Friday 13 March 2026
Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we. (v. 7)
Background
Paul is presenting his credentials. I think at the back of his mind he sometimes has a feeling of inferiority. He was not one of the original 12 disciples who had been with Jesus throughout his earthly ministry. The only time he had ‘met’ Jesus he had been travelling to Damascus in order to arrest the Christians and take them to Jerusalem. (Acts 9:1-9)
Not one of the 12, insignificant in appearance and uninspiring in speech, the only thing Paul was good for was to write stiff letters. That was the view Paul imagined people had of him.
The tone of this chapter is so very different from that of a couple of chapters earlier when he assured the Corinthians of his buoyant belief and trust in them: "I rejoice, because I have complete confidence in you." (7:16)
The difference is so marked that for a number of years now scholars have concluded that what we have here is not one letter but a collection of writings from a number of letters written by Paul.
As long ago as 1962 the article on 2 Corinthians in Peake's Commentary on the Bible begins: "This letter probably consists of at least four fragments of Paul’s correspondence with Corinthian Christians. The four fragments are: (A) ch 6:14- ch 7:1, (B) ch 10:1 – ch 13:10, ( C ) ch 1 -6:13, ch 7:2 – ch 9, and (D) ch 13: 11-14."
So the verse where Paul rejoices in his confidence in the Corinthians probably came from a different letter, ‘fragment C’, whereas today’s passage comes from ‘fragment B’.
No wonder the tone is different. But whichever letter that passage comes from, Paul is determined to meet his critics head on. In his letters and in his physical presence they will find him the same man, a force to be reckoned with (10:11).
To Ponder:
- How far is it helpful to be told that 2 Corinthians is a collection of a number of ‘fragments’?
- Do you find it easier or more effective to write a letter to someone, or to speak to them directly?
Prayer
Gracious God, accept our prayers for all who have no one else to pray for them. Amen.
Bible notes author: Alan Sharp
Alan Sharp lives in St Albans where he is a member of both his local Methodist church and his parish church. He has been a local preacher and a church organist and choirmaster for over 60 years. He writes a monthly article on hymn tunes for The Methodist Recorder.