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Pain and Paradox in 2 Corinthians: The Transformative Function of Strength in Weakness, By B. G. White

Pain and Paradox in 2 Corinthians

The Transformative Function of Strength in Weakness

Revised and Expanded Edition

by B. G. White
Afterword by Amy Peeler
Foreword by Lisa M. Bowens

Pain and Paradox in 2 Corinthians
Paperback
$39.99
  • Length: 360 pages
  • Dimensions: 6 × 9 in
  • Published: October 20, 2026
  • Imprint: IVP Academic
  • ISBN: 9781514012437

What is God doing in our weaknesses? The world may say "nothing," but the apostle Paul says "everything."

In Pain and Paradox in 2 Corinthians, B. G. White shows how Jesus Christ has entered human weakness and will not let it remain the same. While 2 Corinthians is often dismissed as a defensive and retaliatory letter, White argues that it may be one of Paul's most pastoral writings. At the heart of 2 Corinthians lies a paradox about power that defines Paul's life and theology and challenges the Corinthian community to align their ethics with the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

White explores how Paul uses his motif of "strength in weakness" to build up the Corinthians and what that means for our own theological understanding of suffering. White argues that the key to interpreting 2 Corinthians is the community's experience of pain and how Paul, in response, presents his experience of Christ's resurrection power as a paradigm in which the Corinthians learn how Christ transforms their emotions, behaviors, and sense of identity.

Rather than shying away from the paradoxical, White suggests that the genius of Paul's message lies in the literary and theological nuances of the "strength in weakness" paradox. Through detailed exegesis and pastoral reflection, White shows how Paul's paradox resists both the fear of suffering and the belief that suffering is inherently good. He insists, above all, that the center of gravity in 2 Corinthians is not Paul's opponents or the apostle's personal suffering, but the distinctive way in which Paul envisions Jesus Christ redeeming and transforming the Corinthian community.

What you'll find in Pain and Paradox in 2 Corinthians:

  • An original perspective on Paul's "strength in weakness" paradox that is useful for preaching and stimulates reflection on the nature and purpose of suffering in the Christian life.
  • Insightful illumination of how pain is part of God's vision for power.
  • Practical ministry implications and advice on preaching 2 Corinthians drawn from White's biblical exposition.


About this Edition

Revised and expanded from its original publication, this edition features new pastoral reflections at the end of each chapter. A new foreword by Lisa M. Bowens and new afterword by Amy B. Peeler further situate the usefulness of White's exegesis for academics, pastors, and students who want to gain insights from 2 Corinthians for preaching, teaching, and theological inquiry.

REVIEWS

"This book is creative and courageous. From its pages there emerges a passionate biblical theologian who is capable of investing familiar concepts with new meaning in order to illuminate Paul's paradoxical conception of strength and weakness in the life of Christian believers. I do not know of a young New Testament scholar who gives evidence of contributing more to the future of Christian theology. His work has a great future in the academy and the church."
"In this model of attentive, theological exegesis, B. G. White opens up the riches of 2 Corinthians. By recovering the historical context of the letter in the pain of both Paul and the Corinthians, he rediscovers the potential of Paul's 'strength in weakness' paradox to heal the life of the church, both in first-century Corinth and today. This revised, more accessible version of White's fine research is timely and enormously welcome."
"B. G. White's reworking of his monograph on 2 Corinthians is a rare achievement and a hopeful sign for the future of Pauline scholarship. It combines rigorous, attentive scholarship with a genuinely pastoral sensibility, without diluting either. As for academic vibrancy, this book represents one of the most significant recent contributions to the study of 2 Corinthians and, by extension, to Pauline theology more broadly. White effectively recenters the letter's theological and pastoral logic, moving beyond readings that treat it primarily as an exercise in apostolic self-defense. The result is a recalibration of how we read 2 Corinthians as Scripture for the church. But this is also why his project lends itself so well to pastoral adaptation. The natural integration of careful academic argument with reflective, discipleship-oriented reflections is something I hope will become more common in the future. In that sense, this book is also something of a flagship example of the kind of scholarship our churches and seminaries urgently need: intellectually serious, theologically alert, and pastorally wise."
“B. G. White’s Pain and Paradox in 2 Corinthians offers much for which to be grateful. On this fresh reading, 2 Corinthians does not pit Paul against the Corinthians or strength against weakness in a zero-sum contest. Instead, Paul and the Corinthians together stand as recipients of grace, through which both strength and weakness persist, mutually transforming one another through the presence of Christ.”
"B. G. White's deep dive into the central motif in 2 Corinthians juxtaposes the pain of paradox (i.e., the discomfort of being unable to resolve problems that resist logical explanation) and the paradox of pain (i.e., the challenge of understanding how suffering or weakness belong to a world that God rules and loves). In arguing that Paul uses this paradox not simply to defend his apostolic ministry but to minister to and transform the Corinthian community, White aids our understanding not only of 2 Corinthians but also of the way Christian pain participates in the strong weakness of the crucified and risen Christ himself."
"B. G. White's thoughtful and sophisticated study of 2 Corinthians helps us hear Paul's pastoral voice again. White argues that Paul does not simply defend his ministry to the Corinthians but actually ministers to them throughout the letter, addressing their lingering pain and sense of weakness. Picking his way through the crowded scholarship on literary integrity and the identity of Paul's opponents, White offers a reading where Paul's paradox of 'power in weakness' is directly relevant to the Corinthians' pain. Wrestling with Paul's paradox of 'strength in weakness,' White proposes to see the paradox as a structure where strength and weakness are co-inherent and ultimately transform the believers' inward-looking pain into outward-focused vulnerability. This is a fitting contribution at a time where power and weakness are construed as polar opposites both outside and inside the church. I am delighted that White's astute exegetical and theological study is being published in an accessible form, where its pastoral relevance is clearly spelled out."
"This significant study makes a series of contributions to questions about the occasion, integrity, and interpretation of 2 Corinthians by identifying and emphasizing the letter's pastoral purpose. Scholars, students, and ministers will all benefit from this deep exploration of the paradox and promise of strength in weakness."
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CONTENTS

1. A Crisis in the Interpretation of 2 Corinthians
2. The Problem of Pain: Re-interpreting the Corinthian Situation
3. A Jarring Comfort: The First Instances of the Paradox
4. A Heartfelt Event: The Paradox's Role in Reconciliation
5. A Co-inherent Crescendo: Distinguishing the Paradox's Transformative Function
6. Conclusion

Name Index
Subject Index
Scripture Index

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ABOUT B. G. White

B. G. White (PhD, Durham University) is an adjunct professor in New Testament at Boston College. He has been a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Divinity School and has taught at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He is a senior fellow at the Center for Pastor Theologians.

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