The Letters
- When
- c. AD 55–56
- Written by
- Paul
- Chapters
- 13
The big idea
Paul’s most personal letter: he defends his ministry, shows that God’s power is made perfect in weakness, and urges generous giving.
Themes
- Comfort in suffering
- Generosity
- The ministry of reconciliation
- Strength in weakness
Memory verse
And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Key passages
- 1:3–7The God of all comfort
- 4:7–18Treasure in earthen vessels
- 5:17–21A new creature
- 8–9Generous giving
- 12:7–10My grace is sufficient
Links to other Scripture
- Isaiah 40:1Be comforted
- Exodus 34:29–35The veil of Moses
- Isaiah 49:8Now is the acceptable time
- Philippians 4:13Strength in him
Read the text
Choose a chapter to read it here in the King James Version. Verses with a dotted underline have notes from Bible scholars. Tap one to open them.
Notes from
Chapters
King James text and the commentaries of Henry, Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Gill, Clarke, Calvin, and Keil and Delitzsch are in the public domain. Tyndale Open Study Notes are used under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license, from tyndaleopenresources.com. Texts were reformatted for this site.
Journal prompts
Keep a journal or notebook for your study. Write your answers there, in your own words.
- Where do you see Christ in this book?
- Paul says God comforts us so we can comfort others. Whom could you comfort with what you have been given?
- “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Write about a weakness you wish God would remove and what it might be teaching you.
- God loves a cheerful giver. What could you give this week, and how can you do it without grudging?
- In one sentence, this book is about…