Text -- 2 Corinthians 10:1-4 (NET)

Paul’s Authority from the Lord

10:1 Now I, Paul, appeal to you personally by the meekness and gentleness of Christ (I who am meek when present among you, but am full of courage toward you when away!)– 10:2 now I ask that when I am present I may not have to be bold with the confidence that (I expect) I will dare to use against some who consider us to be behaving according to human standards. 10:3 For though we live as human beings, we do not wage war according to human standards, 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not human weapons, but are made powerful by God for tearing down strongholds. We tear down arguments

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per phrase)

Robertson: 2Co 10:1

Now I Paul myself ( Autos de egō Paulos ).

Cf. Gal 5:2. Paul now turns to the third part of the epistle in chapters 10-13 in which he vigorously defends himself against the accusations of the stubborn minority of Judaizers in Corinth. Great ministers of Christ through the ages have had to pass through fiery trials like these. Paul has shown the way for us all. He speaks of himself now plainly, but under compulsion, as is clear. It may be that at this point he took the pen from the amanuensis and wrote himself as in Gal 6:11.

Robertson: 2Co 10:1

By the meekness and gentleness of Christ ( dia tes prautētos kai epieikias tou Christou ).

This appeal shows (Plummer) that Paul had spoken to the Corinthians about the character of Christ. Jesus claimed meekness for himself (Mat 11:29) and felicitated the meek (Mat 5:5) and he exemplified it abundantly (Luk 23:34). See note on Mat 5:5 and 1Co 4:21 for this great word that has worn thin with us. Plutarch combines prautēs with epieikia as Paul does here. Matthew Arnold suggested "sweet reasonableness"for epieikeia in Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch. It is in the N.T. only here and Act 24:4 (to epieikes in Phi 4:5). In Greek Ethics the equitable man was called epieikēs , a man who does not press for the last farthing of his rights (Bernard).

Robertson: 2Co 10:1

Lowly among you ( tapeinos en humin ).

The bad use of tapeinos , the old use, but here alone in N.T. in that meaning. Socrates and Aristotle used it for littleness of soul. Probably Paul here is quoting one of the sneers of his traducers in Corinth about his humble conduct while with them (1Co 2:2, 1Co 2:3; 2Co 7:6) and his boldness (apōn tharrō ) when away (1Co 7:16). "It was easy to satirize and misrepresent a depression of spirits, a humility of demeanour, which were either the direct results of some bodily affliction, or which the consciousness of this affliction had rendered habitual"(Farrar). The words stung Paul to the quick.

Robertson: 2Co 10:2

I beseech ( deomai ).

So here, but parakalō in 2Co 10:1. Perhaps, "I beg"suits the new turn here.

Robertson: 2Co 10:2

That I may not when present show courage ( to mē parōn tharrēsai ).

Articular infinitive (aorist active of tharreō ) in the accusative case with negative mē the direct object of deomai . Literally, "I beg the not when present (parōn nominative present participle agreeing with subject of tharrō in spite of being in the accusative infinitive clause, to mē tharrēsai ) showing courage."The example of humility in Christ makes Paul drop "from magisterial exhortation to earnest entreaty"(Plummer).

Robertson: 2Co 10:2

As if we walked according to the flesh ( hōs kata sarka peripatountas ).

Another sneering charge as made plain by the use of hōs with the participle for the alleged reason.

Robertson: 2Co 10:3

In the flesh ( en sarki ).

But that is a very different thing from walking kata sarka according to the standards of the flesh as his enemies charged. It is easy enough to make insinuations.

Robertson: 2Co 10:3

We war ( strateuometha ).

Literary plural again after logizomai in 2Co 10:2. Old word to lead an army (stratos ). In N.T. only in the middle as here. Paul admits that he fights, but only the devil and his agents even if wearing the livery of heaven. Paul knew the Roman army well. He knows how to use the military metaphor.

Robertson: 2Co 10:4

The weapons of our warfare ( ta hopla tēs strateias ).

Strateia (old word, in N.T. only here and 1Ti 1:18) is campaign and not army as some MSS. have (stratia ). But both strateia and stratia occur in the papyri for the same word (Deissmann, Bible Studies , p. 181f.). For hopla (Latin arma ) see note on 2Co 6:7; note on Rom 6:13; note on Rom 13:12.

Robertson: 2Co 10:4

Of the flesh ( sarkika ).

See note on 1Co 3:3; note on 2Co 1:12. They had accused him of artifices and craft.

Robertson: 2Co 10:4

Mighty before God ( dunata tōi theōi ).

This dative of personal interest (ethical dative) can be like asteios tōi theōi (Act 7:20), in God’ s eyes, as it looks to God.

Robertson: 2Co 10:4

To the casting down of strongholds ( pros kathairesin ochurōmatōn ).

Kathairesis is old word from kathaireō , to take down, to tear down walls and buildings. Carries on the military metaphor. Ochurōma is old word, common in the Apocrypha, from ochuroō , to fortify, and that from ochuros (from echō , to hold fast). Nowhere else in N.T. In Cilicia the Romans had to tear down many rocky forts in their attacks on the pirates.

Vincent: 2Co 10:1

I Paul myself

" This emphatic stress on his own person is the fit introduction to the portion of the epistle which, beyond any other part of his writings, is to lay open his individual life and character" (Stanley). " Paul boldly casts into the scales of his readers the weight of his own personality over against his calumniators" (Meyer).

Vincent: 2Co 10:1

Meekness - gentleness

See on Mat 5:5; see on 1Pe 2:18.

Vincent: 2Co 10:1

Base ( ταπεινός )

Better, as Rev., lowly . The sneer of his opponents that he was unassuming in their presence, but bold when absent. " It was easy to satirize and misrepresent a depression of spirits, a humility of demeanor, which were either the direct results of some bodily affliction, or which the consciousness of this affliction had rendered habitual. We feel at once that this would be natural to the bowed and weak figure which Albrecht Durer has represented; but that it would be impossible to the imposing orator whom Raphael has placed on the steps of the Areopagus" (Farrar).

This is the only passage in the New Testament in which ταπεινός lowly , bears the contemptuous sense which attaches to it in classical usage, an illustration of which may be found in Xenophon's story of Socrates' interview with the painter Parrhasius. " Surely meanness and servility (τὸ ταπεινόν τὲ καὶ ἀνελεύθερον ) show themselves in the looks (διὰ προσώπου , the same word as Paul's) and gestures of men" (" Memorabilia," iii., 10, 5). So Aristotle says that frequently to submit to receive service from another, and to disparage whatever he himself has done well, are signs of littleness of soul (μικροψυχίας ) and meanness (ταπεινότητος ) In the Septuagint the words πένης poor , πραΰ́ς meek , πτωχός destitute , and ταπεινός lowly , are used interchangeably to translate the same Hebrew words; the reference ordinarily being to the oppressed, in contrast with their rich and powerful oppressors, or to the quiet, in contrast with lawless wrong-doers. Compare Deu 15:11; 2Sa 22:28; Psalm 18:(Sept. 17) Psa 18:27; Isa 26:6; Psa 10:17 (Sept. 9:38); Pro 14:21; Pro 3:34; Num 12:3; Exo 23:6, Exo 23:11; Isa 32:7; Exo 23:3; Rth 3:10; Isa 11:4; 2Sa 12:1, 2Sa 12:3, 2Sa 12:4; Pro 13:8; 1Sa 18:23. The Septuagint usage therefore goes to show that these four words are all names for one class - the poor peasantry of an oppressed country, the victims of ill-treatment and plunder at the hands of tyrants and rich neighbors.

Vincent: 2Co 10:2

But I beseech you ( δέομαι δὲ )

In 2Co 10:1, παρακαλῶ is used for beseech . It is doubtful whether the two words can be strictly distinguished as indicating different degrees of feeling. It may be said that δέομαι and its kindred noun δέησις are frequently used of prayer to God, while παρακαλῶ occurs only twice in this sense, Mat 26:53; 2Co 12:8. On the other hand, παρακαλῶ is used of God's pleading with men, while in the same passage δέομαι is used of men's entreating men; 2Co 5:20. Rev., in 2Co 10:1, renders entreat , which, according to older English usage, is the stronger word, meaning to prevail by entreaty, just as persuade , which originally meant to use persuasion , now signifies to prevail by persuasion .

The construction of the passage is difficult. Literally it is: I pray the not showing courage when present , with the confidence , etc. The sense is: I pray you that you may not make it necessary for me to show, when I am present, that official peremptoriness which I am minded to show against those who charge me with unworthy motives.

Vincent: 2Co 10:2

May not be bold - think to be bold ( θαῤῥῆσαι - τολμῆσαι )

The A.V. thus misses the distinction between the two verbs. The former signifies to be stout-hearted or resolutely confident in view of one's conscious strength or capacity ; the latter, to carry this feeling into action ; to dare . The distinction is not easy to represent by single English words. It might be approximately given by brave and bold , though, in common usage, this distinction practically disappears. Θαῤῥῆσαι does not so much emphasize fearlessness as the tore positive quality of cheerful confidence in the presence of difficulty and danger, the sense which appears in the earlier usage of brave as gay (see the various uses in Shakespeare). Hence Rev. is on the right line in the use of courage , from cor heart , through the French coeur . Rev. renders, show courage - be bold . In classical Greek, the kindred noun θάρσος is sometimes, though not often, used in a bad sense, audacity , as in Homer, where Minerva is rebuking Mars for exciting strife among the gods with stormy or furious courage (θάρσος ἄητον " Iliad," xxi., 395). So the reckless daring of Hector is described θάρσος μυίης the effrontery of a fly (" Iliad," xvii., 570).

Vincent: 2Co 10:3

In the flesh

Being human, and subject to human conditions.

Vincent: 2Co 10:3

War ( στρατευόμεθα )

Serve as soldiers: carry on our campaign. See on Luk 3:14; see on Jam 4:1.

Vincent: 2Co 10:3

After the flesh

Or according to (Rev.). Quite a different thing from being in the flesh.

Vincent: 2Co 10:4

Carnal

Rev., better, of the flesh , thus preserving the play on the words. The idea of weakness attaches to that of fleshliness . See on σάρξ flesh , sec. 4, Rom 7:5.

Vincent: 2Co 10:4

Through God ( τῷ Θεῷ )

Lit., mighty unto God , in God's sight. See on exceeding fair , Act 7:20. Rev., before God .

Vincent: 2Co 10:4

Pulling down ( καθαίρεσιν )

Only in this epistle. Compare Luk 1:52. Also used of taking down pride, or refuting arguments.

Vincent: 2Co 10:4

Of strongholds ( ὀχυρωμάτων )

Only here in the New Testament. From ἔχω to hold , so that holds is an accurate rendering. Compare keep , a dungeon . The word is not common in classical Greek, but occurs frequently in the Apocrypha. In its use here there may lie a reminiscence of the rock-forts on the coast of Paul's native Cilicia, which were pulled down by the Romans in their attacks on the Cilician pirates. Pompey inflicted a crushing defeat upon their navy off the rocky stronghold of Coracesium on the confines of Cilicia and Pisidia.

Wesley: 2Co 10:1

- A strongly emphatical expression.

Wesley: 2Co 10:1

So, probably, some of the false teachers affirmed. Copying after the meekness and gentleness of Christ, entreat - Though I might command you.

Wesley: 2Co 10:2

To exert my apostolical authority.

Wesley: 2Co 10:2

As acting in a cowardly or crafty manner.

Wesley: 2Co 10:3

In mortal bodies, and, consequently, are not free from human weakness.

Wesley: 2Co 10:3

Against the world and the devil.

Wesley: 2Co 10:3

By any carnal or worldly methods. Though the apostle here, and in several other parts of this epistle, speaks in the plural number, for the sake of modesty and decency, yet he principally means himself. On him were these reflections thrown, and it is his own authority which he is vindicating.

Wesley: 2Co 10:4

Those we use in this war.

Wesley: 2Co 10:4

But spiritual, and therefore mighty to the throwing down of strong holds - Of all the difficulties which men or devils can raise in our way. Though faith and prayer belong also to the Christian armour, Eph 6:15, &c., yet the word of God seems to be here chiefly intended.

JFB: 2Co 10:1

No longer "we," "us," "our" (2Co 9:11): I who am represented by depreciators as "base," I, the same Paul, of my own accord "beseech you"; or rather "entreat," "exhort" you for your sake. As "I beseech you" (a distinct Greek verb, 2Co 10:2) for my sake.

JFB: 2Co 10:1

He mentions these graces of Christ especially (Psa 18:35; Mat 11:29), as on account of his imitation of them in particular he was despised [GROTIUS]. He entreats them by these, in order to show that though he must have recourse to more severe measures, he is naturally inclined to gentle ones after Christ's example [MENOCHIUS]. "Meekness" is more in the mind internally; "gentleness" in the external behavior, and in relation to others; for instance, the condescending yieldingness of a superior to an inferior, the former not insisting on his strict rights [TRENCH]. BENGEL explains it, "By the meekness and gentleness derived by me from Christ," not from my own nature: he objects to understanding it of Christ's meekness and gentleness, since nowhere else is "gentleness" attributed to Him. But though the exact Greek word is not applied to Him, the idea expressed by it is (compare Isa 40:11; Mat 12:19-20).

JFB: 2Co 10:1

In personal appearance when present with you.

JFB: 2Co 10:1

Greek, "lowly"; timid, humbly diffident: opposed to "bold." "Am" stands here by ironical concession for "am reputed to be" (compare 2Co 10:10).

JFB: 2Co 10:2

Intimating that, as he can beseech in letters, so he can be severe in their presence.

JFB: 2Co 10:2

That I may not have to be bold, &c.

JFB: 2Co 10:2

That authoritative sternness.

JFB: 2Co 10:2

I am minded to be.

JFB: 2Co 10:2

His Corinthian detractors judged of him by themselves, as if he were influenced by fleshly motives, the desire of favor or fear of giving offense, so as not to exercise his authority when present.

JFB: 2Co 10:3

Reason why they should regard him "beseeching" them (2Co 10:2) not to oblige him to have recourse to "bold" and stern exercise of authority. "We walk IN the flesh," and so in weakness: but not "ACCORDING TO the flesh" (2Co 10:2). Moreover, though we WALK in it, we do not WAR according to it. A double contrast or antithesis. "They who accuse us of walking after the flesh, shall find [to their cost] that we do not war after the flesh; therefore compel us not to use our weapons" [ALFORD].

JFB: 2Co 10:4

A confutation of those who try to propagate their creed by force and persecution (compare Luk 9:54-56).

JFB: 2Co 10:4

For punishing offending members (2Co 10:6; 1Co 4:21; 1Co 5:5, 1Co 5:13); boldness of speech, ecclesiastical discipline (2Co 10:8; 2Co 13:10), the power of the word, and of the sacraments, the various extraordinary gifts of the Spirit.

JFB: 2Co 10:4

Translate, "fleshly," to preserve the allusion to 2Co 10:2-3.

JFB: 2Co 10:4

Greek, "mighty to God," that is, mighty before God: not humanly, but divinely powerful. The power is not ours, but God's. Compare "fair to God," that is, divinely fair (Act 7:20, Margin). Also above (2Co 2:15), "unto God a sweet savor." "The efficacy of the Christian religion proves its truth" [BENGEL].

JFB: 2Co 10:4

As the Greek is the same as in 2Co 10:5, translate, "casting down." Compare Jer 1:10 : the inspired servants of God inherit the commission of the Old Testament prophets.

JFB: 2Co 10:4

(Pro 21:22); namely, in which sinners entrench themselves against reproof; all that opposes itself to Christ; the learning, and eloquence, and philosophical subtleties on which the Corinthians prided themselves. So Joshua's trumpet blast was "mighty" under God to overthrow the walls of Jericho.

Clarke: 2Co 10:1

I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness - Having now finished his directions and advices relative to the collection for the poor, he resumes his argument relative to the false apostle, who had gained considerable influence by representing St. Paul as despicable in his person, his ministry, and his influence. Under this obloquy the apostle was supported by the meekness and gentleness of Christ; and through the same heavenly disposition he delayed inflicting that punishment which, in virtue of his apostolical authority, he might have inflicted on him who had disturbed and labored to corrupt the Christian Church

Clarke: 2Co 10:1

Who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you - He seems to quote these as the words of his calumniator, as if he had said; "This apostle of yours is a mere braggadocio; when he is among you, you know how base and contemptible he is; when absent, see how he brags and boasts."The word ταπεινος, which we render base, signifies lowly, and, as some think, short of stature. The insinuation is, that when there was danger or opposition at hand, St. Paul acted with great obsequiousness, fearing for his person and authority, lest he should lose his secular influence. See the following verse.

Clarke: 2Co 10:2

Some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh - As it is customary for cowards and overbearing men to threaten the weak and the timid when present; to bluster when absent; and to be very obsequious in the presence of the strong and courageous. This conduct they appear to have charged against the apostle, which he calls here walking after the flesh - acting as a man who had worldly ends in view, and would use any means in order to accomplish them.

Clarke: 2Co 10:3

Though we walk in the flesh - That is: Although I am in the common condition of human nature, and must live as a human being, yet I do not war after the flesh - I do not act the coward or the poltroon, as they insinuate. I have a good cause, a good captain, strength at will, and courage at hand. I neither fear them nor their master.

Clarke: 2Co 10:4

The weapons of our warfare - The apostle often uses the metaphor of a warfare to represent the life and trials of a Christian minister. See Eph 6:10-17; 1Ti 1:18; 2Ti 2:3-5

Clarke: 2Co 10:4

Are not carnal - Here he refers to the means used by the false apostle in order to secure his party; he calumniated St. Paul, traduced the truth, preached false and licentious doctrines, and supported these with sophistical reasonings

Clarke: 2Co 10:4

But mighty through God - Our doctrines are true and pure, they come from God and lead to him, and he accompanies them with his mighty power to the hearts of those who hear them; and the strong holds - the apparently solid and cogent reasoning of the philosophers, we, by these doctrines, pull down; and thus the fortifications of heathenism are destroyed, and the cause of Christ triumphs wherever we come; and we put to flight the armies of the aliens.

Calvin: 2Co 10:1

Having finished his exhortation, he now proceeds partly to refute the calumnies with which he had been defamed by the false apostles, and partly to repress the insolence ⁷⁴⁰ of certain wicked persons, who could not bear to be under restraint. Both parties, with the view of destroying Paul’s authority, construed the vehemence with which he thundered in his Epistles to be θρασοδειλίαν — ( mere bravado,) ⁷⁴¹ because when present he was not equally prepared to show himself off in respect of appearance, and address, but was mean and contemptible. “See,” said they, “here is a man, that, under a consciousness of his inferiority, is so very modest and timid, but now, when at a distance, makes a fierce attack! Why is he less bold in speech than in letters? Will he terrify us, when he is at a distance, who, when present, is the object of contempt? How comes he to have such confidence as to imagine, that he is at liberty to do anything with us?” ⁷⁴² They put speeches of this kind into circulation, with the view of disparaging his strictness, and even rendering it odious. Paul replies, that he is not bold except in so far as he is constrained by necessity, and that the meanness of his bodily presence, for which he was held in contempt, detracted nothing from his authority, inasmuch as he was distinguished by spiritual excellence, not by carnal show. Hence those would not pass with impunity, who derided either his exhortations, or his reproaches, or his threatenings. The words I myself are emphatic; as though he had said, that however the malevolent might blame him for inconstancy, he was in reality not changeable, but remained uniformly the same.

1.I exhort you The speech is abrupt, as is frequently the case with speeches uttered under the influence of strong feeling. The meaning is this: “I beseech you, nay more, I earnestly entreat you by the gentleness of Christ, not to compel me, through your obstinacy, to be more severe than I would desire to be, and than I will be, towards those who despise me, on the ground of my having nothing excellent in external appearance, and do not recognize that spiritual excellence, with which the Lord has distinguished me, and by which I ought rather to be judged of.”

The form of entreaty, which he makes use of, is taken from the subject in hand, when he says — by the meekness and gentleness of Christ Calumniators took occasion to find fault with him, because his bodily presence was deficient in dignity, ⁷⁴³ and because, on the other hand, when at a distance, he thundered forth in his Epistles. Both calumnies he befittingly refutes, as has been said, but he declares here, that nothing delights him more than gentleness, which becomes a minister of Christ, and of which the Master himself furnished an example.

Learn of me, says he, for I am meek and lowly.
My yoke is easy and my burden is light.
(Mat 11:29.)

The Prophet also says of him,

His voice will not be heard in the streets:
a bruised reed he shall not break, etc. (Isa 42:2.)

That gentleness, therefore, which Christ showed, he requires also from his servants. Paul, in making mention of it, intimates that he is no stranger to it. ⁷⁴⁴ “I earnestly beseech you not to despise that gentleness, which Christ showed us in his own person, and shows us every day in his servants, nay more, which ye see in me.”

Who in presence He repeats this, as if in the person of his adversaries, by way of imitating them. ⁷⁴⁵ Now he confesses, so far as words go, what they upbraided him with, yet, as we shall see, in such a way as to concede nothing to them in reality.

Calvin: 2Co 10:2

2.I beseech you, that I may not be bold, when I am present Some think, that the discourse is incomplete, and that he does not express the matter of his request. ⁷⁴⁶ I am rather of opinion, however, that what was wanting in the former clause is here completed, so that it is a general exhortation. “Show yourselves docile and tractable towards me, that I may not be constrained to be more severe.” It is the duty of a good pastor to allure his sheep peacefully and kindly, that they may allow themselves to be governed, rather than to constrain them by violence. Severity, it is true, is, I acknowledge, sometimes necessary, but we must always set out with gentleness, and persevere in it, so long as the hearer shews himself tractable. ⁷⁴⁷ Severity must be the last resource. “We must,” says he, “try all methods, before having recourse to rigor; nay more, let us never be rigorous, unless we are constrained to it.” In the mean time, as to their reckoning themselves pusillanimous and timid, when he had to come to close quarters, he intimates that they were mistaken as to this, when he declares that he will stoutly resist face to face the contumacious ⁷⁴⁸ “They despise me,” says he, “as if I were a pusillanimous person, but they will find that I am braver and more courageous than they could have wished, when they come to contend in good earnest.” From this we see, when it is time to act with severity — after we have found, on trial being made, that allurements and mildness have no good effect. “I shall do it with reluctance,” says Paul, “but still I have determined to do it.” Here is an admirable medium; for as we must, in so far as is in our power, draw men rather than drive them, so, when mildness has no effect, in dealing with those that are stern and refractory, rigor must of necessity be resorted to: otherwise it will not be moderation, nor equableness of temper, but criminal cowardice. ⁷⁴⁹

Who account of us Erasmus renders it — “Those who think that we walk, as it were, according to the flesh.” The Old Interpreter came nearer, in my opinion, to Paul’s true meaning — “ Qui nos arbitrantur, tanquam secundum carnem ambulemus;” — (“Those who think of us as though we walked according to the flesh;” ⁷⁵⁰) though, at the same time, the phrase is not exactly in accordance with the Latin idiom, nor does it altogether bring out the Apostle’s full meaning. For λογιζεσθαι is taken here to mean — reckoning or esteeming. ⁷⁵¹ “They think of us,” says Paul, “or they take this view of us, as though we walked according to the flesh.”

To walk according to the flesh, Chrysostom explains to mean — acting unfaithfully, or conducting one’s self improperly in his office; ⁷⁵² and, certainly, it is taken in this sense in various instances in Paul’s writings. The term flesh, however, I rather understand to mean — outward pomp or show, by which alone the false Apostles are accustomed to recommend themselves. Paul, therefore, complains of the unreasonableness of those who looked for nothing in him except the flesh, that is, visible appearance, as they speak, or in the usual manner of persons who devote all their efforts to ambition. For as Paul did not by any means excel in such endowments, as ordinarily procure praise or reputation among the children of this world, (Luk 16:8,) he was despised as though he had been one of the common herd. But by whom? ⁷⁵³ Certainly, by the ambitious, who estimated him from mere appearance, while they paid no regard to what lay concealed within.

Calvin: 2Co 10:3

3.For though we walk in the flesh. Walking in the flesh means here — living it the world; or, as he expresses it elsewhere,

being at home in the body. (2Co 5:6.)

For he was shut up in the prison of his body. This, however, did not prevent the influence of the Holy Spirit from showing itself marvelously in his weakness. There is here again a kind of concession, which, at the same time, is of no service to his adversaries.

Those war according to the flesh, who attempt nothing but in dependence upon worldly resources, in which alone, too, they glory. They have not their confidence placed in the government and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Paul declares that he is not one of this class, inasmuch as he is furnished with other weapons than those of the flesh and the world. Now, what he affirms respecting himself is applicable, also, to all true ministers of Christ. ⁷⁵⁴ For they

carry an inestimable treasure in earthen vessels,

as he had previously said. (2Co 4:7.) Hence, however they may be surrounded with the infirmities of the flesh, the spiritual power of God, nevertheless, shines forth resplendently in them.

Calvin: 2Co 10:4

4.For the weapons of our warfare The warfare corresponds with the kind of weapons. He glories in being furnished with spiritual weapons. The warfare, accordingly, is spiritual. Hence it follows by way of contraries, ⁷⁵⁵ that it is not according to the flesh In comparing the ministry of the gospel to a warfare, he uses a most apt similitude. The life of a Christian, it is true, is a perpetual warfare, for whoever gives himself to the service of God will have no truce from Satan at any time, but will be harassed with incessant disquietude. It becomes, however, ministers of the word and pastors to be standard-bearers, going before the others; and, certainly, there are none that Satan harasses more, that are more severely assaulted, or that sustain more numerous or more dreadful onsets. That man, therefore, is mistaken, who girds himself for the discharge of this office, and is not at the same time furnished with courage and bravery for contending; for he is not exercised otherwise than in fighting. For we must take this into account, that the gospel is like a fire, by which the fury of Satan is en-kindled. Hence it cannot but be that he will arm himself for a contest, whenever he sees that it is advanced.

But by what weapons is he to be repelled? It is only by spiritual weapons that he can be repelled. Whoever, therefore, is unarmed with the influence of the Holy Spirit, however he may boast that he is a minister of Christ, will nevertheless, not prove himself to be such. At the same time, if you would have a full enumeration of spiritual weapons, doctrine must be conjoined with zeal, and a good conscience with the efficacy of the Spirit, and with other necessary graces. Let now the Pope go, and assume to himself the apostolic dignity ⁷⁵⁶ What could be more ridiculous, if our judgment is to be formed in accordance with the rule here laid down by Paul!

Mighty through God Either according to God, or from God. I am of opinion, that there is here an implied antithesis, so that this strength is placed in contrast with the weakness which appears outwardly before the world, and thus, paying no regard to the judgments of men, he would seek from God approbation of his fortitude. ⁷⁵⁷ At the same time, the antithesis will hold good in another sense — that the power of his arms depends upon God, not upon the world.

In the demolishing of fortresses He makes use of the term fortresses to denote contrivances, and every high thing that is exalted against God, ⁷⁵⁸ as to which we shall find him speaking afterwards. It is, however, with propriety and expressiveness that he so designates them; for his design is to boast, that there is nothing in the world so strongly fortified as to be beyond his power to overthrow. I am well aware how carnal men glory in their empty shows, and how disdainfully and recklessly they despise me, as though there were nothing in me but what is mean and base, while they, in the mean time, were standing on a lofty eminence. But their confidence is foolish, for that armor of the Lord, with which I fight, will prevail in opposition to all the bulwarks, in reliance upon which they believe themselves to be invincible. Now, as the world is accustomed to fortify itself in a twofold respect for waging war with Christ — on the one hand, by cunning, by wicked artifices, by subtilty, and other secret machinations; and, on the other hand, by cruelty and oppression, he touches upon both these methods. For by contrivances he means, whatever pertains to carnal wisdom.

The term high thing denotes any kind of glory and power in this world. There is no reason, therefore, why a servant of Christ should dread anything, however formidable, that may stand up in opposition to his doctrine. Let him, in spite of it, persevere, and he will scatter to the winds every machination of whatever sort. Nay more, the kingdom of Christ cannot be set up or established, otherwise than by throwing down everything in the world that is exalted. For nothing is more opposed to the spiritual wisdom of God than the wisdom of the flesh; nothing is more at variance with the grace of God than man’s natural ability, and so as to other things. Hence the only foundation of Christ’s kingdom is the abasement of men. And to this effect are those expressions in the Prophets:

The moon shall be ashamed, and the sun shall be confounded,
when the Lord shall begin to reign in that day; (Isa 24:23.)

Again,

The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the high looks of mortals shall be abased, and the Lord alone shall be
exalted in that day.(Isa 5:15, and Isa 2:17)

Because, in order that God alone may shine forth, it is necessary that the glory of the world should vanish away.

Defender: 2Co 10:3

Paul often used a military metaphor to describe the Christian life (2Ti 2:3, 2Ti 2:4). In this verse, "flesh" is not used theologically, but physiologically, referring to our natural human abilities. We "walk" like all natural men physically, but our warfare is conducted in the realm of the spirit, not with swords or guns."

Defender: 2Co 10:4

Our weapons are not "fleshly" weapons but spiritual. In fact, Paul enumerates them in Eph 6:13-18 as "the whole armor of God," namely truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer. All too often, Christians and their churches try to do God's work in ways that appeal to the flesh - great organizations, Christian entertainment, human wisdom and philosophy, beautiful facilities, glamorous advertising, and the like. These are "carnal" weapons, not the weapons provided by the Lord, and those who use them are in danger of eventual spiritual defeat, even if outward appearances seem impressive."

TSK: 2Co 10:1

I Paul : 1Co 16:21, 1Co 16:22; Gal 5:2; 2Th 3:17; Phm 1:9; Rev 1:9

beseech : 2Co 10:2, 2Co 5:20, 2Co 6:1; Rom 12:1; Eph 4:1; 1Pe 2:11

by : Psa 45:4; Isa 42:3, Isa 42:4; Zec 9:9; Mat 11:29, Mat 12:19, Mat 12:20, Mat 21:5; Act 8:32; 1Pe 2:22, 1Pe 2:23

presence : or, outward appearance, 2Co 10:7, 2Co 10:10

base : Rather, lowly, or humble, ταπεινος [Strong’ s G5011], which some think refers to his lowness of stature. 2Co 10:10, 2Co 11:30, 2Co 12:5, 2Co 12:7-9, 2Co 13:4; 1Co 2:3, 1Co 4:10; Gal 4:13

bold : 2Co 3:12 *marg. 2Co 7:4, 2Co 11:21, 2Co 13:2, 2Co 13:3; Rom 10:20, Rom 15:15

TSK: 2Co 10:2

that I : 2Co 12:20, 2Co 13:2, 2Co 13:10; 1Co 4:19-21

think : or, reckon

we walked : 2Co 11:9-13, 2Co 12:13-19; Rom 8:1, Rom 8:5; Gal 5:16-25; Eph 2:2, Eph 2:3

TSK: 2Co 10:3

walk : Gal 2:20; 1Pe 4:1, 1Pe 4:2

we do : 2Co 10:4; Rom 8:13; 1Ti 1:18; 2Ti 2:3, 2Ti 2:4, 2Ti 4:7; Heb 12:1

TSK: 2Co 10:4

the weapons : 2Co 6:7; Rom 6:13 *marg. Rom 13:12; Eph 6:13-18; 1Th 5:8

our : 1Ti 1:18; 2Ti 2:3

mighty : 2Co 3:5, 2Co 4:7, 2Co 13:3, 2Co 13:4; Jdg 7:13-23, Jdg 15:14-16; 1Sa 17:45-50; Psa 110:2; Isa 41:14-16; Zec 4:6, Zec 4:7; Act 7:22; 1Co 1:18-24, 1Co 2:5; 2Co 13:3; Heb 11:32, Heb 11:33

through God : or, to God

to the : Jos 6:20; Isa 30:25; Jer 1:10; Heb 11:30

Commentary -- Word/Phrase Notes (per Verse)

Barnes: 2Co 10:1

Now I Paul myself beseech you - I entreat you who are members of the church not to give me occasion for the exercise of severity in discipline. I have just expressed my confidence in the church in general, and my belief that you will act in accordance with the rules of the gospel. But I cannot thus speak of all. There are some among you who have spoken with contempt of my authority and my claims as an apostle. Of them I cannot speak in this manner; but instead of commanding them I entreat them not to give me occasion for the exercise of discipline.

By the meekness and gentleness of Christ - In view of the meekness and mildness of the Redeemer; or desiring to imitate his gentleness and kindness. Paul wished to imitate that. He did not wish to have occasion for severity. He desired at all times to imitate, and to exhibit the gentle feelings of the Saviour. He had no pleasure in severity; and he did not desire to exhibit it.

Who in presence - Margin, In outward appearance. It may either mean that when present among them he appeared, according to their representation, to be humble, mild, gentle 2Co 10:10; or that in his external appearance he had this aspect; see on 2Co 10:10. Most probably it means that they had represented him, as timid when among them, and afraid to exercise discipline, however much he had threatened it.

Am base among you - The word used here ( ταπεινὸς tapeinos ) usually means low, humble, poor. Here it means timid, modest, the opposite of boldness. Such was formerly the meaning of the English word base. It was applied to those of low degree or rank; of humble birth; and stood opposed to those of elevated rank or dignity. Now it is commonly used to denote that which is degraded or worthless; of mean spirit; vile; and stands opposed to that which is manly and noble. But Paul did not mean to use it here in that sense. He meant to say that they regarded him as timid and afraid to execute the punishment which he had threatened, and as manifesting a spirit which was the opposite of boldness. This was doubtless a charge which they brought against him; but we are not necessarily to infer that it was true. All that it proves is, that he was modest and unobtrusive, and that they interpreted this as timidity and lack of spirit.

But being absent am bold toward you - That is, in my letters; see on 2Co 10:10. This they charged him with, that he was bold enough when away from them, but that he would be tame enough when he should meet them face to face, and that they had nothing to fear from him.

Barnes: 2Co 10:2

That I may not be bold - I entreat you so to act that I may not have occasion to exercise the severity which I fear I shall be compelled to use against those who accuse me of being governed wholly by worldly motives and policy. In other words, that I may not be compelled to be bold and decisive in my measures by your improper conduct.

Which think of us - Margin, "reckon."They suppose this; or, they accuse me of it. By the word "us"here Paul means himself, though it is possible also that he speaks in the name of his fellow apostles and laborers who were associated with him, and the objections may have referred to all who acted with him.

As if we walked - As if we lived or acted. The word "walk"in the Scriptures is often used to denote the course or manner of life; see the Rom 4:12, note; 2Co 5:7, note.

According to the flesh - see the note on 2Co 1:17. As if we were governed by the weak and corrupt principles of human nature. As if we had no higher motive than carnal and worldly policy. As if we were seeking our own advantage and not the welfare of the world. The charge was, probably, that he was not governed by high and holy principles, but by the principles of mere worldly policy; that he was guided by personal interests, and by worldly views - by ambition, or the love of dominion, wealth, or popularity, and that he was destitute of every supernatural endowment and every evidence of a divine commission.

Barnes: 2Co 10:3

For though we walk in the flesh - Though we are mortal like other people; though we dwell like them in mortal bodies, and necessarily must devote some care to our temporal needs; and though, being in the flesh, we are conscious of imperfections and frailties like others. The sense is, that he did not claim exemption from the common needs and frailties of nature. The best of people are subject to these needs and frailties; the best of people are liable to err.

We do not war after the flesh - The warfare in which he was engaged was with sin, idolatry, and all forms of evil. He means that in conducting this he was not actuated by worldly views or policy, or by such ambitious and interested aims as controlled the people of this world. This refers primarily to the warfare in which Paul was himself engaged as an apostle; and the idea is, that he went forth as a soldier under the great Captain of his salvation to fight his battles and to make conquests for him. A similar allusion occurs in 2Ti 2:3-4. It is true, however, that not only all ministers, but all Christians are engaged in a warfare; and it is equally true that they do not maintain their conflict "after the flesh,"or on the principles which govern the people of this world. The warfare of Christians relates to the following points:

(1) It is a warfare with the corrupt desires and sensual propensities of the heart; with eternal corruption and depravity, with the remaining unsubdued propensities of a fallen nature.

\caps1 (2) w\caps0 ith the powers of darkness; the mighty spirits of evil that seek to destroy us; see Eph 6:11-17.

\caps1 (3) w\caps0 ith sin in all forms; with idolatry, sensuality, corruption, intemperance, profaneness, wherever they may exist. The Christian is opposed to all these, and it is the aim and purpose of his life as far as he may be able to resist and subdue them. He is a soldier enlisted under the banner of the Redeemer to oppose and resist all forms of evil. But his warfare is not conducted on worldly principles. Muhammed propagated his religion with the sword; and the people of this world seek for victory by arms and violence; The Christian looks for his conquests only by the force and the power of truth, and by the agency of the Spirit of God.

Barnes: 2Co 10:4

For the weapons of our warfare - The means by which we hope to achieve our victory.

Are not carnal - Not those of the flesh. Not such as the people of the world use. They are not such as are employed by conquerors; nor are they such as people in general rely on to advance their cause. We do not depend on eloquence, or talent, or learning, or wealth, or beauty, or any of the external aids on which the people of this world rely. They are not such as derive advantage from any power inherent in themselves. Their strength is derived from God alone.

But mighty through God - Margin, "to."They are rendered mighty or powerful by the agency of God. They depend on him for their efficacy. Paul has not here specified the weapons on which he relied; but he had before specified them 2Co 6:6-7, so that there was no danger of mistake. The weapons were such as were furnished by truth and righteousness, and these were rendered mighty by the attending agency of God. The sense is, that God is the author of the doctrines which we preach, and that he attends them with the agency of his Spirit, and accompanies them to the hearts of people. It is important for all ministers to feel that their weapons are mighty only through God. Conquerors and earthly warriors go into battle depending on the might of their own arm, and on the wisdom and skill which plans the battle. The Christian goes on his warfare, feeling that however well adapted the truths which he holds are to accomplish great purposes, and however wisely his plans are formed, yet that the efficacy of all depends on the agency of God. He has no hope of victory but in God. And if God does not attend him, he is sure of inevitable defeat.

To the pulling down of strongholds - The word rendered here as "strongholds"( ὀχύρωμα ochurōma ) means properly a fastness, fortress, or strong fortification. It is here beautifully used to denote the various obstacles resembling a fortress which exist, and which are designed and adapted to oppose the truth and the triumph of the Christian’ s cause. All those obstacles are strongly fortified. The sins of his heart are fortified by long indulgence and by the hold which they have on his soul. The wickedness of the world which he opposes is strongly fortified by the fact that it has seized on strong human passions; that one point strengthens another; that great numbers are united. The idolatry of the world was strongly fortified by prejudice, and long establishment, and the protection of laws, and the power of the priesthood; and the opinions of the world are entrenched behind false philosophy and the power of subtle argumentation. The whole world is fortified against Christianity; and the nations of the earth have been engaged in little else than in raising and strengthening such strongholds for the space of 6,000 years. The Christian religion goes forth against all the combined and concentrated powers of resistance of the whole world; and the warfare is to be waged against every strongly fortified place of error and of sin. These strong fortifications of error and of sin are to be battered down and laid in ruins by our spiritual weapons.

Poole: 2Co 10:1

2Co 10:1-11 Paul entreateth the Corinthians not to leave him

cause to exert against them that spiritual power,

with which he was armed, and meant to chastise those

who undervalued his person and apostolical character.

2Co 10:12-18 He pointeth out the difference between those who,

for want of looking beyond themselves, were arrogant

and vain intruding into, and taking merit from, the

labours of others, and himself, who kept strictly

within the province allotted him by God, and,

avoiding self-commendation, sought honour from the

commendation of Christ.

Chapter Introduction Hitherto the apostle, who in his former Epistle had blamed this church for so many things, and dealt sharply with them, in this Epistle hath treated them as if they had been a people that had had no faults, or none but what, in obedience to his former Epistle they had reformed, and become a new lump: which argueth, that the major part of the members of it were a good and an obedient people, by whose prevalent vote they had reformed much that was amiss. But in these four last chapters, to let us know that there was yet some of the old leaven amongst them, he useth another style; taking notice, that he understood there was amongst them another (though possibly the lesser) party who had much vilified him; and justifying himself against their whisperings and calumnies, not witlmut some sharp reflections upon them.

Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ: meekness respecteth the spirit or inward man, being a virtue that moderateth inward anger and rash passions.

Gentleness more respecteth the outward conversation. The apostle mentioneth both these virtues, as eminent in Christ, who is our great example, and to whom all Christians are bound to be conformable.

Who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: he here repeateth the words of those who, in this church, reproached him; they reported him a man, who, when he was there in presence with them, was lowly and humble enough; but when he was absent from them, then he wrote imperiously and confidently enough. The sense of the words is plainly this: I Paul, (of whom some amongst you say, that when I am there with you I am low and humble enough, even to some degrees of baseness; but when I am absent, then I write like a lord, boldly and confidently), I beseech you to consider the temper of our common Lord and Saviour, to remember how free he was from rash anger and passion, how gentle he was in his conversation; and by the obligation that is upon you, to love and practise those virtues which you saw, or have heard of, in him.

Poole: 2Co 10:2

It is true, (saith the apostle), when I have been with you I have made it my business to behave myself with all obliging sweetness, not using that authority which I might have used; and I beseech you, as not to blame me for that, (remembering the meekness and gentleness of Christ), so by your conversation not to force me to another kind of conversation amongst you; that you would not constrain me to a severer behaviour towards you when I am present with you, to be so free with some of you, as at present I am resolved to be; such, I mean, as have traduced me, as if I

walked according to the flesh that is, not guided by the Holy Spirit of God, and the directions of his word, but by some external, carnal considerations, respecting my own profit, pleasure, or reputation, indulging my own passions or corrupt affections. Walking after the flesh is opposed to a walking after the Spirit, Rom 8:1 . He walketh after the flesh, to whom the fleshly appetite is the principle, rule, and end of his actions; as he, on the contrary, to whom those habits of grace which are wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit, or the Spirit himself more immediately by his motions or impulses, are the principle of his actions, and the word dictated by the Spirit is the rule of his actions, and the glory of God is the end of his actions, is truly said to walk after the Spirit.

Poole: 2Co 10:3

There is a great difference between walking in the flesh, and warring after the flesh. The best of men in this life walk in the flesh, as their souls are not in a state of separation from, but union with, the body; but they do not walk after the flesh, as their fleshly appetite is not the principle of their actions, nor the satisfaction of it the end of their actions. The apostle, in the latter part of the verse changeth the verb; in the former part he called our conversation, a walking; in the latter part he calleth it a warring; which he describeth negatively in this verse, positively in the following verses. In calling it a warring, he lets us know that it is, and will be, a life of opposition, in which a Christian will have many enemies; though his hand be against none, yet many hands will be against him. But though they be men of strife and contention, in a passive sense, yet they are not so in an active sense, according to the usual notion of warring; for they war not after the flesh, neither as fleshly men, nor in a carnal, fleshly manner, nor yet for fleshly ends. The men of the world war for their honour and glory, or for revenge and satisfaction of their lusts, or for the enlarging of their territories and dominions; but

we do not thus war after the flesh

Poole: 2Co 10:4

As our end is spiritual, so are our means; the means by which we manage our spiritual fight are spiritual. Whether by these

weapons he meaneth the word of God, and his preaching the gospel, or the censures of the church duly administered, it is true, they are not of a carnal nature, or fitted to the subduing of men’ s bodies, and bringing them into subjection; they are of a spiritual nature, and have their effects upon the mind and inward part of a man; yet, through the concurrence of Divine grace, there is in them a mighty force and power, to pull down

strong holds: by which metaphorical expression he understands whatsoever opposeth the gospel, and seemeth to defend and uphold men in their sinful courses; subduing the will of man, which is so strong a hold that all the power of hell cannot storm it.

Haydock: 2Co 10:1-11

Who in presence indeed am lowly. [1] Literally, humble, (see Luke i. ver. 48.) that is, of a mean aspect, as to exterior appearances, and my speech contemptible, without the ornaments of human eloquence, but am said to be bold when absent, reprehending and threatening by my letters, which are owned to be weighty and strong, let such persons think , and be convinced, that such as I am by my letters, they shall find me by deeds, when I come, and shall be present with them. I desire and beseech you, that I may not be bold when I come, to make use of my authority, nor of those spiritual arms and weapons, of censures and excommunications, nor perhaps of exemplary punishments, which God sometimes in a miraculous manner shewed by his apostle. See the examples of Ananias and Saphira struck dead at St. Peter's words, (Acts v.) of Elymas struck with blindness for opposing St. Paul's preaching. (Acts xiii.) He puts them in mind, that the power, which God has given to his apostles, is so great and prevalent, that no force upon earth has been able to resist or hinder the designs of God, as to the spreading of the gospel, and the faith of Christ, and as he expresseth it, to the destruction of fortifications, we subverting counsels, and every thing that opposed the knowledge of God, who reduceth whom he pleaseth to the obedience of Christ. He admonishes them all to return to the obedience due to him, and the true ministers of the gospel, lest he be obliged to revenge, that is, punish such as remain disobedient. He acknowledges that his apostolical power was given him for the good and edification of the faithful, not for their destruction, which he will take care not to abuse. In fine, he tells them here in short, and more at large in the following chapter, that they may, if they please, consider outward appearances, his apostolical functions, the miracles God has wrought in his favour, what he has done, and suffered, by which will appear the advantages he has above his adversaries, who spoke with contempt of him. (Witham)

Haydock: 2Co 10:1

[BIBLIOGRAPHY]

Humilis sum, Greek: tapeinos.

Haydock: 2Co 10:2

I beg of you now to hear my apology, that I may not be obliged to make us of my authority, when present among you, which they say I have abused, and usurped over you. There is in this discourse a little irony against the facility with which the Corinthians heard the enemies of St. Paul. He alludes to those false teachers who decried his doctrine, by preaching up the observance of the ceremonial parts of the law, for they were Jews, and had introduced many new practices into the Church. We may here take notice, that these observations are applicable to the epistles of St. Paul to the Galatians, and Philippians, for they are the same false teachers whom he there attacks, and who accused St. Paul of being a hypocrite, a seducer, in a word, one who walked according to the flesh. (Estius and St. John Chrysostom)

Haydock: 2Co 10:4

For the weapons, &c. The powers with which we are endowed will easily overturn all obstacles, or fortifications which devils may raise against us. They will easily refute the pride, the learning, and the eloquent sophisms of philosophers, and reduce every height, or high-minded philosopher, to the obedience of Christ. (Calmet) ---

Hence doth our Saviour pray, "I praise thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them to little ones. Yea, Father, for so hath it seemed good in thy sight." (Matthew xi. 25.)

Gill: 2Co 10:1

Now I Paul myself beseech you,.... The apostle having said what was necessary and proper to stir up the Corinthians to a liberal contribution for the poor saints at Jerusalem, returns to the vindication of himself against the false apostles; and earnestly entreats the members of this church,

by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, not to regard their reproaches, and join with them in them; for did they but consider the meek and gentle deportment of Christ, so worthy of his and their imitation, they would see there was no reason to reflect on him for that part of his conduct, in which he followed his Lord and master; whose meekness was to be seen in the assumption of human nature, in the whole of his life and conversation, and in his sufferings and death; and his "gentleness" of Spirit to be observed in his coming into this world, not to judge and condemn it, but that the world might be saved; in bearing all indignities and insults, without being provoked to wrath and revenge; in rebuking his disciples for the severity of their spirits, declaring he came to save, and not take away the lives of men; in praying for his enemies, and in his silence under all the ill treatment he met with from the worst of men. As the apostle had this excellent example before him, which served both to regulate his conduct, and support him under the hard measures he met with, so he was desirous to direct others to the observance of it, which might be a check upon the ill usage of him. He here speaks of himself in the language of his adversaries, who meant by these characters to expose him to scorn and contempt: "I Paul myself"; whose name the false teachers played upon, it signifying "little"; and he being of little stature, they reproached him for it, and would insinuate, that as his name was "little", and his person mean, his bodily presence weak, and his speech contemptible, that he had a little soul, was a man of small knowledge, mean parts, and a very insignificant minister. Now it is as if the apostle should say, I am not ashamed of my name, nor of my person, and I am willing to own myself the least of the apostles, yea, less than the least of all saints; but I beg of you by the mild and gentle Spirit of my Lord and master, whom I am not ashamed to imitate, that you would not join in those sneers. I am Paul, αυτος, the "same" in my principles and practice, in my doctrine and life, when present and absent; though my enemies say the contrary, as that I am such an one,

who in presence am base, or "humble among you": they suggested, that when he was at Corinth he was humble and modest in his conversation, mild and gentle in all his expressions and deportment; and which they interpreted of a meanness and baseness of spirit, as though he crept and cringed to curry favour with men, to avoid offence, and gain and keep an interest among them:

but being absent, am bold toward you; wrote blustering, hectoring, terrifying letters, threatening to come with his apostolic rod and deliver them up to Satan, to fright them into a compliance with him.

Gill: 2Co 10:2

But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present,.... That is, he entreated them that they would so behave for the future, that he might have no occasion, when he came among them, to use that power and authority they called boldness, which he had received from Christ for edification, and not destruction; as for that asperity and roughness with which he wrote, and which was thought to be too severe, it was in order to reclaim them, and so prevent that sharpness he was empowered by Christ to use: for though he had said in his former epistle, 1Co 4:21 "shall I come unto you with a rod or in love? and in the spirit of meekness?" he chose to come in the latter, rather than with the former; namely, not

with that confidence wherewith, says he,

I think to be bold: by "confidence" he means the faith of miracles he was possessed of, and particularly the power he, and other apostles had, of striking dead or blind incorrigible offenders, or of delivering them to Satan to undergo some corporeal punishment; which he had been thinking of, and reasoning about in his own mind, and was almost come to a conclusion concerning it, to inflict it upon, and with it to be bold,

against some which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh; who not barely thought so within themselves, but reasoned the matter with others, and would fain persuade them to believe that they did walk in a carnal manner; not that they had the face to say, that they walked after the dictates of corrupt nature, or lived in open vice and profaneness; but that they walked in craftiness, had their conversation in the world with fleshly wisdom, seeking their own worldly interest and secular advantage; which is denied by the apostle, 2Co 1:12 and was the real case, and true picture of the false teachers themselves.

Gill: 2Co 10:3

For though we walk in the flesh,.... The apostle removes the calumny of walking after the flesh, by owning that they were in the flesh, in the body, in a state of imperfection, attended with many weaknesses and infirmities, and surrounded with a variety of afflictions and sorrows; in this sense they were, and lived and walked in the flesh; but then he denies the charge exhibited against them,

we do not war after the flesh: every Christian's life is a warfare with Satan, and his principalities and powers, with the world, the men and lusts of it, and with the corruptions of their own hearts; and much more is the life of a minister of the Gospel, who is called forth to meet the adversary in the gate; to stand in the hottest place of the battle, and sustain the whole fire and artillery of the enemy; to fight the good fight of faith, endure hardness as a good soldier of Christ, and with the weapons he is furnished with to war a good warfare: which is not done "after the flesh"; in such a manner as the men of the world wage war with one another; or upon carnal principles; or with carnal selfish views; or in a weak way and manner; but in a spiritual way, with all simplicity and disinterested views, with great courage and intrepidity of mind.

Gill: 2Co 10:4

For the weapons of our warfare,.... By "warfare" is here meant, not that which is common to all believers, who are enlisted as volunteers under the captain of their salvation, and fight his battles, and are more than conquerors through him; but what is peculiar to the ministers of the Gospel; and designs the ministerial function, or office, and the discharge of it. So the Levitical function, or the ministerial service of the Levites, is called העבדה צבא, "the warfare of the service", Num 8:25. The ministry of the word is so styled, because that as war is waged in defence of men's rights, properties, and liberties, and for the weakening of an enemy's power and possessions, and for the enlargement of kingdoms and dominions; so this is in defence of the truths and liberty of the Gospel, that they may continue and abide; for the weakening of Satan's kingdom, by delivering the lawful captives, taking the prey from the mighty, turning souls from the power of Satan to God, and translating them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Christ Jesus; and so for the enlargement of his kingdom, by spreading the Gospel far and near. The "weapons" with which this warfare is managed are the Scriptures of truth, the sword of the Spirit, the word of God; and which indeed are an armoury, out of which may be taken weapons of all sorts, both offensive and defensive; such as serve both to establish and secure the doctrines of the Gospel, and to refute the errors of the wicked: to which may be added all those gifts which Christ has received for, and gives to men, qualifying them for the work of the ministry, and for the understanding of the sacred writings; together with all those means made use of by them for their improvement in spiritual knowledge; such as diligent reading the word of God, and the labours of his faithful servants, frequent meditation thereon, and earnest prayer to God for more light and experience. Also the various graces of the Spirit, with which they are endued, may be taken into the account; such as the breast plate of faith in Christ, and love to himself, his people, word, ordinances, cause, and interest; the helmet of salvation, hope, the girdle of truth and faithfulness, and the excellent grace of patience to endure all hardships, reproaches, insults, afflictions, and persecutions, cheerfully; and finally, all the acts of their ministration, such as preaching, prayer, the administration of ordinances, and laying on of censures, with the consent of the church. Now these weapons

are not carnal; such as the men of the world fight with, not the temporal sword; for Christ sent forth his apostles without that, naked and unarmed amidst their enemies, his kingdom not being of this world, and so not to be defended and propagated in such a way; or as the weapons the false apostles used, such as natural eloquence, fleshly wisdom, carnal reason, cunning craftiness, the hidden things of dishonesty, and great swelling words of vanity; or they were not weak and impotent, which is sometimes the signification of "flesh"; see Gen 6:3

but mighty through God: powerful and effectual through the blessing of God, and the influences of his grace and Spirit for the conversion of sinners, the edification of saints, the defence of truth, the confutation of error, the destruction of Satan's kingdom, and the enlargement of Christ's: for these weapons are not powerful of themselves; they are passive instruments, which are only efficacious when used by a superior hand; when the Gospel ministration is attended with "the demonstration of the Spirit, and of power"; and then they are serviceable

to the pulling down of strong holds. The allusion seems to be to the falling of the walls of Jericho, at the sound of ram's horns, which must be ascribed not to those instruments, which were in themselves weak and despicable, but to the power of God that went along with the sound of them. By strong holds are meant, the strong holds of sin and Satan; such as unbelief, pride, hardness of heart, &c. with which the heart of man is walled (so קירות לב, "the walls of the heart", Jer 4:19) against God and Christ, and the Gospel of the grace of God, and by which Satan fortifies himself, and keeps the palace and goods in peace, until the everlasting doors are thrown open, which were bolted and barred; and these walls of defence are pulled down by the King of glory, who enters in, which is usually done by the power of God, in the ministry of the Gospel: so sins are called strong holds, fortresses, and bulwarks, by the Talmudists ^k, who give this as the sense of Ecc 9:14

"a little city, this is the body; "and few men in it", these are the members; "and there came a great king against it, and besieged it", this is the evil imagination, lust, or concupiscence; and built against it מצודים, "great bulwarks", or fortresses, אלה עונות, "these are iniquities".''

And so Philo the Jew ^l speaks of τα βεβαιατης κακιας ερεισματα, "the firm munitions of vice" being broken down. Or else by them may be meant the fortresses of a man's own righteousness, holiness, good works, and moral duties, in which he entrenches, and thinks himself safe: which the Spirit of God, in the ministry of the word, blows a blast upon, and which are cast down by it, that revealing a better righteousness, even the righteousness of Christ; or else the fleshly wisdom, rhetorical eloquence, and sophisms of false teachers, with which they endeavoured to fortify themselves against the doctrines of the Gospel, but in vain.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: 2Co 10:1

¹ tn The Greek pronoun (“you”) is plural.

² tn The word “personally” is supplied to reflect the force of the Greek intensive pronoun αὐτός (autos) at the beginning of the verse.

³ tn Or “leniency and clemency.” D. Walker, “Paul’s Offer of Leniency of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:1): Populist Ideology and Rhetoric in a Pauline Letter Fragment (2 Cor 10:1-13:10)” (Ph.D. diss., University of Chicago, 1998), argues for this alternative translation for three main reasons: (1) When the two Greek nouns πραΰτης and ἐπιείκεια (prauth" and ejpieikeia) are used together, 90% of the time the nuance is “leniency and clemency.” (2) “Leniency and clemency” has a military connotation, which is precisely what appears in the following verses. (3) 2 Cor 10-13 speaks of Paul’s sparing use of his authority, which points to the nuance of “leniency and clemency.”

⁴ tn Or “who lack confidence.”

⁵ tn Or “when face to face with.”

⁶ tn Or “but bold.”

NET Notes: 2Co 10:2

¹ tn Grk “consider us as walking.”

² tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

NET Notes: 2Co 10:3

¹ tn Grk “we walk.”

² tn Grk “in the flesh.”

³ tn Grk “according to the flesh.”

NET Notes: 2Co 10:4

¹ tn Grk “are not fleshly [weapons].” The repetition of the word “warfare” does not occur in the Greek text, but is supplied for clarity.

² tn Or “but (are) divinely powerful,” “but they have divine power,” or “but are powerful for God’s [service]”; Grk “but are powerful to God.”

³ sn Ultimately Paul is referring here to the false arguments of his opponents, calling them figuratively “strongholds.” This Greek word (ὀχύρωμα, ocurwma) is used only here in the NT.

⁴ tn Or “speculations.”

Geneva Bible: 2Co 10:1

Now ^{( 1 )} I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and ^{( a )} gentleness of Christ, who in presence [am] base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:

^{( 1 )} He returns to the defence of his apostleship, but in such a way that he uses his authority in his defence: for he warns them earnestly and gravely, using also terrible threatenings, to show themselves to be those who are able to be instructed. And he reviles certain proud men who made no better account of him, than of a bragging proud man, in that he used to be sharp against them when he was absent, because they saw no great majesty in him after the manner of men; and besides, he had proved his gentleness, even though in his absence he had written to them sharply. Therefore first of all he professes that he was gentle and moderate, but after the example of Christ: but if they continue still to despise his gentleness, he protests to them that he will show indeed how far they are deceived, who judge the office of an apostle in the same way that they judge worldly offices, that is, according to the outward appearance.

^{( a )} That nature which is inclined to mercy, rather than to rigor of justice.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 10:2

But I beseech [you], that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked ^{( b )} according to the flesh.

^{( b )} As though I had no other aid and help than that which outwardly I seem to have: and therefore Paul contrasts his flesh, that is, his weak condition and state, with his spiritual and apostolic dignity.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 10:3

^{( 2 )} For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

^{( 2 )} Secondly, he witnesses that although he is similar to other men, yet he comes furnished with that strength which no defence of man can match, whether they resist by craft and deceit, or by force and might, because he battles with divine weapons.

Geneva Bible: 2Co 10:4

(For the weapons of our warfare [are] not ^{( c )} carnal, but mighty through ^{( d )} God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

^{( c )} Are not those weapons that men get authority over one another with, and do great acts.

^{( d )} Stand upon the foundation of God's infinite power.

Commentary -- Verse Range Notes

TSK Synopsis: 2Co 10:1-18

1 Against the false apostles, who disgraced the weakness of his person and bodily presence, he shows the spiritual might and authority with which he was armed against all adverse powers;

7 assuring them that at his coming he will be found as mighty in word as he is now in writing, being absent;

12 and withal taxing them for reaching out themselves beyond their compass, and vaunting themselves of other men's labours.

MHCC: 2Co 10:1-6

While others thought meanly, and spake scornfully of the apostle, he had low thoughts, and spake humbly of himself. We should be aware of our own infirmities, and think humbly of ourselves, even when men reproach us. The work of the ministry is a spiritual warfare with spiritual enemies, and for spiritual purposes. Outward force is not the method of the gospel, but strong persuasions, by the power of truth and the meekness of wisdom. Conscience is accountable to God only; and people must be persuaded to God and their duty, not driven by force. Thus the weapons of our warfare are very powerful; the evidence of truth is convincing. What opposition is made against the gospel, by the powers of sin and Satan in the hearts of men! But observe the conquest the word of God gains. The appointed means, however feeble they appear to some, will be mighty through God. And the preaching of the cross, by men of faith and prayer, has always been fatal to idolatry, impiety, and wickedness.

Matthew Henry: 2Co 10:1-6

Here we may observe,

I. The mild and humble manner in which the blessed apostle addresses the Corinthians, and how desirous he is that no occasion may be given him to use severity. 1. He addresses them in a very mild and humble manner: I Paul myself beseech you, 2Co 10:1. We find, in the introduction to this epistle, he joined Timothy with himself; but now he speaks only for himself, against whom the false apostles had particularly levelled their reproaches; yet in the midst of the greatest provocations he shows humility and mildness, from the consideration of the meekness and gentleness of Christ, and desires this great example may have the same influence on the Corinthians. Note, When we find ourselves tempted or inclined to be rough and severe towards any body, we should think of the meekness and gentleness of Christ, that appeared in him in the days of his flesh, in the design of his undertaking, and in all the acts of his grace towards poor souls. How humbly also does this great apostle speak of himself, as one in presence base among them! So his enemies spoke of him with contempt, and he seems to acknowledge it; while others thought meanly, and spoke scornfully of him, he had low thoughts of himself, and spoke humbly of himself. Note, We should be sensible of our own infirmities, and think humbly of ourselves, even when men reproach us for them.

2. He is desirous that no occasion may be given to use severity, 2Co 10:2. He beseeches them to give no occasion for him to be bold, or to exercise his authority against them in general, as he had resolved to do against some who unjustly charged him as walking according to the flesh, that is, regulating his conduct, even in his ministerial actions, according to carnal policy or with worldly views. This was what the apostle had renounced, and this is contrary to the spirit and design of the gospel, and was far from being the aim and design of the apostle. Hereupon,

II. He asserts the power of his preaching and his power to punish offenders.

1. The power of his preaching, 2Co 10:3, 2Co 10:5. Here observe, (1.) The work of the ministry is a warfare, not after the flesh indeed, for it is a spiritual warfare, with spiritual enemies and for spiritual purposes. And though ministers walk in the flesh, or live in the body, and in the common affairs of life act as other men, yet in their work and warfare they must not go by the maxims of the flesh, nor should they design to please the flesh: this must be crucified with its affections and lusts; it must be mortified and kept under. (2.) The doctrines of the gospel and discipline of the church are the weapons of this warfare; and these are not carnal: outward force, therefore, is not the method of the gospel, but strong persuasions, by the power of truth and the meekness of wisdom. A good argument this is against persecution for conscience' sake: conscience is accountable to God only; and people must be persuaded to God and their duty, not driven by force of arms. And so the weapons of our warfare are mighty, or very powerful; the evidence of truth is convincing and cogent. This indeed is through God, or owing to him, because they are his institutions, and accompanied with his blessing, which makes all opposition to fall before his victorious gospel. We may here observe, [1.] What opposition is made against the gospel by the powers of sin and Satan in the hearts of men. Ignorance, prejudices, beloved lusts, are Satan's strong-holds in the souls of some; vain imaginations, carnal reasonings, and high thoughts, or proud conceits, in others, exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, that is, by these ways the devil endeavours to keep men from faith and obedience to the gospel, and secures his possession of the hearts of men, as his own house or property. But then observe, [2.] The conquest which the word of God gains. These strong-holds are pulled down by the gospel as the means, through the grace and power of God accompanying it as the principal efficient cause. Note, The conversion of the soul is the conquest of Satan in that soul.

2. The apostle's power to punish offenders (and that in an extraordinary manner) is asserted in 2Co 10:6. The apostle was a prime-minister in the kingdom of Christ, and chief officer in his army, and had in readiness (that is, he had power and authority at hand) to revenge all disobedience, or to punish offenders in a most exemplary and extraordinary manner. The apostle speaks not of personal revenge, but of punishing disobedience to the gospel, and disorderly walking among church-members, by inflicting church-censures. Note, Though the apostle showed meekness and gentleness, yet he would not betray his authority; and therefore intimates that when he would commend those whose obedience was fulfilled or manifested others would fall under severe censures.

Barclay: 2Co 10:1-6

Right at the beginning of this passage are two words which set the whole tone which Paul wishes to use. He speaks of the gentleness and the sweet reasonableness of Christ.

Prautes (4240), gentleness, is an interesting word. Aristotle defined it as the correct mean between being too angry and being never angry at all. It is the quality of the man whose anger is so controlled that he is always angry at the right time and never at the wrong time. It describes the man who is never angry at any personal wrong he may receive, but who is capable of righteous anger when he sees others wronged. By using that word Paul is saying at the very beginning of his stern letter that he is not carried away by personal anger, but is speaking with the strong gentleness of Jesus himself

The other word is even more illuminating. Sweet reasonableness is the Greek word epieikeia (1932). The Greeks themselves defined epieikeia (1932) as "that which is just and even better than just." They described it as that quality which must enter in when justice, just because of its generality, is in danger of becoming unjust. There are times when strict justice can actually result in injustice. Sometimes real justice is not to insist on the letter of the law, but to let a higher quality enter into our decisions. The man who has epieikeia (1932) is the man who knows that, in the last analysis, the Christian standard is not justice, but love. By using this word Paul is saying that he is not out for his rights and to insist on the letter of the law; but is going to deal with this situation with that Christlike love which transcends even the purest of human justice.

Now we have come to a section of the letter which is very hard to understand--and for this reason, that we are hearing only one side of the argument. We are hearing only Paul's reply. We do not know accurately what the charges were which the Corinthians levelled against him; we have to deduce them from the answers which Paul gives. But we can at least try to make our deductions.

(i) It is clear that the Corinthians had charged Paul with being bold enough when he was not face to face with them but a pretty poor creature when actually there. They are saying that when he is absent he can write things that he has not the courage to say in their presence. Paul's reply is that he prays that he may not have occasion to deal with them personally as he knows he is quite capable of doing. Letters are dangerous things. A man will often write with a bitterness and peremptoriness which he would never use to another person's face. Exchange of letters can do a deal of harm which might well have been avoided by a face to face discussion. But Paul's claim is that he would never write anything which he was not prepared to say.

(ii) It is clear that they charged him with arranging his conduct on human motives. Paul's answer is that both his conduct and his power come from God. True, he is a man subject to all the limitations of manhood, but God is his guide and God is his strength. What makes this passage difficult to understand is that Paul uses the word flesh (sarx, 4561) in two different senses. (a) He uses it in the ordinary sense of the human body, flesh in its physical sense. "We walk," he says, "in the flesh." That simply means that he is, like anyone else, a human being. (b) But he also uses it in his own characteristic way for that part of human nature which gives a bridgehead to sin, that essential human weakness of life without God. So, he says, "We do not walk after, or according to, the flesh." It is as if he said, "I am a human being with a human body, but I never allow myself to be dominated by purely human motives. I never try to live without God." A man may live in the body and yet be guided by the Spirit of God.

Paul goes on to make two significant points.

(i) He says that he is equipped to deal with and to destroy all the plausible clevernesses of human wisdom and human pride. There is a simplicity which is a weightier argument than the most elaborate human cleverness. Once there was a house party at which Huxley, the great Victorian agnostic, was present. On the Sunday morning it was planned to go to church. Huxley said to a member of the party, "Suppose you don't go to church; suppose you stay at home and tell me why you believe in Jesus." The man said, "But you, with your cleverness, could demolish anything I might say." Huxley said, "I don't want you to argue. I want you just to tell me what this means to you." So the man, in the simplest terms, told from his heart what Christ meant to him. When he was finished, there were tears in the great agnostic's eyes. "I would give my right hand," he said, "if I could only believe that." It was not argument, but the utter simplicity of heartfelt sincerity which got home. In the last analysis it is not subtle cleverness which is most effective but simple sincerity.

(ii) Paul speaks of bringing every intention into captivity to Christ. Christ has an amazing way of capturing what was pagan and subduing it for his purposes. Max Warren tells of a custom of the natives in New Guinea. At certain times they have ritual songs and dances. They work themselves up into a frenzy and the ritual culminates in what are called "the murder songs," in which they shout before God the names of the people they wish to kill. When the natives became Christian, they retained these customs and that ritual, but in the murder songs, it was no longer the names of the people they hated, but the names of the sins they hated, that they shouted before God and called on him to destroy. An old pagan custom had been captured for Christ. Jesus never wishes to take from us our own qualities and abilities and characteristics. He wishes to take them and to use them for himself. His invitation is to come to him with just what we have to offer and he will enable us, to make a finer use of ourselves than ever before.

Constable: 2Co 8:1--10:1

III. INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING THE COLLECTION FOR THE POOR SAINTS IN JUDEA 8:1--9:15

The New Testament reveals that Paul was actively collecting money for "the poor among the saints in Jerusalem" (Rom. 15:26) for about five years (52-57 A.D.). He solicited funds from the Christians in Galatia (Acts 18:23; 1 Cor. 16:1), Macedonia (Acts 19:22; 2 Cor. 8:1-5; 9:2, 4), Achaia (Rom. 15:26; 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8-9), and Asia Minor (Acts 20:35).²²⁰ Delegates from most of these regions accompanied Paul when he took the gift to Jerusalem (Acts 20:4).

The recipients were Hebrew Christians who were poor for several reasons. Conversion to Christianity and particularly baptism resulted in social and economic ostracism in Jerusalem's society where Judaism dominated all of life. The communal sharing of goods that the early Christians in Jerusalem practiced did not solve their economic problems (cf. Acts 2:44-45; 4:32, 34-35). All Palestinian residents suffered from lack of food due to a famine that descended during the reign of Emperor Claudius (46 A.D., Acts 11:27-30). As the mother church of Christianity, the Jerusalem church undoubtedly had a larger number of teachers, missionaries, and visitors to support than its daughter churches did. Finally, Jews, including Jewish Christians, who lived in Palestine had to pay double taxes, to Rome and to the Jewish authorities.

Why did Paul devote so much of his time and energy to raising and delivering this collection? Undoubtedly love for his needy Christian brethren was a primary motivation (Rom. 12:13; 13:8; Gal. 6:10). He also believed this gift would honor Jesus Christ (2 Cor. 8:19). It would help equalize God's provision for His people's physical needs too (2 Cor. 8:13-150. Moreover, it provided a visual demonstration of the equality that exists between Gentile and Jewish Christians (Eph. 2:11-22). It was something that God might use to allay Jewish suspicions of Christianity and of Paul's mission to the Gentiles (cf. Acts 11:2-3). It also illustrated the spiritual indebtedness that the Gentiles owed to their Jewish brethren (Rom. 15:19, 27; 1 Cor. 9:11). Personally it was one way that Paul could compensate in part for his earlier persecution of the Jerusalem saints (Acts 8:3; 9:1; 26:10-11; 1 Cor. 15:9; Gal. 1:13; 1 Tim. 1:13).

Paul wrote as he did in the following two chapters of 2 Corinthians to facilitate the collection and to set forth a philosophy of Christian stewardship. This is not the first that the Corinthians had heard about this collection. Paul's abrupt introduction of "the collection for the saints" in 1 Corinthians 16:1 and his subsequent discussion of it suggests that he had spoken to them about it previously. Evidently they began to participate but then dropped the project. Probably the controversy that developed concerning Paul contributed to that decision (2:5-11; 7:12). However now that Paul had learned that the Corinthian congregation was responding more positively to him again he could reintroduce the subject and press for its completion.

Constable: 2Co 10:1--13:11

IV. APPEALS CONCERNING PAUL'S APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY 10:1--13:10

In this third and last major division of his epistle the apostle Paul defended his apostolic authority. He did this to silence his critics in Corinth and perhaps elsewhere permanently and to confirm the united support of the Christians there. One of Paul's major purposes in writing this letter was to prepare the way for his next visit. He had just referred to that "anticipated visit" (9:3-4). Consequently he felt compelled to establish his apostolic authority firmly. Broomall's observation on the tone of 2 Corinthians generally is especially true of chapters 10-13.

"The progress of thought in this epistle is like the movement of a mighty army advancing over rugged terrain still inhabited by pockets of stubborn resistance."²⁴³

Constable: 2Co 10:1-18

A. Replies to charges made against Paul 10:1-18

Paul responded to charges of cowardice, weakness, and intrusion that one or more critics in Corinth had evidently made against him. Failure to submit to apostolic authority could have dangerous consequences, such as disregarding his inspired writings. It was to spare his beloved readers from these ill effects that Paul wrote as he did, not out of a sense of wounded pride.

Constable: 2Co 10:1-6

1. Reply to the charge of cowardice 10:1-6

10:1-2 Paul may have identified himself by name here so his readers would have no doubt that what he proceeded to say indeed came from him. He began by gently asking his readers to respond to his appeal to submit to his apostolic authority. This was important so that when he came he would not have to deal severely with those who opposed him (cf. Acts 5:1-10). The description of himself in verse 1b is his critics'. Those individuals were saying that Paul was behaving as a carnal Christian (v. 2; cf. 1:12-24). He sent forceful letters to them, especially his "severe letter," but when he was with them in person he was less aggressive. However his meekness and gentleness were characteristics of Christ rather than signs of personal timidity (v. 1; cf. Matt. 23; John 2:14-22). Paul did not want to have to be critical when he arrived in Corinth, yet he was ready to be if necessary.

"In v. 2 Paul gives the probable clue to his critics' basis of opposition to him. Judging his attempted discipline of moral offenders in Corinth to have been ineffectual, they reckon' that Paul must be a man who walks according to the flesh.'"²⁴⁴

10:3-4 Paul admitted that he walked in the flesh (was only human) but denied that he worked according to the flesh (as carnal Christians and unbelievers do). He was contrasting living in the world and living as a worldling. Carnal weapons like intimidation, manipulation, trickery, double-talk, rumor, and hypocritical behavior are ineffective in spiritual warfare. Reliance on the working of God, however, results in supernatural victories. The spiritual Christian's weapons are those that Paul later enumerated in Ephesians 6:11-17.

10:5 As in Ephesians 6:12, Paul described the enemy as impersonal. We wage war against invisible, intangible spiritual forces, though obviously Satan is behind these forces. Satan's strategy is not only to use demons (Eph. 6:12) but also speculations (theories) and incorrect information that contradicts God's revealed truth. The propaganda of our enemy consists of ideas that run counter to the truth of God. "Speculations" or "arguments" (v. 4 in NIV) contrast with revelations that God has given, and they contradict those revelations. "Lofty things" or "pretensions" include any human act or attitude that asserts itself as being superior to God's will or truth. Paul claimed to make it his aim to bring all such thoughts and actions into submission to what God has revealed in His Word. He regarded this as obedience to Christ. He was a bondservant to the truth of God in his thinking. His desire was that everyone would voluntarily submit to such servant status.

"It is not a case of the Christian's effort to force all his thoughts to be pleasing to Christ. Rather the picture seems to be that of a military operation in enemy territory that seeks to thwart every single hostile plan of battle, so that there will be universal allegiance to Christ."²⁴⁵

10:6 Paul was ready to come to Corinth and punish all disobedience to God's will and his own apostolic authority. However, he wanted to do that only after the whole church had made a clean break with the rebels in its midst. If the church would not stand with him in disciplining his unrepentant opponents, his discipline would not be effective. Unless any church as a whole is willing to support the discipline of its member or members, the discipline that its leaders seek to impose will be ineffective.

College: 2Co 10:1-18

2 CORINTHIANS 10

VII. FINAL DEFENSE OF MINISTRY (10:1-13:10)

Interpreters of 2 Corinthians agree universally that 10:1 initiates a clean break from what comes before it in chapter nine. The doxology of 9:15 marks the end of Paul's initiative in chapters eight and nine to prepare the Corinthians to restart their collection for the Jerusalem Christians. The issue is not brought up again even by inference. Interpreters also agree that in 2 Corinthians 10-13 Paul returns to a defense of his apostolic ministry, which has already occupied his attention for the most part of chapters two through seven. Further, they agree that the bitter, sarcastic tone of chapters ten through thirteen reveal Paul to be in a different frame of mind from that earlier defense. There, Paul's emotional state seems propelled by love and affection for the Corinthians. Here, Paul seems angry, his emotions boiling over in righteous indignation. Besides, he seems to have closed out the earlier treatment on a positive note: "I have complete confidence in you" (7:16).

The point at which interpreters divide is on how best to explain the dramatic shift so readily apparent. As explained in more detail in the Introduction, some still equate 10-13 with the Severe Letter, although the number of those who defend this view is dwindling. Many others believe that 10-13 is the major portion of a separate letter Paul wrote to the Corinthians prompted by still more bad news he learned fairly soon after sending off Titus and company with 2 Cor 1-9. This has become the more common view today.

However, a growing number, primarily based on studies of Greek rhetoric, have begun to maintain that Paul's drastic, emotional treatment of his defense against criticism, should be expected at the end of the letter as we have it. In the earlier defense, he was focused on winning over the majority of the church, already somewhat sympathetic to him. In 10-13, his harsh tones are spoken to this same majority but are actually directed through them to the outside meddlers and to the more hard-boiled minority who have been won over to them. Reference to these outside meddlers was already made in the earlier defense, as "peddlers" (2:17), people "with letters of recommendation" (3:1), who "distort the word of God" (4:2), who "take pride in what is seen" (5:12), and who have "corrupted" and "exploited" (7:2).

It is the view of this commentary that these earlier, sometimes oblique references, anticipate the full-blown vindication of Paul's authentic apostolic ministry over against the attempts by these influential outsiders to discredit not only Paul's ministry but his personal character. This, then, is the function of 10-13. It is Paul's rhetorical way of taking off the gloves and giving these outside meddlers and slanderers everything he's got. It has been left to the end to prevent muddying the waters of his earlier defense issues and perhaps putting off the majority whom he wishes to win over there. This gives him a chance while the air is more positive to make his appeal for the collection before getting into what he knows will be a strident tone in his final defense at the end of the letter.

A. LAUNCH OF A MASSIVE COUNTERATTACK (10:1-18)

1. Powerful Weapons Employed (10:1-6)

10:1 By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you-

Up until now, Paul has used "appeal" (parakalevw, parakaleô) mostly in the sense of "encourage" or "comfort" (1:4; 2:7; 5:20; 7:6; 7:13). Its meaning as "exhort" or "appeal" dominates the latter portion of 2 Corinthians (8:6; 9:5; 12:8,18; 13:11). Contrary to those who consider 10:1 to begin or to be near the beginning of a separate letter, Paul normally employs this verb not in the opening sections but toward the end of his letters in the parenetic (quick-thrust ethical admonitions) sections. This can be seen in Rom 12:1; 15:30; 16:17; 1 Cor 16:12,15; Phil 4:2; 1 Thess 5:14; 2 Thess 3:12.

The two attributes of Christ: "meekness" (prau?th", praütçs) and "gentleness" (ejpieivkeia, epieikeia ), are synonyms working together to emphasize the gentle compassion Christ exhibited, especially toward the infirm as well as sinners. Surprisingly, neither word ever describes Christ elsewhere in the NT, although in Matt 11:29 Jesus does describe himself as "meek" (prau?", praόs ), employing the adjectival form of "meekness." The adjective also describes him in Matt 21:5. Some are skeptical that such word usage in Matthew (written well after 2 Corinthians) could have influenced Paul at this point and suggest that these attributes refer to the incarnation as a whole.

However, Paul has already identified himself with the sufferings of Christ in 2 Cor 1:5; 2:15,17; and 5:14. To seek to imitate the character of Christ does not seem like such a stretch. Also, "meekness" does appear regularly as a positive characteristic of Christians (Gal 5:23; Eph 4:2; Col 3:12; Titus 3:2; James 3:13; 1 Pet 3:15. On other occasions Paul uses "meekness" to describe the manner in which church discipline is to be administered (Gal 6:1) and how opposition ought to be instructed (2 Tim 2:25). These latter two examples would seem to relate to Paul's situation in 2 Corinthians 10. As he prepares to do verbal battle with opponents in Corinth, how to mix convincing strength with humble compassion becomes a vexing question. The model he sees for this is in Christ.

I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" when away!

In Greek, not only does "I, Paul," begin the verse, it includes an emphasizing pronoun (ajutov", autos ), usually translated intensively as "myself." No doubt, Paul wishes to dramatize forcefully his entrance into verbal combat with those who criticize him. By emphasizing himself, he also shows that attacks upon him have been personal, not including Timothy (named as coauthor) or other apostles (included in many of his first person plural pronouns).

The NIV quite rightly puts "timid" (tapeinov", tapeinos ) and "bold" (qarrevw, tharreô) in quotes because these words most likely represent criticisms of Paul from the mouths of those who oppose him. The Greek word for "timid" usually has a positive sense in the NT, often rendered "humble." Both James 4:6 and 1 Pet 5:5 quote Prov 3:34 which says that God "gives grace to the humble." Matthew 11:29 attributes this characteristic to Christ himself. Yet, the word does have a pejorative sense in Greek usage to refer to people who are weak in character and allow others to run roughshod over them without a peep. Paul would quickly identify himself as humble in the positive sense but not in the negative and would consider Christ the same.

The Greek word for "bold" can also have either a positive or negative sense. Boldness in terms of confidence to express oneself is the positive as found in 2 Cor 5:6,8; 7:16 and also in Heb 13:6. In the negative sense, found only outside the NT, it can refer to a "presumptuous" attitude which is offensive. Since Paul's accusers valued boldness, it is possible they merely criticize his inconsistency. However, most likely they think of his sharp tongue when writing as pompous since in person he comes across as a pushover. It is also possible that a slander against Paul's singularly unintimidating physical appearance is implied. In the forefront of the criticism must be the contrast between Paul's demeanor during his Painful Visit to Corinth, which he seems to have been incapable of dealing with in person, and the Severe Letter which boldly confronts the situation.

10:2 I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be

The opening verb "beg" (devomai, deomai ) is often used in the context of prayer (Luke 21:36; 22:32; Acts 4:31; 8:22,24; 10:2; Rom 1:10; 1 Thess 3:10). However, Paul uses it here in the more secular sense of imploring Corinthians to respond to his urgent plea. Apparently, he has made up his mind that if he must, he will confront his critics in Corinth with a ferocity no one there has ever seen. His discomfort in doing this at such a personal level remains evident. It is clear, however, that he will go toe to toe with his critics for sake of the true gospel in Corinth if necessary.

The mention of his coming to be with them once again in person comes as a cannon shot across the bow. It serves as a warning, not so much to the majority of Corinthians who have already made amends with Paul (noted in 2 Corinthians 7) but to those who remain defiant in their disdain for Paul. What action by the Corinthians would avert the impending personal confrontation? Does he have in mind a change of heart by his slanderers or perhaps expulsion from the church? Is Paul expecting another letter from the Corinthians, maybe a report back from someone on the collection team he is sending with 2 Corinthians, or does he simply expect a change by the time he gets there? We don't really know the answers to any of these questions. It does seem, though, that Paul intends his sharp, caustic rebuttal to his critics, which occupies him from this point to the end of the letter, to be his best effort to avoid the nasty, personal, confrontation he foresees.

Two helpful Greek words are not conveyed in the NIV translation. Following the infinitive for "bold," repeated from 10:1, is the Greek word for "confidence" (pepoivqesi", pepoithesis ). Its presence clarifies that Paul has the good kind of boldness in view as opposed to the pompous kind his accusers say is in his letters. It also underscores Paul's secure belief that his cause in defending himself is just. Paul will be "bold with confidence."

A second word left untranslated by the NIV is an infinitive meaning "to be courageous" (tolmavw, tolmaô) which works alongside the verb "I expect" (logivzomai, logizomai ). Paul is the only NT author to use this word, employing it four times in 2 Corinthians (1:15; 3:4; 8:22) and twice elsewhere (Eph 3:12; Phil 3:4). It signals that Paul will not shrink from this fight if it comes to pass. He will not just let this one pass, as apparently he did during the Painful Visit.

toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.

Paul's anticipated confrontation with "some people" most likely centers on those who have come into the Corinthian congregation from outside and have lobbied against Paul's credentials. Paul will have his eye trained on them throughout his four chapters of defense and will describe them more extensively as he goes along. As noted in the Introduction, it is tough to put our finger on exactly who they were, since they seem to bear a hybrid of qualities from both Jewish, Christian, and Hellenistic spheres. They must have had considerable influence on a number of the Corinthian Christians or Paul would not be so concerned about them. For this reason, Paul's reference to "some" probably includes Corinthians who might remain under their spell when Paul arrives. No doubt, Paul hopes to shake them out of it with his powerful defense from the personal attacks the agitators continue to spread against him.

The slander that Paul has heard being made against him attacks his character at the core. It identifies him with the very standards he repeatedly charges believers to back away from, throwing Paul's own words of caution in his face. He is a hypocrite, embracing a lifestyle he tells other believers to leave. Literally, "live by the standards of this world" is "walk according to the flesh," as ordinarily translated by the KJV. "Walk" (peripatevw, peripateô) is a common, vivid expression for a person's normal, habitual conduct or behavior. "Flesh" (savrx, sarx ), often expressed as "sinful nature" in the NIV, is the vestige of their old life that remains an evil force for believers to reckon with by the power of the Holy Spirit. The mind set on the "sinful nature," Paul says in Rom 8:6, "is death," whereas "the mind controlled by the Spirit is life." Over and over in his letters, Paul warns believers not to succumb to the power of their "sinful nature" (Rom 8:8; 1 Cor 5:5; Gal 5:13-24; Eph 2:3; Phil 3:4). So it is not surprising to see that this particular slander hits a nerve in Paul.

The slander probably goes back to the accusations Paul dealt with to a certain extent in 2 Cor 1-2 stemming from his change of travel plans to Corinth. Particularly, in 2 Cor 1:17, he notes that the charges against him in that situation involved operating "in a worldly manner," also employing the Greek word sarx . In 2 Cor 5:16, as a Christian Paul disavows any such "opportunistic" ( sarx again) tactics.

10:3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.

For just a bit, Paul broadens out his defense from being only about himself. Christianity as a whole and the way its adherents conduct themselves must be differentiated from the standard operating procedures of those outside its umbrella. As an apostolic representative of the Christian community, a slander of "walking in the flesh" (the literal meaning of the phrase the NIV translates as "live in the world") against Paul taints the whole movement. Paul can't let that happen. He readily admits that Christians live "in" an environment dominated by people controlled by their sinful natures. However, they are distinct because they are controlled not by their sinful natures but by the Spirit. They operate with just principles and higher motives. Most notably, they love their enemies (Matt 5:44) and repay evil with good (Rom 12:17; 1 Pet 4:19).

With "wage war" (strateuvw, strateuô), Paul initiates his depiction of the Christian enterprise with words associated with the military and war. This will continue through 10:6. It will recur in 11:7-11 and 11:30-33. Paul's use of such imagery to convey Christian principles of conduct in the midst of hostile environments would be appreciated by those in the church whose ancestry dates back to the colonization of Corinth by retired Roman soldiers.

Paul's use of war imagery so early in his defense suggests that he knows very well he is in a fight with his accusers at Corinth. However, he knows he cannot take the low road of slander and false accusation as they have. He cannot crush his enemy without concern for their spiritual welfare. He must be forceful, bold, determined, and truthful, without being mean-spirited and "hitting below the belt." His cause is just, defense of himself and of the gospel, but he cannot afford to lose the war for the hearts and minds of the Corinthians because of foul play. He will struggle with just how to do this throughout his defense. He has been drawn into battle, but how will he fight? He seeks to fight as all Christians are supposed to: defying the standards of the world for the standards of Christ.

Within this framework of war Paul seems to view himself in one respect as a general leading his troops against the evil forces of the world, including those amassed against him in Corinth. In another respect, he may view himself as an ambassador of Christ, mistreated and abused by his critics in Corinth. Such misconduct of highly vulnerable ambassadors in Paul's day was considered an act of war in and of itself.

10:4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.

Paul begins to elaborate the differences between the Christian campaign and that of others. Once again "world" translates sarx . Christians do not employ the armament used by those who are controlled by their evil nature. The Greek word for "weapons" (o{plon, hoplon ) is a generic word meaning "tool" or "instrument." This word adapts to the context in which it is used. For shipping, it means "tackle," for harvesting, a "sickle," for shepherding, a "staff," thus for warfare, "weapon."

Throughout this depiction of Christian warfare, Paul never actually details what exactly the Christian weapons are. He probably has in mind the "weapons of righteousness" from 2 Cor 6:6-7 which include purity, understanding, patience, kindness, love, and truthful speech, all enacted in the Holy Spirit and the power of God. He could also be thinking of attributes like faith, hope, and love, listed as Christian armament in 1 Thess 5:8, or other qualities named in Rom 13:12-13 or Eph 6:11-17, other passages in which he describes Christians as soldiers.

On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

Regardless of what exactly the weapons are, the big issue for Paul is who furnishes the Christian arsenal. Paul says that the overwhelming power behind the Christian campaign, as opposed to those controlled by the evil nature of the world, is God himself. The NIV translation of "divine" is fine as long as it is understood that the word in the text is personal; it is God (qeov", theos ).

With God as the effective force behind their weapons, Paul believes no enemy has a chance against Christians. The victory will be as obviously decisive as the leveling of an enemy's most extensively defended fortress and even the stronghold within the fortress. The word for "demolish" (kaqaivresi", kathairesis ) is only found in 2 Corinthians, here and in 10:8 and 13:10, though its verb form is more common, used in 10:5, but also eight times in the gospels and Acts. Strictly, the idea is to take or pull something down. For a boat, it means to lower the sails. Here, Paul has in mind tearing down the thick walls, which often fortified cities of his day. By this he pictures Christian weapons as completely effective.

Most likely Paul draws on Prov 21:22 for his language here: "A wise man attacks the city of the mighty and pulls down the stronghold in which they trust." This becomes even more obvious in 10:5 as he presumes the superiority of Christian wisdom in contention with other available ideas.

10:5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,

Some translations (TEV, JB) include the first clause in 10:4 (following the Greek versification); most others, as the NIV, put it in 10:5. In any case, the location makes no difference to its sense.

What is most significant is that Paul now begins to clarify that the military campaign he has in mind takes place in the field of ideas. This is not only true for Christianity in general but also in his combat with his critics in Corinth. Important as it is, it is just one battle in a great war sweeping across the Mediterranean world in communities wherever Christianity has secured a beachhead. Battles continue to rage in this war even today.

Because the power of God supports Christianity's ideas, Paul believes the truthfulness of Christianity can win out over every competing philosophy or worldview and that this can be evidenced one argument after another. The word he uses for "argument" is only used here and in Rom 2:15. It can also be translated as "reckoning" or "reasoning." These are the human "strongholds" which God pulls down through people like Paul, through whom he speaks.

The word "pretension" (u{ywma, hypsôma), though not observable in English, continues the military analogy Paul is using. Literally, it refers to a landscape which has height or elevation, normally the best location in military strategy for defense in the open field. In terms of opponents to Christianity and Paul's own critics in Corinth, it pictures well the puffed up pride people can have in the strength of their arguments, thinking they are unassailable. "Pretension" is modified by a participle from a verb meaning "rise up" or "offer resistance" (ejpaivrw, epairô), translated by the NIV as "sets itself up." Prideful resistance to the claims of Christianity are futile.

Precisely, Paul identifies the irresistible strength of Christianity as "the knowledge of God." This most likely refers to the gospel of Christ. He has made a more direct connection between the two in 2:14-15 when he pictures the knowledge of Christ as the fragrance wafting over the crowd during a triumphal military parade.

Paul's language suggests that one element in Paul's detractors at Corinth may have been an attraction to the professional rhetoric of Sophists, influential Greek teachers who put great emphasis on crafting arguments in persuasive form and style. As detailed in 1 Corinthians 2 and 3, he considers such "wisdom" to be empty and void compared to God's wisdom, the mind of Christ which Christian evangelists share. Perhaps, his critics openly mock him for his failure to employ the proven methods of Sophists. For Paul's part, it is likely that he openly defies dependence on such human and worldly tactics and considers those who do so as dangerously impeding the progress of the true gospel.

and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Paul envisages the final stage in the annihilation of an ancient city. After storming the gates, overcoming the defenders, tearing down the walls and buildings, the cities inhabitants are carried off as prisoners of war. In relationship to Christianity, he sees opposing ideas in the world so totally defeated that they become subservient to the gospel.

The word "thought" (novhma, noçma) is only used six times in the NT, once in Phil 4:7, and four other times in 2 Corinthians (2:11; 3:14; 4:4; 11:3). In every other case, it is translated "mind" by the NIV, except when referring to the "schemes" of Satan in 2 Cor 2:11. Outside the NT, it can mean "design" or "purpose." So, we should not think that Paul means that Christ will overcome every random thought we have. Rather, he has in mind thoughts directed toward a purpose, a philosophy. Also, ultimately it is not just philosophies that become captive to Christ but the people attached to them. "Obedient to Christ" means to accept the gospel of Christ as true and to honor Christ as Lord.

10:6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

Good soldiers prepare themselves properly for battle. They check and recheck their gear and their weapons to be sure everything is functioning properly. They prepare themselves mentally and morally to enter into battle against their foe. Paul has checked himself over and pronounces that he is ready to do battle with his opponents in Corinth. All he needs is the church's backing. Notably, despite his readiness and despite his position as an apostle, Paul does not seem to believe he has free reign to punish his Corinthian opponents. He honors the authority of the local church over its own people and situation. After all, what good would any sort of discipline be if those in the Corinthian community are not prepared to enact and sustain it? They are the ones living there, not Paul.

Obedience for Paul does not mean obedient to him personally but obedient to the true gospel. Likewise, disobedience, that cries out for punishment, is not disobedience to Paul but the gospel. The two are intertwined to a certain extent, but 2 Cor 11:4 will clarify that it is a "different gospel" his opponents preach. Those he stands ready to punish certainly refer to the outsiders who are slandering him, but he also probably has in mind any of the Corinthian believers who remain under their sway even after receiving Paul's passionate case contained in 2 Corinthians.

Obedience itself is a vital component of any army. Unswerving obedience to commands enables the multiple units of operation to coordinate battle plan strategy. Insubordination to the orders of a superior officer are grounds for the severest of punishments because it cuts at the very fabric of military order and achievement. As Paul sees it, the battle for the advancement of Christianity in resistant environments throughout the world is difficult enough without unsanctioned orders from impostors spreading confusion. They must be rooted out and stopped from creating any further trouble by weakening the church internally.

2. Forceful Personal Presence Warned (10:7-11)

10:7 You are looking only on the surface of things. ^a

^a 7 Or Look at the obvious facts

This primary translation by the NIV coordinates with 5:12 where Paul labels his opponents as people "who take pride in what is seen." In fact, the same word, literally translated as "face" (provswpon, prosôpon), is employed. However, the evidence favors an imperative translation of the verb, noted as a secondary reading by the NIV: "Look at the obvious facts!" First, despite the fact that this second person plural present verb form of the verb "see" or "look" (blevpw, blepô) can be either imperative or indicative, Paul only uses it as an imperative (1 Cor 8:9; 10:18; 16:10; Gal 5:15; Phil 3:2; Eph 5:15; Col 2:8; 4:17). Second, Paul continues in the imperative frame of mind throughout the next two paragraphs, using third person imperatives in the very next sentence and in 10:11 and 10:17.

The primary fact he wants to call the Corinthians' attention to in this paragraph is the legitimacy of his personal calling from Christ, which his opponents apparently have called into question. The second criticism he responds to carries over to a certain extent the criticism he begins to respond to in 10:1-6, that he is a pushover in person and only forceful "when away." The current paragraph will clarify what "away" means in his letters. It will also reinforce the warning of the previous paragraph that his next coming will be powerful.

If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as he.

Paul asks his critics to be open-minded and search within themselves as to the legitimacy of his calling. Although not translated in the NIV, twice Paul uses the reflexive "himself" (eJautov", heautos ) to emphasize his appeal to soul search. This occurs after both verbs, "is confident" and "consider," the second instance including the preposition "in" or "within" (ejpiv, epi ). From his point of view, if their calling is true, then they should be able to recognize the trueness of his calling.

Despite the fact that "anyone" is singular, his aim is on the whole group of critics, outsiders and insiders, he referred to as "some" in 10:2. Perhaps he personifies them as one, or, perhaps, he hopes each of them individually will consider his case honestly and that some of them might be won over to his side.

The phrase "belongs to Christ," repeated twice in this verse, is critical to Paul's point. Literally, it is just the word "Christ" in the genitive, or possessive form, "of Christ" (cristou', Christou ). It could simply refer to a Christian, but it is unlikely that Paul's opponents accuse him of not being a Christian. It could also refer to someone who was a disciple of Jesus during his ministry. This might apply to Paul's opponents but not to him. Most likely it refers to being specially called by Christ to ministry. The clarification is made in 11:23 when he responds to his opponents' exclusive claims to be "servants of Christ." Although the phrase does occur early in 1 Cor 1:12 as a label for one of the divided parties in Corinth, it is highly unlikely that Paul would aspire to be in one of the groups which he denounces wholesale in 1 Corinthians.

Most likely, then, Paul's opponents in Corinth, particularly those who have come from outside, appear to be denouncing Paul's apostleship on the grounds that he did not walk with Christ. They must have come into town and informed the Corinthians that Paul was not a real apostle, despite his claims. In regard to themselves, they may indeed have been disciples of Christ, or they may be claiming they have been commissioned by true apostles. This makes it highly likely that they are or have some relationship to the so-called Judaizers, prominent as Paul's opponents in Galatia. Perhaps the same ones or a separate band of them have followed Paul's steps to Corinth to inform them that Paul's commission is not valid and that his gospel to the Gentiles which does not include the Jewish elements of law and custom is illegitimate.

Perhaps as a peaceful gesture, at least at this point in his defense, Paul does not deny his opponents' claim to be commissioned as ministers of Christ. He simply pleads with them to give him the same gesture of good faith. In that, he speaks only indirectly to his opponents but directly to the Corinthian majority, he certainly means for the Corinthian majority to recognize that his credentials are defendable to his detractors.

10:8 For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down,

This is the first of 17 uses of the verb "boast" (kaucavomai, kauchaomai ) which will occur through 12:9. Paul's reluctance to boast (evident here and in 10:13,15; 11:16,18,30; 12:1,5,6) will be overcome by his desire to win back those who have bent their ears to the efforts of his detractors to discredit him. He begins by boasting about his "authority" (ejxousiva, exousia ), essentially his commissioning by Christ on the Damascus road to be the Lord's apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15-16). It is possible for the adverb "somewhat freely" (perissotevrw", perissoterôs) to be used in the negative sense of "too much" or "excessive." However, Paul, clearly believes the little bit he focuses on his call here is hardly excessive.

What Paul wishes to draw attention to is not just the legitimacy of his commissioning but even more so the positive results of his commissioning self-evident to the Corinthians themselves. Not only did Paul and his associates establish the church at Corinth, he nurtured its growth personally, having lived with them for 18 months. Nobody can question that their church has been "fortified" or "built up" (oijkodomhvn, oikodomçn) on his watch.

But what about his opponents? How do they legitimate their claim to have enviable credentials? What have they done? Haven't they weakened the Corinthian church by causing it to divide into factions? Paul has done nothing to "pull them down." This is not what apostles are commissioned to do. In fact, what Paul is attempting to accomplish with this letter is to rebuild them in the wake of their being dismantled by the outsiders. Even if it means dealing harshly with some people when he arrives personally, he will do it if this will repair and revitalize the Corinthian church.

These, then, are the facts he calls on the church to observe. Who has built up the church? Who has torn it down? Who, then, is the true apostle?

Paul's language appears to be drawn from Jer 24:6 where the Lord speaks of building up and not tearing down his people following the Babylonian captivity.

I will not be ashamed of it.

This two-word clause in Greek, a negative particle followed by the verb "be ashamed" (aijscuvnw, aischynô), complements the adverb "somewhat freely" (perissotevrw", perissoterôs) in the previous clause. Essentially, he means that there is nothing he could say about his building up of the Corinthian church that would be excessive in the sense of having to take even a single word of it back. The verb "ashamed" is used similarly in Phil 1:20.

10:9 I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.

The word "frighten" (ejkfobevw, ekphobeô) is only used here in all the NT. It is an identification of the more normal word for "be afraid" (fobevomai, phobeomai ) used 95 times in the NT. Thus, it means to terrify or literally "frighten away." Paul does not by any stretch of the imagination intend to threaten so severely that he causes Corinthian believers to leave the faith. His intention is the contrary, not only in this letter but in all his letters: to strengthen their faith.

All in all, the Corinthians have received three letters from Paul up to this point: the Previous letter, 1 Corinthians, and the Severe Letter. Although both of the first two have notes of censure in them, surely the key reference point for Paul's comment is the Severe Letter. It may very well be that Paul's critics are making the most of the fact that this letter was particularly harsh, while Paul had shrunk away tongue-tied on the occasion of the Painful Visit, which precipitated the Severe Letter.

10:10 For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing."

The reason for Paul's denial that his letters are intended to frighten people away from the faith comes in this quotation, which undoubtedly has come to him from the mouths of his detractors in Corinth. They are spreading the slander that Paul is only forceful in his letters because he is weak and ineffectual in person. This charge, as far as they are concerned, cancels out any claim by Paul to be a legitimate apostle. If his "authority" is genuine, they claim, he would be consistently authoritative in word and deed. He would not shrink at personal confrontation. Again, the case in point is Paul's inability to confront during the Painful Visit as opposed to his harsh denunciation in the Severe Letter.

Although the criticism centers in inconsistency and perhaps even hypocrisy, the two faults cited against Paul's personal presence likely detract from Paul's ministry in and of themselves. The first one, "unimpressive" (ajsqenhv", asthençs) probably refers to the unattractive nature of Paul's physical appearance, at least from a Greek point of view. Literally, the word means "weak," and can refer to someone who is ill or sickly (Matt 25:44; Luke 9:2; Acts 5:15). People of authority were expected to be physically appealing as well as forceful in character. Paul in fact admits to some kind of permanent physical ailment in 2 Cor 12:7, though his language in describing it does not give much indication of what it was.

The most notable legendary, physical description of Paul is found in the second-century Acts of Paul and Thecla . Although it describes his body as healthy, the depiction, if bearing any resemblance to the truth, would not be very impressive to a Greek crowd. It describes Paul as "a man small of stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked, full of friendliness."

The second criticism attacks Paul's verbal inadequacies. His speech is "of no account," or "despised" (ejxouqenevw, exoutheneô). When we read Paul's letters, they appear to be full of rhetorical flair. Yet, it must be admitted, when he becomes emotionally distraught even in writing, his grammar and style go out the window. Perhaps the same and worse happens to Paul in emotionally laden public confrontations. What's more, Greek society put a great deal of stock in a person's oratorical ability as a reflection of the validity of his wisdom. It may very well be that Paul's opponents in Corinth were gifted and well-trained speakers and could point to this as evidence of their superior commission and message compared to Paul.

10:11 Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.

Although Paul does not want to frighten away the legitimate believers in the Corinthian church, he does intend to put the fear of God into those who doubt that he will come forcefully this next time. As harsh as they admit he is in his letters, he intends to be in this next visit, that is, if those who are undercutting his apostolic authority are not dealt with by the majority. This time they will see that he is consistent. His bite will equal his bark. This verse comes as both a threat and a challenge. Will they dare call him on it?

3. God's Expansion of the Gospel Boasted (10:12-18)

10:12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves.

Initiated by "for" (gavr, gar ), not translated in the NIV, this verse picks up on the consideration Paul gives to boasting about himself, stated in 10:12. Paul, however, takes an unusual approach to his boasting. Rather than simply boasting of his accomplishments, he boasts in antithesis to the boasting of his counterparts in Corinth. Paul desires to expose to the Corinthian majority the hollowness of his opponents' claims as well as his superior standing as God's chosen servant.

Paul begins by satirizing his opponents in order to expose the emptiness of their boasting. While he feigns unworthiness to even measure himself against them, this is all done in jest. In reality he believes they have made themselves look good by setting the bar too low. His confidence is so high because their standards are too low to do him justice.

The word "dare" (tolmavw, tolmaô) figures prominently in this context, coming up another three times, in 2 Cor 10:12 and twice in 2 Cor 11:21. The word presumes that an obstacle exists against which one needs to muster the courage and resolution to contest. As mockery, it means the opposite, no true obstacle exists. The words "classify" (ejgkrivnw, enkrinô) and "compare" (sugkrivnw, synkrinô) amount to a play on words in Greek, both built on the same root which means "judge" (krivnw, krinô). Literally "classify" means "judge from" and "compare" means "judge with." The word "commend" (sunivsthmi, synistçmi), another key word in this context, will appear again in 10:18 twice and in 12:11, for a total of ten times in 2 Corinthians as a whole. It has a variety of meanings but is consistently used in the sense of "recommend" in 2 Corinthians.

In many cities of Paul's day, teachers of philosophy competed with each other to win over students for their instruction. Among their tactics was comparing their superior credentials and abilities with their rivals'. Paul's adversaries in Corinth seem to have carried on in much the same way for the loyalty of the Corinthian believers. Paul, not surprisingly, puts himself outside this competitive, worldly atmosphere in his cleverly concocted response to this scene.

When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.

The reader is bowled over by the repetition of "themselves" (eJautov", heautos ) four times in this clause, two times also in the previous clause. Clearly, Paul intends to emphasize the egocentricity of his opponents in Corinth. They come out looking pretty good when they only use themselves as the standard of measure. How hard is it to impress when the goal which is set has already been achieved? This is not wisdom. It achieves no true gauge of value. It is sheer lunacy, foolishness. No doubt, Paul's detractors have claimed superior wisdom for themselves, but Paul unmasks it for the con job it really is and exposes it for all in Corinth to see. In doing so he also evidences his own superior wisdom to theirs.

10:13 We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits,

Paul distances himself from the kind of foolish boasting which characterizes his opponents. Strictly speaking, he decrees, "We will not boast about things that are not truly measured." In Greek, the NIV's "proper limits" is actually the plural of the word for measure negated (a[metra, ametra ).

but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.

In contrast to his opponents, he will seek a standard of assessment that is true and measurable. This measurement comes from God himself, not some mere human contrivance. Paul calls this measuring device "the canon" (kanwvn, kanôn). Literally, he says "according to the measure of the canon which God apportions to us." The word "canon" becomes extremely crucial later on in the second and third centuries as the word which applies to the written works which belonged in the Christian Bible. This canon of texts, or Bible, would be the rule or measure by which church doctrine and behavior must be evaluated. The word refers to a straight rod or bar. It eventually came to refer to a carpenter's rule or even the tongue of a balance, and then metaphorically for any norm or standard.

It is uncertain as to whether "canon" can ever refer to a geographic location, but the word it modifies, "measure," does refer to something that has been measured. The verb Paul uses, "has assigned" (merivzw, merizô) refers to something that has been divided or apportioned for use.

It appears, then, that Paul has in mind a sphere of influence which God has allotted him to which he believes he has been unquestionably faithful. There is little doubt that he thinks of his commissioning by Christ to be the apostle to the Gentiles, recorded in Acts 9:14-15, which was also affirmed by Peter, James, and John according to Gal 2:9.

Paul, then, suggests that the true appraisal of those who say they have been chosen to serve Christ is to measure the extent to which they have accomplished the task to which God has commissioned them. In his commission to bring the gospel to Gentiles, Paul believes evidence is plentiful to demonstrate that he has been faithful. The evidence closest at hand for the Corinthians to observe, of course, is themselves. Thus, the verse concludes dramatically with Paul's reference to the Corinthian church being an observable, positive result of Paul fulfilling his commission. They themselves, if anything, are what he would boast about, not himself.

What a stark contrast to his adversaries. Paul implicates that they ranged well beyond their commissioned area and in fact have intruded into his commissioned arena. By this standard, they have nothing to boast about because they have failed to live up to their mission. This again suggests that Paul's main opponents at Corinth have come from outside and are likely Judaizers or related to them. Paul must believe that the agreement of Gal 2:8-10 with Peter, James, and John, included a commission for Peter and those connected to him to focus their efforts on Jewish or perhaps even Judean evangelism. Thus, in disrupting the dominantly Gentile church at Corinth, Paul believes this agreement has been violated with disastrous results.

10:14 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.

Paul asks the Corinthians to answer as to whether he exceeded his commission in bringing the gospel to them. Has he violated his commission? Should he have never brought the gospel to them? Hopefully, they value the difference the gospel has made in their lives enough to believe God indeed sent Paul to them. If that is so, then they themselves are his key witnesses against his opponents. They are included in his commission. Within God's standards for a commissioned apostle, then, he excels his opponents. It is his opponents who have overstretched themselves by entering his field of work.

The verb "get" (fqavnw, phthanô) may not only refer to how far Paul came to get to the Corinthians but also to the fact that he brought the gospel to them first, arriving well before his opponents. In this sense, perhaps he is emphasizing that he laid first claim on the Corinthians and any self-respecting, legitimate apostle would focus on unreached people for Christ, not people well-established in the faith. In this regard, his opponents further undermine their position as superior to Paul.

10:15 Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. ^a

^a 13-15 Or ¹³ We, however, will not boast about things that cannot be measured, but we will boast according to the standard of measurement that the God of measure has assigned us - a measurement that relates even to you. ¹⁴ . . . . ¹⁵ Neither do we boast about things that cannot be measured in regard to the work done by others.

The negative suggests that this is precisely what Paul's opponents are doing. Not only are they discrediting the foundation for Corinthian belief by defaming Paul, they are also trying to take credit for the spiritual growth of the Corinthians. What exactly they have done is difficult to say. They probably believe they have straightened the Corinthians out from being negatively affected by Paul's influence. Most likely they brought in a brand of Jewish legalism tinged with what they consider to be advanced spiritual insight and have convinced a number of the Corinthians that this is true Christianity. Paul's point is that no matter what they have done, they cannot justifiably take credit for Corinthian Christianity because the unalterable fact is that Paul and his associates first brought the gospel to Corinth. Unlike his opponents Paul has no need to take credit for what others have accomplished.

The word "work" (kovpo", kopos ), used again in 11:23 and 11:27, normally refers to manual labor. It can also refer to the suffering and pain involved in work that is highly demanding. Its use suggests that Paul considers himself to have expended a great deal of effort and perhaps also emotional trauma in planting and nourishing the Corinthian church. After working so hard it is not surprising that he would be exasperated at someone else claiming credit.

Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand,

Paul reveals that he has a missionary strategy which very much hinges on the outcome of this letter and his upcoming visit. This strategy involves expanding his divine mandate to include areas beyond Corinth. He can hardly implement this strategy if the church in Corinth is not secure, settled into a maturing faith. Primary evidence for their maturing faith is that they are able to recognize the emptiness of his opponents claims, both against Paul and for themselves. The tone harkens back to 10:7 where Paul informs them that he yet awaits their complete obedience. Atop his list in his upcoming visit is his desire to exhort them to obedience and to solidify their faith.

Corinth, up to this point, has not lived up to its advanced billing, not with regard to the collection, as is evident from 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, nor have they likely been much of a witness to the gospel in their area. As in the collection, their immaturity stands in stark contrast to the mature witness maintained by the Macedonian churches, both Thessalonica (1 Thess 1:6-8) and Philippi (Phil 2:14-16).

The word translated "will greatly expand" (megaluvnw, megalynô) is only used here in 2 Corinthians. Also translated as "enlarge" or "magnify," it conveys the idea of explosive growth. Paul has high hopes for the advance of the gospel contingent on the Corinthians and the matter at hand. The NIV's "area of activity" translates the word "rule" (kanwvn, kanôn), previously used in 10:13 to refer to the measured out area of apostolic activity commissioned to Paul from the Lord. It carries basically the same idea here. Paul views the actual geographic arena of his missionary activity expanding within his overall commission.

10:16 so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you.

Paul clarifies his vision as being geographically past the Corinthians. Most interpreters take this to mean further westward expansion, probably Spain. Possibly Paul hopes to use Corinth as a solid base for expansion in that direction. Paul unfolds just such a vision in Rom 15:23-29. However, there, it seems apparent, he is hoping for the Roman church to be his base of operations as he goes beyond into Spain. In that Paul writes Romans during his three-month stay in Corinth, which occurs soon after the writing of 2 Corinthians, it seems that he may have had a change of heart.

For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man's territory.

Unlike his opponents in Corinth, Paul does not need to use the accomplishments of others in order to exaggerate his claims. In fact, it is his policy not to expend his missionary effort in areas others have evangelized. It is not good stewardship of resources. His commission is to pioneer new areas for the gospel. He states this policy for the record explicitly in Rom 15:20. In the case of the Roman church, he writes that he intends to suspend this policy because of his long-held desire to visit this noteworthy church.

10:17 But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." ^a

^a 17 Jer. 9:24

Paul freely adapts the Septuagint rendering of Jer 9:24 for his purposes. The OT text does not specifically say "in the Lord." However, it implies this when it calls for a person, whether wise, strong, or rich to boast only "that he [God] understands and knows me."

The big question regarding this quote is whether Paul intends "Lord" to be taken as God, as in the OT text, or intends a switch to Christ, a common NT ploy. In fact, a major factor informing this interpretation here is that Paul also quotes this same adaptation of Jer 9:24 in 1 Cor 1:30 where the context more clearly suggests he means "Christ" for Lord. Elsewhere, in Phil 3:3 he talks of Christians "boasting in Christ Jesus" (NIV has "glory" but the Greek word is the same), and in Gal 6:14, he refers to boasting "in the cross of Jesus Christ." It is correct to note that in this context, 10:13 specifically talks of God as the one apportioning the fields of service, the only legitimate avenue of boasting. However, in 10:8 he also refers to the Lord, meaning Christ, as commissioning him with the authority which he uses to edify the Corinthians. In this he is permitted to boast. Most likely, then, Paul intends "Lord" to be understood as Christ here and in 10:17.

10:18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.

Paul concludes his argument regarding commendation by employing the same word for "commend" (sunivsthmi, synistçmi) that he did in 10:12. Appropriate commendation should not originate from oneself but from the Lord, meaning Christ. The self-commendation of his opponents, therefore, is bogus. There is no need to promote oneself before the church or to the Lord. He knows the tasks he has assigned and knows how well each has done within those tasks. The word Paul uses for "approved" (dovkimo", dokimos ) implies that someone has passed the test. Let the Lord's servants be satisfied with his ability to score their exams appropriately.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

McGarvey: 2Co 10:1

[The two previous parts of this epistle have been mainly addressed to that portion of the congregation at Corinth which was loyal to the apostle. This third part, however, is especially addressed to his enemies, though he at times evidently speaks to his friends. The apostle in neither case formally indicated which party he was addressing, for he rightly assumed that each would wisely appropriate to itself the sentiments which properly belonged to it.] Now I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am of good courage toward you:

McGarvey: 2Co 10:2

yea, I beseech you, that I may not when present show courage with the confidence wherewith I count to be bold against some, who count of us as if we walked according to the flesh . [Hitherto the apostle had associated Timothy as a joint author of this letter, but as he now prepares to deal with his enemies and matters personal to himself, he disengages himself from all entangling fellowships and steps forth alone to defend his name and influence. That there may be no doubt as to his purpose in thus standing alone, and that his enemies may understand the spirit in which he presents himself before them, he quotes their own belittling description of him: for they had described him as a coward who threatened and thundered when absent, but was meek and lowly enough when present. Accepting for the moment this false estimate of himself, he beseeches them by the meekness and gentleness of Christ (for Jesus ever preferred gentleness to severity) that they may so amend their conduct as to make their estimate of him true thus far; viz.: that at his coming he may indeed be permitted to show them gentleness, and may not, as he now confidently expected, be compelled to show his severity toward those who accused him of conducting himself as an unprincipled worldling.]

McGarvey: 2Co 10:3

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh

McGarvey: 2Co 10:4

(for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds) ;

Lapide: 2Co 10:1-18

CHAPTER 10

SYNOPSIS OF THE CHAPTER

i. In this and the two next chapters Paul defends his apostleship against the false apostles, who held him up to contempt as vile and despicable, and accused him of over-harshness, audacity, and insolence. Paul here points out that his arms are not carnal but spiritual, and therefore all the more powerful, because it is theirs to cast down all the strongholds, counsels, and wisdom of the world, as well as to inflict punishment on all disobedience.

ii. He contrasts (ver. 12) the boast of the false apostles of the provinces traversed and converted by them with the actual journeyings and conversions wrought by himself.

Observe that these false apostles envied the glory of Paul, and wished to destroy it by their own eloquence, boasting, and calumnies. It appears, from xi. 22, that they were Jews, and were greedy of gain and glory, braggarts, and self-assertive. Fro m xi. 4 it also appears that they preached Christ in appearance, but were endeavouring to gradually subvert the Gospel by Judaism and its errors (xi. 3; xii. 13). Of this class were Cerinthus, Ebion, and other Judaisers, who bitterly persecuted S. Paul as an apostate from their law. 1Cor. 15 was an exposition of the resurrection against the teaching of Cerinthus.

Ver. 1.— Now I Paul myself beseech you. Hitherto I have pleaded the cause of others, the poor; now I am going to speak for myself. I beseech you to observe my admonitions and the precepts which, as your Apostle, I have given you concerning a true Christian life.

By the gentleness of Christ. He beseeches them, says Theophylact, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, that reverencing them they may lovingly hear, receive, and obey the entreaty of Paul. In the second place, he does it to signify that he imitates the meekness of Christ, not His severity. I do not order you, he seems to say, although by virtue of my apostleship I might, but I beseech you by the gentleness of Christ, which I imitate and ever keep before me. For Christ in rebuking, teaching, and guiding men, showed wondrous patience, kindness, and gentleness, as when He received into grace Matthew, the Magdalene, and other sinners, and most lovingly forgave them all their guilt and punishment without harsh words or blows.

In presence am base among you. When I am with you, I seem in outward appearance mean and base (cf. ver. 10); but when away from you, I am bold and confident. He speaks ironically; for, as the next verse tells us, the false apostles, who held him up to execration, used to say: "Why do you make so much of Paul? He is a base and worthless fellow. Apollos and others have far more grace and eloquence; there is no comparison between them. By the side of them he is ignorant and unpolished. Why, then, does he take upon himself, why does he presume, when away from you, to send you such threatening letters, rebuking you, ordering, scolding, excommunicating you?" S. Paul imitates the false apostles, and repeats their words, as much as to say. "I am not the domineering, insolent, severe, threatening man, when absent, that my detractors make me, but I beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ." Cf. vers. 9, 10 (Chrysostom).

Ver. 2. — But I beseech you that I may not be bold. I beseech you to lovingly receive my admonitions, lest when I come to you and see your disobedience, rebellion, and contumacy, I use my boldness and power to inflict excommunication and other spiritual. punishment, which I am thought to have already inflicted arbitrarily (Anselm). The Latin version reads the passive, I am thought, but Theophylact takes it actively—I think, I propose to boldly punish some evil-disposed persons.

Which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. As though we lived a carnal life, or better, as though we used carnal means, such as fleshly, human, and political wisdom, in doing by letter what I dare not do in person.

The Apostle says that they walk, fight, and glory according to the flesh, who, after the manner of carnal and, crafty men, walk and boast in outward gifts, such as birth, prudence, eloquence, good looks, sagacity, and by means of these seek to gain the applause of men, and so win them to their side and overthrow their enemies. That this is his meaning is evident from the contrast drawn between these arms and spiritual arms in ver. 4. So, in xi. 18, he says that the false apostles boast according to the flesh, i.e., of external gifts. In v. 15, 16, again, he says that he knows no one, not even Christ, according to the flesh. In 2 Cor. 1, he contrasts the natural and carnal wisdom of philosophers and orators with the spiritual wisdom of Christians, and especially of Apostles. Cf. also Gal 3:3.

Ver. 4.— For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Carnal weapons are such as serve for carnal and bodily warfare and life, as the honours, pleasures, and power of this world. This the Apostles did not use in their task of subduing the world to Christ. Or rather, as said above, carnal weapons are human arts, sciences, reasonings, systems, eloquence, flatteries, boasting, hypocrisies, affected gravity and prudence, all of which are used by men of the world to gain influence and respect; while true and solid authority, such as Paul and the other Apostles had, is the gift of God, and is not to be obtained by external gifts or by assumed gravity, but rather by the display of virtue, wisdom, and holiness.

But mighty through God. Or, are the power of God. Through them God works powerfully in the minds of the hearers—converts them to the faith, makes them accept our preaching, brings them under subjection to Christ, so that we gain credence to what we say, and obtain what we want. These weapons are, says Anselm, (1.) Vehement spiritual zeal; (2.) Efficacious preaching, through God seeming to lend weight and force to our words; (3.) Wisdom; (4.) Courtesy; (S.) Holiness; (6.) Miracles; (7.) Frequent prayer; (8.) Purity of intention; (9.) Patience; (10.) Charity. When they see us men of the most blameless life, seeking not their wealth or honours, but their salvation only, and that by many labours, sacrifices, afflictions, daily death and martyrdom, and preaching to them with such zeal and ardour that all acknowledge Christ, and glorify Him and His Father—by all these things, as though by a most powerful dart, they are struck and wounded in their consciences, they yield, and believe our words and our doctrines. By these weapons do we Apostles destroy the vices and storm the kingdom of the devil, even the whole world. Hence apostleship and preaching of the Gospel are rightly called a warfare. Cf. 1Ti 1:18.

To the pulling down of strong holds. All reasonings, syllogisms, sophisms, eloquence, philosophic virtues, worldly power, grace, friendship, and all that the Gentiles and devils opposed to the preaching of the Gospel by the Apostles (Chrysostom and Anselm).

Ver. 5. — Casting down imaginations. Or, with Theophylact reasonings. The Syriac and Erasmus give imaginations; the Latin version, counsels. By our weapons we destroy all the counsels of the prudent of this world, by which they strive to overthrow the Gospel, to strengthen against it their heathenism, and to put their philosophers before Christ and us.

And every high thing. Every height, both of human and philosophic wisdom, as well as of diabolic magic, such as of Simon Magus and others, and of royal and imperial power. Imaginations and heights were the two towers set up by the Gentiles against the Apostles, one of which seemed impregnable through its intricate wiles, and the other by its height and strength. Yet both yielded to the weapons of the Apostles.

That exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. That knowledge of God given to us by Christ, and which we, His Apostles, teach throughout the world; faith, that is, in the Three in One, in the Son of God, in His Incarnation and death, in the Cross and its Redemption.

And bringing into captivity. Every thought, every intellect, however full of resources, however exalted in wisdom, must surrender as a conquered foe, and obey the Gospel of Christ.

When S. Paul says "every thought" or "every intellect" he does not mean to imply that all the philosophers and mighty men of the world who heard the Gospel preached were converted, but that the weapons of the Apostles were so powerful that they were able to subdue to the faith of Christ any thoughts and reasonings of the human intellect, however full of wiles, however highly exalted. As a matter of fact, they did subdue these powers in those who took these weapons, and admitted them into their soul, and so were converted. Many of all classes of philosophers and orators, illustrious for their learning and wisdom, were subdued by the weapons of the Apostles, and brought to believe in Christ. Such were Dionysius the Areopagite, Clement of Rome, Paul the proconsul, Justin the philosopher, Athenagoras, and others.

Ver. 6. — And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience. Paul had said that his weapons were powerful to subdue any Gentiles or heathen wise men. He now goes on to say that this same power is able to punish all disobedience on the part of the faithful, or amongst heretics. I am ready, he says, and it is easy for me, to punish the disobedience of the false Apostles who depreciate me, by excommunicating them.

When your obedience is fulfilled. For I am unwilling to involve you in the same punishment. I would rather that you yourselves correct what needs correction and I am waiting until you fulfil what you have been ordered. Then when you have done that, I will unsheathe the sword of excommunication against those contumacious detractors. From this doctors lay down that this sword should not be drawn except against the disobedient, and those who, after having been warned, are still rebellious and obstinate.

Ver. 7. — Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? The Latin version takes this in the indicative. Ye see how openly and manifestly the truth has been set before your eyes, that I am not only a disciple of Christ, but also an Apostle endowed with such spiritual power as you see with your own eyes (Anselm).

Ver. 8. — Of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification. The Council of Trent (sess. xxv. c. 3) lays down from these words that the sword of excommunication should be soberly and cautiously drawn for edification; otherwise we see that it is rather despised than dreaded, and produces ruin rather than salvation, not only to the excommunicated, but also to the whole Church.

Ver. 10.— For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful. My detractors, the false apostles, say that my letters are hard and bitter, severe and threatening, but my appearance is mean, contemptible, and puny. Nicephorus (lib. ii. c. 37) thus describes the stature and form of S. Paul from tradition and early representations. " Paul was small of stature, spare in form, round-shouldered, and somewhat inclined to stoop. His face was pale, and showed the marks of years. His head was small, and his eyes shone with a pleasant light. He had bushy eyebrows, a nose beautifully curved and somewhat long, and a thick and long beard, which, like his hair, was plentifully interspersed with white." S. Chrysostom ( Hom. de Princip. Apost.) says that "Paul was but three cubits high, and yet he touched the heavens." Lucian again, in his Philopater, laughs at Paul for having a head bald in front.

And his speech contemptible. Unlearned, inelegant, unadorned. Cf. 1Co 2:1-2.

Ver. 12. — For we dare not make ourselves of the number. I do not, like the false Apostles, boast of what I do not possess. I measure myself by my own foot, by the gifts of God, and by the things God's grace has done for me, says Photius, and so I do not arrogate to myself more than God has given me.

Paul speaks ironically. The false Apostles were in the habit of disparaging Paul's words and deeds, as though in him there was nothing great but his letters, which were high-flown enough, but were not borne out by his presence, than which nothing was more despicable. They would boast that in this they far excelled him. Therefore, says Paul, in scorn of their pride, I, a mere dwarf, do not dare to class myself with these giants, or to compare myself with them. None the less their boast of their greatness is baseless; while whatever I declare is true, and I measure myself by my own greatness, the grace I have received, and the things that I have really done.

The Latin version omits the last clause, "are not wise." The Syriac, Vatablus and others apply it to the false apostles, not to Paul. They commend themselves, but they do not see that they measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves among themselves. They do foolishly in thus exalting themselves and making themselves giants. They act like a man who should measure his height by himself, instead of by a yard-measure, like a pigmy who boasts of his gigantic size; they have no other cause for their boasting than their self-delusion. Photius supplies after "they do not understand," that they are ridiculous to all, or, as S. Augustine says, in Ps. xxxv., they do not understand what they say and what they boast of.

Ver. 13 . — But we will not boast of things without our measure. This is the second charge brought by S. Paul against the false Apostles. They boast so largely that one would think they have preached the Gospel in every part of the world (Theophylact). I, however, boast not falsely, or beyond my measure; I measure myself by the true measure of the gifts and provinces that God has marked out for me. This measure reaches from Judæa through the intervening countries to Corinth. Just as kings glory in having extended their realms far and wide, so do I, as a doctor sent by Christ, glory in having extended His sway, and I hope to extend it still further.

Rule here denotes the measuring-line used by surveyors to fix the boundaries of fields and other grounds (cf. ver. 16). Measure denotes (1.) that by which anything is measured, as a yard-measure or a foot-measure; (2.) it denotes the quantity of the measuring-line; and (3.) the act of measuring; (4.) it stands for the thing measured, a bushel of wheat or an acre of land; i.e., corn to the amount of a bushel, land to the amount of an acre. In any of these last three senses the word may be used here, but best of all in the second.

Ver. 14 . — For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure. This is his third scornful charge against the false apostles. They stretch out themselves and more than that by their boastful words, but let us see what good as a matter of fact they do. Whom have they converted? What cities or countries have they visited? They have never left their own home. Did they bring you into the Church? Ye are not their work, but mine in the Lord. It is I who have taken you and subdued you: you are my lot, the possession assigned me by the Lord. I can triumph over you and other provinces reaching to Judæa that I have subdued. And just as P. Scipio was called Africanus, and L. Scipio, Asiaticus, from the provinces they conquered, so might S. Paul have the agnomen of Corinthiacus, Achaicus, Macedonicus, Thracicus, Asiaticus, &c.

Ver. 15 . — Without our measure. The provinces not assigned us by God. This is again a blow aimed at the false apostles, who were in the habit of boasting, groundlessly of the many regions they had visited and converted.

Not boasting . . . of other men's labours. A fourth charge against the false apostles, who had entered into his labours at Corinth, where he had laid the foundations of the faith (Chrysostom). Doctors remark that heretics never go to unbelievers from zeal for the Gospel and for martyrdom, and convert them first of all to Christianity, but content themselves with endeavouring to attract the faithful. It may be said: Surely the Emperor Valens, when the Goths were anxious to be converted to Christianity, sent Arian Bishops, who made them Arians ( Freculphus, lib. iv. c. 20). I reply. This is true; but the Arians did not themselves take the initiative and go to the barbarous Goths from zeal for the faith, to plant among them the true faith, after the Apostolic manner, in hunger, thirst, persecutions, and deaths. The Goths invited them, and Valens consented. There is no difficulty in instilling poison into those who wish for it. Moreover, most of the Goths had previously been of the orthodox faith; but Ulphilas their Apostle, having been deceived by the Arians, deceived them in his turn and made them Arians, as Theodoret expressly says ( Hist. lib. iv. cap. ult. ).

But having hope when your faith is increased. I hope that when your faith is increased you will have no need of me; then I shall be able to go on to other nations to preach the Gospel (Chrysostom).

That we shall be enlarged by you. Or magnified in you. (1.) I hope that in those more distant regions I shall preach and bring back great glory. The teacher, says Theophylact, is magnified when his disciples grow in wisdom. (2.) It is better to refer the words magnified in you to what follows—according to our rule abundantly. I hope, as you increase in the faith, to be magnified through you according to our rule, i.e., to extend our rule, the bounds of my apostolate, to the regions beyond you, so that they, seeing your faith, holiness, and grace, may be provoked by your example, and eagerly await me and receive the Gospel.

As the Holy Land was divided by lot among the twelve tribes by fixed boundaries (Ps. lxxviii. 54), so was the whole earth divided as by a measuring-line among their antitypes, the twelve Apostles, that they might bring it under subjection to Christ. Thomas, e.g., evangelised India; Andrew, Achaia; John, Asia.

Abundantly. That my lot may be increased and spread further and further. I have not yet fixed any certain bounds to my province, nor has God, but I am always looking for and striving after its extension.

Ver. 16 . — Not to boast in another man's line. I do not meddle with the bounds, the provinces, and districts measured out and assigned, or occupied by other Apostles, so as to enter into things got ready by others, and to boast of other men's labours as if they were mine. He calls "made ready to his hand" those regions which had already received the Gospel from others; he refuses to seize upon the tilled fields of others, but rather chooses to be the first to plant the faith in any place he goes to. Cf. Rom 15:20.

The Greek κανών denotes the measuring-line of surveyors. Here the Apostle calls all those regions measured out to him, as it were, by God his rule. This "rule" he was daily extending, from his desire to preach everywhere; "as though," says Chrysostom, "he had come into possession of the earth and a fat inheritance." "Paul was," says Theophylact, "like a builder of the world, measuring it by his rule and building accordingly." The Greek κανών stands also for the builder's measuring-rod, but seems by S. Paul to be referred rather to the surveyor's.

Ver. 17.— But he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. Let him glory in truth as before the Lord. Secondly, and better, to glory in the Lord is to glory with the glory given by the Lord, which alone commends a man, and vouches for him by the wonders which it works through him. This is the genuine meaning, for S. Paul contrasts glorying in one's self with glorying in the Lord. To glory in self is to commend self; to glory in the Lord is to be commanded by the Lord, and to glory in that commendation. Still it follows from this, thirdly, that he who truly glories should glory not in himself but in the Lord, by referring all that has been received to Him, whose gifts they are, by giving to Him all the glory, and directing everything to His praise and glory (Chrysostom).

By these words the Apostle shows where, when, and in what we should glory, and at the same time clears himself of all charge of ostentation and desire of vain-glory. He says implicitly: These great and fine things I say about myself, not because I wish to glory in myself, but because I wish to give the praise to the Lord, from whom I have received all my glory, and the ground of my glorying. Cf. 1Co 1:31, note.

Learn from this that true praise and glory come from God alone, and far excel all human glory; for, (1.) man's praise is but small and poor, men being but worms of earth; but God's glory is, as He is, boundless. (2.) Man's glory is outward and apparent only—within it is empty and ready to vanish away; but God's glory is inward and substantial; hence it fills and satisfies the soul. (3.) Man's glory is untrustworthy, feigned, and hypocritical—many laugh at you behind your back while praising you to your face; but God's glory is faithful and true. (4.) Man's glory is unstable, and, like a reed, is shaken by the slightest breath of rumour—they who praise you to-day will rail at you to-morrow; but God's glory is stable and constant. (5.) Man's glory is short-lived: mortals to die to-morrow praise you, and your praise will die with them. Where now are the praises of Cæsar, Pompey, Augustus? They have passed away—they are gone like smoke; but the praise of God is eternal. God will praise thee for ever before the angels and blessed ones, because thou didst despise the worlds glory, and sought for that true glory which lasts for ever with God. (6.) Man's glory is imperfect, maimed, and alloyed; a man is praised by some, blamed by others; as many men as there are, so many opinions and judgments are there. God's glory is entire and perfect, for whoever God praises is praised also by the inhabitants of heaven. (7.) Man's glory is erroneous and groundless. Men glorify the high-born, the rich, the powerful, even if they be villains, crime-stained, and tyrants. God's glory is most true and most certain, for He praises none but those endowed with virtue and true wisdom. Again, men glory in themselves, in their sagacity, virtue, fortitude—all things of naught; and therefore they glory in what is false, in nothing, in what is not. God's glory is to glory in God, of whom is all good and from whom flow all things to us, and to say, "Not unto us, not unto us, 0 Lord, but unto Thy name give the praise." (8.) Man's glory stands in the mouth of them that praise, confers no benefit on thee, impresses on thee no good. Therefore it is not in thee, but in Him that glorifies thee; just as honour is not in him that is honoured, but in him that confers it. But God's glory is both in God and in thee, for it is efficacious and fruitful. God does not merely beatify thee in thy soul with the light of glory, and in thy body with glorious gifts, but He communicates to the Blessed His own very Divine and uncreated glory, to be possessed and enjoyed. Oh, blind and insensate children of Adam, by nature greedy of praise, created and born to glory! Why do ye not seek after glory instead of its smoke and shadows? Why strive for what is false and fallacious and leave the true? Why seek for glory where it is not? You seek it on earth: it is not there, but in heaven. You seek it among men: it dwells among the angels and before God. You seek it in time: it is found in eternity. Thou, then, 0 Lord, art my glory; Thou art the joy of my heart. In thee will I glory and exalt all the day long. For myself I will glory in nothing save my infirmities. Let Jews, let worldly men seek glory from one another. I will require that which is from God alone. All human glory, all worldly honour, all temporal heights, when compared with Thy eternal glory are but vanity, foolishness, and reproach. 0 my Truth, my Mercy, my Glory, my God, 0 Blessed Trinity, to Thee alone be praise, honour, and glory; to Thee alone be blessing, wisdom, and thanksgiving; to Thee, our God, be honour, virtue, and strength for ever and ever. Amen.

Ver. 18 . — For not he that commendeth himself is approved. How is it, then, that Saints have sometimes commended themselves, as, e.g., Hezekiah, in Isa 38:3, and S. Paul in the next chapter, and in 2 Tim. 4.? I answer, They do indeed commend themselves, but at the same time they tacitly refer all their praise to God's grace as its first cause, and say: "By the grace of God I am what I am." Again, this self-commendation came not from themselves, but was inspired into them by the Holy Spirit, who spoke by their mouth. The Holy Spirit suggested to each writer of the Holy Scriptures what he should write.

Introduction / Outline

Robertson: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Second Corinthians

From Macedonia a.d. 54 Or 55

By Way of Introduction

The Pauline authorship is admitted by all real scholars, though there is doubt by some as to the unity of the Epistle. J.H. Kennedy ( The Second and Third Letters of St. Paul to the Corinthians , 1900) has presented the arguments in a plausible, but not wholly convincing, manner for the plea that chapters 2 Corinthians 10-13 really represent a separate and earlier letter, the one referred to in 2Co_2:3, which was later tacked on to chapters 1-9 as part of the same Epistle. This theory does explain the difference in tone between chapters 1 to 7 and 10 to 13, but that fact is sufficiently clear from the stubborn minority against Paul in Corinth reported by Titus after the majority had been won to Paul by First Corinthians and by Titus (2Co_2:1-11). There are in fact three obvious divisions in the Epistle. Chapters 1 to 7 deal with the report of Titus about the victory in Corinth and Paul’s wonderful digression on the glory of the ministry in 2 Corinthians 2:12-6:10; chapters 8 and 2Co_9:1-15 discuss the collection for the poor saints in Jerusalem already mentioned in 1Co_16:1. and which Titus is to press to completion on his return to Corinth; chapters 10 to 13 deal sharply with the Judaizing minority who still oppose Paul’s leadership. These three subjects are in no sense inconsistent with each other. The letter is a unity. Nowhere do we gain so clear an insight into Paul’s own struggles and hopes as a preacher. It is a handbook for the modern minister of inestimable value. One can hear Paul’s heart throb through these chapters. The syntax is often broken by anacolutha. The sentences are sometimes disconnected. Grammatical agreements are overlooked. But there is power here, the grip of a great soul holding on to the highest ideals in the midst of manifold opposition and discouragements. Christ is Master of Paul at every turn.

The date of the Epistle is clearly after I Corinthians, for Paul has left Ephesus and is now in Macedonia (2Co_2:13), probably at Philippi, where he met Titus, though he had hoped to meet him at Troas on his return from Corinth. At a guess one may say that Paul wrote in the autumn of a.d. 54 or 55 of the same year in the spring of which he had written I Corinthians, and before he went on to Corinth himself where he wrote Romans (Act_20:1-3; Rom_16:1).

The occasion for writing is the return of Titus from Corinth with mixed news of the Pauline majority and the minority in opposition. So Titus is sent back with this Epistle to finish the task while Paul waits awhile for matters to clear up (2Co_13:1-10).

It is not certain whether the letter mentioned in 2Co_2:3 is our I Corinthians or a lost letter like the one alluded to in 1Co_5:9. If it is a lost one, we know of four Corinthian Epistles (the one in 1Co_5:9, our I Corinthians, the one in 2Co_2:3, our II Corinthians), assuming the unity of II Corinthians. Few things in Paul’s ministry gave him more concern than the troubles in Corinth. The modern city pastor finds little in his work that Paul has not faced and mastered. There is consolation and courage for the preacher in the conduct and counsels of this greatest of all preachers.

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE following reasons seem to have induced Paul to write this Second Epistle to the Corinthians: (1) That he might explain the reasons for his having deferred to pay them his promised visit, by taking Corinth as his way to Macedonia (1Co 4:19; 2Co 1:15-16; compare 1Co 16:5); and so that he might set forth to them his apostolic walk in general (2Co 1:12, 2Co 1:24; 2Co 6:3-13; 2Co 7:2). (2) That he might commend their obedience in reference to the directions in his First Epistle, and at the same time direct them now to forgive the offender, as having been punished sufficiently (2Co 2:1-11; 2Co 7:6-16). (3) That he might urge them to collect for the poor saints at Jerusalem (2Co 8:1-9, 2Co 8:15). (4) That he might maintain his apostolic authority and reprove gainsayers.

The external testimonies for its genuineness are IRENÆUS [Against Heresies, 3,7,1]; ATHENAGORAS [Of the Resurrection of the Dead]; CLEMENT OF ALEXANDRIA [Miscellanies, 3, p. 94; 4, p. 101]; TERTULLIAN [On Modesty, 13].

The TIME OF WRITING was after Pentecost, A.D. 57, when Paul left Ephesus for Troas. Having stayed in the latter place for some time preaching the Gospel with effect (2Co 2:12), he went on to Macedonia, being eager to meet Titus there, having been disappointed in his not coming to Troas, as had been agreed on between them. Having heard from him the tidings he so much desired of the good effect produced on the Corinthians by his First Epistle, and after having tested the liberality of the Macedonian churches (2Co 8:1), he wrote this Second Epistle, and then went on to Greece, where he abode for three months; and then, after travelling by land, reached Philippi on his return at Passover or Easter, A.D. 58 (Act 20:1-6). So that this Epistle must have been written about autumn, A.D. 57.

Macedonia was THE PLACE from which it was written (2Co 9:2, where the present tense, "I boast," or "am boasting," implies his presence then in Macedonia). In Asia (Lydian Asia) he had undergone some great peril of his life (2Co 1:8-9), whether the reference be [PALEY] to the tumult at Ephesus (Acts 19:23-41), or, as ALFORD thinks, to a dangerous illness in which he despaired of life. Thence he passed by Troas to Philippi, the first city which would meet him in entering Macedonia. The importance of the Philippian Church would induce him to stay there some time; as also his desire to collect contributions from the Macedonian churches for the poor saints at Jerusalem. His anxiety of mind is recorded (2Co 7:5) as occurring when he came into Macedonia, and therefore must have been at Philippi, which was the first city of Macedonia in coming from Troas; and here, too, from 2Co 7:6, compared with 2Co 7:5, must have been the scene of his receiving the comforting tidings from Titus. "Macedonia" is used for Philippi in 2Co 11:9, as is proved by comparison with Phi 4:15-16. So it is probably used here (2Co 7:5). ALFORD argues from 2Co 8:1, where he speaks of the "grace bestowed on the churches (plural) of Macedonia," that Paul must have visited other churches in Macedonia, besides Philippi, when he wrote, for example, Thessalonica, Berea, &c., and that Philippi, the first on his route, is less likely to have been the scene of his writing than the last on his route, whichever it was, perhaps Thessalonica. But Philippi, as being the chief town of the province, was probably the place to which all the collections of the churches were sent. Ancient tradition, too (as appears from the subscription to this Epistle), favors the view that Philippi was the place from which this Epistle was sent by the hands of Titus who received, besides, a charge to prosecute at Corinth the collection which he had begun at his first visit (2Co 8:6).

The STYLE is most varied, and passes rapidly from one phase of feeling to another; now joyous and consolatory, again severe and full of reproof; at one time gentle and affectionate, at another, sternly rebuking opponents and upholding his dignity as an apostle. This variety of style accords with the warm and earnest character of the apostle, which nowhere is manifested more beautifully than in this Epistle. His bodily frailty, and the chronic malady under which he suffered, and which is often alluded to (2Co 4:7; 2Co 5:1-4; 2Co 12:7-9; compare Note, see on 2Co 1:8), must have been especially trying to one of his ardent temperament. But besides this, was the more pressing anxiety of the "care of all the churches." At Corinth, as elsewhere, Judaizing emissaries wished to bind legal fetters of letter and form (compare 2Co. 3:3-18) on the freedom and catholicity of the Church. On the other hand, there were free thinkers who defended their immorality of practice by infidel theories (1Co 15:12, 1Co 15:32-36). These were the "fightings without," and "fears within" (2Co 7:5-6) which agitated the apostle's mind until Titus brought him comforting tidings from Corinth. Even then, while the majority at Corinth had testified their repentance, and, as Paul had desired, excommunicated the incestuous person, and contributed for the poor Christians of Judea, there was still a minority who, more contemptuously than ever, resisted the apostle. These accused him of crafty and mercenary motives, as if he had personal gain in view in the collection being made; and this, notwithstanding his scrupulous care to be above the possibility of reasonable suspicion, by having others besides himself to take charge of the money. This insinuation was palpably inconsistent with their other charge, that he could be no true apostle, as he did not claim maintenance from the churches which he founded. Another accusation they brought of cowardly weakness; that he was always threatening severe measures without daring to execute them (2Co 10:8-16; 2Co 13:2); and that he was vacillating in his teaching and practice, circumcising Timothy, and yet withholding circumcision from Titus; a Jew among the Jews, and a Greek among the Greeks. That most of these opponents were of the Judaizing party in the Church, appears from 2Co 11:22. They seem to have been headed by an emissary from Judea ("he that cometh," 2Co 11:4), who had brought "letters of commendation" (2Co 3:1) from members of the Church at Jerusalem, and who boasted of his purity of Hebrew descent, and his close connection with Christ Himself (2Co 11:13, 2Co 11:23). His partisans contrasted his high pretensions with the timid humility of Paul (1Co 2:3); and his rhetoric with the apostle's plain and unadorned style (2Co 11:6; 2Co 10:10, 2Co 10:13). It was this state of things at Corinth, reported by Titus, that caused Paul to send him back forthwith thither with this Second Epistle, which is addressed, not to Corinth only (1Co 1:2), but to all the churches also in Achaia (2Co 1:1), which had in some degree been affected by the same causes as affected the Corinthian Church. The widely different tone in different parts of the Epistle is due to the diversity which existed at Corinth between the penitent majority and the refractory minority. The former he addresses with the warmest affection; the latter with menace and warning. Two deputies, chosen by the churches to take charge of the contribution to be collected at Corinth, accompanied Titus (2Co 8:18-19, 2Co 8:22).

JFB: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

• THE HEADING; PAUL'S CONSOLATIONS IN RECENT TRIALS IN ASIA; HIS SINCERITY TOWARDS THE CORINTHIANS; EXPLANATION OF HIS NOT HAVING VISITED THEM AS HE HAD PURPOSED. (2Co. 1:1-24)
• REASON WHY HE HAD NOT VISITED THEM ON HIS WAY TO MACEDONIA; THE INCESTUOUS PERSON OUGHT NOW TO BE FORGIVEN; HIS ANXIETY TO HEAR TIDINGS OF THEIR STATE FROM TITUS, AND HIS JOY WHEN AT LAST THE GOOD NEWS REACHES HIM. (2Co. 2:1-17)
• THE SOLE COMMENDATION HE NEEDS TO PROVE GOD'S SANCTION OF HIS MINISTRY HE HAS IN HIS CORINTHIAN CONVERTS: HIS MINISTRY EXCELS THE MOSAIC, AS THE GOSPEL OF LIFE AND LIBERTY EXCELS THE LAW OF CONDEMNATION. (2Co. 3:1-18) Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves (2Co 5:12) (as some of them might say he had done in his first Epistle; or, a reproof to "some" who had begun doing so)!
• HIS PREACHING IS OPEN AND SINCERE, THOUGH TO MANY THE GOSPEL IS HIDDEN. (2Co. 4:1-18)
• THE HOPE (2Co 4:17-18) OF ETERNAL GLORY IN THE RESURRECTION BODY. (2Co. 5:1-21)
• HIS APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IS APPROVED BY FAITHFULNESS IN EXHORTATION, IN SUFFERINGS, IN EXHIBITION OF THE FRUITS OF THE HOLY GHOST: HIS LARGENESS OF HEART TO THEM CALLS FOR ENLARGEMENT OF THEIR HEART TO HIM. EXHORTATIONS TO SEPARATION FROM POLLUTION. (2Co. 6:1-18)
• SELF-PURIFICATION THEIR DUTY RESULTING FROM THE FOREGOING. HIS LOVE TO THEM, AND JOY AT THE GOOD EFFECTS ON THEM OF HIS FORMER EPISTLE, AS REPORTED BY TITUS. (2Co. 7:1-16)
• THE COLLECTION FOR THE SAINTS; THE READINESS OF THE MACEDONIANS A PATTERN TO THE CORINTHIANS; CHRIST THE HIGHEST PATTERN; EACH IS TO GIVE WILLINGLY AFTER HIS ABILITY; TITUS AND TWO OTHERS ARE THE AGENTS ACCREDITED TO COMPLETE THE COLLECTION. (2Co. 8:1-24)
• REASONS FOR HIS SENDING TITUS. THE GREATER THEIR BOUNTIFULNESS, THE MORE SHALL BE THE RETURN OF BLESSING TO THEM, AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD. (2Co 9:1-15)
• HE VINDICATES HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY AGAINST THOSE WHO DEPRECIATED HIM FOR HIS PERSONAL APPEARANCE. HE WILL MAKE HIS POWER FELT WHEN HE COMES. HE BOASTS NOT, AS THEY, BEYOND HIS MEASURE. (2Co. 10:1-18)
• THROUGH JEALOUSY OVER THE CORINTHIANS, WHO MADE MORE ACCOUNT OF THE FALSE APOSTLES THAN OF HIM, HE IS OBLIGED TO COMMEND HIMSELF AS IN MANY RESPECTS SUPERIOR. (2Co. 11:1-33)
• REVELATIONS IN WHICH HE MIGHT GLORY: BUT HE RATHER GLORIES IN INFIRMITIES, AS CALLING FORTH CHRIST'S POWER: SIGNS OF HIS APOSTLESHIP: HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS: NOT THAT HE IS EXCUSING HIMSELF TO THEM; BUT HE DOES ALL FOR THEIR GOOD, LEST HE SHOULD FIND THEM NOT SUCH AS HE DESIRED, AND SO SHOULD HAVE TO BE SEVERE AT HIS COMING. (2Co. 12:1-21) He proceeds to illustrate the "glorying in infirmities" (2Co 11:30). He gave one instance which might expose him to ridicule (2Co 11:33); he now gives another, but this one connected with a glorious revelation of which it was the sequel: but he dwells not on the glory done to himself, but on the infirmity which followed it, as displaying Christ's power. The oldest manuscripts read, "I MUST NEEDS boast (or glory) though it be not expedient; for I will come." The "for" gives a proof that it is "not expedient to boast": I will take the case of revelations, in which if anywhere boasting might be thought harmless. "Visions" refers to things seen: "revelations," to things heard (compare 1Sa 9:15) or revealed in any way. In "visions" their signification was not always vouchsafed; in "revelations" there was always an unveiling of truths before hidden (Dan 2:19, Dan 2:31). All parts of Scripture alike are matter of inspiration; but not all of revelation. There are degrees of revelation; but not of inspiration.
• HE THREATENS A SEVERE PROOF OF HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY, BUT PREFERS THEY WOULD SPARE HIM THE NECESSITY FOR IT. (2Co 13:1-14)

TSK: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The most remarkable circumstance in this Epistle, observes Mr. Scott, is the confidence of the Apostle in the goodness of his cause, and in the power of God to bear him out in it. Opposed as he then was by a powerful and sagacious party, whose authority, reputation, and interest were deeply concerned, and who were ready to seize on every thing that could discredit him, it is wonderful to hear him so firmly insist upon his apostolical authority, and so unreservedly appeal to the miraculous power which he has exercised and conferred at Corinth. So far from shrinking from the contest, as afraid of some discovery being made, unfavourable to him and the common cause, he, with great modesty and meekness indeed, but with equal boldness and decision, expressly declares that his opposers and despisers were the ministers of Satan, and menaces them with miraculous judgments, when as many of their deluded hearers had been brought to repentance and re-established in the faith, as proper means could in a reasonable time effect. It is inconceivable that a stronger internal testimony, not only of integrity, but of divine inspiration, can exist. Had there been anything of imposture among the Christians, it was next to impossible but such a conduct must have occasioned a disclosure of it. Of the effects produced by this latter epistle we have no circumstantial account; for the journey which St. Paul took to Corinth, after he had written it, is mentioned by St. Luke only in a few words (Act 20:2, Act 20:3). We know, however, that St. Paul was there after he had written this Epistle; that the contributions for the poor brethren at Jerusalem were brought to him from different parts to that city (Rom 15:26); and that, after remaining there several months, he sent salutations from some of the principal members of that church, by whom he must have been greatly respected, to the church of Rome (Rom 16:22, Rom 16:23). From this time we hear no more of the false teacher and his party; and when Clement of Rome wrote his epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul was considered by them as a divine apostle, to whose authority he might appeal without fear of contradiction. The false teacher, therefore, must either have been silenced by St. Paul, by virtue of his apostolical powers, and by an act of severity which he had threatened (2Co 13:2, 2Co 13:3); or this adversary of the apostle had, at that time, voluntarily quitted the place. Whichever was the cause, the effect produced must operate as a confirmation of our faith, and as a proof of St. Paul’s divine mission.

TSK: 2 Corinthians 10 (Chapter Introduction)

Overview

2Co 10:1, Against the false apostles, who disgraced the weakness of his person and bodily presence, he shows the spiritual might and authority with which he was armed against all adverse powers; 2Co 10:7, assuring them that at his coming he will be found as mighty in word as he is now in writing, being absent; 2Co 10:12, and withal taxing them for reaching out themselves beyond their compass, and vaunting themselves of other men’s labours.

Poole: 2 Corinthians 10 (Chapter Introduction)

CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 10

MHCC: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

The second epistle to the Corinthians probably was written about a year after the first. Its contents are closely connected with those of the former epistle. The manner in which the letter St. Paul formerly wrote had been received, is particularly noticed; this was such as to fill his heart with gratitude to God, who enabled him fully to discharge his duty towards them. Many had shown marks of repentance, and amended their conduct, but others still followed their false teachers; and as the apostle delayed his visit, from his unwillingness to treat them with severity, they charged him with levity and change of conduct. Also, with pride, vain-glory, and severity, and they spake of him with contempt. In this epistle we find the same ardent affection towards the disciples at Corinth, as in the former, the same zeal for the honour of the gospel, and the same boldness in giving Christian reproof. The first six chapters are chiefly practical: the rest have more reference to the state of the Corinthian church, but they contain many rules of general application.

MHCC: 2 Corinthians 10 (Chapter Introduction)

(2Co 10:1-6) The apostle states his authority with meekness and humility.

(2Co 10:7-11) Reasons with the Corinthians.

(2Co 10:12-18) Seeks the glory of God, and to be approved of him.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

An Exposition, with Practical Observations, of The Second Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians

In his former epistle the apostle had signified his intentions of coming to Corinth, as he passed through Macedonia (1Co 16:5), but, being providentially hindered for some time, he writes this second epistle to them about a year after the former; and there seem to be these two urgent occasions: - 1. The case of the incestuous person, who lay under censure, required that with all speed he should be restored and received again into communion. This therefore he gives directions about (ch. 2), and afterwards (ch. 7) he declares the satisfaction he had upon the intelligence he received of their good behaviour in that affair. 2. There was a contribution now making for the poor saints at Jerusalem, in which he exhorts the Corinthians to join (ch. 8, 2Co 9:1-15).

There are divers other things very observable in this epistle; for example, I. The account the apostle gives of his labours and success in preaching the gospel in several places, ch. 2. II. The comparison he makes between the Old and New Testament dispensation, ch. 3. III. The manifold sufferings that he and his fellow-labourers met with, and the motives and encouragements for their diligence and patience, ch. 4, 5. IV. The caution he gives the Corinthians against mingling with unbelievers, ch. 6. V. The way and manner in which he justifies himself and his apostleship from the opprobrious insinuations and accusations of false teachers, who endeavoured to ruin his reputation at Corinth, ch. 10-12, and throughout the whole epistle.

Matthew Henry: 2 Corinthians 10 (Chapter Introduction)

There was no place in which the apostle Paul met with more opposition from false apostles than at Corinth; he had many enemies there. Let not any of the ministers of Christ think it strange if they meet with perils, not only from enemies, but from false brethren; for blessed Paul himself did so. Though he was so blameless and inoffensive in all his carriage, so condescending and useful to all, yet there were those who bore him ill-will, who envied him, and did all they could to undermine him, and lesson his interest and reputation. Therefore he vindicates himself from their imputation, and arms the Corinthians against their insinuations. In this chapter the apostle, in a mild and humble manner, asserts the power of his preaching, and to punish offenders (2Co 10:1-6). He then proceeds to reason the case with the Corinthians, asserting his relation to Christ, and his authority as an apostle of Christ (2Co 10:7-11), and refuses to justify himself, or to act by such rules as the false teachers did, but according to the better rules he had fixed for himself (2Co 10:12 to the end).

Barclay: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO THE LETTERS TO THE CORINTHIANS

The Greatness Of Corinth

A glance at the map will show that Corinth was made for greatness. The southern part of Greece is very nearly an island. On the west the Corinthian Gulf deeply indents the land and on the east the Saronic Gulf. All that is left to join the two parts of Greece together is a little isthmus only four miles across. On that narrow neck of land Corinth stands. Such a position made it inevitable that it should be one of the greatest trading and commercial centres of the ancient world. All traffic from Athens and the north of Greece to Sparta and the Peloponnese had to be routed through Corinth, because it stood on the little neck of land that connected the two.

Not only did the north to south traffic of Greece pass through Corinth of necessity, by far the greater part of the east to west traffic of the Mediterranean passed through her from choice. The extreme southern tip of Greece was known as Cape Malea (now called Cape Matapan). It was dangerous, and to round Cape Malea had much the same sound as to round Cape Horn had in later times. The Greeks had two sayings which showed what they thought of it--"Let him who sails round Malea forget his home," and, "Let him who sails round Malea first make his will."

The consequence was that mariners followed one of two courses. They sailed up the Saronic Gulf, and, if their ships were small enough, dragged them out of the water, set them on rollers, hauled them across the isthmus, and re-launched them on the other side. The isthmus was actually called the Diolkos, the place of dragging across. The idea is the same as that which is contained in the Scottish place name Tarbert, which means a place where the land is so narrow that a boat can be dragged from loch to loch. If that course was not possible because the ship was too large, the cargo was disembarked, carried by porters across the isthmus, and re-embarked on another ship at the other side. This four mile journey across the isthmus, where the Corinth Canal now runs, saved a journey of two hundred and two miles round Cape Malea, the most dangerous cape in the Mediterranean.

It is easy to see how great a commercial city Corinth must have been. The north to south traffic of Greece had no alternative but to pass through her; by far the greater part of the east to west trade of the Mediterranean world chose to pass through her. Round Corinth there clustered three other towns, Lechaeum at the west end of the isthmus, Cenchrea at the east end and Schoenus just a short distance away. Farrar writes, "Objects of luxury soon found their way to the markets which were visited by every nation in the civilized world--Arabian balsam, Phoenician dates, Libyan ivory, Babylonian carpets, Cilician goatsair, Lycaonian wool, Phrygian slaves."

Corinth, as Farrar calls her, was the Vanity Fair of the ancient world. Men called her The Bridge of Greece; one called her The Lounge of Greece. It has been said that if a man stands long enough in Piccadilly Circus he will in the end meet everyone in the country. Corinth was the Piccadilly Circus of the Mediterranean. To add to the concourse which came to it, Corinth was the place where the Isthmian Games were held, which were second only to the Olympics. Corinth was a rich and populous city with one of the greatest commercial trades in the ancient world.

The Wickedness Of Corinth

There was another side to Corinth. She had a reputation for commercial prosperity, but she was also a byword for evil living. The very word korinthiazesthai, to live like a Corinthian, had become a part of the Greek language, and meant to live with drunken and immoral debauchery. The word actually penetrated to the English language, and, in Regency times, a Corinthian was one of the wealthy young bucks who lived in reckless and riotous living. Aelian, the late Greek writer, tells us that if ever a Corinthian was shown upon the stage in a Greek play he was shown drunk. The very name Corinth was synonymous with debauchery and there was one source of evil in the city which was known all over the civilized world. Above the isthmus towered the hill of the Acropolis, and on it stood the great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love. To that temple there were attached one thousand priestesses who were sacred prostitutes, and in the evenings they descended from the Acropolis and plied their trade upon the streets of Corinth, until it became a Greek proverb, "It is not every man who can afford a journey to Corinth." In addition to these cruder sins, there flourished far more recondite vices, which had come in with the traders and the sailors from the ends of the earth, until Corinth became not only a synonym for wealth and luxury, drunkenness and debauchery, but also for filth.

The History Of Corinth

The history of Corinth falls into two parts. She was a very ancient city. Thucydides, the Greek historian, claims that it was in Corinth that the first triremes, the Greek battleships, were built. Legend has it that it was in Corinth that the Argo was built, the ship in which Jason sailed the seas, searching for the golden fleece. But in 146 B.C. disaster befell her. The Romans were engaged in conquering the world. When they sought to reduce Greece, Corinth was the leader of the opposition. But the Greeks could not stand against the disciplined Romans, and in 146 B.C. Lucius Mummius, the Roman general, captured Corinth and left her a desolate heap of ruins.

But any place with the geographical situation of Corinth could not remain a devastation. Almost exactly one hundred years later, in 46 B.C. Julius Caesar rebuilt her and she arose from her ruins. Now she became a Roman colony. More, she became a capital city, the metropolis of the Roman province of Achaea, which included practically all Greece.

In those days, which were the days of Paul, her population was very mixed. (i) There were the Roman veterans whom Julius Caesar had settled there. When a Roman soldier had served his time, he was granted the citizenship and was then sent out to some newly-founded city and given a grant of land so that he might become a settler there. These Roman colonies were planted all over the world, and always the backbone of them was the contingent of veteran regular soldiers whose faithful service had won them the citizenship. (ii) When Corinth was rebuilt the merchants came back, for her situation still gave her commercial supremacy. (iii) There were many Jews among the population. The rebuilt city offered them commercial opportunities which they were not slow to take. (iv) There was a sprinkling of Phoenicians and Phrygians and people from the east, with their exotic customs and their hysterical ways. Farrar speaks of "this mongrel and heterogeneous population of Greek adventurers and Roman bourgeois, with a tainting infusion of Phoenicians; this mass of Jews, ex-soldiers, philosophers, merchants, sailors, freedmen, slaves, trades-people, hucksters and agents of every form of vice." He characterizes her as a colony "without aristocracy, without traditions and without well-established citizens."

Remember the background of Corinth, remember its name for wealth and luxury, for drunkenness and immorality and vice, and then read 1Co_6:9-10 .

Are you not aware that the unrighteous will not inherit the

Kingdom of God? Make no mistake--neither fornicators, nor

idolaters, nor adulterers, nor sensualists, nor homosexuals, nor

thieves, nor rapacious men, nor drunkards, nor slanderers, nor

robbers shall inherit the Kingdom of God--and such were some of

you.

In this hotbed of vice, in the most unlikely place in all the Greek world, some of Paulgreatest work was done, and some of the mightiest triumphs of Christianity were won.

Paul In Corinth

Paul stayed longer in Corinth than in any other city, with the single exception of Ephesus. He had left Macedonia with his life in peril and had crossed over to Athens. There he had had little success and had gone on to Corinth, and he remained there for eighteen months. We realize how little we really know of his work when we see that the whole story of that eighteen months is compressed by Luke into 17 verses (Act_18:1-17 ).

When Paul arrived in Corinth he took up residence with Aquila and Prisca. He preached in the synagogue with great success. With the arrival of Timothy and Silas from Macedonia, he redoubled his efforts, but the Jews were so stubbornly hostile that he had to leave the synagogue. He took up his residence with one Justus who lived next door to the synagogue. His most notable convert was Crispus, who was actually the ruler of the synagogue, and amongst the general public he had good success.

In the year A.D. 52 there came to Corinth as its new governor a Roman called Gallio. He was famous for his charm and gentleness. The Jews tried to take advantage of his newness and good nature and brought Paul to trial before him on a charge of teaching contrary to their law. But Gallio, with impartial Roman justice, refused to have anything to do with the case or to take any action. So Paul completed his work in Corinth and moved on to Syria.

The Correspondence With Corinth

It was when he was in Ephesus in the year A.D. 55 that Paul, learning that things were not all well in Corinth, wrote to the church there. There is every possibility that the Corinthian correspondence as we have it is out of order. We must remember that it was not until A.D. 90 or thereby that Paulcorrespondence was collected. In many churches it must have existed only on scraps of papyrus and the putting it together would be a problem: and it seems that, when the Corinthian letters were collected, they were not all discovered and were not arranged in the right order. Let us see if we can reconstruct what happened.

(i) There was a letter which preceded 1 Corinthians. In 1Co_5:9 Paul writes, "I wrote you a letter not to associate with immoral men." This obviously refers to some previous letter. Some scholars believe that letter is lost without trace. Others think it is contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 . Certainly that passage suits what Paul said he wrote about. It occurs rather awkwardly in its context, and, if we take it out and read straight on from 2Co_6:13 to 2Co_7:2 , we get excellent sense and connection. Scholars call this letter The Previous Letter. (In the original letters there were no chapter or verse divisions. The chapters were not divided up until the thirteenth century and the verses not till the sixteenth, and because of that the arranging of the collection of letters would be much more difficult).

(ii) News came to Paul from various sources of trouble at Corinth. (a) News came from those who were of the household of Chloe (1Co_1:11 ). They brought news of the contentions with which the church was torn. (b) News came with the visit of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus to Ephesus. (1Co_16:17 ). By personal contact they were able to fill up the gaps in Paulinformation. (c) News came in a letter in which the Corinthian Church had asked Paul guidance on various problems. In 1Co_7:1 Paul begins, "Concerning the matters about which you wrote..." In answer to all this information Paul wrote 1 Corinthians and despatched it to Corinth apparently by the hand of Timothy (1Co_4:17 ).

(iii) The result of the letter was that things became worse than ever, and, although we have no direct record of it, we can deduce that Paul paid a personal visit to Corinth. In 2Co_12:14 he writes, "The third time I am ready to come to you." In 2Co_13:1-2 , he says again that he is coming to them for the third time. Now, if there was a third time, there must have been a second time. We have the record of only one visit, whose story is told in Act_18:1-17 . We have no record at all of the second, but Corinth was only two or three daysailing from Ephesus.

(iv) The visit did no good at all. Matters were only exacerbated and the result was an exceedingly severe letter. We learn about that letter from certain passages in 2 Corinthians. In 2Co_2:4 Paul writes, "I wrote to you out of much affliction and anguish of heart and with many tears." In 2Co_7:8 he writes, "For even if I made you sorry with my letter, I do not regret it though I did regret it; for I see that that letter has grieved you, though only for a while." It was a letter which was the product of anguish of mind, a letter so severe that Paul was almost sorry that he ever sent it.

Scholars call this The Severe Letter. Have we got it? It obviously cannot be I Corinthians, because it is not a tear-stained and anguished letter. When Paul wrote it, it is clear enough that things were under control. Now if we read through 2 Corinthians we find an odd circumstance. In 2Cor 1-9 everything is made up, there is complete reconciliation and all are friends again; but at 2Cor 10 comes the strangest break. 2Cor 10-13 are the most heartbroken cry Paul ever wrote. They show that he has been hurt and insulted as he never was before or afterwards by any church. His appearance, his speech, his apostleship, his honesty have all been under attack.

Most scholars believe that 2Cor 10-13 are the severe letter, and that they have become misplaced when Paulletters were put together. If we want the real chronological course of Paulcorrespondence with Corinth, we really ought to read 2Cor 10-13 before 2Cor 1-9. We do know that this letter was sent off with Titus. (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:13 ).

(v) Paul was worried about this letter. He could not wait until Titus came back with an answer, so he set out to meet him (2Co_2:13 ; 2Co_7:5 , 2Co_7:13 ). Somewhere in Macedonia he met him and learned that all was well, and, probably at Philippi, he sat down and wrote 2Cor 1-9, the letter of reconciliation.

Stalker has said that the letters of Paul take the roof off the early churches and let us see what went on inside. Of none of them is that truer than the letters to Corinth. Here we see what "the care of all the churches" must have meant to Paul. Here we see the heart-breaks and the joys. Here we see Paul, the shepherd of his flock, bearing the sorrows and the problems of his people on his heart.

The Corinthian Correspondence

Before we read the letters in detail let us set down the progress of the Corinthian correspondence in tabular form.

(i) The Previous Letter, which may be contained in 2Co_6:14-18 and 2Co_7:1 .

(ii) The arrival of Chloepeople, of Stephanas, Fortunatus and Achaicus, and of the letter to Paul from the Corinthian Church.

(iii) 1 Corinthians is written in reply and is despatched with Timothy.

(iv) The situation grows worse and Paul pays a personal visit to Corinth, which is so complete a failure that it almost breaks his heart.

(v) The consequence is The Severe Letter, which is almost certainly contained in 2Cor 10-13, and which was despatched with Titus.

(vi) Unable to wait for an answer, Paul sets out to meet Titus. He meets him in Macedonia, learns that all is well and, probably from Philippi, writes 2Cor 1-9, The Letter of Reconciliation.

The first four chapters of 1 Corinthians deal with the divided state of the Church of God at Corinth. Instead of being a unity in Christ it was split into sects and parties, who had attached themselves to the names of various leaders and teachers. It is Paulteaching that these divisions had emerged because the Corinthians thought too much about human wisdom and knowledge and too little about the sheer grace of God. In fact, for all their so-called wisdom, they are really in a state of immaturity. They think that they are wise men, but really they are no better than babies.

FURTHER READING

2 Corinthians

F. F. Bruce, 1 and 2 Corinthians (NCB; E)

J. Hering, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (translated by A. W. Heathcote and P. J. Allcock)

A. Plummer, 2 Corinthians (ICC; G)

R. V. G. Tasker, The Second Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians (TC; E)

Abbreviations

ICC: International Critical Commentary

MC: Moffatt Commentary

NCB: New Century Bible

TC: Tyndale Commentary

E: English Text

G: Greek Text

Barclay: 2 Corinthians 10 (Chapter Introduction)

Paul Begins To Answer His Critics (2Co_10:1-6)

Paul Continues To Answer His Critics (2Co_10:7-18)

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

Introduction

Historical background

First Corinthians did not dispel the problems in the church at Corinth completely. While it resolved some of these, opposition to the Apostle Paul persisted and Paul's critics continued to speak out against him in the church. One man in particular seems to have been the ringleader of the opposition (10:7). He had rallied the support of a significant minority. The issue was Paul's apostolic authority. His critics were claiming authority equal with Paul's. This was in effect a claim to apostolic authority on their part or a denial of the full apostolic authority of Paul.

News of continuing problems in Corinth reached Paul in Ephesus during his prolonged stay there during his third missionary journey. He then made a brief visit to Corinth. However his efforts to resolve the conflicts fell through (2:1; 12:14; 13:1-2). Paul apparently suffered insult and lost face during that visit (2:5-8; 7:12). Consequently this was a painful visit for Paul. He then returned to Ephesus.

Paul's next step in dealing with the situation in Corinth was to send a severe letter from Ephesus by the hand of Titus and another unnamed brother (2:3-4; 7:8-12; 12:18). He apparently directed this letter, now lost, at the party opposed to him and particularly its leader. Some commentators believe that 2 Corinthians 10-13 contains part of this letter, but the evidence for this is not convincing.¹

Paul evidently intended to receive Titus' report concerning the effects of this severe letter in Ephesus. However, persecution there made it expedient for Paul to leave that city earlier than he had anticipated (Acts 20:1). He found an open door for the gospel to the north in Troas. Eager to meet Titus who was taking the land route from Corinth back to Ephesus Paul moved west into Macedonia (2:12-13). There Titus met him and gave him an encouraging report (7:6-16). Most of the church had responded to Paul's directives and the church had disciplined the troublemakers (2:5-11). Unfortunately some in the congregation still refused to acknowledge Paul's authority over them (10:1-13:10).

Paul rejoiced at the repentance of the majority. However his concern for the unrepentant minority and his desire to pick up the money the Corinthians had begun to collect for their poorer brethren in Jerusalem led him to write 2 Corinthians. Along with these primary motives Paul also felt compelled to refute the charge of fickleness leveled at him by his critics. He had changed his travel plans and had not come to see them as he had said he would.

The whole situation provided him an opportunity to clarify the nature of Christian ministry.

Paul wrote the Second Epistle to the Corinthians from Macedonia, perhaps Philippi, Thessalonica, or Berea, probably in the fall or winter of 56 A.D. A date a year earlier or later is possible.

Some commentators believe Paul wrote 1 Corinthians after his painful visit and after he wrote the severe letter.² I believe it is more probable that he wrote 1 Corinthians before these two events.³ It is very difficult to reconstruct the details of Paul's activities since the data available to us is incomplete.

Paul's Corinthian Contacts
Paul's founding visit	His "former letter"	The Corin-thians' letter to him	First Corin-thians	Paul's "painful visit"	His "severe letter"	Second Corin-thians	Paul's antici-pated visit

"2 Corinthians is very different from the letters between which it was written, 1 Corinthians and Romans. Whereas each of those letters is, in its own way, systematic and orderly, 2 Corinthians is, on the face of it, uneven and digressive. It is no surprise, therefore, that many scholars have suggested that 2 Corinthians is really a collection of letters put together later as a single letter."⁴

"Second Corinthians presents many inspiring texts and passages to the reader and teacher of God's Word. A quick survey reveals approximately eighty individual verses lending themselves to extended meditation and exposition, apart from the sixty or so constituent paragraphs of the letter. This letter is a rich lode for the edification of God's people."⁵

Message⁶

The subject of 2 Corinthians is ministry, the church's work of service in the world. This is the central concept Paul dealt with in this epistle. What did he say about ministry?

He spoke of ministry in two ways. There is ministry per se (philosophy of ministry), and there is ministry to the world (practice of ministry).

Let's consider first what Paul revealed about the ministry of the church per se. This is the way Paul spoke of ministry most often in 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians there is more emphasis on the practice of ministry than on the philosophy of ministry.

Paul had a lot to say about the authority of the church's ministry. Jesus Christ is the church's authority. He is the One who assigns each believer particular ministry within the body of Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 12:11, 18, 28; Eph. 4:11-13). The Corinthian church was having a major problem because some in its company were failing to accept Paul's appointment by Christ as an apostle and their own appointment as non-apostles. This was a practical repudiation of Jesus Christ's authority in the church. We must bow to the authority of Christ in the church by recognizing and responding appropriately to those He has appointed to various roles in the body. We identify these people by their gifts (divinely given abilities) and by their offices (divinely given positions).

Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about the resources of the church's ministry. He emphasized three primarily.

One important resource is the encouragement of God. Paul spoke of this in the first part of the epistle especially. We read "comfort" in our texts, but the Greek word paraklesis means comfort through encouragement. The same Greek root describes the Holy Spirit as our Paraclete in John 14-16. Paul both taught and demonstrated in this letter that God's encouraging comfort always exceeds our discouragement and distress in ministry. The secret to finding it sufficient is taking God's view of how our ministry is really proceeding. This viewpoint Paul revealed, too.

A second resource is divine revelation. Paul did not preach himself or a message that he had concocted. He preached what God had revealed. Thus, revelation constituted both Paul's public message and his personal encouragement. We, too, have received the same message to communicate as ambassadors of Christ. It is a message of reconciliation, and it is the source of our encouragement.

A third resource is the prayers of the saints. Paul called for and counted on the prayers of God's people to bring God's power into play through him as he ministered (1:11). He realized that his own prayers would not move God to work as well as the concerted prayers of many of God's children (cf. James 4:2). Lack of prayer is often a sign of confidence in self rather than confidence in God.

In addition to the authority and resources of our ministry, Paul also had a lot to say in this epistle about experience in ministry. Three features mark experience in ministry.

First, one thing that marks ministry is tribulation. Paul spoke extensively in 2 Corinthians about the afflictions he experienced during his ministry. Furthermore he revealed that these are part of ministry, anyone's ministry who is carrying it out as God has directed. Some people do not welcome the gospel. To them it is a death scent. We should expect to experience tribulation in ministry. We have all experienced this in witnessing to some extent.

Second, another thing that should mark our ministry is hope. God has revealed the end of our ministry. We will all stand before Jesus Christ and receive a reward one day (5:10). This hope is a certainty. The Christian who loses sight of his or her hope is going to drift and suffer discouragement rather than press toward the mark. The end of our ministry is constantly in view in this epistle.

Third, a mark of Christian ministry is triumph. Paul revealed and illustrated by his own attitude that no matter how response to our ministry may appear to us our ministry is always triumphant. The reason for this is that God is at work through His ministers. One of the problems Paul's critics in Corinth had and that we have is that they were evaluating ministry superficially rather than realistically. We need to evaluate ministry on the basis of what God has revealed is happening, not what appears to be happening.

Paul not only revealed much about ministry per se in 2 Corinthians, he also revealed a lot about the ministry of the church to the world. Three emphases predominate.

First, Paul revealed what the message of the church is: the Word of God. Ours is a ministry of the Word. By "the Word" Paul meant the revelation God has given us. In his day it consisted of the Old Testament Scriptures plus the revelations that he and the other New Testament prophets had received that were for all Christians. Paul contrasted his message and ours with the message of Moses and exulted in its superiority. God has removed the veil and we can now see His glory clearly revealed in the face of Jesus Christ.

Second, Paul revealed the church's equipment to carry on its ministry to the world. We are ready to minister only when we separate from the world's sins and conform to God's will. Paul contrasts with his critics in this letter in all these respects. As these characteristics mark us we, too, will be ready to minister.

Third, Paul revealed the exercise of the church's ministry to the world. In exercising its ministry the church does three things according to this epistle.

1. It exercises discipline to restore the erring to effective ministry. Paul's great concern in this epistle was the restoration of the rebellious critics in the Corinthian church to unity and usefulness.

2. The church also is to give no occasion of stumbling to others. Paul's concern was that the behavior of the Corinthian Christians would be an encouragement to other believers and a base from which the gospel could proceed even farther into unevangelized regions beyond.

3. Third, the church exercises the grace of giving. It seeks to facilitate the principle of equality that God has demonstrated throughout history, namely that those who have should share with those who have not. This applies not only to the gospel message but to the physical necessities of life (chs. 8-9).

From these emphases the message of the book emerges. The church needs to submit to revealed authority, to draw upon supernatural resources and equipment, and to experience triumph through tribulation as it executes its mission. As it does so it will effectively carry out its ministry of proclaiming the message of reconciliation to the world.

Constable: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

Outline

I. Introduction 1:1-11

A. Salutation 1:1-2

B. Thanksgiving for comfort in affliction 1:3-11

1. Thanksgiving for comfort 1:3-7

2. Thanksgiving for deliverance 1:8-11

II. Answers to insinuations about the sincerity of Paul's commitment to the Corinthians and to the ministry 1:12-7:16

A. Defense of his conduct with regard to his promised visit and the offender 1:12-2:17

1. The postponement of the intended visit 1:12-2:4

2. The treatment of the offender and the result of the severe letter 2:5-17

B. Exposition of Paul's view of the ministry 3:1-6:10

1. The superiority of Christian ministry to Mosaic ministry 3:1-11

2. The great boldness of the new ministers 3:12-4:6

3. The sufferings and supports of a minister of the gospel 4:7-5:10

4. The life of a minister of Christ 5:11-6:10

C. Appeal for restoration of the Corinthians' confidence in him 6:11-7:16

1. An appeal for large-heartedness and consistency 6:11-7:4

2. The encouraging response of the Corinthians so far 7:5-16

III. Instructions concerning the collection for the poor saints in Judea 8:1-9:15

A. The example of the Macedonians 8:1-7

B. The supreme motive for giving 8:8-15

C. The delegates of the churches 8:16-24

D. The anticipated visit of Paul 9:1-5

E. The benefits of generous giving 9:6-15

IV. Appeals concerning Paul's apostolic authority 10:1-13:10

A. Replies to charges made against Paul 10:1-18

1. Reply to the charge of cowardice 10:1-6

2. Reply to the charge of weakness 10:7-11

3. Reply to the charge of intrusion 10:12-18

B. Claims made by Paul 11:1-12:18

1. Paul's reasons for making these claims 11:1-6

2. Freedom to minister without charge 11:7-15

3. Paul's service and sufferings 11:16-33

4. Special revelations Paul received 12:1-10

5. Paul's supernatural miracles and paternal love 12:11-18

C. Exhortations in view of Paul's approaching visit 12:19-13:10

1. Paul's concerns 12:19-21

2. Paul's warnings 13:1-10

V. Conclusion 13:11-14

A. The exhortation 13:11-12

B. The salutation 13:13

C. The benediction 13:14

Constable: 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians

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Copyright 2003 by Thomas L. Constable

Haydock: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

THE SECOND

EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL, THE APOSTLE,

TO THE CORINTHIANS.

INTRODUCTION.

The subject and design of this second Epistle to the Corinthians, is much the same as of the former. He comforts and congratulates with those who were now reformed by his admonitions. He blames the faulty with apostolical liberty; and being forced to justify himself and his proceedings against the upstart false teachers, he gives an ample account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces, which God had bestowed upon him. This Epistle was written not long after the first, (an. 57. [in the year 57.]) some months before that to the Romans, from some place in Macedonia, perhaps from Philippi, as marked at the end of divers Greek copies, though it is observed, that those subscriptions are not much to be relied upon. (Witham) --- In this Epistle St. Paul comforts those who are now reformed by his admonitions to them in the former, and absolves the incestuous man on doing penance, whom he had before excommunicated for his crime. Hence he treats of true penance, and of the dignity of the ministers of the New Testament. He cautions the faithful against false teachers, and the society of infidels. He gives an account of his sufferings, and also of the favours and graces which God hath bestowed on him. (Challoner) --- St. Paul, not being able to come to the Corinthians as soon as he had promised, writes this Epistle to inform them, that it was not through inconstancy, but on account of several weighty reasons, which had hitherto hindered him. Several other reasons, likewise, compelled him to write. For during his absence, several false teachers of the Jews had come amongst them, teaching them that it was necessary to observe the law of Moses, in order to be saved. St. Paul, therefore, first excuses himself, by saying, that the afflictions and troubles he had met with, had hindered him from coming to them. He next orders the fornicator to be restored to favour; after which, he extols his apostleship, forming a comparison between the law of Christ, and of Moses, wherein he blames the false teachers. He then subjoins an exhortation to a pious and holy life, with liberality in their alms, after the example of the Macedonians. As the false teachers had been very industrious in establishing their own reputation, by detracting from that of St. Paul, he enumerates his own sufferings, and the favours he had received from God, shewing that he had much more reason to glory than they; and concludes by exhorting them to correct those faults with which they still remained infected. (Estius) --- This letter may be justly appreciated as a perfect masterpiece of that animated and solid eloquence, which all interpreters so much admire in St. Paul. (Bible de Vence)

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Gill: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS

This epistle, according to the subscription at the end of it, was written from Philippi of Macedonia; and though the subscriptions annexed to the epistles are not always to be depended on, yet it seems very likely that this was written from thence; for the apostle not finding Titus at Troas, as he expected, went into Macedonia, where he met with him, and had an account from him of the success of his first epistle; of the state and condition of the church, and of the temper and disposition of mind in which the members of it were, and which gave him great satisfaction; upon which he immediately wrote this second epistle, and sent it by the same person to them; see 2Co 2:12, 2Co 7:5. It is very probable it might be written the year after the former; and so it is placed by Dr. Lightfoot in the year 56, as the former is in the year 55; though some place this in the year 60, and the other in 59. The occasion of this epistle was partly to excuse his not coming to them according to promise, and to vindicate himself from the charge of unfaithfulness, levity, and inconstancy on that account; and partly, since what he had wrote about the incestuous person, had had a good effect both upon him and them, to direct them to take off the censure that had been laid upon him, and restore him to their communion, and comfort him; likewise to stir them up to finish the collection for the poor saints they had begun; as also to defend himself against the calumnies of the false teachers, who were very industrious to sink his character and credit in this church; which he does by observing the doctrines of the Gospel he preached, which were far more glorious than, and abundantly preferable to, the ministration of the law of Moses, which those men desired to be teachers of; as likewise the success of his ministry in every place; the many sufferings he had underwent for the sake of Christ, and his Gospel; the high favours and privileges he had received of the Lord, as well as the signs, wonders, and miracles done by him in proof of his apostleship; and in which are interspersed many things useful and instructive.

Gill: 2 Corinthians 10 (Chapter Introduction)

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS 10

In this chapter the apostle has chiefly to do with the false teachers, and it is taken up in refuting their calumnies of him, and in exposing their boasting of themselves; and as he goes along, he takes notice of the efficacy of the Gospel, and of the success and extent of it, as it was preached by him, and other Gospel ministers, and points at the proper manner and ground of glorying. And whereas the false teachers had represented him as a mean spirited man, as well as his outward aspect was contemptible, and that he had not that authority and courage he boasted of, he describes himself by those characters they had reproached him with: by his name Paul, which signified little, they suggesting that he was little in soul, as well as in body; by his modesty and humility, when he was with the Corinthians, and by his boldness, now absent from them: and he entreats them by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, which he imitated, and they ought also, that they would not join in those sneers, nor reproach him for these things, 2Co 10:1 and that they would so behave, that, when he came among them, he might have no occasion of using that power and authority, which the false teachers called bluster and boldness; and which he had thought and determined in his own mind to exercise on some who traduced him and his fellow ministers as carnal selfish persons, 2Co 10:2 which calumny he removes by owning, that they walked in the flesh, in the body, and were subject to imperfections, as men; but denies that their ministerial warfare or service was managed in a carnal and worldly, or in a weak way and manner, 2Co 10:3 assigning this reason for it, because the weapons they made use of, in the warfare of their ministry, to defend truth, and annoy the enemy, to enlarge Christ's kingdom, and weaken Satan's, were not carnal, weak, and worldly, but spiritual and efficacious, through the power of God that accompanied them; and which appeared by the use they were of to the demolishing the strong holds of the flesh, and bringing down the haughty and lofty imaginations of the fleshly mind, which were opposed to the knowledge of God, and the refuting all the sophisms of fleshly wisdom, and carnal reasonings against the Gospel of Christ. This was the influence it had on some through the power of divine grace, whereby they became obedient to Christ, and subject to his word and ordinances, 2Co 10:4 whilst on others, as on Elymas the sorcerer, who sought to pervert the right ways of God, the apostolical power was exercised in a way of just punishment and awful vengeance, 2Co 10:6. The apostle moreover suggests to the Corinthians, that they judged of him, and the false teachers, according to the outward appearance of things, which was wrong: however, let these men make ever so great a show in the flesh, or what pretensions soever to Christianity, to being the members and ministers of Christ, the apostle would have them observe, that he, and those with him, were, and were to be looked upon as equally the same, 2Co 10:7 nay, should he exalt himself above them, and affirm he had an authority superior to theirs, which he describes by the efficient cause of it, the Lord, and by its end, edification, and not destruction, he should have no reason to be ashamed, since he was capable of giving proof of it, 2Co 10:8 however, he would say no more of this for the present, lest he should strengthen the calumny cast upon him, that it was his way to terrify by his letters, with blustering menaces of his power and authority, 2Co 10:9 and which calumny is more fully expressed in the words of the false teachers, who said, that his letters were bold and blustering, and by which he would be thought to be a man of power and authority; though, alas! a man of no speech nor presence, when in person among men, and so not to be regarded, 2Co 10:10. In answer to which the apostle returns, that he would have such a reviler know, that as he was in word by letters when absent, such would he be found to be in deed when present, 2Co 10:11 and then proceeds to expose the vain glorying of the false teachers, and to observe those things which he, and other faithful ministers of the word, might glory of; though they could not give themselves the liberties they did, and chose to glory in the Lord; they could not commend themselves in that bold and insolent manner, to the contempt of others, when there was no necessity for it, as the false teachers did, 2Co 10:12 nor could they boast of things they never did; of conversions they never were instruments of; of the planting of churches they had no concern in; and of spreading the Gospel where they had never been, which was the case of these men: whereas, whenever they gloried, it was when there was an absolute necessity for it, and always with modesty, acknowledging the grace and goodness of God unto them, and ever with truth; and of their own labours, and not of others; and particularly with respect to Corinth, it was with the strictest regard to truth that they affirmed they were the first that preached the Gospel there, converted souls, and planted a Gospel church, and hoped they should be the means of spreading it further still, 2Co 10:13. However, they did not desire to glory in themselves, but in the Lord, from whom they had all their gifts, success, and usefulness; and so they directed others to do, 2Co 10:17 and because, for this reason, that he that commends himself is not approved of God, but he that is commended by the Lord, 2Co 10:18.

College: 2 Corinthians (Book Introduction)

INTRODUCTION

Studying 2 Corinthians plunges the modern reader back to the real, tumultuous world of early Christianity. The simple ideals of sharing and goodwill described in Acts 2:42-47 seem to have little place among the diverse converts from this boomtown of Corinth where Paul chooses to anchor his Greek mission. Rather, this microcosm of the early church bickers and accuses, revels in disorder and confusion, reeks of unrenounced pagan practices, and uncritically pursues self-promotion and even disloyalty to Paul, its founder.

When we speak of restoring the NT church, the Corinthian church is not what we have in mind. But maybe this is where we should really start: a real community of believers struggling to understand and implement their Christian faith against the helter-skelter backdrop of values and principles they desired to leave behind. As we understand what Paul teaches this troubled church, we will learn badly needed principles to help bring to maturity our own, real churches which inherit the same struggle.

Second Corinthians stands in stark contrast to Paul's other NT writings in a number of ways. Other letters, like 1 Corinthians, Romans, Galatians, and Colossians are carefully ordered, easily outlined, logical, controlled, as Paul confidently responds to carefully gauged concerns. Methodically, he establishes crucial, theological principles as the basis for practical, behavioral appeals.

By contrast, 2 Corinthians is chaotic and disjointed. Digressions lead the reader far afield before returning to the point. So uneven is 2 Corinthians, that many scholars suggest it is a composite of four or five writings, even a number of conservative scholars admitting two. Intensity, emotion, defensiveness, and second-guessing rather than controlled reasoning bind this epistle together. We see Paul at his weakest, basest, most human. Yet seeing him work through the truth of the gospel in the midst of exasperating difficulties is enlightening.

To a certain extent, it is healthy for our lofty ideals of this giant to be punctured and brought down to reality, even as the Corinthian church does so for our view of the early church. Paul's relationship with the Corinthians at this historical juncture is ugly, and readers deserve to be warned about how disconcerting seeing this can be.

These features of 2 Corinthians make studying and understanding the text much more dependent than usual on grasping the historical circumstances behind and leading up to its writing. Without a clear grasp of the historic story, hopeless confusion will engulf efforts to interpret the text at a number of points.

So, study of 2 Corinthians must begin by seeking to understand the Corinth of Paul's day and Paul's relationship to the local church there before preceding to a reliable interpretation of the text.

THE CITY OF CORINTH

Fortunately, Corinth is a NT city we know a great deal about. It has been heavily excavated and was minutely described by classical writers like Strabo and Dio Chrysostom.

The city that Paul entered in A.D. 50 had been resurrected from the ashes of the old city burned to the ground by the Romans in 146 B.C. Having laid in ruins for 100 years, two years before his death in 44 B.C., Julius Caesar decreed that Corinth (and also Carthage) should be rebuilt. Although located just 60 miles from Athens on the narrow isthmus strategically joining the Greek mainland to the Peloponnesus, the new Corinth was built and organized as a Roman city. Its colonists were gleaned from freedmen, former slaves originating from Syria, Egypt, Judea, Greece, and from retiring Roman soldiers.

The city's layout and its buildings were Roman, as was its governmental organization and law. Its official language was Latin, although Greek was the common language for business and conversation. The people prized Roman articles, importing them in great quantities. In addition to the four magistrates elected each year and its city council, it was administrated by a proconsul appointed annually by the Roman senate.

Corinth's dominance over the five-mile wide isthmus insured economic vitality. Ships traveling between Italy and Asia Minor were happy to pay the fee to cross the isthmus rather than sail the extra 200 miles south around treacherous Cape Malae. Besides, Corinth had even constructed a grooved pavement, called the Diolkos, between the ports on either side of the isthmus on which smaller ships could be hauled in wheeled vehicles. For a larger ship, the goods were loaded on transport carts and reloaded onto another ship waiting at the other harbor.

Julius Caesar dreamed of increasing Corinth's stock by constructing a canal across the isthmus. Not until Nero, A.D. 67., was such a project begun. Actual completion, however was not achieved until modern times, in 1893.

With the two ports, Laechaeum, on the Corinthian Gulf, and Cenchraea, on the Saronic Gulf, Corinth thrived as a center for trade. The major land route between the Greek mainland and the Peloponnesus also went through it. Besides shipbuilding and repair, it hosted bronze, tile, and pottery factories, as well as the necessary warehousing for transportable goods. Corinth's market areas boasted hundreds of stalls filled with craftsmen plying their trade, locals selling merchandise and food, as well as visitors from throughout the empire hawking imported items. They even had places which sold drinks cooled by underground water systems. Paul himself, we know, took up a leather-working stall in this area for eighteen months (Acts 18:1-3).

New Corinth was an eclectic, international city from its inception. In Paul's day, it was a bustling, wide open, boomtown, with over 80,000 inhabitants, and growing every day. It had already outstripped Athens politically, replacing it as the capital of Achaia.

Corinth's prestige was further enhanced by its hosting of the Isthmian Games, second only in significance to the Olympics. Held every two years in Corinth since A.D. 3, these games drew thousands of tourists and lots of business. The city's most prestigious political official was the one responsible for administering the games, occupying a prominent year-round governmental office. The games were dedicated to the Greek sea god, Poseidon, and featured oratory, music, and drama, as well as athletic contests. A dramatic theater as well as a 20,000 seat stadium were used for these events.

Corinth's eclecticism revealed itself in an array of religious choices established by its multicultural inhabitants. Egyptians promoted the cults of Isis and Osiris. Isis was worshiped as a god for sailors because the myth tells of her enduring search on the seas for her betrayed and lost husband Osiris. Osiris is a god of afterlife, who after his death was resurrected to become head of the underworld.

Greeks and Romans honored Poseidon, god of the sea; Athena, goddess of war, the sea, cities and the arts; Aphrodite, goddess of love and fertility; Apollo, god of prophecy; Asklepios, god of healing; and emperors beginning with Julius Caesar. Prominent temples and statues are dedicated to all of these. Apollos often features prominently in colonized cities as an ode of good fortune. His famous Delphic oracle is only some 30 miles from Corinth. The much publicized report that Old Corinth's temple to Aphrodite housed over 1,000 sacred prostitutes is regarded as Athenian slander and is not so certain to still be functioning this way in Paul's day, although this does not mean to imply that Corinth was any more sexually pristine than any other seaport.

One of the busiest religious centers in Paul's day was the Asklepium. Comparable to a modern-day health club, people came here to bathe in its fountain, sleep (healing in their dreams), excercise, read, and dine (on sacrificial meat, cf. 1 Cor 8:10; 10:21). Replicas of body parts found in excavations were offered to the Asklepios by thankful beneficiaries of his healing.

Though not a god, Sisyphus, was considered one of the founding kings of ancient Corinth. Noted for his craftiness, in Greek mythology he was banished to Hades with the everlasting task of pushing a rock up a hill only to have it slip back down. For the Corinthian in Paul's day, he stands for successful cunning in business, but behind the temporary luster, perhaps, he signifies the emptiness of life's ambitions that lurked in the background of people's thoughts.

Judaism came with the early Jewish colonists and seems to have thrived. A dynamic synagogue certainly was functioning when Paul arrived, according to Acts 18:4-17. Also, a building inscription reading "Synagogue of the Hebrews" has been found by archaeologists along the Lechaeum road. Although the inscription is somewhat later than Paul's day, its location in the city center suggests the prominence of Judaism from the early days of New Corinth. Significant increases to the Jewish population likely occurred in A.D. 19 and in the late 40s when Tiberius and then Claudius expelled Jews from Rome. According to Acts 18:2, the latter purge is what brought Aquila and Priscilla and their tentmaking business to Corinth for the eighteen months Paul evangelized there. As Acts 18:8,17 indicate, the Jewish community probably had a certain amount of freedom to manage its own affairs and to appoint its own officials.

Due to Roman influence, Corinthians banded together into self-governing clubs and societies of 10 to 15 people which met in homes around the city. These clubs were delineated by individual trades or professions. Something like small unions, they provided vital social interaction and shared meals but even underwrote members' burial expenses from their kitty of dues. Although each had its sponsoring god, they were not religious in nature.

Most likely, the Corinthian church of Paul's day took on the pattern of these clubs as they met in various homes throughout the city. This helps explain the household factions decried in 1 Cor 1:10-12 and even the food-related problems of 1 Corinthians 8 and 11:17-34.

Corinth in the time of Paul was a city of wealth and prosperity. The families who had come a generation or two previously had worked hard. They had carved out successful lives by their own sweat and ingenuity. Like American immigrants, they were proud of their accomplishments, which they demonstrated in their proliferation of self-commending inscriptions around the city. But like the grandchildren of immigrants today, the Corinthians of Paul's day were noted for their superficial materialism and moral perversity. Such traits are epitomized by the fact that before the century was over, Corinth would become the first Greek city in the Roman Empire to hold bloodthirsty gladiatorial shows.

PAUL AND THE CORINTHIANS

Paul's rocky, seven-year relationship with the Corinthians begins in the fall of A.D. 50 as he enters Corinth on what becomes the last stop of his second missionary journey. Already on the road for a year, he had established churches in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens, despite opposition from Gentiles, Jews, and intellectuals (Acts 16-17). As Acts 18 describes, he enters the din of Corinth alone but is quickly befriended by Aquila and Priscilla, who were probably already Christians when they came to Corinth from Rome. For eighteen months the three of them lived, worked, and spread the gospel together there, eventually joined by Silas and Timothy.

At first, Paul shared the gospel and fielded questions in the Jewish synagogue. It wasn't too long, however, before stiff opposition to his presence arose, and he was ejected. However, he took with him many new Christians from among the God-fearing Gentiles who attended the synagogue, as well as Jews including the head of the synagogue, Crispus. Boldly, they set up shop for the first church right next door in the home of Titius Justus. Presumably, they continued to meet there and in other homes around the city for the next eighteen months, since God had instructed Paul to remain in Corinth despite the risks of conflict.

Sparks did fly, and at one point the Jews pressed charges against Paul for breaking Jewish law before Gallio, the Roman proconsul. Quite rightly, Gallio rebuffed the Jewish accusations as being outside any Roman concern. Although this may seem like a relatively minor incident in the life of Paul, the mention of Gallio in Acts 18:14 emerges as the single most important event enabling us to date Paul's life with accuracy. The reason for this is that archaeologists have discovered a datable inscription about a boundary dispute from Emperor Claudius to Gallio which places Gallio's one-year term between A.D. 51 and 52. Anchored by Paul's encounter with Gallio being A.D. 51, the rest of Paul's life can be dated backward and forward from time periods provided in the Acts and his letters.

Upon leaving Corinth, Paul sailed to Syria, probably Antioch, before quickly setting out over land to revisit the previously established churches in Asia Minor and then settling in Ephesus for three years. While in Ephesus, he sent the Corinthians three letters and slipped across the Aegean Sea in a vessel for a brief, surprise visit.

The first letter, commonly known as the "previous letter," is mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9-11. Given the wild immorality of Corinth, it is not surprising that Paul emphasized separation from such people in this letter. However, it has never been found, although a few scholars believe 2 Cor 6:14-7:1 may have originally been part of it.

Next, Paul received a letter from the Corinthians asking various specific questions about Christian life and practice. He is also informed verbally from members of Chloe's household (1 Cor 1:11) about the factionalism that is hurting the church's witness. He responded with the letter we know of as 1 Corinthians. During this period, Timothy was dispatched to Corinth for a brief time (1 Cor 4:17; 16:10) as Paul's personal ambassador, perhaps to give further voice to Paul's teaching in 1 Corinthians or to other issues Paul anticipated. We have no indication as to how long Timothy stayed.

Paul's brief trip to Corinth in A.D. 54 and the letter on its heels upon his return are chief events which underlie Paul's writing of 2 Corinthians in A.D. 56. We don't know why Paul went. Maybe Timothy reported that Paul's personal presence was needed. Possibly, conservative agitators had followed Paul to Corinth as they previously had to Galatia and were stirring up trouble, causing the Corinthians to second-guess Paul's credibility (2 Cor 11:13). What we do know is that this trip, usually described as "the painful visit" (2 Cor 2:1), was a complete disaster. Paul left angry and humiliated. Apparently, he confronted the ringleader of the trouble (perhaps someone in the church who had been influenced by the outsiders) face to face but when the man insulted him, no one in the church came to Paul's defense.

Speculation regarding the accusations hurled at Paul include the illegitimacy of his authority over the Corinthians and his misuse of funds collected for the Jerusalem offering (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 7:2; 8:11). This was not a theological issue so much as one of personal integrity. Paul speaks of his being hurt emotionally most by the fact that the church did not side with him (2 Cor 2:5-11).

Upon his return, Paul wrote a third letter to the Corinthians, "the severe letter" (2 Cor 2:4; 7:8). Although not existing today, as described in 2 Cor 2:4-11 and 7:5-13, it was undoubtedly the most emotional and strident of any of Paul's letters. Apparently, he unleashed his anger and disappointment, scolding the church for not supporting him and demanding that the majority of the church take charge and discipline the offender as well as apologize to him. The letter is so harsh that Paul seems genuinely afraid ("fears within" - 2 Cor 7:5) that it will drive the church farther away from him and from Christ. But he sees no choice; this situation can't be left like it is.

Titus received the formidable task of delivering this explosive letter into the charged atmosphere of the Corinthian church and carrying out its demands. Paul's anxieties over Titus's success seem to overwhelm him as he waits for news. Apparently, the arrangements with Titus were that they would meet in Troas after a set period of time, maybe as long as six months. Second Corinthians 2:12 tells us that Paul went by land up to Troas, probably in A.D. 55 but was crushed to find Titus was not there. Remaining for some time evangelizing, maybe a month or so, he crossed over to Macedonia, probably Philippi, desperate to find Titus there. Finally, Titus arrived with the great news that the Corinthians - or most of them - were back in the fold. Genuinely remorseful over their hurtful behavior toward Paul, they had, indeed, dealt with the offender and expressed their renewed devotion to him (2 Cor 7:7,11,12).

The letter we call 2 Corinthians historically comes as Paul's fourth letter to Corinth. Buoyed by Titus's positive report, Paul writes this highly emotional letter, sending it back with Titus (2 Cor 7:17), probably A.D. 56. The letter interacts over and over with the events of the Painful Visit and the Severe Letter. Paul gushes with joy over the Corinthians' response (2 Cor 7:7,13-16), even recommending that they lift the punishment on the person who offended him (2 Cor 2:7). However, the tone of the letter is extremely defensive as Paul squirms under pressure from the Corinthians (most likely as advised by Titus) to toot his own horn regarding his own apostolic credentials. Out of his love for them, but against his own convictions against boasting, he is willing to explain the superiority of his apostleship in terms the Corinthians seem to require. These terms - such as providing letters of recommendation (2 Cor 3:1) and lists of accomplishments (2 Cor 6:3-13; 11:16-12:10) - Paul regards as superficial and unnecessary (2 Cor 3:2-3; 10:7) and probably reflect the influence of the conservative agitators upon the Corinthians. Paul seems to know he must respond, however uncomfortable it is for him, in order to block any further inroads from these outsiders and thus reinforce his renewed relationship with the Corinthians.

Titus brought 2 Corinthians to Corinth armed with Paul's commendation within the letter to spur the church to complete its collection of the offering for the Jerusalem Christians (1 Cor 16:1-4; 2 Cor 8:10-24). Paul followed a few months later (2 Cor 12:14; Acts 20:3) and remained in Corinth three months. During this period, he wrote Romans, but we know nothing of his interaction with the Corinthian church. Presumably, he finalized the Corinthian offering, but he must have worked diligently to solidify this troubled church and contend personally with the outside agitators and their remaining pockets of influence. At any rate, once the various representatives from the Greek and Asian churches arrived in Corinth with their offerings (Acts 20:1-6), he tried to set sail with them to Syria but, discovering treachery from the Jewish community in Corinth, he and the others traveled first to Troas, and, then, set sail from there.

We have no certainty of further communication or visitation between Paul and the Corinthian church after this. Possibly, following release from his first Roman imprisonment, he returned to Corinth and other churches in Greece and Asia Minor, as the Pastoral epistles suggest (1 Tim. 1:3; 2 Tim. 4:20).

THE UNITY OF 2 CORINTHIANS

One may rightly comment that the literary unity of 2 Corinthians "cannot just be presupposed." Analyses which question whether various sections of 2 Corinthians are original to it have come long and hard during the past two centuries of critical scholarship. Second Corinthian's sharp shifts in content and uneven tone make it the most susceptible of all the NT books to patchwork theories despite the fact that none of the Greek manuscripts (dating back to the third century) give the slightest hint that 2 Corinthians was ever anything different than what we read today. Although the ebb and flow of research has sidelined many conjectures, questions still remain regarding some parts of 2 Corinthians. As many as nine sections of 2 Corinthians have been scrutinized. However, just five will be discussed here.

First, 2 Cor 2:14-7:4 has been noted as at one time existing separately from 2 Corinthians. Even a casual reader is jolted at the jump between the travelogue commentary in 2:12-13 and the military parade description of the gospel in 2:13-17 which opens a five-chapter philosophy of apostolic ministry. It is all the more noticeable when, beginning at 7:5, the travelogue picks up again and continues on until 7:16. However, upon closer perusal, scholars are increasingly reluctant to name this as part of a separate letter. Despite the abruptness between 2:13 and 2:14, the theme of human weakness and divine power in 2:12-17 connects to 1:8-10, and the theme of divine ownership connects 1:22 and 2:14. Despite the change of subject between 7:4 and 7:5, the verbal links supplied by "encouragement" (7:4,13), "joy" (7:4,7) and "troubles" (7:4,5) supply sturdy connections. Besides, the efforts to postulate yet another letter between 1 and 2 Corinthians or to connect this to the Severe Letter are unwarranted. More recent efforts to anaylze 2 Corinthians 1-7 through the eyes of Roman rhetoric as well as chiastic structure loudly confirm separation of 2:14-7:4 as ill-conceived. Certainly, it is a digression but not without purpose and point to the context as a whole.

Second, perhaps less obvious to the casual reader because it is such a short section is 2 Cor 6:14-7:1. Here, again, though, the careful reader observes an interruption between 6:13 ("Open wide your hearts also") and 7:2 ("Make room for us in your hearts"). Scholarly analysis of these six verses suggests that not only are they out of place, they don't sound like Paul, using six words he never uses elsewhere in his writings nor used by anyone else in the NT ( hapax legomenae ). Is this a snippet of something someone else said or wrote that Paul has adapted into his material, or is it something Paul wrote or spoke at another time and place that he decides to use here?

Despite some of the unusual language, Pauline themes do appear here: the church as the temple of God, the polarization of righteousness and unrighteousness as well as between light and dark. Also, plenty of characteristic Pauline language occurs: "living God" (2 Cor 3:3; 1 Thess 1:9), "unbeliever" (twelve other occurrences in 1 and 2 Cor), and "holiness" (Rom 1:4; 1 Thess 3:13). Although conclusions vary, many today incline toward this section being from Paul.

Eyeing the language of separation from unrighteousness, some have been tempted to conclude that 6:14-7:1 is part of the "previous" letter mentioned in 1 Cor 5:9. However, the point is explicitly different. Paul emphasizes that in the previous letter he urged separation from the immorality of believers not dissociation from unbelievers as emphasized in 6:14-7:1.

Most likely, then, Paul himself has inserted this pre-formed, self-contained unit of material from previous teaching, either oral or written, perhaps influenced by others. Interesting comparisons to Qumran materials as well as writings of Philo have been made. The placement exactly here in 2 Corinthians is so awkward as to be unlikely to come from anyone other than Paul. However, two points should be kept in mind. One is that Paul dictated this letter as he did all his letters. This fact enhances the potential for distraction, interruption, and loose digressions such as this. A second point is that although the section's relationship to the immediately previous verses is not obvious, as one backs up to 6:1 and reads of Paul's concern about receiving "God's grace in vain" or to 5:19 to see Paul's emphasis on people "no longer living for themselves but for him who died for them," Paul's emphasis on separation and holiness in 6:14-7:1 fits well.

Probably inconceivable to the casual reader is the suggestion that 2 Corinthians 8 and 2 Corinthians 9 both were not originally part of 2 Corinthians. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 8 - repetition of information about Titus (7:13-15; 8:16-17), presumption of knowledge about the two brothers coming with him (8:18,22), or even evidence that 2 Corinthians 8 as well as 2 Corinthians 9 are formal business letters - do not convince many. Arguments regarding 2 Corinthians 9, first proposed by Semler 200 years ago, that 2 Corinthians 9 was originally a letter sent to Christians outside Corinth, are more formidable, and give scholars more pause.

What pulls them up short is the language Paul uses to refer to the collection ("service") in 9:1, which, in Greek, reads like a first mention of the collection. In addition to that, the regional reference to Achaia in 9:2 and the repetition of information from chapter 8 in chapter 9 regarding the collection give added support to the idea of chapter 9 being originally independent.

On the other side of the question is the fact that Paul's reference to the collection in 9:1 is modified by ( men gar , "and for") which suggests a resumption of a previous subject perhaps after a brief pause in dictation. The repetition of details regarding the collection is probably emphatic, and the regional reference to Achaia seems unlikely to exclude Corinth. Tipping the scale against an independent chapter 9, as noted by Furnish, are two references in chapter 9 which presume information from chapter 8: the mention of the brothers (9:3; 8:18) and the emphasis on their completing the collection (9:4-5; 8:7-15).

Admittedly, this is a close call. However, the evidence does not demand that chapters 8 and 9 are two separate letters about the collection, one to Corinth, and one to Achaia. Rather, these are interdependent chapters in 2 Corinthians, chapter 8 dealing with the details of the collection project and chapter 9 emphasizing motivation for the project, as noted by Danker.

Fourth, without a doubt the most serious challenge to the unity of 2 Corinthians comes from chapters 10-13. As long ago as 1870, Hausrath broadcast his belief that in these chapters, he had discovered the missing "severe" letter to the Corinthians. No doubt, in chapters 10-13 Paul erupts into harsh tones of anger and disappointment which seem to undercut completely the exuberance and joy which he builds up to by chapters 7, 8, and 9.

But Hausrath looked closer and pointed to evidence that chapters 10-13 were written previous to chapters 1-9. Particularly he saw passages in chapters 1-9 written in the past tense which appear to allude to passages from chapters 10-13 written in future tenses, such as 1:23 which says that Paul "did not return" to them in order to spare them, corresponding to 13:2 in which Paul asserts that he "will not return" in order to spare them or when Paul says in 2:3-4 that he "wrote" them out of great distress and in 13:10 when he says "I write" so that I may not have to be harsh. Hausrath also contends that Paul's reference to Rome (west of Corinth) as "regions beyond you" in 2 Cor 10:16 makes much better sense if he is in Ephesus (east of Corinth), where he wrote the Severe Letter, rather than Macedonia (north of Corinth), where he wrote 2 Corinthians.

Criticism against Hausrath's identification of 2 Cor 10-13 with the "severe" letter has withered its persuasiveness among scholars. Primarily, chapters 10-13 do not contain something we know specifically was in the Severe Letter: Paul's demand that an individual who offended him be punished (2:5-6; 7:12). Also, chapters 10-13 promise a visit (12:14; 13:1), but the Severe Letter was sent in place of a Painful Visit (1:23; 2:1). Regarding "regions beyond you," the language need not be taken so literally and the Macedonian region should be recognized as much more culturally distinct from Achaia than it looks like on a map.

More appealing to scholars of all stripes, including many conservatives, is to view 2 Cor 10-13 as a separate, fifth letter, written after Titus returns with new, bad news after delivering 2 Corinthians 1-9. This position still takes into account Hausrath's future tense passages. It helps make sense of 2 Cor 12:18 which refers to Titus's visit in the past tense when it was in the planning stage in 2 Corinthians 7-9. Also, it explains the increased strident tones of chapters 10-13 as Paul's response to new, outside influences claiming some kind of rival apostolic authority to Paul's (11:13; 12:11) rather than to internal problems which seem to be his concern in chapters 1-9.

This way of viewing chapters 10-13 is attractive but is not demanded by the evidence. As Witherington points out, the past (aorist) tenses describing Titus's visit in 12:17-18 need not be real. Especially as Paul reaches the end of the book, they could well be epistolary (spoken from the standpoint of the audience reading the letter). The mention of the unnamed brother traveling with Titus does correspond with 2 Cor 8:18,22. Reading 12:17-18 this way opens up the very real possibility that Paul could have received new information about problems in Corinth before sending 2 Corinthians but after writing chapters 1-9. This could explain the gulf between chapters 10-13 as well as an entirely separate letter.

Other ways which account for the change of tone in chapter 10-13 have to do with how one reads the letter. Perhaps chapters 1-9 are directed to the majority of the church which has fallen into line with Paul after the Painful Visit, the Severe Letter, and Titus's hard work while chapters 10-13 are to the minority who are still under the sway of outside opposition to Paul. After all, 2 Cor 2:6 does speak of "the majority" which imposed discipline upon the offender named in the Severe Letter.

Perhaps, as a growing group of scholars are showing, Paul's heightened criticism of the Corinthians in chapters 10-13 concludes a calculated rhetorical plan employing counterattack ( synkrisis ) or strong emotional appeal ( peroratio ) to win his defense against the charges being leveled at him by the Corinthians. One must admit that Paul never relaxes from a defensive posture in 2 Corinthians from the beginning to the end. While Paul's harsh tones in chapters 10-13 following the lead up in chapters 7, 8, and 9 may seem abrupt, his concerns from early in the letter haven't really changed, just his emotionalism. The issue of his character raised in chapter 1 and of the legitimacy of his apostleship raised in chapter 3 remain the object of his defense in chapters 10-13.

The correspondence of these issues is enough to suggest that even though outside influence of "false apostles" (11:13) is not named earlier, they influence the minority of the Corinthian church and provide the ammunition against Paul observed in the earlier chapters. Who else would have brandished "letters of recommendation" (3:1)? Their earliest influences could even be in the background of Paul's problems associated with the Painful Visit.

As evident from 2 Cor 7:8-13, the offending individual merely became the pretext for the whole church failing to rally behind Paul until after the Severe Letter. Although Paul can be ecstatic that most of the church has recommitted themselves to him and to the gospel by the time he writes 2 Corinthians, nevertheless, pockets of opposition likely remain under the growing influence of the outside agitators. With chapters 10-13 Paul intends to level a decisive blow against this opposition not only to bring the remainder of the church back to the true gospel but also to shore up any lingering doubts from those who have pledged their loyalty.

Paul's transition to chapter 10 indeed is rocky but, as Danker points out, no more so than Phil 3 or Rom 9. In this commentary, therefore, we will treat 2 Corinthians as a unity and will treat chapters 10-13 as primarily aimed at responding to a vocal minority of the church who remain mesmerized by the outsiders' criticisms of Paul.

PAUL'S OPPONENTS

Second Corinthians resounds with the echo of outside voices filling the Corinthians' heads with notions geared to sever their relationship with Paul. Since Paul originally brought the gospel to Corinth and made it possible for people there to be reconciled with God through Christ and begin a vibrant church meeting in homes throughout the city, others have come to Corinth presenting themselves as superior in authority to the apostle Paul himself. Presuming the opponents in 2 Cor 10-13 and 1-9 are the same, they supposedly have letters of authentication from Jerusalem (3:1-3), Paul blasts them as "false apostles" (11:13) and sarcastically as "super apostles" in 12:11. Nevertheless, they have influenced and confused the Corinthians enough to force Paul to write 2 Corinthians and fill it with self-commendation regarding his integrity and his "superior" apostolic credentials over theirs. He does this because he feels he must in order to win the Corinthians back, but he finds doing so personally disturbing and repugnant.

Whereas Paul finds it difficult to boast about himself, self-commendation seems to be the chief characteristic of these outsiders. Clues from 2 Corinthians indicate that they were proud of their Jewish heritage (11:22), their "Christian" service (11:23), their oratorical skill (11:6), their self-confidence (1:15-17), and their charismatic experiences (12:12). They preached a different gospel than Paul's (11:4). They also accepted money from the Corinthians, unlike Paul who refused it (12:16). They may have viewed Paul's effort to collect money from the Corinthians for the Jerusalem Christians as cutting off their own purse strings and threatening their prosperity in Corinth.

Their heated, personalized efforts to undercut Paul sound like Paul's opposition in Galatians, commonly called Judaizers (Gal 4:17). However, no mention of the law or circumcision in 2 Corinthians clouds this identification and requires that, if these are the same people, they have changed their tune considerably since Galatians. The fact that they tout letters of recommendation - where else but from Jerusalem - makes it difficult to lay aside the picture of a band of renegade, conservative Jewish Christians who first followed Paul to Galatia and now to Corinth with the expressed purpose of replacing Paul's gospel and his authority to represent true Christianity (Gal 1:6-7).

It is going too far to say that their credentials were currently legitimate or that they were actual apostles since Acts 15:24 reports that a faction of Jewish Christians had gone out falsely representing the church to new, Gentile congregations. It is possible, though, that they do have apostolic credentials - perhaps even knew Jesus before his crucifixion - but now are misusing these credentials to subvert Paul's successful mission to Gentiles in Galatia and now also in Corinth and other churches as well.

The picture of these Corinthian opponents as ultraconservative Jewish Christians clashes with a considerable amount of the evidence which points to their Greek or even gnostic origins. Their connection to revelations and wonders, rhetorical skills, "worldly" wisdom, and just their overall egotistical posture must be reckoned with. Undermining at least the gnostic element is the positive use of "knowledge" in 2 Corinthians. Nevertheless, a typical result when these ingredients are combined emerges with a conclusion that they were "Hellenistic Jews who were propagating . . . a 'spiritual gnosticism.'"

However, it seems inconceivable that ultraconservative Jewish Christians coming out of Jerusalem could be pushing a gospel so infiltrated with Greek ideas as to be outside the bounds of Paul's own radicalized message which had stripped unnecessary Jewish elements. Could these Jewish agitators be so clever as to be able to manipulate the Corinthians against Paul by successfully incorporating elements from Greek culture into their opposition to Paul which they themselves don't believe? It doesn't seem likely, but then no identification satisfactorily combines the paradoxical elements of these opponents as currently gleaned from the information we have from 2 Corinthians and the first century. As one commentator astutely points out, any final resolution is also hampered considerably by the fact that 2 Corinthians provides no information about the doctrine or theology of these opponents. Most current discussion recognizes the limitations involved in this discussion and offers no more than conjectures as has been done here.

It's best, then, to keep in mind the characteristics of Paul's opponents available from reading 2 Corinthians without any adamant historical identification until better information becomes available. They were Jewish. They were Greek. They considered themselves Christians. They hated Paul. They hurt Paul, and he feared what more they could do. It was up to him to marshal all the strength and the skills he had to prevent them from doing any further damage. They had backed him into a corner, and he responds with ferocity and emotion in 2 Corinthians, compelled out of his deep love for the Corinthians and his commitment to true, saving Christianity and humble, self-sacrificing leadership.

RELEVANCE

Christians treat 2 Corinthians like the ugly twin sister of 1 Corinthians. First Corinthian's poignant theology about challenging issues attracts everyone's constant attention. Meanwhile, 2 Corinthians sits in the corner waiting for someone to ask it to dance. Yet, once we make some effort to get to know 2 Corinthians, we will be pleasantly surprised.

Today, as in the days of the early church, various outside forces threaten to sever people's loyalty to Christ and cut away at the fabric of the church. It might be a cult like Mormons or Jehovah's Witnesses. It might be cultural forces like the challenges of postmodernism or the mind-set of the so-called Generation X which questions absolutes like God and salvation in Christ alone. It might just be an obstinate person who envies the authority of the minister, elders, or deacons and questions their integrity and decision-making at every turn and who draws around him or her an anti-faction.

If you are someone who cares deeply about your local church and would do almost anything to maintain its success and its integrity as a body of Christian believers, then 2 Corinthians will speak to your heart and nourish your soul. You will relate to Paul's agony over this church , feel his compassion, and be engulfed by his intense emotion in this letter. You will take in the principles of genuine church leadership and apply them to your life responsibly to enable you to enrich the quality of your local church.

The comments which follow are intended to help you both to understand 2 Corinthians in its own historical context and to apply its key principles to your own personal context in the church today.

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

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-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

ABBREVIATIONS

1 Clem 1 Clement

1QH The Thanksgiving Hymns (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QM The War Scroll (Dead Sea Scroll)

1QS Rule of the Community (Dead Sea Scroll)

2 Clem 2 Clement

AJP American Journal of Philology

ANRW Aufstieg und Niedergang der römishen Welt, ed. Temporini and Haase

AusBR Australian Biblical Review

AUSS Andrews University Seminary Studies

BA Biblical Archaeologist

BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research

BSac Bibliotheca Sacra

BT Bible Translator

BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin

CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly

CD The Damascus Document (Dead Sea Scroll)

DPL Dictionary of Paul and His Letters, ed. Hawthorne, Martin, and Reid

Ebr. De Ebrietate (Philo)

EvQ Evangelical Quarterly

ExpTim Expository Times

HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology

Heres Qui Rerum Divinarum Heres sit (Philo)

HTR Harvard Theological Review

ICC International Critical Commentary

Int Interpretation

JB Jerusalem Bible

JBL Journal of Biblical Literature

JRH Journal of Religious History

JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament

JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

JTS Journal of Theological Studies

LB Living Bible

NAB New American Bible

NASB New American Standard Bible

NEB New English Bible

Neot Neotestamentica

NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament

NIDNTT New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology, ed. Brown

NIV New International Version

NLT New Living Translation

NovT Novum Testamentum

NovTSupp Novum Testamentum Supplements

NRSV New Revised Standard Version

NTS New Testament Studies

RB Revue Biblique

ResQ Restoration Quarterly

RSV Revised Standard Version

SCJ Stone-Campbell Journal

SJT Scottish Journal of Theology

Spec.Leg. Philo, De Specialibus Legibus

TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Kittel and Friedrich

TEV Today's English Version

T.Jos Testament of Joseph

T.Levi Testament of Levi

T.Naph Testament of Naphtali

TS Theological Studies

TynBul Tyndale Bulletin

WW Word and World

ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenshaft

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV

College: 2 Corinthians (Outline)

OUTLINE

I. OPENING - 1:1-2

II. THANKSGIVING - 1:3-11

A. GOD COMFORTS - 1:3-7

B. GOD DELIVERS - 1:8-11

III. DEFENSE OF INTEGRITY - 1:12-2:13

A. CLARITY SOUGHT - 1:12-14

B. SECOND TRAVEL ITINERARY EXPLAINED - 1:15-17

C. CANDOR DEMANDED - 1:18-22

D. THIRD TRAVEL ITINERARY DEFENDED - 1:23-2:4

E. THE OFFENDER FORGIVEN - 2:5-11

F. ACTUAL TRAVEL DESCRIBED - 2:12-13

IV. DEFENSE OF APOSTOLIC MINISTRY IN PRINCIPLE - 2:14-7:4

A. SUFFICIENT FOR MINISTRY - 2:14-3:6

1. The Aroma of Christ Spread - 2:14-17

2. A Living Letter of Recommendation Sent - 3:1-3

3. A Personal Reference Provided - 3:4-6

B. SUPERIOR TO THE OLD COVENANT - 3:7-18

1. Glory Unsurpassed 3:7-11

2. Glory Unobstructed 3:12-18

C. TENACIOUS DESPITE SHORTCOMINGS - 4:1-5:10

1. Christ Preached Plainly - 4:1-6

2. Hardships Overcome because of Jesus' Death - 4:7-12

3. Increasing Multitudes Brought to Life - 4:13-15

4. Driven by Unseen, Eternal Reward - 4:16-18

5. Confident in Eternal Home - 5:1-10

a) Permanent Home Guaranteed - 5:1-5

b) Pleasing the Lord Prioritizes Life - 5:6-10

D. PREACHING RECONCILIATION THROUGH CHRIST - 5:11-6:2

1. Motivated by Christ's Love - 5:11-15

2. Christ's Message of Reconciliation Delivered - 5:16-6:2

E. HARDSHIPS IN MINISTRY - 6:3-10

F. AN APPEAL FOR OPENNESS AND RECONCILIATION - 6:11-7:4

1. Paul's Heart Opened - 6:11-13

2. Holiness Demanded - 6:14-7:1

3. Paul's Trust Expressed - 7:2-4

V. ENCOURAGING NEWS: RELATIONSHIP FULLY RESTORED - 7:5-16

A. TITUS REPORTS LOVE FOR PAUL - 7:5-7

B. TRUE REPENTANCE DEMONSTRATES INNOCENCE - 7:8-13a

C. TITUS EXPRESSED DEEP AFFECTION - 7:13b-16

VI. PREPARATION FOR THE COLLECTION - 8:1-9:15

A. INCENTIVES TOWARD GENEROSITY - 8:1-15

1. Excel Like the Macedonians - 8:1-7

2. Give Like Christ - 8:8-9

3. Complete Your Offering - 8:10-12

4. Achieve Equity - 8:13-15

B. TITUS PLUS TWO OTHERS SENT TO CORINTH TO HELP - 8:16-9:5

1. Criticism to Be Thwarted - 8:16-21

2. Measure Up to Expectations - 8:22-24

3. Follow Through on What Was Begun - 9:1-5

C. MORE INCENTIVE TO BE GENEROUS - 9:6-15

1. God Will Be Generous - 9:6-11

2. God Will Be Praised - 9:12-15

VII. FINAL DEFENSE OF MINISTRY - 10:1-13:10

A. LAUNCH OF A MASSIVE COUNTERATTACK - 10:1-18

1. Powerful Weapons Employed - 10:1-6

2. Forceful Personal Presence Warned - 10:7-10

3. God's Expansion of the Gospel Boasted - 10:12-18

B. COMPARISON TO FALSE APOSTLES MADE - 11:1-15

1. True Message of Jesus Preached - 11:1-6

2. No Money Accepted - 11:7-12

3. The False Apostles Serve Satan - 11:13-15

C. BOASTING AS A "FOOL" - 11:16-33

1. Rationale Provided - 11:16-21a

2. Ancestry and Hardships Listed - 11:21b-29

3. Weakness Boasted - 11:30-33

D. MORE BOASTING - 12:1-10

1. A Vision Divulged - 12:1-6

2. An Irremovable Thorn Remains - 12:7-10

E. "BOASTING" RETROSPECTIVE - 12:11-13

F. PREPARATION FOR THE THIRD VISIT - 12:14-13:10

1. No Exploitation Tactics Employed - 12:14-18

2. More Trouble Feared - 12:19-21

3. Harsh Treatment for Sinners Warned - 13:1-4

4. Faith-testing Evidences Paul's Strength - 13:5-10

VIII. CLOSING REMARKS - 13:11-14

-College Press New Testament Commentary: with the NIV