New commentaries on ii Corinthians do not hit the press every twenty-four hours, and it is noteworthy when one of 736 pages arrives from a respected New Attestation scholar such as George Guthrie of Marriage University. Nosotros were eager to see Dr. Guthrie'due south treatment of this rather neglected book, the latest improver to Bakery's outstanding Exegetical Commentary serial, and today he talks to us about his new work.

Books At a Glance (Fred Zaspel) :
Why has 2 Corinthians mostly been one of the more neglected of Paul's messages?

Guthrie:
I call back there are several reasons. Simply put, ii Corinthians is a difficult volume, described by Ralph Martin as "the despair of the commentator." If 1 Corinthians comes off as Paul'due south about "occasional" (and therefore "practical") alphabetic character, 2 Corinthians seems disruptive at points. Why the shift from travel narrative to treatise at two:14 and and so back to the travel narrative at vii:5? Why does the campaigner seem to commend himself in one jiff (e.g. four:2) and deny that he is doing so in the next (5:12)? Why gloat the Corinthians enthusiastically in chapter 7 only to become very, very cross equally he moves into the final department of the book (ten-xiii)? So the shifts and starts tin can feel disorienting if we do not grasp that at that place is a method to the madness. Farther, there are a number of interpretive challenges that are neither easy to empathise nor preach. What exactly was the event that acquired Paul to despair for his life (1:eight-11), or the disharmonize described in 2:v-11? How are nosotros to understand the Triumphal Procession imagery of two:xiv-16, or the "veil on Moses' confront" at iii:vii-18, or Paul's thorn in the mankind of chapter 12? Nosotros could go on and on. 2 Corinthians does not give up its riches easily!

Books At a Glance:
Y'all notation that although 2 Corinthians is sometimes a difficult letter to interpret, it is also an interpreter's "paradise." Tin yous highlight some of its rewarding themes for usa?

Guthrie:
How much infinite do we have hither? Consider the strong encouragement of 1:3-7, mayhap Paul's richest reflection on God's redemption of our sufferings. Add together to that the "treasure in terra cotta" passage in 4:7-15, or "the weight of glory" in 4:16-18, or the richness of his reflections on the resurrection trunk in 5:1-10. In chapters 8-9 nosotros take the virtually extensive and practical exposition in the New Attestation on giving. At every turn nosotros discover a depth of reflection on the nature of the Christian life and Christian hope. And of course all of this flows from Paul's grasp of the gospel and gospel mission, so beautifully portrayed in the Triumphal Procession word picture of 2:14-16a, or the discussion-crafting of 5:17-21.

Books At a Glance:
Why do y'all draw 2 Corinthians equally "the letter of the apostle's broken however buoyed eye"? How is this distinctive of this epistle? And how does this letter contribute to our understanding of the apostle Paul?

Guthrie:
2 Corinthians is the apostle's most personal letter, coming as it does out of a fourth dimension of tremendous suffering, anxiety, and brokenness. Paul has been securely bruised emotionally and spiritually, and the "aroma" of a God-centered life arises from his flavor of brokenness and dependence. As we walk with the campaigner in that moment, via the medium of this book, we learn nearly the true nature of authentic ministry (and authentic Christian living). We find that suffering is not aberrant for the believer/minister. Information technology actually is a hallmark of authenticity, following a pattern lived out past our Lord. So Paul mentors us in "how to have perspective in the midst of suffering" and endure. For instance, we gain perspective in the face of God's encouragement (i:3-vii), in agreement suffering's purposefulness in ministry (four:10-11), and in the experience of suffering weaning u.s.a. away from self-exaltation; suffering serves as a conduit for gospel power (12:7-10). At every turn Paul gives us a wonderful example of how suffering tin drive us to the Lord and the Lord can in plow give us the strength we need to endure the suffering.

The apostle's heart is "buoyed" because he stays close to God, through Christ, and stays resolute with conviction in the gospel and the mission God has given him. Although Paul is brutally honest at points about his emotions, he never gets lost in self-pity. Thus he models an appropriate response to very difficult times of ministry.

Books At a Glance:
What was Paul trying to accomplish with this alphabetic character, and how is 2 Corinthians relevant for the church in our day and cultural context?

Guthrie:
At the heart of 2 Corinthians Paul simultaneously commends his ain ministry building as embodying the true gospel and sets his authentic ministry over against the agendas of the false teachers in Corinth. In short, he battles the interlopers for the very soul of the church building, as we encounter for instance in 11:1-iv. With Bruce Winter I understand the fake teachers to be sophists, professional speakers who could wow a crowd and who embodied the values of Greco-Roman culture. They reveled in the world's celebrity, financial gain, and power over the people to whom they "ministered." Merely Paul asserts that they are faux apostles, servants of Satan, who peddle-preach another Jesus, a imitation gospel, and a different spirit (11:four, xiii-14).

Of form, the topic, "what to do in the face up of imitation education?," constitutes a topic wonderfully (and horribly) relevant for our solar day. I think the situation Paul faced was made more difficult by the nature of his mobile ministry — the interlopers were in Corinth and Paul was not — only we certainly face parallel challenges in our ministries today. Among other strategies for dealing with imitation instruction, the campaigner offers reasoned explanation for his deportment (e.g. 1:12-2:4), teaches a robust theology of Christian ministry (e.chiliad. two:xiv-four:6), and crafts a powerful, rhetorical rebuttal confronting those false ministers (e.g., ten-xiii). Detect that his arroyo is multifaceted. I am still working this out personally, merely my sense is that in the face of a ascension tide of false teaching in our American cultural context, we take much nosotros can learn from Paul in this regard, even though the divergence in our cultural contexts must be factored into the equation.

Books At a Glance:
Sketch out for us how 2 Corinthians "hangs together" equally a whole. Can you requite united states a wide, bird's eye view of the epistle?

Guthrie:
Sure. As yous probably know, ane of the ongoing questions surrounding 2 Corinthians concerns ….

Editor's Note: Nosotros volition go on our interview with Dr. Guthrie tomorrow.

Purchase the books

2 CORINTHIANS (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Attestation)

Baker Academic, 2015 | 736 pages