2 Corinthians

This is the third of twenty-one summaries of the New Testament letters.  The third is 2 Corinthians, and it comes from The Structure of Paul's Letters by Robert Arthur Bailey:

a   Address and Blessing, 1:1-2

     b   Paul's Ministry, 1:3-7:16

          c   The Gift for Jerusalem, 8:1-15

               d   Commendation of Letter Carriers, 8:16-24

          c'  The Gift for Jerusalem, 9:1-15

     b'  Response to Paul's Opponents, 10:1-13:10

a'  Greetings and Blessing, 13:11-13

The 'a' pattern links Paul's opening address to his closing address to the Corinthians.

The 'b' pattern links an initial description of Paul's ministry among the Corinthians with a later description.  Both sections discuss suffering.  Both sections mention Titus' key role as a go-between.  Both sections compare the suffering in this life with the glory of the next.  Both speak of being 'in' Christ.  In the first section, he says that anyone who is in Christ is a new creation.  In the second section, he asks the Corinthians if they are in Christ.  Both sections talk about commending and boasting.

The 'c' pattern links two requests for the Corinthians to give a gift to the Christians in Jerusalem.

The 'd' section is a central commendation of the letter carriers.