2 Corinthians

AI explanationAI

About 2 Corinthians as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

After a painful quarrel, a letter goes back to Corinth, and it opens with comfort. God is “the Father of mercies and God of all comfort”, Paul writes, and he comforts us so that we can comfort others. This is the most personal of Paul's letters, written to explain himself and to rebuild trust.

He describes the ministry of reconciliation and says the good news is a treasure carried in clay vessels, so that the greatness of the power is God's and not ours. Pressed on every side, yet not crushed: it is the language of someone who has suffered and does not hide it.

Chapters 8 and 9 encourage generous giving for poor believers in Jerusalem. In the last chapters Paul answers rivals who mock his weakness. He tells how he begged the Lord three times about a thorn in the flesh, and reports the answer: God's power is made perfect in weakness.

Background

Paul wrote from Macedonia around the year 55 or 56, some months after 1 Corinthians. The sharp change of tone at chapter 10 has led some scholars to think the book joins more than one letter.

How Christians read it

What Paul's thorn in the flesh was (12:7) is unknown, though Paul says he begged the Lord three times about it and was not given what he asked; illness, opposition and temptation have all been suggested. The chapters on giving are widely used to teach generosity, and readers note that Paul appeals to grace and willingness and sets no fixed amount.