Where was Paul when he wrote 2 Corinthians and what was the Corinthian church like?
Paul was probably in northern Greece when he wrote 2 Corinthians. The Corinthian church was carnal, a very immature group of believers. His first letter had to address many of their problems; this second letter seeks to straighten out their ideas rather than condemn them.
Les explains that when studying this letter, always remember the situation of the letter. Paul is probably somewhere up in northern Greece as he writes this second letter to the Corinthian church. That church was carnal and a very immature group of believers. In the first letter, Paul really had to come down on them with a lot of their problems. Now, in this second letter, he is not condemning them so much as simply straightening out some of their ideas. Les then moves into 2 Corinthians 8:7 to discuss Grace Age or Church Age giving, stressing that we are not under Law but under Grace.