2 Corinthians - Chapters 8-13 – Their Offering and Paul’s Boasting

Chapters 8-9 Paul deals with the offering which the Corinthian church had started (1 Corinthians 16:1-4), and now he plans on coming to receive it and their delegates would take it to Jerusalem. Paul reminds the people they are not to give due to guilt or pressure, but however they felt the Lord leading them, plus he added, "for God loves a cheerful giver" (vs. 7). He also reminded them in 8:9, "For you know the grace our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, so that you through His poverty mighty become rich." In other words he reminded them of the offering of Jesus, which when we ponder that, we desire to give back to the Lord. Chapters 10-12, Paul defends his calling, and unlike others who boast about their successful ministries, Paul boasts about his sufferings and weakness because that shows the strength of Jesus Christ (12:9-10). In the last chapter, Paul warns the church to "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you - unless, of course, you fail the test?" Paul was coming to them on his third visit, and he would deal with issues if necessary, but his hope was he would not need to "tear them down," but he wanted to "build them up" (13:10). Paul's final greeting included the three parts of the Trinity, "May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all."