A COMMUNITY OF GOD
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Paul spent about eighteen months working and witnessing in Corinth around 51 A.D. It is believed he wrote his first letter to “the church of God in Corinth” in 56 A.D. (see 1 Corinthians 1:2), while he was based in Ephesus. Then he briefly revisited Corinth (see 2 Corinthians 13:1) and wrote another—now lost—letter “out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears” (2 Corinthians 2:4) around the time of that visit.
About a year later, what we know as 2 Corinthians was written to follow up on his previous letter, and Paul proposed a third visit to the city.
This was an ongoing ministry for Paul and one that also gave him great joy when he heard the Corinthians believers were doing well.
So, the closing thoughts of 2 Corinthians are the last known words of Paul to those believers after growing and nourishing the church in Corinth for most of a decade.
Given the tension there had been in Paul’s relationship with them, he was now pleased with their progress. It was a moment to reflect and celebrate their progress.
But he admonished them to continue to grow to maturity.
With the history of tensions among the believers in the city, he also urged them that this maturing faith would be demonstrated by mutual encouragement, unity, and peace between them. What they were maturing into with Paul’s ongoing encouragement and care would increasingly reflect God’s character. God was a God of love and peace, Paul reminded them, so this would be the nature of the community that carried God’s name.
God was with them, and His nature would be more obviously manifested among them as they grew together in courage, love, and peace.
