# 2 Corinthians 01 General Notes #

#### Structure and formatting ####

The first paragraph reflects a common way to begin a letter in the ancient Near East.  

#### Special Concepts ####

##### Paul's integrity #####
People were criticizing Paul and saying he was not sincere. He refutes them by explaining his motives for what he was doing. 

##### Comfort #####
Comfort is a major theme of this chapter. The Holy Spirit comforts Christians. The Corinthians probably were afflicted and needed to be comforted.  

#### Important figures of speech in this chapter ####

##### Rhetorical question #####

Paul uses two rhetorical questions to defend himself against a charge of not being sincere. (See: [[rc://en/ta/man/translate/figs-rquestion]]) 

#### Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter ####

##### We #####
Paul uses the pronoun "we". This likely represents at least Timothy and himself. It may also include other people. 

##### Guarantee #####

Paul says the Holy Spirit is the guarantee, which means pledge or down-payment, of a Christian's eternal life. Christians are securely saved. But they will not experience all of God's given promises until after they die. The Holy Spirit is a personal guarantee that this will happen. This idea comes from a business term. A person gives some valuable item to another person as a "guarantee" that they will repay money. (See: [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/eternity]] and [[rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/save]])
 
## Links: ##

* __[2 Corinthians 01:01 Notes](./01.md)__
* __[2 Corinthians intro](../front/intro.md)__

__| [>>](../02/intro.md)__
