This is the Baymaw podcast with Marty Solomon. I'm his co-host, Brent Bellings. Today we look at the second letter to the Corinthians and see their continued struggle to live out the gospel in their unique context.

We should have a pretty brief conversation today. A quick little jump through the second Corinthians here.

Brief overview of Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. We'll cover a few odds and ends and try to give us a hook to hang our understanding of the letter on.

But first of all, I have a couple of fun observations about the Corinthians letters. First of all, this isn't actually Paul's second letter to the Corinthians for all the Bible nerds out there that kept probably freaking out that I hadn't pointed that out already.

Quick call to the second letter. This doesn't Paul's second letter to the Corinthians. It's at the very least just third as you might see by examining. See here, do you have first Corinthians 5.9?

Yeah, okay. First Corinthians 5.9, I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people.

Wrote past tense. Yeah, absolutely. There's a letter we don't have. So what we actually have is probably at the very least second Corinthians and third Corinthians.

Don't you wish we had the first letter? I find it fun to think about my teacher raised. I always joke about that's the letter. That's the one where Paul talks about all the controversial stuff very clearly in that letter.

What to do with exactly what to do with women and gender and sexuality and all those things are finally solved in that missing link of the Corinthians series.

But perhaps there was even another letter perhaps look at this passage from second Corinthians seven. I'm going to read that to me.

Even if I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it though I did regret it. I see that my letter hurt you, but only for a little while.

Yet now I am happy not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. He did write to shame them. I mean, let's remember that.

In some cases, in some cases not. Right. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret. But worldly sorrow brings death.

See what this Godly sorrow has produced in you. What earnestness, what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what alarm, what longing, what concern, what readiness to see justice done.

At every point you have proved yourselves to be innocent in this matter. So even though I wrote to you, it was neither on account of the one who did the wrong nor on account of the injured party.

But rather that before God, you could see for yourselves how devoted to us you are by all this we are encouraged.

So is this a reference to the missing letter of first Corinthians, first first Corinthians?

Was it a reference to what we know as house first Corinthians?

It certainly could be first Corinthians was a tough letter of confrontation. Could it be something else at any rate? It appears that the people of Corinth are growing, changing and repenting.

This passage has always given me great hope that when I feel like the church around me is doomed things can change even in Corinth.

But another fun conversation in second Corinthians is about Paul's famous Thorn in the flesh. Go ahead and read me the passage about Paul's Thorn in the flesh here.

I must go on boasting, although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord.

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