2 Corinthians

Second Corinthians is the most personal of Paul's letters, written out of a bruising season of conflict and reconciliation with the church he loved. Rivals had arrived in Corinth boasting of credentials and eloquence, and Paul answers with a strange resume: beatings, shipwrecks, sleepless nights, and a thorn in the flesh. His theme is treasure in jars of clay, divine power made perfect in weakness. Along the way come profound meditations on the new covenant, the ministry of reconciliation, and cheerful generosity. No letter takes us deeper into the heart of the apostle, or into the paradox of cross-shaped strength.