2 Corinthians

Although God did not remove Paul’s physical affliction, he promised to demonstrate his power in Paul. The fact that God chooses to exalt himself in weak people should give us courage. Paul chooses to denounce the misconception about serving God. We do not have to have the knowledge of people who have been to seminary […]

We don’t know exactly what Paul’s thorn in the flesh was because he does not tell us. Some scholars have suggested that it was malaria, epilepsy, or a disease of the eyes. Whatever it was, it was chronic in nature and was a debilitating problem. This thorn was a hindrance to his ministry, and he […]

In this chapter, he once again continues his “boasting” in order to establish his credibility to the false prophets. Paul continues his “boasting” by talking about visions and revelations he had received from the Lord. “I know a man in Christ” means he was talking about himself. He explained that he did not know if […]

Sea travel was not as safe as it is today. Paul had been shipwrecked three times, and he would face another accident on his voyage to Rome. By this time, Paul had probably made at least eight or nine voyages. Not only does Paul face beatings and dangers, he also carried the daily concern for […]

Paul was angry that the false teachers had impressed and deceived the Corinthians. Therefore, he had to reestablish his credibility and authority by listing the trials he had endured in his service for Christ. Some of these trials are recorded in the book of Acts. Because Paul wrote this letter during his third missionary journey, […]

The Apocalypse of Moses talks about the story of Eve’s temptation includes Satan masquerading as an angel. He chooses to bring up this example in order to inform us on Satan’s deceitfulness. Satan and his servants can deceive us by appearing to be attractive, good, and moral. Many unsuspecting people follow smooth-talking leaders into cults […]

The Corinthians thought that preachers could be judged and evaluated based by how much money they demand. A good speaker would charge a large sum, an average speaker would be a little cheaper, and a poor speaker would speak for free. The false prophets argued that because Paul asked for no fee for his preaching, […]

In verse five, Paul was saying that these “marvelous teachers” (“super apostles”) were no better than he was. They may have been more eloquent speakers, but they spoke lies and were servants of Satan. Paul was a brilliant thinker but was not a trained, spellbinding speaker. Although Paul’s ministry was very effective, he had not […]

In verse 1, Paul tells the Corinthian believers to bear with his little “foolishness”. In other words, Paul felt foolish rehearsing his credentials as a preacher of the gospel. He stated that he had to do it in order to silence the false teachers. Paul was anxious that the church’s love should be for Christ […]

Paul criticized the false teachers who were trying to prove their goodness by comparing themselves with others rather than God’s standards. When we compare ourselves with others, we may feel pride because we think that we are superior. But when we measure ourselves against God’s standards, it becomes obvious that we have no basis for […]