2 Corinthians 1:1-2 Study Guide: Look to the future (an introduction to 2 Corinthians)
Community Group Study Guide — Look to the Future
2 Corinthians 1:1-2
Study Information:
Your view of the future will determine how you think about the here and now. If you believe that God authors a future for his people that his hopeful and purposeful you will likely be able to navigate hardship and criticism well. Likewise, you will use your skills and finances to invest generously in the lives of others and in God’s work around you. Yet, if you think the future is generally hopeless or dark, you’ll likely either adopt a pessimistic and cynical outlook or look for hope in the here and now through selfish and sinful pleasure.
Paul wrote the letter of 2 Corinthians to address criticism around his authority as God’s apostle and in Paul’s responses we get a future oriented vision of how to think about things like suffering, money and eternity. These themes fit in nicely with the themes of 1 Corinthians, a book we studied a few years ago as a church. 1 Corinthians was a letter written to a church struggling with sin, division and worship. Namely, they struggled to understand how their physical bodies and various sins like sexual immorality, eating food scarified to idols, suing one another and tribalism related to their “spiritual” worship of God. Paul’s responses to their questions teach us a wholistic view of the human body and our spirits and the turning point in 1 Corinthians was Paul’s chapter on the resurrection of our bodies in 1 Corinthians 15. Paul continues this teaching around whole hearted worship to God in pointing us towards eternity as he addressed their unique challenges.
Many of us today do not question Paul’s credentials as an apostle because, historically, what he wrote and how God used his ministry has stood the test of time but many people contemporary to Paul, in the church, criticized him and thought of him as a weak Christian because of the suffering he experienced, much of which we’ve covered in our recent series in Philippians. You are not facing that same level of criticism about God’s call on your life as an apostle , but we can use our spiritual imaginations to think about how these principles apply to suffering and criticism we experience.
The City of Corinth
2 Corinthians 1:1-2
Out of all the cities in the Ancient world that the scripture interacts with Corinth is the one most similar to the Bay Area. It was a city that celebrated athletic achievement, wealth, powerful speaking, innovative ideas and promoted individualism. In 1 Corinthians, Paul taught the church that God valued the things culture called “weak” and that we’re called to sacrificial love for one and even laying down our rights and opinions for unity. Paul often reminded the church that they were spirit filled and being sanctified, even though they were a mess. That theme continues here even with Paul’s subtle use of the term “church” for Corinth. We can read over that as just a greeting in verse 1, but that was a reminder that they were a local assembly of faith committed to worship of God and to love of one another.
Paul’s relationship to them was as an Apostle, which is the greek term for “one who is sent.” Paul’s apostleship was questioned and criticized throughout his interaction with the Corinthians, likely because they did not like what he had to say. 2 Corinthians is the second divinely inspired letter to the church but historians think that it is actually the 4th letter Paul wrote to the church based on internal evidences in the letters we have in the Bible. The other two are NOT inspired scripture, but it is helpful to know that other letters exist. It appears that there was a letter between 1st and 2nd Corinthians that was described as Paul’s “severe” letter (2 Corinthians 2:3-4, 7:8-12). So it is important that Paul reminded them that his apostleship was not related to his skill, power or position, but was “from Christ Jesus by the will of God.” There was a group that doubted Paul’s apostleship and became hardened against him (2 Corinthians 6:12). Much of this letter will be proving that point and by doing so we learn about how God uses suffering and how we can respond to criticism and along the way we will be pushed towards humility, love and generosity.
Themes of 2 Corinthians
Spending time in this letter will help take our eyes off what we can see and think more deeply about God’s providence and eternity. Some of the themes we will explore include:
First, God uses suffering in Christian growth and we’re encouraged to think of the timeline of our earthly lives compared to eternity. The letter kicks off with this theme of how God comforts us in our affliction so we can comfort others (2 Corinthians 1:3-7). Likewise, Paul wrote about how earthly affliction produce in us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). If we had no future hope our suffering would be catastrophic. Yet because God is sovereign and because we can look to eternity we can take heart that God redeems even our worst day to help us help others and to produce hope in us.
Second, the power of generosity in service of God’s mission. Paul spends almost two full chapters of the letter to discuss what’s called the Macedonian offering (2 Corinthians 8-9). This was a way to build unity between the Jewish and Gentile churches as churches in the region of Macedonia (North of Greece) were raising support for suffering Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. This was Paul’s way to help the church use their material blessings in service of spiritual blessing of others and to be part of the mission of God. In these chapters we get many practical teachings around giving and wealth, and again are challenged to think about how we use what we have in the here and now for the eternal good of others.
Finally, dealing with criticism. Paul’s reputation is criticized and maligned throughout the letter and he openly defended God’s call on his life as an apostle (2 Corinthians 3, 10-12). God teaches us that his approval is infinitely better than any earthly approval we could receive and that the long haul of fruit from our service to him will be our vindication (2 Corinthians 3:1-3, 1 Corinthians 4:1-5). Being unjustly criticized can be a harsh circumstance to navigated, but even in those moments we’re challenged to consider who’s approval we’re seeking and how to love even our enemies.
Looking to eternity and trusting in God’s providence in all that happens in our lives is the foundation that allows for us to remain faithful to Christ in the here and now without being distracted towards pursuing sinful pleasure or giving into despair. Our hope is that our study in 2 Corinthians roots and grounds your faith into the future so that your faith in Christ would grow and that God would continue to use you as part of his mission here and now.
At your community group:
Take 15-20 minutes to share about how God has been at work in your life, prayer concerns and pray for one another.
How did God speak to you through the scripture and the sermon this week?
Discussion Questions:
2 Corinthians 1:1-2
How does looking to the future and your vision of the future impact the way you live the here and now?
Describe the city of Corinth. How does it sound similar to the Bay Area?
Where did Paul’s apostleship come from and why would the Corinthians challenge this? Look at 2 Corinthians 1:1-2 and go back to 1 Corinthians 1:10-17 and 4:1-5.
Which theme from this letter do you look forward to learning about? What are some reasons you look forward to learning about that based on what’s happening in your life right now?
