Characters Behind And Below The Text
New Testament scholar, Carl Holloday, insists that Paul works out his theology in the heat of the day, works it out as a missionary facing all kinds of challenges and that this truth is especially clear in 2 Corinthians. This works out to mean that Paul calls on familiar truths to make his case; it means that old truths take on new meaning and that the Spirit brings him new insights in light of the situation before him. Triggered by his painful experiences and superintended by the Spirit Paul produced this incredibly rich letter that was probably never more needed than it is today.
Paul's reputation and gospel are under attack. Wouldn't you think that a genuine apostle wouldn't experience that kind of treatment? Some Corinthians might take that criticism as proof that there was something suspect about Paul. How does Paul handle that? In various ways. One of them is to bring in characters that put up with sustained criticism but were truly God's witnesses. Moses is a prime example. Expressly mentioned but often imbedded below the surface of the text, Moses is a clear case of God's man under attack; God's man who should have been respected in light of what he had done for Israel. This has the advantage of putting Paul in a better light since he becomes linked with the majestic Moses but it also has the advantage of placing his critics at Corinth in the role of rebels against God's commissioned apostle when they oppose him.
Not as prominent or as pervasive as Moses but still there in the text is Jeremiah, another true messenger of God whose authority, commission and message was constantly called in question. The prophet with a mighty commission (see Jeremiah 1) denounced the boasting and bullying of arrogant leaders but seemed at times not to be forceful enough. Nevertheless, he was truly God's messenger and Paul attaches himself to the spirit and word of the prophet (see 2 Corinthians 10:8;13:10).
Complaint psalms are called in by Paul to show that true servants of God have often been subjected to distress and hurt so it should be no surprise that he (or the Corinthians!) would experience this also. In fact, one psalmist (116:10,16) finds his assurance that he is indeed God's servant as a result of enemies and trouble when God brings him through it all. See 2 Corinthians 4:7-15. In addition to using the psalmists and their experiences as a backdrop to his own Paul repeatedly uses Isaiah to illuminate the nature and timing of his own ministry.
Above all, of course, Paul attaches himself to Jesus Christ and insists that his experience of weakness, abuse and loss is the life and death and resurrection (in short, the gospel) rehearsed before the world. Paul brings, in Luther's terms, a gospel of the cross rather than a gospel of glory.
When Paul links up with apparent failures: Moses (who didn't enter the land), Jeremiah (who couldn't prevent Israel's exile and himself died away from home) and Jesus (who was rejected by his own), the Corinthians have a chance to look at Paul differently. (It's also significant that these three were not the gung-ho, Rambo type leaders who sang their own praises. They experienced pain and loss as part of their faithfulness to God. But, and this is where Paul's own experience bears so much fruit, in being able to see Paul in a different light they are able to see the gospel in a new light.
This Pauline approach to the defence of his gospel and apostleship--that is, making use of persons and structures--is brought out particularly well by Ford and Young in their book
Meaning And Truth in 2 Corinthians.
©2004 Jim McGuiggan. All materials are free to be copied and used as long as money is not being made.
Many thanks to brother Ed Healy, for allowing me to post from his website, the abiding word.com