Polycarp came from a covenant household and was a Christian all his 86 years—God had never done him wrong. It is a remarkable affirmation because when challenging times come, the tendency is to blame God for the troubles. In times of struggle thoughts like, “Everything was going so well, but you let me down God,” or, “It just isn’t fair God, it’s just not fair” might come to mind. Notice also that Polycarp calls God the King, showing clearly that Caesar is not his lord. Polycarp would be burned at the stake shortly after making this statement. 

Smyrna was located about thirty miles north of Ephesus situated at the point of a vee-shaped inlet where the city of Izmir is in modern Turkey. It was a significant port at the time of Polycarp and was possibly the greatest city within the Roman province of Asia. The climate could be pleasant because a wind would blow from the Aegean Sea into Smyrna from early afternoon into the evening. A contemporary of Polycarp named Aristides described the breeze as having an aroma like a fresh grove of trees. Smyrna was a key city of eastern Christianity having one of the seven churches addressed by the Lord in the book of Revelation. His message was one of encouragement to the congregation because they would face persecution (Rev 2:8-11). Smyrna with possibly as many as 100,000 residents is where Polycarp lived and ministered.
He was taught as a young man by the Apostle John. Polycarp’s only extant writing is Epistle to the Philippians (circa 125) which was sent by himself and “the elders (πρεσβύτεροι) who are with him” to “the church of Philippi.” It was a response to a letter from the Philippians asking him to forward some letters to the Syrian Church, and they requested that copies of some epistles by Ignatius be sent to Philippi. Polycarp’s Philippians is important for the New Testament because he quotes or alludes to passages in the gospels as well as epistles by Paul, Peter, and John, which shows that by early in the second century their writings were accepted as the Word of God. He also provides instruction to both the deacons and presbyters (πρεσβύτεροι) of the church.
One debate occurring during Polycarp’s life involved the date for celebrating Easter. The Quartodecimans (Fourteeners) lived primarily in Asia Minor, and they had a different way for determining the day for remembering the resurrection each year. They believed Easter should occur on the fourteenth day of the Jewish month of Nisan to parallel the Passover (Lev 23:5). One can see how this view would arise given the week of Jesus’ passion occurred at the time of Passover, but the Anti-Quartodecimans thought that setting the date for Easter using the Jewish calendar was wrong. Pope Victor (189-199) would overrule the Quartodecimans but they nevertheless continued their practice with waning influence as the years passed.
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The real reason of the election of the elect is their salvability, that is, under the system of government [according to Finney] established by God as the wisest. God elects those whom He can save, and leaves un-elected those whom He cannot save, consistently with the system of government which He has determined to establish as the wisest and best (170). The ultimate reason why the entire action of God in salvation is confined by Finney to persuasion lies in his conviction that nothing more is needed—or, indeed, is possible (172).

Toward the end of his illustrious career at Princeton Theological Seminary, B. B. Warfield took up his pen (beginning in 1918) in response to the burgeoning movement known as “Christian perfectionism,” and the closely related “higher-life” teaching. Both were then making a significant impact upon American Christianity. Warfield identified both as theological descendants of the ancient heresy of Pelagianism, now injected into the American evangelical bloodstream by one Charles Grandison Finney (1792-1875) and his many followers of the “Oberlin School” and among the higher-life teachers.
What follows are but a few brief citations from Warfield’s volume Perfectionism, (Volume Two) published posthumously in 1932. In a lengthy essay, Warfield dissects Finney’s theological “system,” exposing it for what is is, a “mere system of morals,” which in Warfield’s estimation would function just as well with God as without him.
Warfield writes of Finney’s theological system . . .

This brings us back to the point of view with which we began—that the real reason of the election of the elect is their salvability, that is, under the system of government [according to Finney] established by God as the wisest. God elects those whom He can save, and leaves un-elected those whom He cannot save, consistently with the system of government which He has determined to establish as the wisest and best (170).
The ultimate reason why the entire action of God in salvation is confined by Finney to persuasion lies in his conviction that nothing more is needed—or, indeed, is possible (172).
It speaks volumes meanwhile for the strength of Finney’s conviction that man is quite able to save himself and in point of fact actually does, in every instance of his salvation, save himself, that he maintained it in the face of such broad facts of experience to the contrary (178).

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Second Corinthians teaches us that genuine Christian ministry is characterized by “simplicity and godly sincerity” (2 Cor. 1:12), that church officers aren’t self-sufficient (2 Cor. 3:5), and that ministry is more dying to self than it is self-promotion (2 Cor. 4:11–12). Paul elected not to accept compensation from the Corinthians, not wanting to introduce a stumbling block (2 Cor. 11:7–9). He didn’t carry letters of recommendation with him (2 Cor. 3:1–3). He refused to practice cunning (2 Cor. 4:2) or to tickle ears (2 Cor. 2:17) because it wasn’t his ministry or his message—it is God’s. The same is true of all Christian servants in the new covenant.

Like 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians covers a myriad of issues in addressing a church that is beset by immorality, false teachers, sectarianism, and theological confusion. In this letter, the Apostle Paul’s care and concern for the Corinthian church are palpable. Let’s consider three important characteristics of the letter that help us understand and apply its overall message.
1. Second Corinthians represents the culmination of Paul’s intense dealings with the church at Corinth.
The founding of the church in Corinth (around AD 52) took place during Paul’s second missionary journey (see Acts 18:1–11). Luke tells us that Paul stayed in Corinth for more than eighteen months. It seems that soon after Paul left Corinth for Antioch, significant problems arose in the new congregation. Paul found out about these problems while in Ephesus on his third missionary journey (see Acts 19). In all likelihood, 2 Corinthians is the fourth letter that Paul had written to the church within a span of roughly two years:

Letter 1: The “previous” (nonextant) letter (see 1 Cor. 5:9)
Letter 2: 1 Corinthians
Letter 3: The “severe” (nonextant) letter after the “painful” visit (see 2 Cor. 2:3–4; 7:8–12)
Letter 4: 2 Corinthians

Paul sent the “severe” letter through Titus, who returned to Paul with a joyful report of the church’s repentance and loyalty to the Apostle and the Apostolic teaching. Thus, 2 Corinthians is a “happy” (though not perfect) culmination of a complex relationship between the Apostle and the Corinthian believers. Paul’s joy at the report from Titus regarding the Corinthians’ welfare (see 2 Cor. 7:6–7) demonstrates what the Apostle valued in the life of the church. These include the peace, purity, and unity of the church (including church discipline), as well as the Christian’s ethical conduct, humility, and generous stewardship. If the Apostle was so anxious that this church possess and manifest these attributes, we ought to work toward these in our churches and our Christian lives as well.
2. Second Corinthians provides a strong defense of Paul’s Apostolic ministry.
Paul goes to great lengths to demonstrate, contra the false “super-apostles” (2 Cor. 11:5), that his Apostleship is genuine because he has been commissioned and entrusted by the risen and ascended Lord Jesus Christ to speak in His name (see 2 Cor. 5:18; 13:3).
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