5:11 Respect for the Lord since He would be his judge (v. 10) motivated Paul to carry out his work of persuading people to believe the gospel. A healthy sense of our accountability to God should move us to fulfill our calling as Christians (Matt. 28:19-20).
"According to II Cor. 5:11, the judgment seat is the place where the terror of the Lord' will be manifested. The word terror' in this verse is a translation of the Greek word phobos, referring to that which causes fear,' terror,' apprehension.' This is the same word translated fearful' in Heb. 10:31 . . . another reference to events at the judgment seat."177
Paul had a double purpose. The NEB translates "we persuade men"as "we address our appeal to men."Paul tried to persuade people of the truth of the gospel but also of the truth about himself. His motives were pure (1:12), and his conduct had been consistent with his apostleship (cf. 3:1-6; 4:1-6). Paul's knowledge that his life was an open book to God led him to voice the hope that it would be transparent to all the Corinthians too.
"The ministry is ultimately responsible to God. Christian ministers are servants of the Lord (1 Cor. 3:5), attendants of Christ and stewards of God (1 Cor. 4:1); they discharge their ministry in the sight of God' (2 Cor. 4:2; cf. 1 Cor. 4:5) as knowing the fear of the Lord' (2 Cor. 5:11)."178
5:12 Paul insisted that he had bared his soul to the readers in the previous verses not to boast (cf. 3:1). He had written what he had to give his allies in Corinth ammunition to combat his critics whose judgments were wrong. He was simply reminding his original readers of things they should have remembered. The external appearances that Paul's critics admired included physical relationship to Jesus during His earthly ministry (5:16), their Jewish orthodoxy (11:22), and their visions and revelations (12:1-7). The heart reality that Paul considered more important was the testimony of his clear conscience before God and people.
"His anomalous position as an apostle who was called directly by Christ and who did not belong to the college of the twelve disciples meant that he had no option but to appeal to that call. But this laid him open to the accusation that he was self-commended. In consequence, whenever he affirms his ministry--in this case that he evangelizes (we persuade men')--he must disclaim self-commendation (see on 3:1 and 6:4). Nonetheless, his ministry did commend him, as the Corinthians should have recognized (12:11; cf. 4:2, 10:18)."179
5:13 All of Paul's ministries to and for the Corinthians had been for God's glory and their welfare.
What Paul meant by the charge of being beside himself, and its opposite, being of sound mind, could and probably does include all the following possibilities. Some critics apparently attacked him for his teaching that differed from mainstream Judaism, his ecstatic experiences, and his ceaseless service. To this his response was, "That is for God to judge"(cf. vv. 9-11). Other critics may have thought him crazy for speaking in tongues and having visions (cf. Acts 22:17-21). For Paul, that was a matter between him and God (cf. 1 Cor. 14:2). Occasionally Paul may have appeared carried away with his emotions, but that conduct only resulted in God's glory. His self-commendation may have looked like lunacy to some in Corinth, but Paul was only defending God's cause. To the Jews the apostle's conversion marked him as a madman, but that change of mind was a totally rational decision.180Jesus' critics had misjudged Him too.
5:14-15 The primary reason Paul could not live for himself, however, was God's love for him (probably a subjective genative181) that extended to Jesus Christ's dying on the cross. Jesus provided the example that all His disciples must follow. He gave His life for others. Yet Jesus' death was much more than an example. Paul had come to appreciate the widespread effects of that death (as being "for all") and the essence of that death (as a substitute).
"Paul is not suggesting that, irrespective of their response and attitude, all men know forgiveness of sins or experience selfless living. There is universalism in the scope of redemption, since no man is excluded from God's offer of salvation; but there is a particularity in the application of redemption, since not all men appropriate the benefits afforded by this universally offered salvation."182
The apostle had also become aware that such love merited complete devotion (i.e., making the fulfillment of God's desires rather than selfish desires the goal of life). We "all died"(v. 15) in the sense that all believers died in the person of their representative, Jesus Christ.183
". . . Christ's death was the death of all, in the sense that He died the death they should have died; the penalty of their sins was borne by Him; He died in their place . . ."184
". . . One died on behalf of all (not only, for the benefitof all . . . but instead ofall . . ."185
Moreover as Jesus died to His own desires and rose to continue serving us, so we should die to our own selfish interests and live to serve others. Paul himself modelled what he observed in Jesus' experience and called on his readers to duplicate His example.
"Thus there emerge from v. 11 and v. 14 two motives for apostolic evangelism, the fear of the Lord' and the love of Christ.' . . . The one relates to Jesus' role as Judge, the other to his role as Savior."186
In this section Paul identified two motives for Christian service: an awareness of our accountability to God (v. 11) and the example of Jesus Christ (v. 14). Jesus is both our Judge and our Savior, and His two roles should have an impact on how we live.
