保羅給哥林多人的第二封信，開始的時候與第一封信相同：藉著建立教會的權柄，證明他得到啟示的源頭。保羅在第一封信裡，為上帝在哥林多人中所成就的一切獻上感謝：第二封信中，則為上帝給他和提摩太的一切，不住的讚美上帝。然後就新約和舊約作一比較，舊約那榮光少於新約，而且舊約（即摩西的律法）是定罪處死的律法，但蓋上耶穌寶血的新約，卻能使上帝的職事放膽而有力的呼召人悔改信主。

        你喜歡那一種味道：玫瑰花香、在爐中燒烤的巧克力餅香、某一種香水、或辦公室忙忙碌碌的「人氣」？
        氣味是一種個人喜好，一個人心愛的香水，也許對另一個人來說是空氣污染！保羅在哥林多後書二章十四到十六節說到，基督徒應該對周遭的人散發出悅人的馨香之氣。保羅提到你生命中特質時，認為那比日常衛生或使用合適的古龍水更重要，香水令人愉悅，污染則使人不快，別人是否能從你生命中感受到基督的馨香之氣呢？或者你的基督徒生命是那樣的平淡，以致別人在你的言談舉止裡無法發現什麼吸引之處；或者更糟的是，你所散發出來的只是令人難忍的氣味，別人不得不轉身逃跑？
        現在就檢視一下你擁有那一種香氣！何不買一小瓶香水－－一種通常你不會買的香味－－重要的是，在每一次使用的時候提醒你向周圍的人散播基督的馨香之氣！

        他們甚至不喜歡他的長相
        保羅需要寫哥林多後書來澄清他們對他不實的指控：反復不定(1:17-23)；驕傲(3:1)；軟弱、氣貌不揚(10:10)；言語粗俗(11:6)；卑賤(7:8-10)；不誠實(12:16-19)；顛狂(5:13)等等。

今日的言語行為將影響至永生。

English

        Paul opens his second epistle to the Corinthians the same way he began his first one: by establishing his authority and documenting the source of his revelation. Whereas his first letter expressed thanksgiving for what God had done among the Corinthians, Paul's second one praises God for what He has done for Paul and Timothy, In contrast to the inferior glory of the old covenant (Moses' Law) which killed and condemned, the glorious new covenant, sealed in Jesus' own blood, makes God's ministers bold and effective in calling people to repentance.

        What is your favorite smell: the fragrance of rose blossoms? The aroma of chocolate chip cookies baking in the oven? A certain perfume? A barnyard full of animals?
        Smell is an individual matter. One person's perfume may be another's pollution! In 2 Corinthians 2:14-16 Paul says that Christians should be giving off an inviting fragrance to those around them. And there's more to that than regular hygiene or using the right cologne, for Paul is speaking of the quality of your life. Perfume attracts; pollution repels. Will others sense the fragrance of Christ radiating from your life? Or is your Christian life so bland that others have trouble finding anything attractive about your conversation or conduct? Or worse, is there an unpleasant odor that is turning people away?
        Check up on your I.Q. (Incense Quotient) right now! Then why not purchase a small bottle of cologne or perfume—a fra¬grance you don't normally buy—to remind you each time you use it of the importance of letting the fragrance of Christ radiate to those around you!

        They Didn't Even Like His Looks! —
        Paul’s need to write 2 Corinthians becomes clear when you note the severity of the charges against him: fickleness (1:17-23), pride (3:1), weakness (10:10), rude speech (11:6), meanness (7:8-10), dishonesty (12:16-19), and mental instability (5:13).

It is for us to use every moment of today as if our very eternity were dependent on its words and deeds.