Speaking directly to one of the issues raised by the Judaizing teachers, Paul discusses the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old.

The Judaizing teachers wanted to go back to the Law of Moses (at least for some things) and tried to influence others to do the same. Galatians and Hebrews deal with this problem in their entirety.

It is probably an overstatement to say that the goal of these false teachers was a complete return to the Old Testament. They liked many parts of both laws and their real intention was to form a hybrid of the two covenants, combining parts of each testament to suit their own desires.

They liked what Christ offered; they were just unwilling to completely let go of what Moses (and other Old Testament writers) had delivered.

In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul wants to reassure the Corinthians that the new law of Christ is “much more glorious” (verse 11) than the old Law of Moses.

He compares a practice of following the Law of Moses to looking through a veil. The Old Testament is called “a shadow of things to come” in Colossians 2:17. The reality (the real thing) that cast the shadow (or type) is the fulfillment of those images (or antitype) in the New Testament.

He says that the Old Law is the “letter” and the New Testament is “the spirit.” He also points out that “the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

And he wanted them to know, without question, that “the veil (the Old Testament) is taken away in Christ” (verse 14). We are to learn and obey the New Testament today.

--Roger Hillis

The theme of this chapter is “Victory in Jesus.”

It shows us God's victory when one who is caught in public sin repents and begins his walk with the Lord again. The person mentioned in these early verses (1-7) is the same man who was written about in 1 Corinthians 5, the man who had “his father’s wife.” He was immoral and ungodly, yet they were continuing to allow him to be in fellowship with the church. Paul even said to them, “And you are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed might be taken away from among you” (1 Corinthians 5:2). The rest of that chapter had discussed the procedure and importance of church discipline.

It shows us the victory of forgiveness over bitterness and resentment. Verse 8 lets them know that the best thing they could do, now that the man has repented, is to “reaffirm your love to him.” Paul makes it very clear that he had personally forgiven this man and that the Corinthian Christians should do the same. If not, he warns them that Satan would take advantage of the situation to weaken the entire church.

He reminds them that “we are not ignorant of his devices.” We usually realize how the devil works in situations like this to cause disciples to take sides, argue with one another over what it would include if they were to forgive this penitent man and to seek to cause division in the body of Christ. We must not give in to our lower impulses to continue to hold grudges and anger against each other.

It shows us the victory enjoyed by those who will walk through the doors that the Lord opens for them. When the apostle saw such an opportunity in Troas (we don’t know exactly what that involved), he says that “I had no rest in my spirit.” He could hardly wait to take advantage of a chance to further the gospel and the cause of Christ.

And it reminds us of the ultimate victory that will be experienced by those who choose the Lord (the aroma of life leading to life) as contrasted with those who reject Him (the aroma of death leading to death). He prompts us to sincerity in sharing the gospel of Christ with others.

--Roger Hillis

Paul begins this letter by dealing with the value of suffering. He wants us to know that we can grow through difficult times and that God will help us to endure such trials.

The Lord never told us that, if we decided to follow Him, our lives would be trouble-free. We may have fewer problems as Christians than we would otherwise, but we must still deal with many of the hardships of life that everyone must face.

Paul and Timothy (and many others, before and since) were not immune from these difficulties and even thought on occasion that they might die because of their mistreatment by others. Paul considered such things to simply be a part of the Christian life. 

He goes on to emphasize that a disciple of Jesus who has endured and successfully gone through trials then has the ability to help others who may be facing the same difficulties in life. The key to the whole question, of course, is trusting in “the God of all comfort.”

One of the main criticisms against Paul from the false teachers in Corinth was that he was not trustworthy. He had promised to come to Corinth and still had not; all he was doing was making excuses. These false teachers challenged everything about Paul that they could and, in this letter, he addresses many of those complaints.

In this section (verses 12-24), he will explain why he has not yet come to Corinth and reminds the Corinthians of his personal integrity and dependability. Notice that he says his yes meant yes and his no meant no. He was trustworthy.

--Roger Hillis

Lord willing, I will be posting a 13 day study of 2 Corinthians, beginning on April 1. We will cover one chapter per day as we have done on the other chapter summary posts. I was not sure I would finish 2 Corinthians in time, but I was able to complete it today, so it will be up for your consideration starting on Saturday. Hope you can join us then.

--Roger Hillis

The first four verses deal with “the collection for the saints” in Jerusalem. Paul wanted to make sure that the disciples in Judea would be taken care of and the church in Corinth was going to help them. We generally refer to this work as benevolence and it can include both saints in the local church as well as Christians in other places who are undergoing physical and financial hardships.

Verses 5-12 outline some of Paul’s personal plans for his immediate future. An open door had appeared to him in Ephesus and he wanted to reach as many souls for the Lord as possible. There were many adversaries, however, and the work would not be easy.

Notice the words of commendation that he includes in this letter to Corinth about several of the younger preachers, whom Paul had taught and/or discipled to maturity. He specifically gives them some direction about helping and encouraging both Timothy and Apollos.

The final section (verses 13-24) contains some concluding instructions for the Corinthian Christians to consider.

He tells them to be alert and to stand fast for the truth of God’s word. He reminds them to love their brothers and sisters in the Lord, fellow workers in the cause of Christ.

And he mentions several first century disciples who had been an encouragement to him in his work for God and who could serve to build up the Christians in Corinth as they had opportunity to spend time together. He names such well known (at least to them) Christians as Stephanas, Fortunatus, Achaicus, Aquila and Priscilla.

He concludes with a warning against leaving their first love (verse 22) and prays that the grace of God might be with them.

--Roger Hillis

The Corinthians believed in the resurrection of Christ, but not in a general resurrection of the dead. Chapter 15 shows that, if one is true, the other is also true. You cannot believe in one but not the other.

The first 11 verses of the chapter mention more than five hundred eyewitnesses to Christ’s resurrection. It was (and is) an established fact. And Jesus’ resurrection proves that all others will be resurrected as well (verses 12-28).

Some legal experts have stated that if all of the more than 500 witnesses were to testify in a court of law, the result would be the most one side court case in the history of the civilized justice system. The resurrection would be confirmed as being true, “beyond reasonable doubt.”

The rest of the chapter explains a few of the details about what and how and why of the general resurrection of the dead. He uses familiar, end of time, language to describe the return of Christ. Notice phrases like, “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.” He explains that, when Jesus comes back, our mortal bodies (corruptible) will be changed into an immortal one that can survive eternity (incorruptible).

Everything we believe is dependent upon the truth of the resurrection of Jesus. If He was not raised from the dead, then we have no hope. Our entire system of faith crumbles if the foundation of the bodily resurrection of Jesus is false. But Paul gives us strong assurance that He was raised and therefore, we will be raised also.

The resurrection is what separates Christianity from every other world religion. Buddha, Joseph Smith, Muhammad, and other founders of various religions have all died, but only the tomb of Jesus is empty.

He concludes with the thought that our labor for the Lord is never in vain because there is something beyond this life. God will reward the faithful.

--Roger Hillis

One of the problems connected with the first century spiritual gifts was jealousy over who had the better gifts. The most popular gift was speaking in tongues. Most of those in Corinth to whom Paul was writing seemed to think that this was the very best gift.

Paul shows them that prophecy (inspired preaching) was the more valuable gift. Tongues were a sign for unbelievers, but prophecy was for those who believe (verse 22). If they were to be zealous for spiritual gifts, they should excel “for the edification of the church” (verse 12; see also verse 26).

God did not give these gifts to make some Christians superior to other disciples. The gifts were all given by the Lord, through the Spirit, to equip the church so that it might function more smoothly in its early days.

Today, if there are problems in the church, we solve them by looking into the New Testament to determine God’s will. But, before the New Testament was completed, they had spiritual gifts to help them know what God wanted them to do.

Another problem in the Corinthian church is discussed in the closing verses of chapter 14. Besides the misunderstanding of the importance of each gift, they also were not regulating the gifts properly.

He gives the example that some were speaking in tongues (which meant that they were speaking in real foreign languages that they had never studied and could not have known how to speak without God’s Spirit working in them), but they did not have an interpreter present to tell anyone what was being said. Modern day tongue speaking involves an unintelligible, meaningless gibberish that no one can interpret.

Also, many of them were speaking out of turn and, therefore, it was confusing because several people would be trying to talk at the same time.

In addition, during their worship services, the Christians were being loud and sometimes out of control in their exercise of these gifts. It was rather chaotic and so Paul gives them guidelines about how to use the gifts properly and reminds them, “Let all things be done decently and in order” (verse 40).

-Roger Hillis

The “more excellent way” talked about in this chapter is love.

The first section (verses 1-3) shows us that, without love, nothing else really matters.

Great talent is insignificant is it is not used to love and serve others. Helping others is important but we must serve them because of our love for God and people. Miracles are performed (in the first century) in vain if they are not offered out of a motive of love.

The second section (verses 4-8a) is the most beautiful description of love man has ever heard, because it was inspired by God.

Paul describes love, by inspiration, as being patient, kind, not envious, not quick to anger, not arrogant or proud. Love behaves politely and properly. Love bears, believes, hopes and endures. Love never fails.

The third section (verses 8b-13) reveals the duration of the gifts. They were to fail, cease, or vanish away “when that which is perfect has come.” There are two basic views in the religious world about what this means.

Some believe this is speaking of the return of Christ. When He comes back, spiritual gifts will cease. Of course, this event is in the future and would therefore mean that the gifts continue even in our present time. But these gifts were given by the laying on of an apostle’s hands (Acts 8:17-18) and when the apostles had all died, there was no provision for them to continue.

The other view, which is more consistent with the teaching of the New Testament, is that this refers to the completed revelation of God’s word. When the Bible was finished, the spiritual gifts ended.

--Roger Hillis

Chapters 12-14 deal with their misuse and misunderstanding about spiritual gifts. Each chapter has unique content.

            Chapter 12 – explanation of the gifts

            Chapter 13 – duration of the gifts

            Chapter 14 – regulation of the gifts

The nine spiritual gifts are enumerated in verses 8-10. They are the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, faith, gifts of healings, the working of miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, different kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. All came from the same Holy Spirit.

Verses 12-31 show how the gifts worked together like the various members of the human body.

Every part of the human body performs a unique function.

Paul describes it as though the human body parts could have a conversation with one another. The foot might argue that it is less important than a hand and so it did not feel necessary. An ear might reason that because it is not an eye, it does not contribute as much to the working of the body. Some Christians in Corinth were discouraged because they did not feel as important as some other Christians, due to the “lesser” gift they had received.

Likewise, some were touting their superiority over others. The eye cannot tell the hand that he is not needed. And a hand cannot tell the feet that they are not as important as the hand is. All the parts of the physical body work together to help us lead a successful spiritual life.

Every spiritual gift was important and no one gift was to be preferred over the others. In the same way, each member of the body of Christ is important and no one should feel superior or inferior to any other disciple.

--Roger Hillis

There are two major themes in this chapter.

Verses 2-16 deal with issues of authority and headship, especially as they related to the woman’s head covering. Women who had spiritual gifts, such as praying or prophesying, were exercising their gifts without wearing a covering to show their submission to male authority.

This section has been the source of much contention and even division among the people of God over the years. Sincere believers on both sides of the issue have searched for truth and come to different conclusions about whether this covering is binding on Christian women today.

There are those disciples who believe that this passage remains binding on Christians today and that women must wear a head covering when worshiping God.

Some Christians believe this was a local custom, a societal norm that showed a woman’s subjection to a man and that, as citizens of that system, Christian women should continue to wear the veil. In other places, where no such custom existed, it was unnecessary.

Others feel that this was something done only during the age of miraculous spiritual gifts and only for those women who used those gifts in the presence of Christian men. When the gifts ceased, so did the need for this symbol of subjection.

Some, therefore, see the covering as a matter of faith for all time, while others believe it to have been a cultural tradition for first century Corinth only.

Verses 17-34 correct an abuse of the Lord’s Supper. The Corinthians had turned it from a memorial feast of Christ’s death into a common, ordinary meal. Paul reminds them of its true spiritual meaning.

He distinguishes here between items of collective worship (which the Lord’s Supper is and a regular meal is not) and home activities (which normal meals are and the Lord’s Supper is not). We must be careful not to confuse what we can do as individuals or as families and what the church can do in worship to God.

--Roger Hillis