Latest Commentaries

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 details how, because of the incredible revelations Paul has seen, such as his visit to Paradise (which he is not allowed to talk about), God permitted Paul to suffer a chronic pain of some kind. Paul does not disclose what the pain is, but that he asked God three times to remove the pain, but God revealed that the point of this burden was to teach Paul to be satisfied in his weaknesses so that he can continually and humbly rely on the power of Christ. That is why Paul is happy to boast about his weaknesses and endure persecutions from other people, because it prompts him to rely on Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 12:1-6, Paul continues his “boasting” and turns to visions and revelations from the Lord. He recounts visiting the third heaven: Paradise, where he saw things he is not allowed to talk about. While this proves his superiority as an apostle, Paul wants the Corinthians to center themselves on Christ.

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 concludes Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. He exhorts them to live joyfully and complete in Christ. He desires unity among their number, and prays that they will feel God’s love for them, and will thus treat one another lovingly.

2 Corinthians 13:5-10 urges the Corinthians to evaluate how well they’re obeying God, or not. As believers, they need to self-reflect and determine whether or not they’re following the Spirit or their flesh. Believers can fail in this life by not living by the Spirit and overcoming the world. When we live out our sinfulness, rather than live out Christ within us, we are failing to meet God’s purpose for our life, and may lose rewards at the Judgement Seat of Christ. Paul wishes for the Corinthians to examine themselves and repent of any sins before he arrives, so that he can encourage them rather than play the role of disciplinarian.

2 Corinthians 13:1-4 sets the stage for Paul’s third visit to Corinth. While he is coming in what the Corinthians regard as weakness, which is his humility and love for them, he is warning them that he is not afraid to come in power and authority, especially as it relates to sin.

In Titus 1:5-9, Paul provides a list of characteristics requisite of church leaders: elders and overseers. These characteristics demonstrate the need for alignment between a leader’s character, conduct, and communication. It is through a leader’s example that false teachers can be challenged.

In Titus 1:1-4, Paul’s salutation to Titus serves to frame the themes of the epistle: faith, truth, godliness, and service. Paul expresses that the truth of the Gospel and the promises of God are trustworthy. He demonstrates that leaders have been entrusted in proclaiming this truth.

Acts 22:22-30 shows how the crowd of hostile Jews do not want to hear Paul’s testimony anymore. They interrupt him and threaten him, calling for his death. The Roman soldiers take Paul into the barracks. The Roman commander decides to scourge Paul to make him explain why he has enraged the crowds. Paul reveals his Roman citizenship to the soldiers. The scourging is cancelled and the soldiers are horrified that they almost tortured a Roman citizen. The Roman commander calls for the Jewish council of elders to gather to help figure out what offense Paul has committed.

After becoming a believer in Jesus, Paul returns to Jerusalem. While praying in the temple, Jesus appears to Paul in a vision and tells him to leave the city because people don’t trust him. Paul agrees; his ministry has not been effective in Jerusalem; the people remember how he persecuted the church and approved of Stephen the Deacon’s murder. Jesus commands Paul to go to the Gentiles far away and preach to them.

Acts 22:6-16 continues Paul’s testimony. He relays how the resurrected Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus, blinding him and calling him to stop his persecution. In Damascus, a believer named Ananias healed Paul’s vision, baptized him, and told him that God had chosen Paul to preach the gospel.

Acts 22:1-5 relates how Paul tells the Jerusalem crowd of his origins. He was trained as a Pharisee in Jerusalem, passionate for God and the Law, so much so that he led the persecution against believers in Jesus many years ago. The Sanhedrin sponsored his efforts and authorized him to travel to foreign cities and arrest believers there.

Paul finally, begrudgingly, compares his résumé against that of the false apostles here in 2 Corinthians 11:22-33. If he must boast about his qualifications to persuade the Corinthians, then he must. Paul unpacks a lengthy list that illustrates how he is a superior servant to Christ than these self-promoting false apostles: Paul has worked more, been arrested more times, been physically abused with rods and whips more times than he can remember, has been shipwrecked, has starved, has been in danger from Jews, Gentiles, criminals, and nature. Nevermind these physical sufferings; Paul’s greatest daily difficulty is the weight on his shoulders in caring for all the churches he’s planted.

In 2 Corinthians 11:16-21, Paul returns to the topic of what he calls “foolishness,” where he will compare himself to the so-called apostles who are preaching lies in Corinth. These apostles have persuaded the Corinthians to listen to them through boasting about themselves. They have likewise ridiculed Paul to make him disreputable in the Corinthians’ eyes. So, Paul opts to “boast” about himself, though he thinks it is a distraction from the point. Yet the Corinthians apparently need to be reminded of why Paul’s apostleship is authentic and dedicated to the truth of Christ

In 2 Corinthians 11:7-15, Paul refutes the false apostles who have slandered him as unimpressive and not worth listening to. Paul challenges the Corinthians on what exactly disqualifies him. Is it that he preached to them without asking for money? That was for their benefit. He took financial aid from churches elsewhere so that the Corinthians would not have to support him. Paul speaks the truth to his readers because he loves them. The false apostles boast about themselves and denigrate Paul to appear righteous, to deceive the Corinthians and take advantage of them. Paul doubles down on how dedicated he is to removing the wool from the Corinthians’ eyes.

In 2 Corinthians 11:1-6, Paul builds up to the direct defense of his apostleship. He declares that the need to compare himself to the false apostles is “foolishness.” He wishes the Corinthians would be centered on simply following Christ, not the boastings of teachers. Paul compares the Corinthians to Eve, that they have been tricked, and are tolerating false teaching. Although Paul’s enemies have slandered him as a poor public speaker, Paul asserts that he is not inferior to them. He reminds his readers that he is knowledgeable and that they have seen it through his teaching.

Abraham was 99 and Ishmael was 13 years old when they were circumcised on the same day as the men in the household.

Paul points out that his rivals are ignorant. They brag about themselves through human comparisons and self-promoting. They pat themselves on the back. Paul does not care about measuring up against them. He boasts in God. His hope is that the Corinthians will grow spiritually and live out their God—given purpose. Paul’s boasting will continue to be within the ministry—calling that God has given him, and his boasting will be in the Lord. It is the Lord who finally will commend and approve those who obey Him.

Paul rebukes those who are only looking at outward appearances. Some of the slander against him has been about his physical presence, rather than the truth of what he teaches. Paul reminds the Corinthians that he was commissioned by God to build them up, not to destroy them. He does not want to scare other believers into submission, but to guide them to obedience to God. He points to his personal integrity, that he lives out what he writes in his letters, even if to some he seems weak and unimpressive in person.

Paul begins to build a defense for his apostleship and ministry. False teachers in Corinth have slandered him and gained some influence over the Corinthian believers. Paul encourages the Corinthians to get rid of the deception and deceivers through setting their minds on truth and obedience to Jesus. He would prefer for them to deal with the false teaching themselves, but if they do not by the time he arrives, Paul will take care of it. He reminds his readers that our enemies aren’t truly other people, but sin. God has given us the ability to obey as Christ obeyed, and thus destroy spiritual fortresses of sin and deceit in our hearts.

Jesus Christ’s death on the cross paid the penalty for all our sins, freeing us from the power of our sinful natures. Because His death has healed us spiritually, we can now live to please God with our actions. It is as though we are sheep, and Jesus is our shepherd and protector who leads us to live rightly before God to our health and benefit.