2 Corinthians 10

2 Corinthians 10:1

III. PAUL’S VINDICATION OF HIS APOSTLESHIP (Chaps. 10-13) The last four chapters of this Epistle deal primarily with Paul’s defense of his apostleship. The words of the Apostle Peter seem especially appropriate in describing this particular portion of Paul’s writings: In which are some things hard to understand. Paul is obviously answering charges made against him by his critics, but we are forced to form our own conclusions as to what the charges were by studying the text of Paul’s answers. Throughout this section the apostle uses a great deal of irony. The difficulty is in knowing just when he is doing so! However, it is a most rewarding portion of God’s precious word, and we would certainly be much poorer without it. A. Paul’s Reply to His Accusers (10:1-12) 10:1 In verses 1-6 we have the apostle’s answer to those who accused him of acting in accordance with the methods of worldly men. First, he introduces himself simply as I, Paul, myself. Second, he pleads with the saints instead of acting in a dictatorial manner. Third, he bases his appeal on the meekness and gentleness of Christ. He is, of course, thinking of the pathway of the Lord Jesus when He was on earth as a Man. This, incidentally, is one of Paul’s few references to the Savior’s life on earth. Ordinarily, the apostle refers to Christ as the ascended, glorified One at the right hand of God. In further description of himself, Paul says, I who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. This obviously is spoken in irony. What his critics said was that Paul was cowardly when he was present with the people, but when he was absent he was bold as a lion. His boldness, they said, was evident in the overbearing attitude which he took in his letters. 10:2 This verse is connected with the first part of verse 1. There Paul started to say that he pleaded with the Corinthians, but he did not tell what was the content of his entreaty. Here he explains: I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. He did not want to be bold toward them as he intended to be bold toward those who accused him of acting in a carnal manner. 10:3 Here the thought is that although the apostles were living in bodies of flesh, they did not wage the Christian warfare according to fleshly methods or motives. 10:4 The weapons of the Christian warfare are not carnal. The Christian, for instance, does not use swords, guns, or the strategy of modern warfare in spreading the Christian gospel from shore to shore. But those are not the only carnal weapons of which the apostle is speaking. The Christian does not use wealth, glory, power, fluency, or cleverness to accomplish his aims. Rather, he uses methods that are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. Faith in the living God, prayer, and obedience to the word of God are the effective weapons of every true soldier of Jesus Christ. It is by these that strongholds are razed. 10:5 This verse tells us what is meant by strongholds in verse 4. Paul saw himself as a soldier warring against the proud reasonings of man, arguments which oppose the truth. The true character of these arguments is described in the expression against the knowledge of God. It could be applied today to the reasonings of scientists, evolutionists, philosophers, and religionists who have no room for God in their scheme of things. The apostle was in no mood to sign a truce with these. Rather he felt committed to bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. All men’s teachings and speculations must be judged in the light of the teachings of the Lord Jesus Christ. Paul would not condemn human reasoning as such, but would warn that we must not allow our intellects to be exercised in defiance of the Lord and in disobedience to Him. 10:6 As a soldier of Christ, the apostle was also ready to punish all disobedience, when the Corinthians had shown their obedience first of all. He was not going to act against the false teachers at Corinth until he was, first, sure of the obedience of the believers in all things. 10:7 The first sentence may be a question: Do you look at things according to the outward appearance? (NKJV). It may be a statement of fact: You are looking only on the surface of things (NIV). Or it may be an imperative: Look at what is before your eyes (RSV), that is, Face the facts.If we take it as a statement, it means that the Corinthians were prone to judge a man by whether or not he had a commanding presence, impressive eloquence, or great powers of logic. They were swayed by external appearance rather than by inward reality. If anyone is convinced in himself that he is Christ’s, let him again consider this in himself, that just as he is Christ’s, even so we are Christ’s. Here Paul may be referring to those who said, I am of Christ (1Co_1:12), probably meaning to the exclusion of others. He answers that no one has an exclusive claim on Christ. He belongs to the Lord Jesus as truly as they. Whoever the exclusive Christians were, Paul does not deny they belonged to Christ. Therefore, in this passage he can hardly be referring to the false apostles and deceitful workers who transformed themselves into apostles of Christ (2Co_11:14). It seems that in this Letter Paul is dealing with different adversaries, some saved and some unsaved. 10:8 As an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul had been given authority in connection with the churches he established. The aim of this authority was to build up the saints in their most holy faith. The false teachers, on the other hand, were exercising an authority among the Corinthians which they had never received from the Lord. Not only so, but they were exercising this authority in a manner to tear down the saints rather than build them up. So Paul says that even if he boasted more abundantly in the authority, which the Lord gave him, he would not be put to shame for it. His claims would eventually prove to be true. 10:9 He has said this in order that he might not seem to terrify the Christians by his letters. In other words, if the apostle should boast of his God-given authority, he does not want the Christians to think he is trying to scare them. That would be playing into the hands of his critics. Rather the Corinthians should remember that his authority was given to him for building them up, and that is how he used it. 10:10 Here we are permitted to listen to the very charge which was made against the Apostle Paul. His opponents charged him with writing threatening letters, but they said his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. 10:11 All who made such charges should consider that when Paul was going to be present with them, he would be the same as they said he was in his letters. This does not mean that Paul admitted to being overbearing in his letters. That was what they said about him. But he is saying that he would deal severely with them when he met them face to face. There would be no cowardliness about him. 10:12 It is obvious that the false teachers were in the habit of comparing themselves with others. They would hold up Paul before the gaze of the Corinthians in such a way as to make him a laughingstock. They considered themselves to be the inner circle. They were the elite ones. According to them, no one could stand by them and be seen in a favorable light. So Paul says in obvious satire, For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves. But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. Bold as they accused Paul to be in his Letter, he here says he is not bold enough to number himself with those who commend themselves, or with those whose only standard of measurement is their own life. It should be obvious that if a person’s only standard is himself, then he is always right! There is no room for improvement. Those who do this are not wise. As has been well said, It is the bane of all cliques and coteries to ignore all excellence out of their own party.

2 Corinthians 10:13

B. Paul’s Principle: To Break New Ground for Christ (10:13-16) 10:13 In verses 13-16 Paul states his intention of boasting only in the sphere of ministry which God had given to him. He made it a practice not to intrude into someone else’s work when he wanted to boast. This is an obvious reference to the Judaizers. It was their practice to work their way into churches already established by the Apostle Paul or some other Christian, and there build upon another man’s foundation. When they boasted, they were actually boasting in something that was the work of another. Paul says he will not boast concerning matters which lie outside the sphere of his own service for Christ. Rather, he will make his boast in the places and persons where God had honored his ministry. That would include Corinth, since he had gone there with the gospel and a church had been formed as a result. Arthur S. Way aptly translates: But II do not vaunt of prerogatives beyond my legitimate province. I confine myself within the limits of the sphere of operations allotted to me by Godand that province certainly included my mission to you. Actually, Paul had been commissioned by the Lord to take the gospel to the Gentiles. This commission would, of course, include Corinth. The apostles in Jerusalem had agreed to this, but now false teachers were coming from Jerusalem and invading the provinces which God had given to the Apostle Paul. 10:14 The apostle is not indulging in excessive boasting. God had appointed a sphere of service to him. That sphere included Corinth. He had come to Corinth, preached the gospel, and planted a church. If he had not come as far as Corinth, he could be accused of boasting beyond his proper limit. He had undergone trial, testing, affliction, and difficulties in order that he might reach the Corinthians. Now others were invading the sphere which he had pioneered, and they were probably boasting loudly about their achievements. The NIV translates this difficult verse: We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.10:15 The apostle is determined that he will not boast of matters which were not directly the result of his own service for Christ. That is the very thing of which the Judaizers were guilty: they boasted in other men’s labors. They tried to steal Paul’s sheep, assassinated his character, contradicted his teaching, and assumed a false authority. Paul’s hope was that when the Corinthians’ faith increased, and he could move on, their faith would express itself in practical help that would enable him to go into still further regions as God’s apostle. As he thus extended his ministry, he would follow his rule consistently. The troubles at Corinth were so occupying his time that he was hindered from fulfilling his mission to the regions beyond. 10:16 The rule was to preach the gospel in the regions beyond the Corinthians (probably meaning Western Greece, Italy, and Spain) and not to boast in another man’s sphere of accomplishment. The Apostle Paul did not intend to trespass on others’ fields of labor or to glory in what other men had done before he got to a certain place.

2 Corinthians 10:17

C. Paul’s Supreme Goal: The Commendation of the Lord (10:17, 18) 10:17 If anyone glories, he should glory in the Lord. Doubtless this means he should glory only in what the Lord has been pleased to do through him. This seems to be the general direction of the apostle’s argument. 10:18 After all, self-commendation is not what wins God’s approval. The question that Paul’s critics should face is this: Has the Lord commended you by so blessing your ministry that souls have been saved, that saints have been established in the faith, and that churches have been planted? Can you demonstrate the approval of the Lord by pointing to those who have been converted through your preaching? This is what counts. Paul was willing and able to show such proof of the Lord’s commendation of his ministry. In this chapter and the next, Paul indulges in what he calls folly. He is going to engage in the foolish business of speaking well of himself. It is not that he wants to do this at all. It was positively distasteful to him. But he asks the Corinthians to bear with him as he thus makes a fool of himself. Apparently the false teachers had engaged in a great deal of boasting. They doubtless gave glowing accounts of their service and of their spectacular successes. Paul had never done this. He had preached Christ and not himself. The Corinthians seemed to prefer the boasting type of ministry, and so Paul asks them to let him engage in it for a while.