哥林多后书 2 Corinthians

哥林多后书是保罗书信中最个人、最动情的一卷。写前书之后，哥林多教会一度有人公开抵挡保罗，又有自称「最大的使徒」的假教师混入，质疑他的资格：他外貌不扬、言语粗俗、屡遭患难，哪像属灵领袖？保罗先打发提多前去处理，听到教会大体悔改的好消息后，约公元 55–56 年在马其顿写下此信，既表安慰，也为余下的反对者作最后的辩白。

正因为被迫「自辩」，保罗罕见地敞开了自己：在亚西亚连活命的指望都绝了，却学会依靠那叫死人复活的神；身上常带着耶稣的死，宝贝却放在瓦器里；三次求主除去那根刺，得到的答复是「我的恩典够你用的，因为我的能力是在人的软弱上显得完全」。本书也留下了关于新约执事、与神和好的职分以及甘心乐捐的经典教导。

今天的读者若曾在事奉中受伤、被误解，或在软弱中怀疑自己的价值，哥林多后书是为你写的。它颠覆世界的成功学：神的能力不绕过软弱，而是借着软弱显明。「若有人在基督里，他就是新造的人」——这宣告出自一位伤痕累累却满有安慰的使徒之口，因此格外有力。

Second Corinthians is the most personal and emotionally raw of Paul's letters. After 1 Corinthians, opposition flared in Corinth: someone openly defied Paul, and self-styled "super-apostles" infiltrated the church, sneering at his credentials — unimpressive in person, unpolished in speech, forever in trouble. Hardly a spiritual leader, they said. Paul sent Titus to address the crisis, and upon hearing that most of the church had repented, he wrote this letter from Macedonia around AD 55–56 — partly in relief and comfort, partly as a final answer to the remaining critics.

Forced to defend himself, Paul opens his heart as nowhere else. In Asia he despaired even of life, and learned to rely on the God who raises the dead. He carries around the death of Jesus in his body; the treasure is held in a jar of clay. Three times he pleaded for his thorn to be removed, and the answer came: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Along the way the letter leaves us classic teaching on the ministry of the new covenant, the message of reconciliation, and cheerful, generous giving.

If you have ever been wounded in ministry, misunderstood, or tempted in weakness to doubt your worth, this letter was written for you. It overturns every worldly theory of success: God's power does not bypass weakness but shines through it. "If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come" — a declaration all the more compelling because it comes from a scarred yet deeply comforted apostle.