The Second Letter to the

CORINTHIANS

Mark A. Seifrid

William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company

Grand Rapids, Michigan / Cambridge, U.K.

© 2014 Mark A. Seifrid

All rights reserved

Published 2014

in the United States of America by

Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.

2140 Oak Industrial Drive N.E., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49505 /

P.O. Box 163, Cambridge CB3 9PU U.K.

www.eerdmans.com

and in the United Kingdom by

APOLLOS

Norton Street, Nottingham,

England NG7 3HR

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Seifrid, Mark A.

The second letter to the Corinthians / Mark Seifrid.

pages cm.—(The Pillar New Testament commentary)

Includes bibliographical references.

ISBN 978-0-8028-3739-4 (cloth: alk. paper)

1. Bible. Corinthians, 2nd—Commentaries. I. Title.

BS2675.53.S45 2014

227′.307—dc23

2014012059

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

ISBN 978-1-78359-161-9

Scriptures taken from the English Standard Version

The Pillar New Testament Commentary

General Editor

D. A. CARSON

Contents

Editor’s Preface

Author’s Preface

Abbreviations

Bibliography

INTRODUCTION

I. Before and after Second Corinthians

II. Paul’s Opponents in Corinth and the Purpose of Second Corinthians

III. The Integrity of Second Corinthians

IV. The Theology of Second Corinthians

COMMENTARY

I. The Opening of the Letter: The Call to Fellowship with the Apostle in Christ (1:1–2:17)

A. Prescript (1:1–2)

1. Superscript (1:1a)

2. Address (1:1b)

3. Grace-Pronouncement (1:2)

B. The Apostolic Benediction of God (1:3–7)

C. The Apostolic Report: The Deliverance from Trouble and the Trouble with the Corinthians (1:8–2:17)

1. Trouble and Deliverance in Asia (1:8–11)

2. The Trouble with the Corinthians: The Broken Promise of the Apostle (1:12–2:17)

a. Paul’s Boast in Simplicity and Purity (1:12–14)

b. The Word of the Apostle as the Yes of God (1:15–22)

c. Paul’s Failure to Visit and His Love for the Corinthians (1:23–2:4)

d. Forgiveness for the Offender (2:5–11)

e. Paul’s Concern for the Corinthians (2:12–13)

f. Paul’s Thanksgiving to God (2:14–17)

II. The Body of the Letter: The Apostolic Mission and the Apostle in Mission (3:1–7:16)

A. The Apostolic Mission: The New Covenant as the Audacity of Apostolic Hope (3:1–18).

Excursus: Paul’s Opponents in Corinth and the Purpose of the Letter

1. The Corinthians as Paul’s Commendation (3:1–3)

2. The New Covenant as Paul’s Sufficiency (3:4–11)

Excursus: Paul’s Understanding of “Covenant”

Excursus: The Letter and the Spirit in Recent Interpretation

3. The Apostle and the Church in the Freedom of the Spirit (3:12–18)

B. The Apostle in Mission: God’s Agent as the Bearer of God’s Saving Work (4:1–7:16)

1. The Apostle as Proclaimer of Christ (4:1–15)

a. The Light of the Gospel in the Heart of the Apostle (4:1–6)

b. The Earthen Vessel and the Word of Faith (4:7–15)

2. The Apostle as Bearer of Hope (4:16–5:10)

a. The Eternal Weight of Glory (4:16–18)

b. The Dwelling from Heaven (5:1–5)

c. The ...