The text for Aug. 24 is part of the same letter we studied for Aug. 17: Paul’s “letter of tears” in which he seeks reconciliation with his wayward Corinthian house churches. The same theme prevails: Paul and his companions endure great trials and hardships but refuse to give up. The contrasts are dizzying: We are treated as imposters and yet are true; dying — and, see, we are alive!; punished and yet not killed; sorrowful yet always rejoicing; poor yet making many rich; having nothing yet possessing everything (6:8-10).
And it’s all for your sakes! “Our heart is wide open to you!” (6:11). “Make room in your hearts for us!” (7:2). With such high emotion and tender sentiment, it is no wonder Titus, who probably carried this letter to Corinth for Paul, had a much easier time dealing with these house churches than Timothy had earlier. Tim had brought 1 Corinthians, full of instructions to the wealthier members to give up their power and privileges for the sake of the whole body of believers. If you had been a church patron at Corinth, which letter would you rather receive?
But whoever arranged Paul’s collection of letters that we know as 2 Corinthians must have been half asleep. Look at our selected text in its larger context of 2 Corinthians 6 and 7. Why is 6:14-7:1 plopped right in the middle of a very different train of thought? Suddenly Paul is giving instructions about how to relate to unbelievers. If you omit those verses, 7:2-4 fits seamlessly with 6:1-13.
The best way of making sense of 2 Cor. 6:14-7:1 is to see it as part of yet another letter of Paul’s — his very first one to the house churches he had recently established. But they had misinterpreted that letter to mean that they were to have no dealings with nonbelievers — just like Christians today interpret “nonconformity to the world” in vastly different ways. We know this because Paul has to correct them in 1 Cor. 5:9 (from what is actually his second letter to them), where he clarifies himself. You can’t avoid dealing with sexually immoral people — or else you’d have to leave the world altogether. Rather, Paul wants each assembly to refuse to fellowship and eat with those within the group who are deemed an immoral influence (see 1 Cor. 5:1-8).
To further confuse us, 2 Cor. 7:5-16 is part of Paul’s final joyful letter, which should follow 1:1-2:13, from our lessons on Aug. 3 and 10! Can you see how it connects?
The lesson for Aug. 31 brings us to a wholly new topic. 2 Corinthians 8 either follows 7:16 or is a different letter entirely. It is the ancient equivalent of a fundraising letter. We even recognize some of the methods of persuasion. In 8:1-4, Paul praises the poor churches of the region of Macedonia — those in Philippi and Thessalonica — for giving out of their poverty (see 1 Thess. 1:7-8) as a way to stimulate those from Achaia — where Corinth is located — to give more.
For the backstory on Paul’s collection, we need Rom. 15:25-28. He is not raising this money for himself or even for his missionary work. Rather, Paul knows the mother church in Jerusalem regards his work among Gentiles with suspicion. He also knows about the famine in Palestine and the poverty of the Jerusalem church. He reasons that “if the Gentiles have come to share in their [Jews’] spiritual blessings, they ought also to be of service to them in material things” (Rom. 15:27). Money talks! If Paul can take a sufficient collection to the Jerusalem church, it will be a win-win situation. Unfortunately, we do not know if he was successful, since Acts 21 does not mention Paul’s collection when he arrives in Jerusalem.
To discuss: In 2 Cor. 8:13-15, Paul sounds more like a socialist than a capitalist. How does his theology of wealth relate to yours?
Reta Halteman Finger is retired from teaching Bible at Messiah College. She co-authored Creating a Scene in Corinth: A Simulation (Herald, 2013).
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