Events between the First and Second Epistles.
(a) The reception of the First Epistle at Corinth. As was mentioned in the Intro, to the First Epistle, when the Apostle heard of the irregularities in doctrine and morals that had arisen in the Church, he announced that Timothy would visit Corinth after he had performed the work entrusted to him in Macedonia, to bring them into remembrance of his ways in Christ (1 Corinthians 4:17; 1 Corinthians 16:10). About the same time he sent the First Epistle by the shorter sea route to Corinth, perhaps by the hands of Titus and another of his companions (2 Corinthians 12:18), to whom was also given the duty of organising the collection (1 Corinthians 16:1). The mission of Timothy was in the first instance to the Churches of Macedonia, and it is uncertain whether or not he ever reached Corinth. Meanwhile the work of organising the collection, whether by Titus or by others, went on apace, and such favourable reports of the success of the movement reached St. Paul, that he afterwards quoted the Corinthians to the converts of Macedonia as an example of liberality (2 Corinthians 9:2). On the completion of these arrangements Titus probably returned to St. Paul at Ephesus and reported the progress made.
(b) The increasing influence of the 'Christ' party. Very soon after these events there seems to have taken place a considerable increase in the influence of the party of Christ, which is just mentioned in the First Epistle (1 Corinthians 1:12). An attempt, which for a time threatened to prove successful, was made by them to impose upon the Corinthian Church the requirements of the Jewish law, and undermine the influence of St. Paul. We gather the information about this movement, not from any direct statements on the subject, but mainly from the Apostle's defence of his apostleship, and the points on which he dwells in refuting the charges brought against him. The leaders of this party—perhaps recently arrived from Jerusalem—claimed to speak for Christ in a way in which they said that St. Paul could not speak. They were Hebrews (2 Corinthians 11:22); they called themselves apostles and ministers of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:13; 2 Corinthians 11:23); they taught another gospel, inculcated another spirit, preached even another Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4). St. Paul calls them false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13), deceitful workers (ib.), ministers of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:15). It would seem that they set up Judaism as the entrance to Christianity. They may not have insisted upon the imposition of the rite of circumcision, but they probably demanded obedience to the ceremonial law, taking their stand upon the teaching and example of Jesus Himself (e.g. Matthew 3:15; Matthew 5:17), and insisting upon the maintenance of the legal standard of righteousness. They thus naturally came into conflict with St. Paul, whose doctrine of justification by faith (cp. Romans 4:5) seemed to them to be destructive of the Law; and perhaps being incensed at the lax morals of some of the Corinthian converts, they traced the irregularities to his teaching, and denounced him as a false apostle. Not content with this, they attributed to him vacillation and cowardice (2 Corinthians 10:10), pointed to his refusal of sustenance as a proof of his lack of authority (2 Corinthians 11:7), and declared that he was afraid to exercise the power he boasted of in his letters (2 Corinthians 13:2; 2 Corinthians 13:10). They charged him with cheating his converts (2 Corinthians 12:14), said that he was puffed up with vanity (2 Corinthians 10:14), and even called him a fool (2 Corinthians 11:16; 2 Corinthians 11:21; 2 Corinthians 11:23).
In this way these Judaising teachers sought to discredit the Apostle. They probably attracted those who had been of the party of Peter, and those who had been of the party of Christ at an earlier date, and united them in one strong body which influenced or overawed the whole Church. They called themselves Christ's men, preached Christ as the Messiah according to the flesh, and gloried in their connexion with those who had actually seen the Lord(2 Corinthians 10:7; 2 Corinthians 11:23; 2 Corinthians 12:1).
That they met with great success is evident from the Second Epistle. They turned the Church as a whole against St. Paul. The Corinthians received them without suspicion, listened readily to their charges, and as the result renounced their allegiance to their spiritual father (2 Corinthians 7:2; 2 Corinthians 11:3; 2 Corinthians 13:2; 2 Corinthians 13:10). They submitted even to be victimised by these intruders, and allowed them to do with impunity the very things they counted wrong in St. Paul. The members of the Church were so infatuated with their new teachers that they permitted themselves to be 'brought into bondage, devoured, robbed, struck in the face' (2 Corinthians 11:20). The more the new apostles demanded, the better they were pleased with them. All that St. Paul had done for them was for the time forgotten, and their allegiance transferred to the new-comers, who denounced him as no minister of Christ at all.
(c) St. Paul's brief (unrecorded) visit to Corinth.
It was not long before the news of the revolt reached St. Paul. It may be that Timothy coming south to Corinth as the Apostle indicated in the First Epistle (1 Corinthians 4:17) found the Church already in revolt, and that on attempting to deliver a message from his master he was insulted and put to silence (2 Corinthians 7:12. Here 'his cause that suffered wrong' may refer to Timothy). Or it may be that the Apostle heard of the state of matters in some other way, as he had heard of their contentions before writing the First Epistle (1 Corinthians 1:11). In any case, he felt that he must take prompt and resolute action, and accordingly he paid a short visit to Corinth in order to restore his authority and win the Corinthians back to their allegiance.
This visit is not recorded in the book of Acts, nor is its occurrence related in so many words in St. Paul's letters; but it is frequently referred to in 2 Corinthians and implied in several of the Apostle's statements. In 2 Corinthians 2:1 he distinctly alludes to a visit which he had paid to the Church 'in sorrow.' In 2 Corinthians 12:14; 2 Corinthians 13:1 he announces that he is coming to them the third time. And as the only visit recorded in the Acts or in 1 Corinthians is the visit made when founding the Church, it is obvious that a second visit must have been paid in the interval before these passages were penned. In 2 Corinthians 13:2 indeed he distinctly mentions this second visit, and reminds them that he told them on that occasion that if he came again and found them unrepentant he would not spare them. This visit was probably paid as soon as he received the bad news, the journey being made by sea. The Apostle's appearance at Corinth, however, had not the expected effect. The influence of the Judaisers was still supreme: an attack of the illness to which he was subject prostrated him, and it was interpreted by his enemies as a mark of divine disfavour, and used to discredit his apostleship (2 Corinthians 12:7). He had to retire to Ephesus baffled and disheartened, having perhaps been insulted and denounced to his face in presence of the Church by some violent member (2 Corinthians 7:12, if the reference is not to Timothy but to himself. But see note).
(d) The visit of Titus with the 'severe' letter.
On reaching Ephesus again St. Paul wrote a letter to the recalcitrant Church, in which he sought to bring the members to a sense of their position. This letter is referred to in 2 Corinthians 2:3; 2 Corinthians 7:8. It was written 'in much affliction with many tears'; it was stern and severe in its tone; and it was designed to make them sorry and bring them to repentance. So strong were its terms, indeed, that St. Paul for a time regretted having written it. The greater portion of this 'severe' letter, in the view of an increasing number of scholars, is preserved in 2 Corinthians 10-13. This theory solves many of the problems raised by 2 Corinthians, and best explains the facts as we know them. (For reasons see below, under 2.)
The 'severe' letter was dispatched from Ephesus by the hands of Titus, who seems to have been regarded by St. Paul as better able to deal with the situation than Timothy. On receiving it the Corinthians were stung by the reproaches of conscience, and repenting of their treatment of St. Paul, cast out of the Church by a majority the man who had given offence by his attack on the Apostle or his messenger (2 Corinthians 2:6), and acknowledged their founder once more (2 Corinthians 7:11). Titus seems to have aided materially in bringing about the happy change; and, having from the outset realised the responsibility of the charge committed to him, he was overjoyed at the issue of his visit (2 Corinthians 7:6).
(e) St. Paul's meeting with Titus. Meanwhile St. Paul left Ephesus and crossed the sea to Philippi, sailing along the coast to Troas, and thence taking ship for Europe. Troas offered him a good field for mission work (2 Corinthians 2:12); but, when Titus did not appear as he expected, anxiety about the Coririthians drove him onwards to meet him. At last in Macedonia (perhaps at Philippi) he encountered his messenger (2 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 7:5; 2 Corinthians 7:8), and was relieved and gladdened by the good news he brought. In his delight at the return of the Corinthians to their faithfulness, he proceeded to carry out his purpose of visiting them as announced in the First Epistle (1 Corinthians 16:5), and first of all sent Titus back to them with a letter expressive of his relief and joy—the Second Epistle, 2 Corinthians 1-9.
This plan of visiting Corinth after passing through Macedonia was ultimately carried out according to his original intention; but at one period St. Paul had in mind another plan, which he afterwards disclosed to the Corinthians. This was to cross by the direct route from Ephesus to Corinth, and from thence to visit Macedonia, returning again to Corinth on the way to Jerusalem, thus giving the Corinthians 'a double benefit' (2 Corinthians 1:15). Circumstances, however, caused him to revert to his original intention, and pay the visit to Macedonia before going south to Corinth.
(f) The 'thankful' letter.
2 Corinthians 1-9 of the Second Epistle seem to constitute the letter written by the Apostle after receiving the good news. This letter was sent by Titus, who is repeatedly referred to in it (2 Corinthians 2:13; 2 Corinthians 7:6; 2 Corinthians 7:13; 2 Corinthians 8:6; 2 Corinthians 8:16; 2 Corinthians 8:23) and with him were sent other two—'the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches'(2 Corinthians 8:18), and 'our brother whom we have oftentimes proved diligent in many things' (2 Corinthians 8:22). Besides the conveyance of the letter they were entrusted with the reorganisation of the collection for the saints at Jerusalem, which had promised well when it was begun, but had probably fallen into abeyance while the trouble lasted (2 Corinthians 9:2; 2 Corinthians 9:5). Following in their footsteps, St. Paul soon afterwards himself arrived at Corinth to complete the reconciliation.