Summary of 2 Corinthians, Chapter 1

Paul who is an Apostle of Jesus by the will of God, along with Timothy, wish grace and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ to all the Christians of Corinth and all Achaia.

Paul blesses the God and Father of our Lord. He is the merciful Father, the God of all consolation. He consoles Paul and them in all their troubles, and so Paul is able to console those who are in every trouble with the consolation that God gives him. Just as the sufferings of Christ abound in Paul, so through Christ, Paul abounds in consolation. If he suffers trouble it is for their consolation and salvation. If he is consoled, it is for their consolation, which they experience when they patiently endure the same sufferings as Paul does.

As a result, Paul's hope for them is strong, since he knows that just as they share the sufferings, so will they share the consolation.

He most earnestly wants them to know the trouble he had in the Roman province of Asia. He was weighed down immensely, beyond what he alone could bear. He even despaired of living. It was as though the sentence of death had been passed on him. God arranged this so Paul might learn not to be confident in himself, but in the God who even raises the dead. God rescued Paul from so great a danger of death, and Paul is confident He will continue to rescue him, God in Whom Paul has hoped, that God will still deliver him, since many are working by their prayers for him, so [when the favor has been granted] God may be thanked by the many for the favor given to Paul through the prayers of many.

What Paul can boast of is the testimony of his conscience that he has lived in this world in holiness and purity, and not following the wisdom of the flesh, but the love of God. He has acted in this way especially abundantly towards the Corinthians.

He writes to them only what they can understand, and he hopes they will understand fully. It is only partially that they have understood that Paul is their glory, just as they will be his glory on the day of the return of the Lord.

Because he was sure of this, he wanted to come to them first, so they could have a twofold grace: that is, he wanted to go by way of Corinth to Macedonia, and again to come to Corinth from Macedonia, so they could send him on his way to Judea. In wanting to do this he was not acting with fickleness. He does not act in a merely human way or contradict himself. God is faithful: Paul's word to them is not both yes and no. The Son of God, Jesus, whom Paul preached to them along with Silvanus and Timothy -- that Son of God was not a vacillating yes and no. Rather, He always says yes to the Father. All Gods' promises have their yes, their fulfillment, in Him. And so it is through Him that Paul says Amen, yes, to God for His glory.

The one who has confirmed Paul with them in Christ and has anointed him is God. God has also sealed Paul and them as His property, has given both Paul and them the pledge, namely, the Spirit, in their hearts. Paul calls to God to witness that he did not at once come to Corinth, in order to spare them. He is not lording it over their faith -- rather, he is a fellow worker for their joy. They are standing firm in the faith.

Comments on Chapter 1

Paul says that God consoles them in all their troubles. The word he uses for troubles is thlipsis. He used the same word in First Thessalonians 3:3, saying that "this is our lot" to have such troubles. Behind this seems to be Paul's great framework of the Christian regime: we are saved and made holy if and to the extent that we are members of Christ, and like Him. There were two phases for Him, first, a hard life, suffering and death; second, eternal glory. The more we are like Him in phase one, the more shall we be like Him in phase two. So God consoles us when we are the most like Christ. Hence he adds verse 5, that if the suffering of Christ -- that is suffering in imitation of Him and as His members -- abounds, so consolation also abounds. So he says in verse 7 that he has firm hope for them, knowing that if they share in suffering, they will also share in consolation.

This consolation in times of deep distress may be only on the peak of the soul -- we mean that there are many levels of operations in a human. Just as it is possible for a very high mountain to have darkness and storm on all the lower slopes, while the peak projects up into sunlight, so it is possible to have great distress on all the lower levels, but great peace at the peak³

Then he speaks of his troubles in the Roman province of Asia, most likely referring to troubles in Ephesus. There he had persecutions from the Jews, and it seems also that when in prison in Ephesus, there was danger of a death sentence from the Romans (in verse 9). His condition seemed humanly hopeless, but God rescued him, through their prayers for him. (Some think he refers to a nearly fatal illness -- this is less likely).

Next we begin to see Paul is having severe troubles with the community at Corinth. He pleads with them. He says that on the day of judgment they will be a glory for him. He hopes they will realize it is a glory for them to have him -- some there seem to have realized this.

They seem to have accused him of vacillating in his travel plans. So he explains. He did not make a change for merely human reasons. He even takes an oath "God is faithful." He says that Jesus did not vacillate -- He was not both yes and no. But He was always yes -- now Paul shifts to mean Jesus always said yes to the Father, obeyed His will. All God's promises are fulfilled in Christ.

He says that God has sealed them and him. In those times people would mark something as their property by a seal. By Baptism God has sealed them as His property. So they should act according to it -- and should never break the seal by sinning again after the forgiveness given in Baptism. We see an echo of this attitude of the seal in The Shepherd by Hermas, brother of Pope St. Pius I, when the vision tells Hermas: "The one who has received remission of sins should never sin again" (Shepherd, Mandates 3.3.2).

Paul also speaks of the Holy Spirit as the pledge God gives them. A pledge is a sort of first payment, as a guarantee that the rest will be given also. If we have the Holy Spirit in our heart now, that is an assurance that -- unless we cast Him out by mortal sin -- we will receive the beatific vision in the next life, which comes from direct union of the soul with God. His presence now is a pledge, for it is really the beginning of that heavenly presence. The veil of flesh prevents us from seeing Him at present.

In verse 23 he says he avoided coming to Corinth at that time to spare them. If he had come, the evils there would have made it necessary for him to be very firm. Even so, he adds (verse 25) he is not domineering over their faith -- he is a fellow worker with them for their joy.