Bible in One Year Day 340 (Acts 19, 2 Corinthians 1-2, Proverbs 28: 22-24)

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Day 340:  The Power of the Holy Spirit

Agape Bible Study Acts 19 

Chapter 19: The Third Missionary Journey Continues in Ephesus

The setting of chapter 19 is the city of Ephesus on the west coast of Asia Minor. True to his promise, Paul has returned to Ephesus where he left Pricilla and Aquila in Acts 18:18-19a. Pricilla and Aquila opened their home to believes, establishing a church-home in the city of Ephesus (1 Cor 16:19). The adventures of Paul's missionary team in Ephesus can be divided into four parts:

1. Paul baptizes twelve men who only knew the baptism of St. John the Baptist (19:1-7).
2. Paul's separation from the Jews of the local Synagogue (19:8-10).
3. The defeat of Jewish exorcists and the victory over the practice of the occult in Ephesus (19:11-20).
4. The riot of the Ephesian silversmiths (19:23-40).

Paul did not do all the evangelizing in this area.

Acts 19:1-7 ~ St. Paul Baptizes Believers at Ephesus

Paul returns to Ephesus as he promised in Acts 18:21. He will say in his farewell address that he spend three years there (Acts 20:31), probably from 54-56 AD, with the years counted as the ancients counted. The mention of Apollos is a connection to what happened in chapter 18 where the gifted orator and Scripture scholar, Apollos of Alexandria, Egypt, left Ephesus after being properly catechized in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by the Christian couple Aquila and Pricilla. Apollos went to Corinth where he became a minister to the Christian community Paul founded there (1 Cor 1:12; 3:21; 4:6; 16:12). At this time Ephesus was regarded, along with Alexandria, Egypt, as one of the finest cities in the Roman Empire. It was a center of commerce with a mixed population of people from across the "known world" of the Empire. 

Paul's dear friends Aquila and Priscilla had a church-home in Ephesus where Christians came to worship (Acts 18:18-19; 1 Cor 16:19), but it is unlikely these twelve men were from their community because they were not properly catechized. Apollos was in Ephesus for a time but has since returned to Corinth where he is teaching the church (Acts 18:24, 27-28). Paul will write about Apollos' success at Corinth in his first letter to the Corinthians. Apollos became a lifelong friend and associate of St. Paul (see Tit 3:13). At Ephesus Paul discovers that there were some people who were at the same state of knowledge as Apollos before Priscilla and Aquila catechized him (Acts 18:24-26).

Acts 19:8-12 ~Paul Preaches to the Jews and Greeks at Ephesus

As is his practice, Paul works hard to present the Gospel to his Jewish kinsmen during the period of three months. The "three months" may also be symbolic. Three is the number signifying some important event in God's divine plan, in this case, His plan for the conversion of the Jews at Ephesus. 

The Parallels of Sts. Peter and Paul in the Gospel of Luke and Acts
Peter	Paul
Commissioned by Christ (Lk 5:8-11)	Commissioned by Christ (Acts 9:1-19)
A name change signified a change in mission (Lk 5:8)	A name change signified a change in mission (Acts 13:9)
First sermon in Jerusalem (Acts 2:22-36)	First sermon in Antioch, Pisidia (Acts 13:26-41)
Success followed by persecution (Acts 2:41; 4:1-4)	Success followed by persecution (Acts 13:48-50)
First accompanied by John (Acts 3:1; 8:14)	First accompanied by Barnabas (Acts 11:30; 12:25)
Healing a lame man (Acts 3:1-10)	Healing a lame man (Acts 14:8-11)
Filled with the Spirit (Acts 4:8)	Filled with the Spirit (Acts 13:9)
Many extraordinary healings (Acts 5:15)	Many extraordinary healings (Acts 19:12)
Authority in the laying-on-of-hands to bring the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:17)	Authority in the laying-on-of-hands to bring the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:6)
Conflict with a magician (Acts 8:18-24)	Conflict with a magician (Acts 13:6-11)
Raised the dead (Acts 9:36-41)	Raised the dead (Acts 20:9-12)
Hostility from the Jews, beaten and threatened with death (Acts 5:17, 40; 12:1-5)	Hostility from the Jews, beaten and threatened with death (Acts 14:5; 21:27-32, 22:19; 23:12)
Miraculously released from jail (Acts 5:19-20; 12:6-11)	Miraculously released from jail (Acts 16:25-41)
Sent to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 10)	Sent to preach to the Gentiles (Acts 13:47)
Michal E. Hunt Copyright © 2013

Acts 19:13-20 ~ Jewish Exorcists

The Greek word ischuo means "to have or exercise force (literally or figuratively): to be able, avail, prevail, be of strength" (Strong's Greek Lexicon page 44). The Greek word archiereus in verse 14 should probably be translated as "chief" priest and not "high" priest. There was only one High Priest who lived with his family in Jerusalem and served in the Jerusalem Temple. The same Greek word archiereus is used in the New Testament for both a high or chief priest whereas there were two different words in the Hebrew to designate between a high priest or a chief priest. The High Priest had to be chosen from among the chief priests who were all descendants of the first High Priest, Aaron the brother of Moses. But from the context of the passage, it should probably be understood that the translation "chief" is the better choice. See the same Greek word used for the "high" in verse 14 to designate "chief" priests, for example, in Mt 2:4; 16:21; 20:18; 21:15, 23, 45; 26:3, 14, 47, 59; 27:1, 3, 6, 12, 20, 41, 62; etc. 

This is the third encounter in Acts between the ministers of the Gospel and magicians/the occult.
Question: What were the other two encounters? See Acts 8:4-25 and 13:4-12.
Answer: 

1. The magician Simon Magus and St. Peter.
2. The magician and false prophet Bar Jesus/Elymas who opposed Sts. Barnabas and Saul/Paul.

In contrast to St. Paul's miracles of spiritual vitality and divine character, Luke provides an example of the falseness of magic and superstition. Luke records that the Jewish exorcists identify themselves as being the sons of the high/chief priest Sceva. It is unlikely that this is the name of their father since the etymology sceva in Latin appears to mean "untrustworthy" (Johnson, page 340). It is more likely that Luke is subtlety telling the reader that these men are untrustworthy and their claim that their father is a chief priest is also false. Their motivation would be to give themselves more credibility as descendants of Aaron. To claim their father was the High Priest would be going too far and no Jew would believe them. All the names of High Priests were known to the Jews and at this time just as all Catholic know the name of the Pope (see the list of Jewish high priests in the chart on the "Rulers of Judea" in Lesson 1 from the list in Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus, page 377f).

That exorcism of demons was practiced by traveling Jewish exorcists is recorded by Flavius Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, 8.2.5[42-49]).
Question: What did the Jewish exorcists attempt to do?
Answer: The itinerate Jewish exorcists had observed Paul's success in casting out demons in the name of Jesus and decided to usurp the same power for themselves with disastrous results. 

They were not calling on the power of Jesus through belief in the Christ but through the exercise of a form of magic, trying to bend the power of Jesus to their will. That Luke records there were seven men is interesting. In Scripture seven is the number of completion and fulfillment. The point here may be not in the failed power of the seven men but the fullness of the Holy Spirit's power that cannot be usurped by the occult. Seven is also the number of the Holy Spirit.

Question: What is the difference between miracles and magic? What does the Catechism or the Catholic dictionary say about magic? See CCC 434 and 2115-17.
Answer: In a miracle the source of the power is God working through His prophet or minister or agent. In magic, a person attempts to court the secret influences of the invisible world as a demonstration of one's own power without consideration for being in accord with the will of God. All forms of divination (telling the future) and magic or sorcery by which one attempts to tame occult powers or gain knowledge apart from God is forbidden for Christians, including the practice of astrology. 

Such activities involving the occult are like "playing with fire," as the seven Jewish exorcists found out. In this amusing account, the Jewish exorcists did not drive out the demon, but it did succeed in driving them out!
Question: What effect did this demonstration of the wrong use of the "name of Jesus" have on the citizens of Ephesus? See verse 17-20.
Answer: The entire population recognized the power of Jesus Christ. Those who had become believers, however, saw the danger of such occult practices. They confessed their former practices and destroyed everything to do with the occult in their possession.
The books they burned contained magic potions and magic spells and formulas. The value of the items destroyed was a great sum, although it is impossible to calculate because Luke does not tell us the value of the silver coins only that the items were worth fifty thousand of them.

Acts 19:21-22 ~ St. Paul's Plans

Paul felt the spiritual call to return to the faith communities he founded in Macedonia and Greece (the Roman province of Achaia) before ending the third missionary journey and returning to Jerusalem and Antioch. Luke also records Paul's desire to visit Rome (verse 21), a desire Paul will express in a letter to the Romans (Rom 1:13). It is a trip that is part of God's plan for his life. To prepare for his visit to the faith communities in Macedonia, Paul sent Timothy and Erastus while he visited other communities in Asia Minor, perhaps the cities of Colossae, Laodicea and Hierapolis that were evangelized by Paul's missionary partner Epaphras (Col 1:7 and 4:12-13).

Question: Why were the ministers of Christ continually re-visiting communities that had been previously founded? See 2 Cor 11:13-26; Gal 2:4; 2 Pt 2:1; 1 Jn 4:1; Rev 2:12-16, 18-20.
Answer: It was necessary to ensure that these fledgling communities remained faithful to the truth of the Gospel and that they were not influenced by false teaching introduced from outside the community or from within.

Acts 19:23-27 ~ Demetrius the Silversmith

Question: What was one of the consequences of the newly converted Christians burning their occult books and discarding their idols of pagan gods?
Answer: The makers of silver shrines began to see Christianity as a threat to their livelihood.

Artemis was a Greek goddess (the sister of the god Apollo) widely worshiped in the Hellenistic Age and throughout the Roman world. The Romans knew the goddess as Diana. The original Hellenistic Artemis was a virgin hunter, moon goddess and goddess of nature. However, the Ephesian Artemis was an Asian version of the Greek goddess and was seen as a mother goddess also known in Asia as Cybele, Atargatis and Ashtoreth who was a patroness of fertility and wild nature. This pagan goddess was one of the most widely worshiped female deities in the Hellenistic/Roman world and her temple in Ephesus was visited by a great many pilgrims who like all tourists purchased mementoes of their pilgrimage which were small silver shines to the goddess made by the silversmiths of Ephesus. The worship of Artemis of Ephesus has been described as "a perpetual festival of vice." The influence of the sexual immorality of Artemis worship was a continuing problem for the Christian churches in Asia Minor (see Rev 2-3).⁽¹⁾

Acts 19:28-34 ~ The Riot of the Silversmiths

Archaeologists have discovered the ruins of a theater in Ephesus that could hold about 25,000 people. It was a logical site for a gathering of the citizens, and ancient documents record meetings of the popular assembly in theaters in times of crisis. 

Acts 19:29 ~ The city was filled with confusion, and the people rushed with one accord into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus, the Macedonians, Paul's traveling companions.
Gaius is a common Roman name (see 3 Jn 1), but this Gaius could be the same Gaius Paul baptized in Corinth (1 Cor 1:14) who is numbered among the "others" on the missionary journey and who became a "host" to Paul and to the Church (Rom 16:23). Gaius will be mentioned again in the list of Paul's missionary team in Acts 20:4. Aristarchus is another member of Paul's missionary team (Acts 20:4 and 27:2). He is also mentioned in Paul's letter to the Colossians (Col 4:10) and his letter to Philemon (verse 24). Paul may have been thinking of this frightening day when he wrote the Corinthians that he "fought with the beasts in Ephesus" (1 Cor 15:32) and of the "afflictions we experienced in Asia" (2 Cor 1:8).

Acts 19:30-31 ~ Paul wanted to go before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him, 31 and even some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent word to him advising him not to venture into the theater.
As in other times when Paul's life was in danger, his companions stepped in to protect him. Asiarchs appear to have been men of influence in Ephesus who promoted the Roman imperial cult and who may have been political representatives for a league of cities in the Roman province of Asia. These were men of influence in the city.

Acts 19:33-34 ~ Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, as the Jews pushed him forward, and Alexander signaled with his hand that he wished to explain something to the gathering.  34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison, for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians."  
We do not know anything about Alexander. Was he a leader in the Jewish community? The crowd evidently did not make a distinction between Jews and Jewish-Christians and refused to listen to Alexander. This man does not appear to be the Alexander Paul will mention in his letters to Timothy (1 Tim 1:20 and 2 Tim 4:14).

Acts 19:35-40 ~ The Town Clerk Restores Calm

The ancients thought meteorites were sacred objects. There may have been a meteorite that was housed in the temple, or the reference may have been to the image of the goddess or both.

Question: What does the clerk say in defense of Paul and his associates?

Answer: 

1. Paul and his associates are not temple robbers.
2. They have not insulted the goddess.
3. Any legal complaint should be filed with the court and presented to the Roman proconsul. 
4. If the unrest doesn't stop the people will be charged with inciting a riot.

The Romans took a very dim view or riots and military action against such illegal public protests were usually swift and brutal. All that Luke has to say about the famed Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the existence of a city theater, the authority of a city clerk in a Roman city, and the presence and prestige of Asiarchs is all confirmed by other literary sources and by archaeological evidence. His description also has the vividness of an eyewitness account.

Agape Bible Study 2 Corinthians 1 - 2   

According to the testimony of St. Paul in his letters to the Corinthians, the letter entitled First Corinthians is not his first letter to the community, nor is the letter entitled Second Corinthians his second. What follows is a chronology of Paul's relationship with the Christians of Corinth, Greece based on information in Acts of Apostles and 1 and 2 Corinthians:

• Paul first visited the city of Corinth on his second Missionary Journey in about 50-52 AD. He stayed in Corinth for almost two years with his good friends Aquila and Priscilla (Acts 18:1-18).
• The Roman proconsul Lucius Junius Gallio summoned Paul in the summer of 51 AD to hear charges made against him.
• In 52 AD, Paul, with Aquila and Priscilla, left Corinth for Ephesus where he established the headquarters of his ministry. He stayed in in Ephesus about three years (Acts 18:18-19:41). 
• From Ephesus, Paul wrote his first letter to the Corinthian Christians (now lost) that included a warning against associating with immoral people (1 Cor 5:9-11).
• Paul received a letter from the Corinthian Christians meeting at Chloe's house reporting problems with the Church in Corinth and requesting answers to their questions (1 Cor 1:11).Stephanan, Fortunatus , and Achaicus apparently delivered the letter (1 Cor 16:17).
• Paul sent Timothy and Erastus to Corinth (Acts 19:22; 1 Cor 4:17; 16:10).
• From Ephesus, Paul sent a second letter that we call First Corinthians. He stayed in Ephesus until Pentecost and then left on a third missionary journey. Aquila and Priscilla remain in Ephesus, and Titus and Timothy returned to Paul from Corinth (2 Cor 1:1, 12:18).
• In about 56/57 AD, as he promised, Paul made a second, "painful" visit to Corinth that resulted in a crisis between Paul and the faith communities (1 Cor 4:19; 2 Cor 2:1-2).
• After his visit, Paul sent a third letter written with "many tears" (also lost), delivered by Titus and pleading with the Corinthians to change their behavior and to mend their relationship with him (2 Cor 2:3-9:13; 7:6-15; 8:6).
• Paul traveled to the seaport of Troas in Asia Minor where he expected to meet Titus, who failed to arrive (Acts 20:1; 2 Cor 2:13).
• Titus joined Paul in Macedonia where he reported some success with the Corinthian Christians (2 Cor 2:7-8; 7:5-16). However, he also reported that their submission to Paul's leadership had declined (10:1-13:10).
• Paul sent a fourth letter (that is probably 2 Corinthians written at least a year after 1 Corinthians), written while he is in Macedonia. He sent it by Titus who was responsible for organizing the alms collection for Jerusalem and arranging for Paul's next visit (2 Cor 8:6-24; 13:1-10).
• Paul made a third visit to Corinth and stayed for three months to finalize the collection for Jerusalem and to reconcile the crisis with the Christians of Corinth (Acts 20:2-3; 2 Cor 12:14; 13:1). 
• Aquila and Priscilla return to Rome and open a church home, and Timothy remains with Paul (Acts 20:4; Rom 16:3, 21). On their third Missionary Journey, Paul and his missionary team continue to travel to the churches in Greece, collecting their contributions for the Mother Church in Jerusalem (Rom 15:26).
• Sometime between 57/58 and 61 AD, Paul made a final visit to Jerusalem where he delivered the contributions from the Gentile churches in Asia Minor and Greece. The Romans arrested him, and the Roman governor imprisoned him in Caesarea Maritima for two years (Acts 21:15-24:27). When, as a Roman citizen, he appealed to Caesar, the governor sent him to Rome. Paul remained under house arrest in Rome for two years where he proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ before being released (Acts 25:1-28:31).

Paul's Second Canonical Letter to the Corinthians

St. Paul addresses three main topics in his letter:

1. A crisis in the relationship between Paul and the Corinthian Christians (1:12-2:13) and the resolution of that crisis (7:5-16).
2. Additional directives concerning the alms collection for the Mother Church in Jerusalem (8:1-9:15).
3. A defense of his apostolic ministry against the charges of some false apostles trying to discredit him (2:14-7:4 and 10:1-13:10).

Chapter 1: Introduction

2 Corinthians 1:1-7 ~ Paul's Greeting and Blessing

St. Paul writes his letter in association with St. Timothy who was the co-sender of six of Paul's letters (2 Cor 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1 and 2 Thess 1:1). Timothy was a member of Paul's second missionary team and worked with Paul when he founded the Christian community at Corinth. Timothy was, therefore, well-known by the members of the community (Acts 18:5). Paul also sent Timothy to Corinth to oversee the correction of abuses identified in his earlier letter (Acts 19:22; 1 Cor 4:17; 16:1-11). Later, Paul sent Titus as his representative to make sure his reforms were still in place (2 Cor 2:13; 7:6, 13-14; 8:6, 16, 23; 12:18). 

As with his 1 Corinthians Letter, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians during his Third Missionary Journey (Acts 18:23-21:16). 1 Corinthian was written from Ephesus, but 2 Corinthians was written from Macedonia in northern Greece where Paul was traveling and re-visiting Christian communities he founded on his Second Missionary Journey (1 Cor 16:5; 2 Cor 2:13; 7:5; 9:2). Some scholars suggest the letter was sent in late 56 or early 58 AD while others suggest 54 or 55 AD.

The introduction to Paul's letter in verses 1-11 is, for the most part, the conventional form of the opening in a first century Hellenistic letter that Paul uses in most of his letters. The introduction divides into three parts:

1. Greeting (verses 1-2)
2. Blessing (verses 3-7)
3. Thanksgiving (verses 8-11)

Paul begins his letter by identifying himself, presenting his credentials, and giving a greeting (verses 1-2). His initial greeting is followed by a blessing (verses 3-7), and then he gives thanks to God for the prayers of the Corinthians (verses 8-11). 

St. Paul cleverly works in the three words in verse 2 that will be the focus of his letter by referring to holiness, grace (the anointing of God's favor), and the peace that comes to the individual and the community from a loving and right relationship with the Most Holy Trinity. 

In verses 3-7, Paul's blessing becomes a doxology or glorification of God with an emphasis on the Christian's experience of both suffering and encouragement. It is an experience, Paul writes, that is shared by Paul and his missionary team together the Corinthian community. Notice how many times Paul repeats the words "encourage/encouragement, afflictions, and sufferings in verses 3-8. The word he uses most frequently is the word parakaleo/paraklesis (Strong's G3870/3874) that can be translated as "comforting/comfort" or "encourage/encouragement." The number of times this word is repeated is accurately recorded in our translation.

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 ~ Thanks for Deliverance from Suffering for Paul's Missionary Team in the Roman Province of Asia

In these verses, Paul addresses his brothers and sisters in the community. The term adelphos, "brothers" plural, should be understood to include all members of the faith community, male and female. He discloses to them an "affliction" that he and his missionary team experienced in the Roman Province of Asia (western Turkey). The capital of the province is Ephesus where Paul established the Church and ministered for over two years. The persecution Paul endured was so severe that he and his team feared they would lose their lives. Paul does not disclose what happened to endanger his life and the lives of those with him, but the answer might be found in Acts 19:23-41.

The Relationship Crisis between Paul and the Corinthian Christians

2 Corinthians 1:12-17 ~ The Sincerity of their Past Relationship

In 1:12-17, Paul begins by defending his apostolic vocation and conduct with the Corinthians. His original plan was to visit them before going to Macedonia and then to visit a second time before going to Jerusalem. However, he did not keep to this plan. Apparently, members of the Corinthian community have criticized Paul for not keeping what they considered to be a promise. It is in answering these charges that Paul defends his apostolic ministry.

2 Corinthians 1:18-23 ~ We are God's Anointed

St. Paul then makes a theological statement about how God's faithfulness has been manifested through Jesus' faithfulness. He explains that the same faithfulness of Jesus is revealed in the faithfulness of those who have been anointed and sealed by the Holy Spirit in the Lord's service (1:18-22; CCC 1295-96). 

18 As God is faithful, our word to you is not "yes" and "no." 19 For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was proclaimed to you by us, Silvanus and Timothy and me, was not "yes" and "no," but "yes" has been in him. 
God and His ministers are not of two minds like those who say "yes" in one breath and then deny it in the next breath. The mean what they say and are faithful to their promises. Paul calls on God to be his witness to the sincerity of his words and actions as a man of his word. He cannot act otherwise since he preaches Jesus Christ and follows Him. Christ is absolutely truthful and faithful, and His word is always "yes" to the promises of God (verse 20). 

Question: In this passage, how does St. Paul refer to the promises made by the Most Holy Trinity?
Answer: He writes that God the Father anointed His ministers with grace and established them in God the Son, through the seal of the Holy Spirit upon their hearts. 

Paul uses three different key words/expressions in verses 21-22: "anointed," "put His seal," and "given the Holy Spirit ... as a first installment" or guarantee to describe the way God acts in the soul of the Christian:

1. In Baptism the Christian is spiritually "anointed" with grace and incorporated into Christ.
2. The Christian is then "sealed" for he no longer belongs to himself but has become the property of Christ (slaves in the ancient world were often branded with the mark of their owner).
3. Together with grace, the Christian receives the Holy Spirit as an "installment" "a pledge of the gifts he will receive in eternal life.

In being "sealed" by the Holy Spirit, we no longer belong to ourselves, but we become the property of Christ, and together with the anointing of God's divine grace, we receive the Holy Spirit as the first installment or pledge on the gifts we will receive in eternal life. All the effects of Baptism are reinforced in the Sacrament of Confirmation, and Paul may have had this Sacrament in mind in these verses. 

Relying on Christ's faithfulness, Christians are able to say "Amen," "so be it" (verse 20), by which they adhere fully to Jesus' teachings as passed on by the Apostles and their successors, like Sts Paul, Silvanus and Timothy, who shepherd the faithful of the New Covenant Church. From the earliest gatherings of Christians, the "Amen" ("so be it") has been announced at the end of the Church's public prayers (cf. 1 Cor 14:16).

 

In verses 23-24, Paul regrets to announce that they cannot come to Corinth at this time. 2:1-5 suggests the possibility of two theories as to why Paul decided not to go to Corinth:

1. Some crisis in Corinth caused by an individual who was opposed to Paul has come to his attention, and he has decided to address the problem by letter first to give the Corinthians a chance to correct the problem before his visit.
2. Paul already made one visit but was offended by the opposition of someone, and returning to Ephesus, he sent this letter in place of a promised second visit. 

The words "to spare you" in verse 23 and "work together for your joy" in verse 24 introduce the major themes of the next two passages of the letter in Chapter 2. Do not miss the repetitions of key contrasting words and ideas forming two clusters that will reappear when Paul continues addressing the same subject in 7:5-16: 

1. cheer, rejoice, encourage, and joy
2. pain/painful, affliction, and anguish

Chapter 2

2 Corinthians 2:1-4 ~ Tears and Painful Circumstances

The key word in 2:1-7 is "pain." Paul repeats the word "pain/pained/painful" seven times. Verses 1-2 suggests that Paul made a second, "painful" visit to Corinth that resulted in a crisis between Paul and the Corinthian Christians. After his visit, Paul sent a third letter, a lost letter, written with "many tears" and delivered by Titus, pleading with the Corinthians to change their behavior and to mend their relationship with him (2 Cor 2:3-9:13; 7:6-15; 8:6). Despite the misunderstanding, Paul professes his continuing love for the community (verse 4).

In 1:15-2:4 Paul answers the charge of not keeping his word because he failed to visit Corinth as he said he would.
Question: What does Paul write is the reason he did not come to Corinth on the visit they expected?
Answer: He did not go to Corinth because he did not want to pain/distress them further.

2 Corinthians 2:5-11 ~ Concerning Forgiving an Offender

Some unknown person in the community offended Paul in his previous visit, but his offense has also caused pain, Paul writes, to the entire community. Some punishment has been inflicted by the community against the offending party, perhaps a strong rebuke. The offense was not a sin that demanded excommunication, but it was probably a personal attack on Paul that left the community divided on their allegiance to him. Whatever the offense, Paul urges the Corinthian Christians to forgive the person as Paul forgave him and take him back, presumable if he asks for forgiveness. 

Question: What does Paul assure the community concerning his own attitude toward this unnamed person, and why is this attitude necessary?
Answer: Paul has forgiven this individual and urges their forgiveness so that Satan cannot divide the community.

 

The Hebrew word "satan" means "adversary." It is always Satan's goal to bring discord to the Church by causing division.
Question: What was Satan's first act of division between God and His children? See Gen chapter 3
Answer: Satan works to cause division in the Church just as he encouraged the sin of Adam and Eve to cause division in their relationship and to separate them from their loving God and Divine Father.

 

2 Corinthians 2:12-17 ~ Ministers who are the Aroma of Christ

Paul went to Troas because God gave him an opportunity to preach the Gospel (a door was opened). Troas was an ancient Greek city located on the Aegean Sea near the northern tip of modern Turkey's western coast. His joy in this opportunity was dampened by not finding Titus waiting for him there as they had planned. Titus had delivered Paul's letter to the Corinthian Christians, and Paul was anxious to hear their response to his letter (2 Cor 7:5). Paul went on to Macedonia as planned (1 Cor 16:5-9), a Roman province north of Greece, hoping to find Titus.