2 Corinthians 1

Verse-by-verse explanation

1. 2 Corinthians 1:1This second letter to the Corinthians is Paul's most personal, written after a serious conflict with the church. He presents himself as an apostle chosen by God, alongside Timothy, addressing not only Corinth but the whole province of Achaia.
2. 2 Corinthians 1:2Paul's standard greeting: “Grace” was the common Greek salutation, and “peace” the Hebrew one — he joins the two into a single wish for blessing from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. 2 Corinthians 1:3Paul begins with praise, not complaint, calling God “the Father of mercies” and “the God of all comfort” — already introducing the chapter's main theme: the comfort that comes from God in the midst of suffering.
4. 2 Corinthians 1:4The comfort Paul receives from God doesn't stay with him alone: it equips him to comfort others going through similar hardships — suffering becomes a tool for caring for others.
5. 2 Corinthians 1:5Paul links his own suffering to Christ's: the more he suffers for the gospel, the more he also experiences the comfort that comes through Christ — the two always run in the same proportion.
6. 2 Corinthians 1:6He explains why he talks so much about his own suffering: it isn't a complaint, but so the Corinthians can also learn, by his example, to endure their own troubles with the same comfort.
7. 2 Corinthians 1:7He closes this opening thought: since the Corinthians share in the same sufferings as Paul, he is confident they will also share in the same comfort — that's why his hope for them is unshaken.
8. 2 Corinthians 1:8Paul finally reveals why he has talked so much about suffering: some serious persecution in the province of Asia (probably Ephesus) left him so distressed that he even despaired of life.
9. 2 Corinthians 1:9Paul speaks of something very serious they went through in the province of Asia, bad enough that they thought they would die; he gives no details of exactly what happened, only uses the experience to say they learned to trust in God, “which raiseth the dead,” rather than in their own strength.
10. 2 Corinthians 1:10He continues describing that same near-fatal experience in Asia: God delivered him from that deadly danger, and Paul expresses confidence that he will keep being delivered in the future.
11. 2 Corinthians 1:11Paul asks the Corinthians themselves to pray for him, linking that prayer to the thanks many people will give to God when they see those requests answered.
12. 2 Corinthians 1:12He appeals to his own clear conscience as proof of his integrity: he acted with sincerity, not with “fleshly wisdom,” in his dealings with the Corinthians — an argument that comes up again later when he defends himself further in the letter.
13. 2 Corinthians 1:13Paul defends himself against an implied accusation: his letters hide no hidden agenda — what he writes is exactly what he means, with nothing between the lines.
14. 2 Corinthians 1:14He acknowledges that the Corinthians already understand him in part, and hopes they will come to recognize that Paul is their reason to boast, just as they are his, on the day of the Lord.
15. 2 Corinthians 1:15Paul explains a travel plan he had made earlier: to pass through Corinth twice, going to and returning from Macedonia, so the Corinthians might have “a second benefit” — a second visit of blessing.
16. 2 Corinthians 1:16He details the original planned route: Corinth, then Macedonia, back to Corinth, and from there to Judea — an itinerary he ended up not keeping, which led to the accusation of fickleness he answers next.
17. 2 Corinthians 1:17Paul defends himself for changing this travel plan, asking, almost with irony, whether that makes him someone who decides in a fickle or carnal way, saying yes and then no.
18. 2 Corinthians 1:18He contrasts his own word with God's faithfulness: just as God is never inconsistent, Paul's word to the Corinthians was not a contradictory “yea and nay” either, even with the change of plans.
19. 2 Corinthians 1:19He uses Jesus Christ as the ultimate proof that the message preached by Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy in Corinth was never ambiguous: in Christ there was only a constant “yea,” never a contradiction.
20. 2 Corinthians 1:20Paul defends himself for changing his travel plan without cause, as if he were someone who says “yea” and then “nay.” He uses this to speak of Christ, in whom all of God's promises are a guaranteed “yea,” without that kind of inconsistency.
21. 2 Corinthians 1:21After speaking of Christ as God's “yea,” Paul reminds them that the one who gives this faith its firmness — for both him and the Corinthians — and who anointed them is God Himself, not human merit.
22. 2 Corinthians 1:22The words “sealed” and “earnest” were commercial terms of the time: sealing marked ownership and guaranteed a document, and an “earnest” (or down payment) was an advance guaranteeing full payment later. Paul says the Holy Spirit works the same way in a believer's life, as a guarantee of what is still to come in full.
23. 2 Corinthians 1:23Paul finally explains the real reason he hadn't gone to Corinth as planned: it wasn't inconsistency, but the desire to spare the Corinthians a harsh visit, avoiding a direct confrontation at that moment.
24. 2 Corinthians 1:24Paul explains why he still hadn't gone to Corinth in person: so as not to arrive for a harsh, confrontational visit. He makes clear that he doesn't want to “have dominion over” their faith, only to help, because each person's faith is their own responsibility.