off the map west of Greece.

So, Corinth was strategically positioned. It was an access point between the two seas, allowing ships to avoid the often treacherous Mediterranean.

A couple of years ago, Caleb and I were helping at a missions conference on the island of Crete. Some of you were also there. You can see Crete there on the map. Well, on our way back, we took a ferry to Athens. And let me say, it was rough going on the Mediterranean. The winds were very high, and the waves just hammered the ferry the whole trip. It was like a 10-hour trip. We were glad it was a rather large ferry. Even so, it was rocking and shaking. But as soon as we got to the bay with Athens on the east and the ruins of Corinth on the west, it was much calmer. You see, back in the first century, ships were much safer docking near Corinth and sending their cargo across the land to the port on the other side of Corinth.

In fact, back then, Corinth was also a land port. It was the access point to the southern part of Greece.

I’m telling you all this because Corinth was a strategic city. It was a crossroads. It was the Roman capital of the whole region of Achaia.

Interestingly, the Roman Empire had destroyed Corinth 200 years prior. That happened in the year 146 BC. But 100 years later, in 44BC, Julius Ceasar re-settled the city given its location.

So, in other words, Corinth was a Roman city in Greece… and it attracted people from all over – from northern Africa, Asia Minor, Italy, and of course, Greece itself. It attracted Maritimers and merchants and other trades. It attracted the poor because there were jobs and it attracted wealthy.

Added to the cosmopolitan mix was the religious diversity. People brought their idols and beliefs. And on the hill overlooking the city was the temple of Aphrodite. She was the Greek goddess of love and fertility. Some have suggested that temple prostitution was common. That is disputed, but what is clear is Corinth’s sexually promiscuous culture.

Ok, two things are important to understand about Corinth.

· First, when you intermix all of these ideologies and cultures and religions, it is a recipe for tension and conflict and prejudice. In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, which we call 1 Corinthians, we see that conflict played out in the church. Paul therefore addressed their lack of love for and unity with one another.

· So that was one thing about Corinth – the people did not get along with one another. The second thing about Corinth involved social status. Because the city was relatively young and prosperous, the social structures were still being developed. There was an opportunity to raise your social status and standing. But in order to achieve that, often you had to figuratively climb over other people to gain a higher status. In fact, we will see that explicitly played out in this book, 2 Corinthians. We’ll come back to that in a minute.

So, to summarize, the city of Corinth was a melting pot of culture, religion, and commerce. It was also like the Las Vegas of the Mediterranean… with its sexualized and promiscuous culture. A culture that was filled with tension and prejudice and social one-upmanship.

It was a place that desperately needed the Gospel.

2. The Situation

So, that’s the city. Let’s now talk about the situation.

First, imagine how all of those cultural influences affected the church in Corinth.

The apostle Paul planted about 13 churches on his missionary journeys. Yet, he spends more time supporting the church in Corinth than any other church… all because of their sin and issues.

I believe that is true because we have record of multiple letters and visits and the involvement of other church leaders.

Let me highlight some of those things.

As far as letters, yes, we only have two of them preserved. 1 and 2 Corinthians. However, Paul actually wrote at least four letters to them. In 1 Corinthians he refers to an earlier letter. And in 2 Corinthians he refers to yet another letter– an emotionally painful letter which was written right after an emergency visit to Corinth.

Added to that, Paul invested his two most trusted co-laborers to help in Corinth. Timothy and Titus.

Ok, here’s a brief synopsis of events that led up to this letter.

· First, Paul with Timothy’s help, planted the church in Corinth in about the year 51AD. That happened on Paul’s second missionary journey. In fact, we read the account from Acts 18 earlier. The church included Jews and Gentiles and it grew rapidly. We also read that Paul stayed for 18 months to help shepherd the growing community.

· But then very soon after Paul left, he heard some discouraging news. Some people associated with the church were caught up in the sexual immorality of the culture. So Paul wrote his first letter to them explicitly about that. As I mentioned earlier, we don’t have that initial letter, but Paul alludes to it in 1 Corinthians 5.

· Well, things did not get better, and the church also started to fracture in disunity. So, Paul writes the letter we know as 1 Corinthians. He doesn’t just put it in the mail, no, he sends it with Timothy.

· Now, at this point, Paul is on his third missionary journey. Please look back at the map. As I mentioned, this is a map of Paul’s third missionary journey. Paul spent 3 years in Ephesus. Do you see Ephesus on the map there? That is where he wrote 1 Corinthians. Do you also see that purple dashed line? Well, Paul had to make an emergency visit to Corinth. He refers to that painful visit in 2 Corinthians chapter 2. We’re going to get to those details in a few weeks.

· And then, after that emergency visit, Paul writes a painful letter. He refers to that letter in chapter 2 and chapter 7. But Paul doesn’t just write that letter calling them to repentance. No, he sends Titus – his other trusted co-laborer. Titus delivers it with Paul’s hope and prayer that they would seek repentance and renewal in Christ.

So, a founding visit, a letter, another letter, an emergency visit, and another letter. And besides Paul, Timothy and Titus were very involved. All of this is happening before Paul writes 2 Corinthians.

Now, the reason I’m telling you all of this is because Paul loves this church. He is on his knees praying with tears and he is fully invested in their spiritual wellbeing.

So, again, Paul sent the painful letter with Titus. Meanwhile, he continued on his missionary journey. He goes north to Troas. You can see that on the map. Titus had planned to meet Paul in Troas and give Paul an update. But Titus didn’t show up. Of course, Paul was worried. So, he continued on to Macedonia hoping Titus would meet him there. And thankfully Titus showed up.

And Titus brought good news. Titus shared that the church in Corinth repented and that they longed to see Paul again. This was great news to Paul.

And it is at that moment that Paul wrote 2 Corinthians.

We know all this from 2 Corinthians chapter 7. Let me quote a few words from that chapter. “But God... comforted us by the coming of Titus, ...he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. For even if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it... because you were grieved into repenting."

Great news and encouraging words.

There are two reasons that Paul wrote 2 Corinthians.

· First, he was very glad. He wanted to encourage them to continue in their spiritual maturity.

· Second, there was a matter that Titus brought to Paul’s attention. And this goes back to Corinth’s cultural problems around social status. You see, there was a group trying to infiltrate the church. Paul sarcastically calls them “super apostles.” Basically, they were trying to position themselves as superior to Paul. They critiqued Paul’s theology and they sought to undermine his apostleship.

We don’t learn about these so-called “super apostles” until later in the book. But in every chapter, we get the sense that Paul is countering their false claims and false Gospel.

So, that is the situation. The church in Corinth had been heading in the wrong direction. Thay had been infected by the culture. But the Holy Spirit used Paul and Timothy and Titus to call them back to being a faithful witness. And in 2 Corinthians, Paul encourages them in their renewed faith and he exhorts them to stay away from these false teachers.

#3 The Significance

Now, I know what some of you are thinking right now, “You are putting me to sleep! How am I supposed to keep that all straight and why does it matter?”

We are now shifting to “The Significance.”

To answer the first question, “how to I keep it all straight?” as we work through 2 Corinthians verse by verse and chapter by chapter, we are going to come back to the situation at hand. My goal this morning was simply to give an overview.

To answer the second qurstion, “why does it matter.” It matters because in order to bring to bear the Scriptures to our situation, we need to first know the original situation… we need to understand why Paul writes what he writes, and what his words meant to them. It’s then that we can apply this Word to us.

Let me illustrate this by going back to verses 1.

Here are Paul’s opening words. “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God…”

It’s easy to skip over that, right. But consider what was happening in Corinth with the false apostles.

Paul is saying in his opening words, “God is the one who established the role he has given me. I, Paul, am a witness of Jesus himself. What I write to you, I write as a true apostle. Receive this letter as such and do not listen to or believe the false apostles. They are trying to dissuade you from the truth.”

Friends, this word is God’s Word. All of Scripture is. And it’s given to us through God’s ordained apostles. We are to hear it and heed it. That means we are to filter any and all spiritual teaching through this truth.

You see, it would be easy to miss this important point if we didn’t consider what was going on in Corinth.

And let me say, this book, 2 Corinthians, is gold. It gets to the heart of salvation. Over and over, 2 Corinthians speaks of the reconciliation that we have with God through Christ. That ministry of reconciliation come through Jesus’ death for us and the new life we have in his resurrection.

And 2 Corinthians applies that Gospel truth to God’s covenant promises, it applies it to our suffering and our weakness and our resources, and the way we live our lives. That’s what makes this book my favorite.

2 Corinthians is the height of the beauty of God’s grace put into words.

Rather than just tell you that, let me highlight some of the more well-known verses.

And by the way, these verses are going to be a part of our Scripture memory as a church this year.

· 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, 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.” Deeply encouraging words.

· Here’s another great one. 2 Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.” …in Jesus

· And how about chapter 2 verse 15 “…we are the aroma of Christ… among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing”

· Another one of my favorites is 2 Corinthians 4:6 – “For God, who said, 'Let light shine out of darkness,' has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

· Listen to chapter 4 verses 17-18 These are the most encouraging words in the trials we face. “For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 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.”

· Moving to chapter 5. Verse 21 is perhaps the clearest articulation of the Gospel in the entire Bible. Listen to it “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

· 2 Corinthians 8:9 You hear me pray this often before our offering. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” That whole chapter is about God’s grace in giving. But that verse is not about earthly riches. No it is about the riches we receive in Christ Jesus, who became poor by becoming a man.

· Ok, two more. Listen to 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

· And here’s one last one, 2 Corinthians 12:9 This is Paul speaking about his “thorn in his flesh.” He writes “But [the Lord] 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.”

You see, blessings upon blessings upon blessing in 2 Corinthians. And each one of those beautiful statements is founded on the grace of God in Christ. We have a lot to look forward to.

And I want to ask you to do something this week. I want you to read 2 Corinthians.

Let me leave you with the words of verse 2. And I want you to know, these are very common words from the apostle Paul. He uses in them in almost evert salutation in his letters. But they are not cliché’. No, he means these from the bottom of his heart.

He writes: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

As we study 2 Corinthians together, may God grant to us a deepening of his grace in our lives. And may we be renewed in the peace which God the Father gives through His Son, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen