The Setting Of 2 Corinthians -- By: Ralph P. Martin

Journal: Tyndale Bulletin
Volume: TYNBUL 37:1 (NA 1986)
Article: The Setting Of 2 Corinthians
Author: Ralph P. Martin


The Setting Of 2 Corinthians

Ralph P. Martin

Institute For Biblical Research Lecture, 1985

Introduction

This lecture will seek to place the letter known as 2 Corinthians in Paul’s life as a missionary and church leader whose apostolic standing was a subject of heated debate at Corinth. To achieve our aim we shall need to sketch the course of apostolic history in outline, and indicate, according to one proposed theory, the way Paul’s vocation was shaped by the flow of events that led to the composing of the letter. This task is best approached by recounting a series of statements which mark the train of events relating to Paul’s role as apostle in the early church, as seen through his letters and the data of Acts, however problematic the data in Acts may appear to be. In this way our endeavour will be to show that the contents and chief emphases of 2 Corinthians are most adequately apreciated by setting the letter in a historical and theological Sitz im Leben in Paul’s missionary career. And we will be indirectly challenging C. J. A. Hickling’s position in his article ‘Is the Second Epistle to the Corinthians a Source of Early Church History?’1 He responds negatively to his question by seeing the letter as not consisting of a ‘locally directed polemic’ occasioned by Paul’s opponents at Corinth (p. 286). Hickling, to be sure, rightly emphasizes ‘the personal factors that emerge strongly in the confrontation’ between Paul and the Corinthians. But when he denies the force of ‘doctrinal’ issues separating Paul and his readers, with the opponents forming a third member of the triangle of relationships, he, cuts himself off from a valuable source of information. He thus does not allow the setting of the letter to come to the aid of exegesis. We may concede that Hickling’s caution in refusing to get caught in an ‘exegetical circle’ is praiseworthy. Nonetheless, when he concludes that ‘we must remain largely in ignorance of the doctrinal position or tendencies of Paul’s rivals. . . [and that Paul’s] magnificent theological

assertions are enumerated not principally as polemic but as a positive support for his exposition of the meaning of his apostleship’ (p. 287), he is correct in what he affirms but wrong in his unnecessary scepticism and denials. Paul’s personal history, we shall maintain, and chiefly his self-understanding as apostle, cannot be separated from the ongoing theological debate with his detractors. His self-identity -- and its theological undergirding -- was sharpened and refined precisely because he was called on to defend it in the face of his opponents’ attacks, notably at Corin...

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