2 Corinthians 13: check up

The Corinthians were criticizing Paul. Paul wrote:

5-9 Test yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand evidence, not mere hearsay, that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have failed. But if it comes to that, we’d rather the test showed our failure than yours. We’re rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly do otherwise.

The test addresses the question: "Is Jesus the Messiah living in me?".

Jesus changes our view of the Lord, of the world, of our values, priorities, of everything. This change of view must be linked to a change in our behavior. Paul wrote:

2 On my second visit I warned that bunch that keeps sinning over and over in the same old ways that when I came back I wouldn’t go easy on them. 

Paul was asking the Corinthians to ask if they belong to Jesus, and if so, it must produce a change of life.
The letter to the Corinthians is not only a defense of Paul, but a pastoral letter to guide the sheep back to Jesus.

2 Corinthians 12: Thorn in the Flesh

The Corinthians respected the "super apostles" so much that they paid money (salary?) to them while Paul restrained himself and he didn't charge anything from them. Paul was interested in the hearts of the Corinthians, not their money. Paul was thinking about what made the Corinthians pay so much attention to the super apostles and he begins to brag about spectacular revelations from the Lord, but then, he stops because he understands that:

7-10 Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn’t get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations (the thorn in the flesh). Satan’s angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn’t think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me,
My grace is enough; it’s all you need.
My strength comes into its own in your weakness.

Paul had a thorn in the flesh, a suffering, but he realizes that this suffering made him seek and pray to the Lord. Instead of bragging about his intelligence, etc.; Paul brags about his sufferings because they made him more dependent of the Lord. For Paul, a great man is the one who depends on the Lord.

2 Corinthians 11: Paul is jelous of the "super apostles".

Paul is jealous of the "attention" that the Corinthians were giving to the "super apostles" because Paul understood that they were being mislead and used by them. It is similar to a woman that always fall in love for the wrong guy and can't see who really takes care of her. Paul decided to show that he is fully compromised with Jesus. How? Instead of showing how Jew he is, his education, etc; he showed them how he had hard times because of Jesus: he was flogged, beaten Roman rods and even betrayed by people form the church.
This makes me wonder that a Christian life is not about being elevated by the Lord above others; it is all about being identified with Jesus. 

2 Corinthians 10: Misjudgement

Imagine a father that sees his child as fool: instead of valuing his father's care, the child longs for bad companions. Paul is in a very similar situation. Many in Corinth value others with much more charisma than Paul. They have their arguments against Paul. Paul says to the Corinth church:

3-6 The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground of every obstruction and building lives of obedience into maturity.

In another version we read:

5 we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.

Paul enemies had their thoughts which would separate the Corinth church from the Lord but that was very obscure. Paul wanted to clarify every though and bring into the structure of life shaped by Christ. For instance: the enemies of Paul were used to commend themselves but:

18 For it is not the one who commends himself that is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

2 Corinthians 9: Generosity

I have been stingy, mainly due to my hardships in childhood. I was told to save for the rainy days over and over, so I have been saving even now. I realize that this thought has a problem: it prevents me from being generous because in its essence I wrongly have been believed that I depend on my effort, my work and in the rainy days I will be alone: no one will be there to help me.

Paul wants that the Corinthians help the church in Jerusalem. He argues that the Lord has been good to them, so that they may be good to others. He expects that the Corinthians be joyful when being generous. The future is in the Lord's hand and the Lord is the One who provides, so the one who believes in the Lord is free to give. Paul expects that the Corinthians help the Jerusalem church and in doing so, they will be blessed by the Jerusalem church. It is difficult to live in community without generosity.

2 Corinthians 8: Gentile Offerings to Jerusalem

One year before, the Corinthians had a plan to offer money to the church of Jerusalem; but this plan wasn't being conducted and Paul had to revive it. One argument is that communion means to help one other falls and vice-versa:

10-20 So here’s what I think: The best thing you can do right now is to finish what you started last year and not let those good intentions grow stale. Your heart’s been in the right place all along. You’ve got what it takes to finish it up, so go to it. Once the commitment is clear, you do what you can, not what you can’t. The heart regulates the hands. This isn’t so others can take it easy while you sweat it out. No, you’re shoulder to shoulder with them all the way, your surplus matching their deficit, their surplus matching your deficit. In the end you come out even. As it is written,
Nothing left over to the one with the most,
Nothing lacking to the one with the least.

Paul explained how the offerings should be collected and how Titus and other two friends would take care of it. In fact, we understand that Paul and others carried the offering to Jerusalem and delivered it to leaders of the church in Jerusalem around Acts 21. Paul was always eager to see Jews and gentiles united due to the Messiah's sacrifice.

2 Corinthians 7 Metanoia

Paul wrote an angry letter to the Corinthians showing their sins before "2 Corinthians". Paul was worried about how they would read his letter: "perhaps they would be grieved and offended". Titus brought news to Paul about how his letter was received. It produced "metanoia", a new view about their sins, a repentance that made them confess and hate their sins.
Paul became very glad about their reaction;

11-13 And now, isn’t it wonderful all the ways in which this distress has goaded you closer to God? You’re more alive, more concerned, more sensitive, more reverent, more human, more passionate, more responsible. Looked at from any angle, you’ve come out of this with purity of heart. And that is what I was hoping for in the first place when I wrote the letter. My primary concern was not for the one who did the wrong or even the one wronged, but for you—that you would realize and act upon the deep, deep ties between us before God. That’s what happened—and we felt just great.

2 Corinthians 6 - Misunderstood by others

Perhaps I am a little different than "normal" Brazilians; and it is common that I feel to be misunderstood.  Today, I was looking the sky and I thought: the Lord is One who can't misunderstand me; maybe it is common that I don't understand the love and patience of the Lord, that I misunderstand the Lord, but the Lord is gracious and always understand me.
Reading 2 Corinthians 6, Paul was misunderstood by others. He showed love to the Corinthians, but they didn't understand Paul. Paul wrote:

11 Oh, my dear Corinthian friends! I have told you all my feelings; I love you with all my heart. 12 Any coldness still between us is not because of any lack of love on my part but because your love is too small and does not reach out to me and draw me in. 13 I am talking to you now as if you truly were my very own children. Open your hearts to us! Return our love!

However, Paul knows that the Lord understand him:

9 The world ignores us, but we are known to God; we live close to death, but here we are, still very much alive. We have been injured but kept from death. 10 Our hearts ache, but at the same time we have the joy of the Lord. We are poor, but we give rich spiritual gifts to others. We own nothing, and yet we enjoy everything.

Paul taught me a lesson that I would like to live: to know that the Lord understands me and appreciate that.

2 Corinthians 5: New Creation

17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

I believe in Jesus, that He took my sins and suffered the death by crucifixion and I received a new life because I got the forgiveness of the Lord. This faith changed my mind. I had to conquer my place in this world, but now I see: my body is not perfect and I will die, this world will die too - so what is the point of conquering a place in this world? Jesus conquered to me a place in a resurrected/glorious body. I am a new creature that was give thanks and praise the Lord. May in doing so, I lead others to Jesus:

20 We’re Christ’s representatives. God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God’s work of making things right between them. We’re speaking for Christ himself now: Become friends with God; he’s already a friend with you.

May I reconcile others to Jesus. 

2 Corinthians 4: A relisient clay pot

Paul compares himself to a fragile clay pot with a great treasure inside - Jesus. His body suffered persecution (was beaten) but he was resilient because he knew he was not alone. Jesus was with him, besides, he wrote:

16-18 So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.

I thought I would retire and had a long health span, but recently I discovered I was born with a cardiac problem in a heart valve which may impact my health span. It saddened me very much; but what is my body unless a fragile clay pot? My hope is to spend my eternity with the Lord. 

2 Corinthians 3: Metamorphosis

The judaizers came with recommendation letters from Jerusalem. They seemed very impressive while Paul not so much. Paul argued that he doesn't need recommendation letters because it was notorious that the Spirit was changing their lives.
The Spirit caused the metamorphosis in their lives - they were day by day being changed into Jesus glorified (as in the mount of transfiguration). May it be true in my life. May I being metamorphosed into Jesus, day by day.

2 Corinthians 2: Deeper relationship in the church

We make some effort to live in peace with everyone, i.e., we don't reprehend others when they sin, do something wrong. In a church, this behavior leads to a weak church, with very superficial relationships. Paul wants to see Jesus in each one of the Corinthians, so he fights for it, causing some "relationship problems". For instance:

5-8 Now, regarding the one who started all this — the person in question who caused all this pain — I want you to know that I am not the one injured in this as much as, with a few exceptions, all of you. So I don’t want to come down too hard. What the majority of you agreed to as punishment is punishment enough. Now is the time to forgive this man and help him back on his feet. If all you do is pour on the guilt, you could very well drown him in it. My counsel now is to pour on the love.

A healthy church is one which fights sin and forgives when there is repentance. "Love" in the church is all about to help others grow in order to see Jesus in each one of the church.

2 Corinthians 1: Reconciliation

 2 Corinthians 1: Reconciliation
Paul wrote the 2 Corinthians to reconcile with the church.
He addressed them as brothers and sisters. He showed them how vulnerable he is.
As he faced death, he understood very clearly his dependency on the Lord. The Lord comforted him, and he understood that it was a reason for him to comfort the Corinth church.
Paul is almost asking them to forgive him: He promised a visit to them in the 1 Corinthians that he didn't keep. Now he explained his intentions.
Our Lord is the Lord that seeks reconciliation with us; so Paul is doing in a similar way as the Lord always does.