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All things work together….
Count it all joy……
For I know the plans…
The Lord is my shepherd…
Do not be conformed…
I can do all things…
Do not be anxious…
Seek first…
Cast all your anxiety…
Fear not, for I am with you…
Be strong and courageous…
Whoever dwells in the shelter…
Read this 3-minute introduction to help you find your bearings in the Bible story, and be inspired to read 2 Corinthians!
This overview video illustrates for us the literary design of the book of 2 Corinthians using creative animations.
Book of 2 Corinthians Summary: A Complete Animated Overview is copyright 2016 by BibleProject and is available for viewing at www.bibleproject.com.
This compelling dramatization of the book of 2 Corinthians introduces us to the main theme of the book and how it points to Jesus through spoken word poetry.
This video was originally published by Spoken Gospel on their YouTube Channel.
This video is part of the series, The Gospel One Chapter at a Time, where Paul David Tripp summarizes each book of the Bible and shows how it points us to Jesus.
This video was originally published by Paul Tripp Ministries, Inc. on their YouTube Channel.
Pastor John Piper looks closely with us at 2 Corinthians 1:3-6, and how Jesus has made the way for us to receive comfort and mercy from God.
By John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org
Pastor John Piper looks closely with us at 2 Corinthians 1:3-6 and how God’s comfort transforms our relationships with others.
By John Piper. © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org
The apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians.
From Bibles.net: Remember that the ultimate author of every book of the Bible is the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). He has written this book to equip you for life, to help you know the true God, and to give you hope (2 Timothy 3:16; Romans 15:4). The Holy Spirit wrote 2 Corinthians for your good and to lead you into joy.
The apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians from Macedonia around AD 55/56. This was approximately a year after he wrote 1 Corinthians and a year before he wrote his letter to the Romans. This is the fourth letter he had written to the Corinthian church (in addition to 1 Corinthians, see the letters mentioned in 1 Corinthians 5:9 and 2 Corinthians 2:3–4).
As he wrote 2 Corinthians in AD 55/56, Paul had visited Corinth in recent months in what he describes in this letter as a “painful visit” (2 Corinthians 2:1). Apparently, the Corinthian church had been largely hostile and demeaning toward Paul due to his general unimpressiveness in appearance and speech. Paul decided to give the church some space, so instead of an immediate visit, he wrote them an anguished and tearful letter (2 Corinthians 2:3–4), which was then brought to them by Titus. This letter, written after 1 Corinthians but before 2 Corinthians, is now lost.
Titus reported back to Paul that much of the Corinthian church did indeed repent and again embrace Paul’s authority (2 Corinthians 7:5–16), though the sharp words throughout 2 Corinthians indicate there was a vocal minority still rejecting Paul. Perhaps Paul also feared that this minority would influence others in the church to join them against Paul.
All this explains the contorted nature of Paul’s tone throughout 2 Corinthians—at times comforting his readers like a tender father, while at other times stringently attacking his accusers and defending his apostolic authenticity. Paul loves the Corinthians and wants them to see the power and glory of a gospel that humbles the powerful while strengthening the weak.
—Dane C. Ortlund
Source: 2 Corinthians: A 12-Week Study © 2015 by Dane C. Ortlund. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
Unless otherwise indicated, this content is adapted from the ESV Global Study Bible® (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright ©2012 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Ministry of Brokenness by Hershael York
In this 20-part message series, Pastor Hershael York clearly and gently walks us through the letter of 2 Corinthians. Pastor York draws our attention to both Paul’s brokenness and the Corinthian’s brokenness revealed in this letter, so as to help us face our own brokenness. You will be wonderfully counseled and comforted by this series, but also exhorted to depend on, hope in, and find wholeness in the Lord Jesus.
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As you read through 2 Corinthians, you might come across words and ideas that are foreign to you. Here are a few definitions you will want to know! Note that this dictionary was created for the New International Version (NIV) Bible.
A Hebrew word that means “Let it be so!” or “This is the truth!” Amen is often said after a prayer to show that people agree with what has been said and believe that it will happen.
Heavenly beings created by God before he created Adam and Eve. Angels act as God’s messengers to men and women. They also worship God.
To pour oil on a person or thing. A person was anointed to show that God had chosen him or her to do a special job. Samuel anointed David to show that God had chosen him to be king.
The Greek word that means “God’s Chosen One.” “Messiah” is the Hebrew word meaning the same thing. Jesus was the Christ.
An assembly or gathering. The word church is used to refer both to local groups of believers in Christ (church) as well as to all believers (Church).
(1) To find someone guilty of doing something wrong and to declare or pronounce a punishment. (2) To be against or disapprove of something because it is wrong.
A city in Greece. Always a commercial center, Corinth was made the capital city of the province by its Roman conquerors. Paul taught in Corinth for a year and a half.
An agreement. In the ancient Near East, sometimes covenants were made between two people or groups of people. Both sides decided what the agreement would be. However, in the Bible, the word usually refers to agreements between God and people, when God decides what will be done and the people agree to live by the covenant. The old covenant of law set standards of behavior in order to please God. The new covenant of grace presents God’s forgiveness based on faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection.
(1) To be certain about the things we cannot see or to trust someone because of who he or she is. For example, a Christian has faith that Jesus is God’s Son. (2) The whole message about Jesus Christ—that he is God’s Son and that he came to take the punishment for our sin so that we may become members of God’s family. This describes the faith of a Christian.
(1) Great beauty, splendor, honor, or magnificence that can be seen or sensed. The Israelites saw the glory of the Lord in the cloud that filled the tabernacle. The shepherds saw the glory of the Lord when the angels told them Jesus had been born. (2) To praise; to be proud or happy; to boast.
(1) Literally, “good news.” The good news of the Bible is that God sent his Son, Jesus, to take the punishment for sin and then raised him from the dead so that any person who believes may have new life. (2) The story of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ told in the first four books of the New Testament. The books are also called the four Gospels.
Love and kindness shown to someone who does not deserve it—especially the forgiveness God shows to us. We don’t deserve God’s grace because we sin against him. God showed grace to all people by sending his Son, Jesus, to be our Savior. God’s grace allows us to become members of his family (see Ephesians 2:8). God’s grace also helps us live as God wants us to (see Acts 20:32). A person cannot earn God’s grace by trying to be good; it is God’s free gift.
To help people who have been enemies become friends. In the New Testament, the word usually refers to bringing God and people together again through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Sin separates people from God, but by dying, Jesus took the punishment for sin. When a person comes to know and love Jesus, he or she learns to love God instead of being his enemy. When this happens, the person is reconciled to God.
To turn around and go in the opposite direction. In the Bible, repent means feeling sorrow for wrongdoing, stopping the wrong action and doing what God says is right. Repentance always involves making a change away from sin and toward God.
Thinking and doing what is correct (or right) and holy. God is righteous because he does only what is perfect and holy. A person who has accepted Jesus as Savior is looked at by God as being free from the guilt of sin, so God sees that person as being righteous. People who are members of God’s family show their love for him by doing what is correct and holy, living in righteous ways.
(1) To be rescued (or delivered) from evil. (2) To be kept from danger or death. In the New Testament, salvation usually means to be rescued from the guilt and power of sin. By his death and resurrection, Jesus brings salvation to people who believe in him.
The most powerful enemy of God and all people. Other names for Satan include the devil, the evil one, the prince of this world, the father of lies, the enemy, the adversary, and Lucifer. Satan is the ruler of a kingdom made up of demons. He hates God and tries to destroy God’s work. The Bible tells us that in the end, God will destroy Satan and the demons.
Attached and attracted to values and commitments that go against God rather than being attracted to the values and commitments of the eternal kingdom of God. The Bible warns against loving worldly things more than the things of God.
Dictionary Source
This content is from What the Bible Is All About, written by Henrietta Mears. Copyright © 1953, 2011 by Gospel Light. Copyright assigned to Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
We have found answers to some tough questions that we anticipate may arise as you read 2 Corinthians. We know we can’t answer every question you will have; therefore, we have written this article, so you know how to find answers for your kids: How Do I Answer Tough Questions About the Bible?
The following insights are from pastors and scholars who have spent significant time studying the book of 2 Corinthians.
“When I am weak, then I am strong,” says Paul the apostle (2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV). This is the high point of 2 Corinthians, Paul’s final letter to the church at Corinth. It is also the pervasive theme of the letter. God turns upside down our intuitive expectations of how the world works.
Throughout this letter Paul upends the natural Corinthian outlook on life, which is simply the natural universal outlook on life—that the way to joy and comfort and satisfaction is to put oneself forward, be impressive, throw one’s weight around, exercise power and authority, and have one’s needs met. Paul confronts this deeply embedded natural outlook with a theology of the cross, in which serving the needs of others—even at great pain to ourselves—is the path to joy. Just as Jesus taught that a grain of wheat must fall to the ground and die before it bears fruit (John 12:24–25), so this paradoxical truth is the pervasive and unifying theme of 2 Corinthians—a theme rooted in Jesus’ own experience of life through death and strength through weakness (2 Corinthians 13:4).
—Dane C. Ortlund
Source: 2 Corinthians: A 12-Week Study © 2015 by Dane C. Ortlund. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The apostle’s authority, even his apostleship, was called into question. If Paul was for real, why was there so much suffering in his life? they asked. Also, why was his ministry so lackluster when compared with the ministry of others? Why was his preaching so full? And why did he change his travel plans if God was actually directing his life? Moreover, what lay behind his refusal to accept payment for his services, as most preacher did? Was he really collecting money for the poor? Why didn’t Paul have letters of recommendation like the others? Why didn’t he regale them with stories about God’s power in his ministry? Was it because there were none? Tragically, this attack on Paul’s ministry and person had led many of his Corinthian converts to reject him and his preaching for “a different gospel” (cf. 2 Corinthians 11:4 ESV).
—R. Kent Hughes
Source: Content taken from 2 Corinthians: Power in Weakness © 2012 by R. Kent Hughes. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
The teachers of Jewish law of Paul’s day carried letters of introduction with them. They were Paul’s chief troublemakers. They tried in every way to fight him. We hear them asking, “Who is this Paul? What letters of recommendation from Jerusalem does he have?” How foolish this question was to Paul! Did he need a letter of recommendation to a church he himself had established? He answers, “You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone” (2 Corinthians 3:2 NIV).
The lives of the true Christians at Corinth served as letters to recommend both Paul the servant and Christ the Lord. Paul’s gospel was a triumphant and transforming gospel (see 2 Corinthians 3:18). Living epistles are read when Bible Epistles are not. Remember that your life is an open letter as well. Christian lives are sometimes the only religious books the world “reads.” The world may not study God’s Word, but they will study God’s people. This gives us a great opportunity for good, for we may lead people to Christ by our example.
—Henrietta Mears
Source: This content is from What the Bible Is All About, written by Henrietta Mears. Copyright © 1953, 2011 by Gospel Light. Copyright assigned to Tyndale House Publishers, 2015. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
We make a great mistake if we think of [pleasing God] as a compartment of life marked “spiritual,” or “religious,” rather than as a total way of life involving pleasing God in all its aspects. We want to learn to be able to say with Paul, “We make it our goal to please him” (2 Corinthians 5:9 NIV).
—Alistair Begg
Source: Begg, Alistair. Made for His Pleasure: Ten Benchmarks of a Vital Faith. Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1996. Quote retrieved from Grace Quotes at gracequotes.org.
Part of the suffering of suffering is the creeping suspicion that we won’t make it, that this will cost us more than we have to give, that tomorrow will be the last straw. If you’ve felt like that, Paul knows what you feel: “We were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death” (2 Corinthians 1:8-9 ESV). That doesn’t sound like hope rising. That doesn’t sound like rejoicing. How could God rewrite a death sentence and make it give life? Next line: “But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead” (2 Corinthians 1:9 ESV).
We find hope at, and beyond, the end of ourselves—at the end of all we can do and say and feel—if we find God there. Suffering produces hope because it shows us, like nothing else can, that we can handle more than we think—with God. In other words, suffering produces endurance. As we lean on God, he strengthens us with all power, “according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy” (Colossians 1:11 ESV, emphasis added).
—Marshall Segal
Source: By Marshall Segal © Desiring God Foundation. Source: desiringGod.org.
Discover music inspired by the message and content of the book of 2 Corinthians.