2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4 Study Guide: Paul’s Painful Visit
Community Group Study Guide — Paul’s Painful Visit
2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4
Study Information:
How do you respond to criticism and correction? Typically we respond with either repentance or defensiveness. Repentance doesn’t always mean that you were fully in the wrong, but a repentant heart looks for how to grow and approaches the criticism with humility. On the other hand, defensiveness will seek to either downplay the conflict or sin, or lash back against the person offering the correction. Now, not all criticism or correction is godly, sometimes it is mean spirited or blaming. However, think about your own heart in the most recent conflict you were part of. Were you more repentant or more defensive? Part of Paul’s relationship with the Corinthians as God’s Apostle included his spiritual authority to correct and guide them towards godliness. What we can observe from 2 Corinthians is that the Corinthians responded with defensiveness and lashed back at Paul and assumed the worst about him, likely because of his previous correction. Let’s explore the background of 2 Corinthians and consider how we can respond to correction and criticism in a godly way.
Paul’s Painful Visit
2 Corinthians 2:1-4
The backstory to 2 Corinthians is that Paul had made a plan to visit the Corinthian church and instead chose to send the another letter of correction instead of an in person visit. The likely timeline is that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians, and the church did not receive the correction well, so he visited the church and described that visit as “painful,” “humbling” and it caused him mourning (2 Cor 2:1, 12:21). It appears that there was a significant number of people in the church who were walking in sexual immorality and division and had not repented. Paul had left that painful visit with a pledge to come back in the future, but that plan changed and he likely wrote another letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians that was not inspired scripture, likely focused on a call to repent. Paul’s missionary companion Titus was in Corinth at the time when the letter was received and Paul was in Ephesus, likely experiencing the affliction he described in 2 Corinthians 1:8-11. He described that time in Ephesus as despairing and being near the point of death. While Paul was going through all that, the Corinthians seemed to have been formulating their criticisms against Paul.
Receiving correction from people who love and care for us is a gift, especially if those people are gentle and humble. If we are in spiritual or physical danger, we should want people to love us enough to tell us. Yet the Corinthians responded like Adam in the garden and shifted the blame to Paul. The good news is that the Corinthians eventually came around and Titus brought a report back to Paul that they repented (2 Corinthians 7:13-16). However, Paul did address their criticism of him directly in 2 Corinthians 1:12-23.
The Foundation of God’s Faithfulness
2 Corinthians 1:12-23
On the surface, the Corinthians criticism of Paul was because of his changed travel plans, but deeper than that they had bigger problems with Paul. First they claimed that Paul was insincere (2 Cor 1:12-14). Basically, they claimed Paul did not actually care about them. It could have been Paul’s harsh correction, or that he was spending more time in Ephesus or Philippi, but regardless they questioned his sincerity. Paul’s defense was that before God, he acted with simplicity and godly sincerity. He did not put up a front or used the Corinthians for his own gain, and he was confident that at the day of the Lord, when everything is said and done, he would be proud of them (2 Cor 1:14). This is fatherly language given to a child grown up to keep pursuing virtue and godliness. Their second criticism was that Paul had deceived them or lied to them (2 Cor 1:15-17). They accused him of being wishy washy at best, and at worst lying when he said “yes” to visiting them when he really meant “no.” Behind this was a claim that Paul was not dependable or trustworthy. Paul affirmed his desire to want to visit them again, but that he changed course because it was better to send the letter and more pressing needs came up in Ephesus. In this Paul warns us against making plans in the flesh, which is making plans according to worldly desires and/or making plans without considering God and how God might change things. We should be honest with each other and not use vague or deceitful language by saying maybe when we mean no, or yes when we mean no. But, at the same time, things do change and that does not mean Paul was being dishonest.
Paul gives us his theological foundation for being a person of integrity and someone who was committed to the good of the Corinthians and that theological truth is that God is faithful and God never changes (2 Cor 1:18-22). Paul stacks up three theological ideas here. First, God never changes and therefore we should be people of integrity. God does not say one thing and mean another, he does not lead us on and he remains unchanged even though everything in this world changes. Second, all of God’s promises find their yes in Christ and the church responds back “Amen!” Jesus is the answer to God’s promise to forgive us, defeat evil, bring us into relationship with him and his promise to complete the good work he began in us. That means that God is relentless in his commitment to our growth and good, even when we do not earn or deserve it. Third, God has put his mark of ownership on us in the person of the Holy Spirit. It is a downpayment of our eternal redemption and God does not take the Spirit back from us.
Taking these three theological truths together we can take heart that God is faithful to us even when we’re slow to change, criticize him or go back to our sin. Paul in Romans 5 wrote that while we were sinners, while we were enemies of God, while we were weak, Christ died for us. This faithfulness of God has formed and shaped Paul’s approach to ministry, he will correct sin with love and affection and not give up even when people are slow to change.
Responding to Critics
1:24, 2:4
How do we respond to giving correction and receiving criticism, especially if you’re a Christian leader? What was remarkable about Paul was that he did not harden his heart to the Corinthians but continued his pursuit of their joy and their faith with affection and love. First, we can choose to not get revenge when people criticize us. A hard heart will lash out against people who treat us as enemies, but God commands us to love one another, love our neighbor and lot our enemy. Second, we can believe the best about one another and be slow to assume motives. The Corinthians jumped to conclusions and assumed the worst about Paul. Paul was able to defend and explain, but it would be wise for us to be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19). Most often our strongest critics are people who are not even participating in the hard work of ministry. Paul was fighting for his life in Ephesus as the Corinthians formulated their criticisms. Third, it is important when we do give correction or criticism to others that we follow Jesus’s teaching to first remove the log from our eye so we can help our brother remove the speck form theirs. Jesus taught us that if we do the hard soul work first, we will actually be of help to one another. That is usually because we have humility and compassion. Finally, remember who you’re working for. If you’re a follower of Christ, you belong to God and at the end of the day his approval matters more than any amount of praise or criticism we can receive here.
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 1:12-2:4
What are some of the reasons the Corinthians were critical of Paul? What were their specific criticisms?
What were Paul’s travel plans and why did he change them? Look at 2 Corinthians 2:1-4
How did Paul respond to the criticism from the Corinthians and why do you think he gave us the theological reason of God’s ongoing faithfulness in Christ (2 Corinthians 1:18-22)?
Describe how a Christian can give godly correction and how a Christian can handle receiving criticism - both godly and harsh criticism. How can you grow in this area this week?
