The Apostle Paul had a big heart of love for the believers in Corinth. Even though they had slandered him, disobeyed the teaching he gave them, persisted in tolerating sin, and had allowed false teachers to spread their poison in the church, Paul had not given up on them. Any news of spiritual progress delighted him. He kept on praying for them because he was confident in God's ability to restore His people from their entrapment by sin, to being holy once again.

The severe tone of this letter was to jolt them into a fresh awareness of how God saw them, urging them to repent. It was not a power game Paul was playing, but a genuine heart-rending appeal for them to be reconciled with God (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). As Paul anticipated his visit to the church, he did not want to come with rebuke but with joy to see their changed hearts and lives.

It is true: apostolic authority does tear down as well as build up. But Paul wanted the believers to have their wrong thinking and actions demolished before his arrival (2 Corinthians 10:4-5) so that he might be able to spend his time building up the repentant believers. As at the beginning of this letter, he now reasserted that his authority came from Jesus by personal commission and instruction (Galatians 1:11-12).

Apostolic authority is still critically important for the building and growth of healthy believers and churches. The apostles were given the task of formulating the doctrines of the church, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 14:26; 16:12-15), teaching them without fear or favour. Their instruction to the church still stands. Alas it seems easy in these days to justify teaching which is different from theirs. It may be dressed up as a modern interpretation, even though it contradicts what the apostles wrote. We should be alarmed, and repent of our arrogance in thinking that we know God's will better than the men who Jesus specifically appointed to tell us what He wants us to believe and how He wants us to live. To get back on track with Jesus we need to be eager to accept and obey the apostles' teaching. If we think otherwise, Paul's words in 1 Timothy 6:3-4 should rebukes us, "If anyone teaches otherwise and does not agree to the sound instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, they are conceited and understand nothing."