In the first part of the study we have seen that Paul and the Corinthians disagree fundamentally on how he ought to behave as a minister of Christ. We also discovered that Paul attributes this disagreement to the influence of two sets of radically conflicting values. On the one hand, the Corinthians imbibe the outlook of the world. On the other hand, he is conformed to Christ.

But this is Paul's appraisal of the situation, not the Corinthians'. They would surely object to the idea that their outlook is anything less than fully Christian. In their view the problem is just the reverse. It is not they who have strayed from Christ, but Paul. They look in vain ‘for evidence of Christ speaking in him’ (2 Corinthians 13:3), and even wonder whether his manner of discharging the ministry is ‘of Christ’ (2 Corinthians 10:7). What confounds them is how one so unimpressive as Paul can rightly claim to be a minister of the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ.

It is this question which Paul sets out to answer in the extended middle section of 2 Corinthians, namely in 2:14–7:4, and especially in chapter 4, and which evokes his paradoxical teaching of power through weakness. In the next four chapters we shall attempt to unravel his reply.