The FOURTH Letter to the Corinthians??

In my first sermon on II Corinthians, I said something that might have surprised you: what we call “Second Corinthians” is not actually the second letter Paul wrote to the church in Corinth (nor was “First Corinthians” the first!). They are the two letters that were inspired and preserved by the church for us, but Paul had a much more involved correspondence with the Corinthians that helps us understand the point of this letter. I will probably reference that correspondence from time to time this fall as we go through the series. Rather than explain it in detail every time, I thought I would write a quick blog post that we can refer back to. If you were there last week, you know the explanation was a bit lengthy!

Using the map above for reference, let’s walk through Paul’s history with the Corinthians. This information comes from the Bible itself—the book of Acts and the two letters—not from extra-biblical sources. I should note that there is a little speculation involved, but this is the best way to harmonize what we see in the Scriptures.

First—On his SECOND missionary journey, Paul travels to Macedonia. In Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, he follows his normal missionary procedure: staying for several weeks, planting a small fellowship of believers, appointing elders, and then moving on to the next city. After a brief stop in Athens, he comes to Corinth. Corinth in the first century was a wealthy and strategic city located along shipping and trade routes. It was the capital of the province of Achaia and one of the largest and most important cities in the Roman Empire. Here Paul changes his missionary strategy…

Second—Instead of leaving after a few weeks, Paul stays in Corinth for 18 months. It may be that Paul shifts to a training model, training other people to plant churches and sending them out. At any rate, he is in Corinth for far longer than he has stayed in any city so far. Eventually, however, he leaves to return to his “sending” church in Antioch.

Third—After a refreshing stay in Antioch, Paul leaves for his THIRD missionary journey. He follows his new pattern, staying in Ephesus for an extended period rather than moving around. Like Corinth, Ephesus was a capital city and a strategic place to train others. Paul remains there for even longer—two years in total.

Fourth—Several things happen while Paul is in Ephesus. At some point, he sends a letter to the Corinthian church, probably simply to check in on them. This is his first letter to the Corinthians (but not I Corinthians—we don’t have this letter). The Corinthian church writes back with a series of questions, some of which are rather urgent. Paul writes a long letter in response, answering their questions and indicating, among other things, that a sinful situation in the church needs to be addressed and resolved (see I Corinthians 5). This SECOND letter to the Corinthians is what we call First Corinthians.

Fifth—Here we speculate a little, but what seems to happen is that the church does not react well to this letter, especially the part where Paul instructs them to remove someone from their fellowship if he is unrepentant. A split starts to form in the church. Paul hears about it and decides to go see them in person. This ends up backfiring, however. The visit does not go well and is quite painful both for Paul and for them. When he leaves, the situation is still unresolved; it is possible that the side opposed to Paul will prevail. So Paul tells them that he is planning a trip through Macedonia and will visit them again when he leaves on that trip.

Sixth—Paul returns to Ephesus, still unhappy. He writes a third letter to them, which he refers to as his “very strong” letter. It is a last effort to win them over. He sends it with Titus and tells them that he has changed his mind: he is going to visit them at the end of his Macedonian trip, not at the beginning. Then he tells Titus to meet him at Troas and leaves on his journey, which almost immediately proves full of challenges and difficulties. But in the back of his mind the whole time is his worry over the Corinthians. He loves the church and is concerned about how they will react to his “very strong” letter.

Seventh—Titus does not arrive in Troas, and Paul’s anxiety increases. He continues his journey into Macedonia, where Titus finally finds him and delivers good news. The church, including the sinful man, has repented and returned to its allegiance to Paul and his authority. There is still a faction within the church that is unhappy, but the news is largely very positive. Paul sits down and writes his fourth letter—what we call II Corinthians. The purpose of the letter, therefore, is to rejoice in what God is doing, but also to explain and defend his ministry.