The Literature and History of New Testament Times

by J. Gresham Machen

After the address, comes, as is usual in the Pauline Epistles, an expression of thanksgiving to God. This time, however, it is not thanksgiving for the Christian state of the readers, but thanksgiving for Paul's own escape from danger. The absence of thanksgiving for the readers does not mean here, as in the case of Galatians, that there was nothing to be thankful for in the church that is being addressed, for the whole first section of the letter is suffused with a spirit of thankfulness for the Corinthians' return to their true allegiance; it means rather simply that the thought of the deadly personal danger, and of the remarkable escape, were for the moment in the forefront of Paul's thought. Even that personal matter, however, was used by Paul to fortify his readers against similar trials, and especially to strengthen still further the bonds of sympathy which had at last been restored between him and them.

What this danger was from which Paul had just escaped cannot be determined. It is as much a puzzle as the fighting with beasts at Ephesus, which Paul mentions in I Cor. 15:32. Neither one nor the other can very well be identified with the trouble caused by Demetrius the silversmith, Acts 19:23-41, for there Paul does not seem to have been in deadly danger. Some suppose that the fighting with beasts is literally meant; that Paul was actually exposed to the wild beasts in the arena and escaped only in some remarkable way. It should be observed that Paul does not say, with regard to the danger mentioned in Second Corinthians, that it occurred in Ephesus, but only that it occurred in Asia. The expression, "weighed down," in II Cor. 1:8 perhaps points to some form of illness rather than to persecution.

2. THE APOSTLE AND THE MINISTRY OF RECONCILIATION. II Cor. 1:12 to 7:16

Immediately after the thanksgiving for his escape from death, Paul begins the defense of his ministry. After the suspense of the previous days, he feels the need of reviewing the methods and motives of his labor among the Corinthians, in order that the last vestige of suspicion may be removed. This he does in an unrestrained, cordial sort of way, which reveals the deepest secrets of his heart, and culminates here and there in grand expositions of the very essence of the gospel.

First, in just a passing word, ch. 1:13,14, he defends his letters against that charge of obscurity or concealment which is hinted at elsewhere in the epistle. Compare ch. 4:1-4; 11:6.

Next, he defends himself against the charge of fickleness in his journey plans. At some time, probably during or after the unsuccessful visit alluded to in ch. 2:1, Paul had formed the plan of returning to Corinth by the direct route. This plan he had not carried out, and his abandonment of it apparently confirmed the impression of weakness which had been left by the unsuccessful visit. "He is very bold in letters," said his opponents, "but when he is here he is weak, and now he is afraid to return." It was a petty criticism, and a lesser man might have answered it in a petty way. But Paul was able to lift the whole discussion to a loftier plane. His answer to the criticism was very simple—the reason why he had not returned to Corinth at once was that he did not want to return again in grief and in severity; for the sake of the Corinthians themselves he wanted to give them time to repent, before the final and fatal issue should be raised. Characteristically, however, Paul does not content himself with this simple answer; indeed he does not even begin with it. A specific explanation of the change in his plans would have refuted the criticism immediately under consideration, but Paul felt the need of doing far more than that. What he desired to do was to make not only this criticism, but all similar criticisms, impossible. This he does by the fine reference to the positive character of his gospel. "You say that I am uncertain in my plans, that I say yes and no in one breath. Well, the gospel that I preached, at any rate, was no such uncertain thing as that. My gospel was a great 'Yes' to all the promises of God." Such a method of refutation lifts the reader far above all petty criticisms to the great things of Paul's gospel.

Yet this reference to great principles is no mere excuse to avoid the simple question at issue. On the contrary, Paul is perfectly frank about the reason why he had not gone to Corinth as he had intended. It was out of love to the Corinthian church, and this had also prompted the writing of a severe letter. Here, ch. 2:5-11, Paul refers to the offender whose case had been made a test at the time of the recent painful visit. This offender was probably different from the incestuous person who is so sternly dealt with in I Cor. 5:1-5. His offense is thought by many to have been some personal insult to Paul, II Cor. 2:5, but this is not quite certain. At any rate, whatever his original offence, Paul's demand for his punishment had become a test of the loyalty of the church. At first the demand had been refused, but now the majority of the congregation has agreed and the man himself is deeply repentant, so that Paul is only afraid lest severity may go too far. It is hardly worth while saying that the character of Paul was entirely free from vindictiveness. When the discipline of the Church would permit it, Paul was the first to propose counsels of mercy.

The reference to the epistles of commendation which had been used by Paul's opponents in Corinth, ch. 3:1, has been made the basis of far-reaching conclusions about the whole history of the apostolic age. From whom could the opponents have received their letters of introduction? Only, it is said, from Palestine, and probably from the original apostles. This conclusion is hasty, to say the least. It should be noticed that not only letters to the Corinthian church but also letters from the church are apparently in mind. V. 1. If, then, the Corinthian church had been asked to supply these false teachers with letters of commendation, perhaps the other churches that had supplied them with letters were no nearer to Jerusalem than Corinth was.

The mention of these letters of commendation introduces one of the grandest passages in the New Testament. "I," says Paul, by way of transition, "do not need any letters of commendation. My work is sufficient commendation. What I have accomplished in the hearts of men is an epistle written by the Spirit of God." Then follows the magnificent exposition of the ministry of the new covenant. That ministry is first contrasted with the old dispensation, perhaps with reference to an excessive valuation, by the opponents, of a continued Judaism in the Church. The old covenant was glorious, but how much more glorious is the new! The old was a ministry of condemnation, but the new is a ministry of justification. The old was a ministry of an external law, the new is a ministry of the life-giving power of the Spirit of God. There is no reason any longer for concealment. The Spirit brings freedom and openness and light.