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In this second letter to the Church at Corinth, written about AD 57, Paul speaks gently: his “heart is open wide” (6:11). In I Corinthians, written about two years earlier, the focus was on speci c problems in the faith and practice of the Corinthians. Here, Paul’s tone is more apologetic and more personal. It seems that Paul failed to keep a promise of an extended stay among them (I Corinthians 16:7), and that his change of plan created some resentment. Then, strangers— Paul calls them “superapostles”—cast doubt on Paul’s ministry, so Paul defends himself and explains his ministry. The letter is repetitive in places, and some scholars think it may have been pieced together from multiple letters.
1:3 Paul gives thanks for both his encouragement and his a ictions. He describes an economy of grace: su ering brings an over owing of encouragement so that we have strength for everything.
a. [1:1] Eph 1:1; Col 1:1 / 2 Cor 1:19; Acts 16 / Rom 1:7; 1 Cor 1:2.
b. [1:3] 1 Cor 15:24; Eph 1:3; 1 Pt 1:3 / Rom 15:5.
c. [1:4] 7:6–7, 13; 1 Thes 3:6–8; 2 Thes 2:16.
d. [1:8] Acts 20:18–19; 1 Cor 15:32.
e. [1:9] 4:7–11; Rom 4:17.
f. [1:10] 2 Tm 4:18.
g. [1:11] 4:15; 9:12.
 CORINTHIANS 
I. ADDRESS
1Greeting.
1* Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the church of God that is in Corinth, with all the
holy ones throughout Achaia:a 2grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Thanksgiving. 3b Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement,* 4who encourages us in our every a iction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any a iction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God.c 5For as Christ’s su erings over ow to us, so through Christ* does our encouragement also over ow. 6If we are a icted, it is for your encouragement and salvation; if we are encouraged, it is for your encouragement, which enables you to endure the same su erings that we su er. 7Our hope for you is rm, for we know that as you share in the su erings, you also share in the encouragement.*
8We do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the a iction that came to us in the province of Asia;* we were utterly weighed down beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life.d 9Indeed, we had accepted within ourselves the sentence of death,* that we might trust not in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.e 10He rescued us from such great danger of death, and he will continue to rescue us; in him we have put our hope [that] he will also rescue us again,f 11as you help us with prayer, so that thanks may be given by many on our behalf for the gift granted us through the prayers of many.g
II. THE CRISIS BETWEEN PAUl AND THE CORINTHIANS
A. PAST RElATIONSHIPS*
Paul’s Sincerity and Constancy. 12* For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with the simplicity and sincerity of God, [and]
* [1:1–11] The opening follows the usual Pauline form, except that the thanksgiving takes the form of a doxology or glori cation of God (2 Cor 1:3). This introduces a meditation on the experience of su ering and encouragement shared by Paul and the Corinthians (2 Cor 1:4–7), drawn, at least in part, from Paul’s re ections on a recent a iction (2 Cor 1:8–10). The section ends with a modi ed and delayed allusion to thanksgiving (2 Cor 1:11).
* [1:3] God of all encouragement: Paul expands a standard Jewish blessing so as to state the theme of the paragraph. The theme of “encouragement” or “consolation” (paraklēsis) occurs ten times in this opening, against a background formed by multiple references to “a iction” and “su ering.”
* [1:5] Through Christ: the Father of compassion is the Father of our Lord Jesus (2 Cor 1:3); Paul’s su erings and encouragement (or “consolation”) are experienced in union with Christ. Cf. Lk 2:25: the “consolation of Israel” is Jesus himself.
* [1:7] You also share in the encouragement: the eschatological reversal of a iction and encouragement that Christians expect (cf. Mt 5:4; Lk 6:24) permits some present experience of reversal in the Corinthians’ case, as in Paul’s.
* [1:8] Asia: a Roman province in western Asia Minor, the capital of which was Ephesus.
* [1:9–10] The sentence of death: it is unclear whether Paul is alluding to a physical illness or to an external threat to life. The result of the situation was to produce an attitude of faith in God alone. God who raises the dead: rescue is the constant pattern of God’s activity; his nal act of encouragement is the resurrection.
* [1:12–2:13] The autobiographical remarks about the crisis in Asia Minor lead into consideration of a crisis that has arisen between Paul and the Corinthians. Paul will return to this question, after a long digression, in 2 Cor 7:5–16. Both of these sections deal with travel plans Paul had made, changes in the plans, alternative measures adopted, a breach that opened between him and the community, and nally a reconciliation between them.
* [1:12–14] Since Paul’s own conduct will be under discussion here, he prefaces the section with a statement about his habitual behavior and attitude toward the community. He protests his openness, single-mindedness, and conformity to God’s grace; he hopes that his relationship with them will be marked by mutual understanding and pride, which will constantly increase until it reaches its climax at the judgment. Two references to boasting frame this paragraph (2 Cor 1:12, 14), the rst appearances of a theme that will be important in
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