SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS.

PART THIRD.

10:1-13:14.

PAUL MEASURES OR COMPARES HIMSELF
WITH HIS CHIEF OPPOSERS OR
OTHER DETRACTORS.

I.

FOES, WEAPONS AND MEASUREMENTS.

10:1-18.

      [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.] 1 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: 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 [220] 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.] 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh 4 (for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds); 5 casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ; 6 and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be made full. [For though we are indeed human, we do not contend after a human or worldly fashion (for our weapons are not slander, detraction, misrepresentation, etc., which are the methods employed by the world in overcoming opponents, but we use divine powers in our conflicts (1 Cor. 4:19-21; 5:5), powers which are mighty in the sight of God to tear down defenses), and which can cast down all false human reasonings, sophistries and vain deductions, and every like thing which men presumptuously rear in opposition to the word of God, and which can bring every rebellious thought into captivity, so that it shall obey Christ. With this power, therefore, I am ready to come to punish all the disobedient; but I pause that all who desire to repent may do so, and after the number of the obedient is made full I will punish the rebellious remnant that remain. In verse 4 Paul evidently alludes to the crow, a large military engine with a great claw to it, which was used to pull down the walls of castles, forts and other strongholds. Stanley thinks that Paul has in mind in this passage certain military operations which occurred in Cilicia, the province in which he was born. In [221] the hills and mountains of that locality, certain bands of pirates and robbers entrenched themselves, and for awhile withstood the Roman arms. Cicero made some headway in suppressing them, and on his return was honored with a Roman triumph, but the final victory was achieved by Pompey the generation before Paul was born. Pompey made great use of the crow, for he pulled down one hundred and twenty fortresses. But the crow was then in as general use as the cannon is now, and a writer would hardly be thought to refer to Gettysburg if he happened to use cannonading as a figure of speech. However, Pompey's campaign is a useful bit of history, for it shows us how forceful the figure was which Paul employed.] 7 Ye look at the things that are before your face. If any man trusteth in himself that he is Christ's, let him consider this again with himself, that, even as he is Christ's, so also are we. [You false teachers who oppose me view things very shallowly and superficially, for ye deem yourselves to be Christ's because ye came from Judæa, or perhaps have seen him, or been present with him during a large part of his ministry (Acts 1:21, 22); and ye make bold to reject us as his because we seem to have been denied these privileges, failing to notice that our claims to be the Lord's are (at the least!) equal to yours. If they were apostles merely because they had seen the Lord, so also was Paul, and in addition he had, what they did not, a direct, official appointment from Christ (Acts 9:15), a recognition from the twelve (Acts 15:25) and a compact or arrangement with them regarding the division of their work--Gal. 2:9.] 8 For though I should glory somewhat abundantly concerning our authority (which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for casting you down), I shall not be put to shame: 9 that I may not seem as if I would terrify you by my letters. 10 For, His letters, they say [a general expression, equivalent to "it is said"], are weighty and strong; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account. [Now even if I boast most freely that my authority is greater than yours, my boasting will not bring shame upon me if you [222] put me to the test. You will find that I am not terrible in letters alone, but also in my presence, and you will find how falsely you have spoken when you said that my letters were the only part of me calculated to cause fear. However, I shall regret to thus demonstrate my power against you, for God gave me this power to use rather in building you up than in tearing you down. The apostle thus draws a subtle contrast between himself and his adversaries, for they had delighted in destructive rather than constructive works.] 11 Let such a one reckon this, that, what we are in word by letters when we are absent, such are we also in deed when we are present. 12 For we are not bold to number or compare ourselves with certain of them that commend themselves: but they themselves, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding. [Let all who thus accuse me of cowardice know assuredly that when I come my deeds will comport with the threatenings and warnings in my letters. I have in no way exaggerated my authority or power in my writing to you, for in this art of exaggerated self-praise or self-commendation I am not the equal of the false leaders in Corinth. In this art I am not so proficient that I can presume to measure myself with these Corinthian experts, for they, never looking outside their own narrow circle, but comparing themselves with each other, have swelled with an inflated sense of self-importance which would have long since been punctured so that it would have collapsed if they had brought themselves into comparison with the real apostles. Real worth can never speak so highly of itself as can conceited and unreasoning vanity. Those who compare themselves with Christ lose that self-exaltation which belongs to those who compare themselves only with men, hence they are too handicapped to enter into competition with any such in the matter of boasting.] 13 But we will not glory beyond our measure, but according to the measure of the province which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even unto you. [Paul got no false idea of his own stature by measuring himself with other men; [223] but as the most apt measure for the point to be determined, viz.: his stature or capacity as a minister of the gospel, he chose the province or territory which God had assigned him as his field of operation. Though the whole world was his bishopric (Gal. 2:7-9), yet he contents himself with saying it included Corinth. In the eyes of his opponents Corinth was the sum and center of all things, but in the larger life of Paul it was a mere dot in a limitless field of operations. See 11:28.] 14 For we stretch not ourselves overmuch, as though we reached not unto you: for we came even as far as unto you in the gospel of Christ: 15 not glorying beyond our measure, that is, in other men's labors; but having hope that, as your faith groweth, we shall be magnified in you according to our province unto further abundance, 16 so as to preach the gospel even unto the parts beyond you, and not to glory in another's province in regard of things ready to our hand. [Though God gave us so vast a bishopric, we indeed filled so much of it as to reach you. We were not so much smaller than this bishopric which God gave to us, that we had to stretch ourselves to cover it. To make a show of covering our territory we did not need to take possession of other men's labors and claim the fruits of their ministry, as though they wrought as our agents. If we had done this, we would indeed be glorying beyond our measure. But thus far (i. e., as far as unto you) we have covered the province assigned to us and we have hope that as your faith groweth, and ye become subject to Christ through being subject to his true ministers, we ourselves shall grow and be magnified so that we shall more nearly attain to the magnitude of our great province. At present your vacillation and infidelity confine our labors to you. Having taken you as a fortress for Christ, we can not leave you assailed by Satan and half surrendered to him. When you are again established in the faith I expect to go on into Italy and into Spain, and do work in those parts of my province which lie far beyond you. It is no part of my plan or intention to take possession of some other man's labor and glory in it, as you false leaders have done by [224] coming to Corinth and taking possession of the church which I left there ready to your hand.] 17 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. [Paul here gives the rule of boasting as condensed from Jer. 9:23, 24. Paul's enemies had not observed this rule; he had. In verse 5 he ascribed all his power to God, and in verse 13 he shows that, vast as his work was, it was far less than God demanded of him.] 18 For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. [The self-commendation of a man rests on no higher evidence than the testimony of his own lips, but the commendation of God is shown by the works which he enables those to do whom he approves.]

II.

APOLOGY FOR SELF-COMMENDATION, DENIAL
OF CHARGES AND LAYING OF
COUNTER CHARGES.

11:1-15.

      [While this third part of Paul's epistle is directed against his enemies, it is obvious that even these are, in his estimation, divided into two classes; i. e., the leaders and the led. The apostle does not always keep these separate in his mind, yet we frequently find him, as in this section, appealing to those who were led, and denouncing those who led them.] 1 Would that ye could bear with me in a little foolishness: but indeed ye do bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy: for I espoused you to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his craftiness, your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity and the purity that is toward Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or if ye receive a different spirit, which ye did not receive, or a different gospel, which ye did not accept, ye do well to [225] bear with him. [These first four verses are introductory. The apostle, seeing the effect which the self-glorification of these false teachers has had upon certain of the Corinthians, determines, for a time, to adopt their tactics, descend to the foolishness of boasting, and thus overcome them on their own ground. Paul, in his consecration to Christ and forgetfulness of self, could not thus descend to the level of boasting, even though he merely related facts, without a sense of shame and a petition for consideration. When he considers the folly of the situation, it seems to him that the Corinthians could not put up with it, but when he remembers their affection for him, he is sure they will. He tells them that nothing but the strongest motives could induce him to thus belittle himself, but he found such a motive in his extreme jealousy for them on Christ's behalf. As the paranymph, or "bridegroom's friend" (John 3:29), the one whose office it was to procure and arrange the marriage, he had espoused them to one husband, even Christ, and had so instructed and led them as to present them pure and spotless before the Lord at his coming. But now he feared that as the serpent led Eve into sin by his crafty wickedness, so these false teachers were corrupting the church at Corinth from that simplicity of doctrine and purity of life which they owed to Christ, their espoused husband. Now, if these false teachers (and Paul speaks of one of them as a sample of them all) had come professing to preach another Jesus and another religious spirit, and a different gospel from any that Paul preached, there might have been sonic excuse in giving them a patient hearing. But such had not been the case. Professedly they were preaching the same Jesus, etc., that he did, and so the Corinthians were without excuse in permitting them to assail Paul. They had sold their apostle and had received nothing in exchange for him. With the next verse his boasting begins, but in a very mild and apologetic form.] 5 For I reckon that I am not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles. [I can not think that you receive these rival teachers and professed apostles as so much superior to me, for I am not behind these super-apostolic apostles. Paul is not [226] here comparing himself with the twelve, but with these spurious apostles at Corinth. Paul reveals his emotion by the use of that strange word which is translated "very chiefest." It means "out-and-out," "extra-super," "overmuch," a term he would have never applied to the twelve. It is as though he said, Though these men claim to be apostles a hundred times over, yet I can certainly take my place in the front ranks with them.] 6 But though I be rude in speech, yet am I not in knowledge; nay, in every way have we made this manifest unto you in all things. [Paul admits that one criticism of him was true. He did indeed pay little regard to the laws of rhetoric, and scorned to weaken his thought by loading it with verbal ornament or the studied expressions which the schools regarded as eloquence. But though he was thus rude in speech, a very unimportant matter, he was not deficient in the all-important sphere of knowledge. The Corinthians had had every opportunity to test him in this particular, and he felt that the truth of his statement must be so manifest to them as to need no further proof.] 7 Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I preached to you the gospel of God for nought? [A second accusation which his enemies never wearied in presenting was that he had preached the gospel in Corinth without charge. They had said that he did this because he knew that he was not an apostle, and so was hindered by his conscience from taking the wages of an apostle--see 1 Cor. 9:1-15 and notes. As Paul has already refuted this charge, he does not repeat the refutation; he merely asks them if he had committed a sin in so doing.] 8 I robbed other churches [Paul again shows his emotion by the indignant hyperbole "robbed"], taking wages of them that I might minister unto you; 9 and when I was present with you and was in want, I was not a burden on any man; for the brethren [i. e., Silas and Timothy, Acts 18:5], when they came from Macedonia, supplied the measure of my want; and in everything I kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself. [227] [Here the apostle relates the well-known history of his ministry at Corinth. The church at Philippi is the only one which we know of that contributed to his needs while in Corinth (Phil. 4:15, 16). When his necessities had reached a crisis and he had come to want, he had not appealed to the Corinthians, but had endured until relieved by the coming of his friends from Macedonia. His enemies had slandered him as to this, hoping to drive him to receive wages that they might reduce his influence in this respect to the level of their own; but in this hope they would be disappointed, for he would continue to preach without compensation as he always had done.] 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this glorying in the regions of Achaia. 11 Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth. 12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them that desire an occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we. [The apostle is determined that whatever he may do elsewhere he will receive no compensation for any preaching in Achaia. Knowing that they would wish to know why he thus made an exception in their case, he raises the question himself, but does not answer it, because to do so frankly would have been to show the deficiencies of their entire character and nature. But that he does not thus except them because of any lack of love, is shown by his appeal to God, who knew his heart. Compare 6:11-13; 7:2; 12:15. One motive for his conduct he will tell them, and that is that he may silence the tongues of those who seek an opportunity to detract him. Here the language of the apostle grows bitterly sarcastic. The false teachers had received wages from the beginning, yet he speaks of them as if they gloried in preaching the gospel for nothing and declares that he will do likewise that they may be found no better than he. In the next three verses Paul speaks with the most unreserved plainness, and, as Bengel observes, "calls a spade a spade."] 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ. [Thus he declares plainly that these men are not apostles, that they maintained their false [228] position by imposture, and that they assumed the name and office of apostles, though never having been called to be such by Christ.] 14 And no marvel; for even Satan fashioneth himself into an angel of light. 15 It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works. [The apostle says that no one need stand aghast at such awful presumption, for Satan himself sets an example in this respect and his ministers may be expected to follow it. Some think that Satan fashioned himself as an angel of light when he appeared before God as narrated in the Book of Job; others, that he did so when he appeared before Jesus to tempt him. It is not clear to what incident in the life of Satan Paul refers. In this age, as in all ages, these warning words of the apostle should be weighed and considered. As Jesus bade us beware of wolves in sheep's clothing, so Paul bids us beware of the emissaries of Satan, who come claiming to be leaders in religion. The servants of Satan do not hesitate to hold ecclesiastical offices, or occupy pulpits.

III.

A COMPARISON OF LABOR, SIGNS, ETC.

11:16-12:13

      [In this section the apostle draws a comparison between himself and the false apostles, showing how he excelled them in labors, revelations, signs, etc.] 16 I say again [having twice swerved from the distasteful task, Paul unwillingly resumes his apparent boasting], Let no man think me foolish; but if ye do, yet as foolish receive me, that I also may glory a little. 17 That which I speak, I speak not after the Lord, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of glorying. [Let no man think that I am foolish enough to boast wittingly of my own accord, but if any one does so think, let him, nevertheless, bear with me a little while in my boasting, since my adversaries have made it the order of [229] the day. I am painfully conscious that the Spirit of God does not prompt to boasting, but I do so on my own responsibility, or according to my own confident folly, my so doing having been made a permissible necessity by your behavior toward me.] 18 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. [I am about to follow the carnal example of the boasters, that I may defeat them with their own weapon.] 19 For ye bear with the foolish gladly, being wise yourselves. 20 For ye bear with a man, if he bringeth you into bondage, if he devoureth you, if he taketh you captive, if he exalteth himself, if he smiteth you on the face. 21 I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had been weak. Yet whereinsoever any is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also. [You encourage me to talk foolishly, for it pleaseth you to indulge fools that ye may thereby flatter yourselves with a show of superiority, and by your recent conduct toward these, my rivals in boasting, you have shown to what lengths of patient endurance you will go in this matter, for you have permitted them to bring you into bondage to their authority and their false doctrine, to impoverish you by exorbitant exactions of wages, to treat you as their captives, and to exalt themselves over you as though they were your conquerors, and even to smite you as though you had become their slaves. If you bore with such strenuous boastfulness, you can bear with me in my weak foolishness. But I have indeed disparaged myself when I talked about my meekness, as I will now show you, for if any ever addressed bold words to you, you are now about to hear such from me also. And yet my words will all be foolishness, for all the things whereof I boast are really worthless as commendations to you in comparison with my being called of Christ as his apostle. The apostle speaks of the whole class of false apostles as if they were a single individual. Thus, after many preliminary apologies and explanations, Paul comes at last to his boast, not of his exploits or talents, as one Fight expect, but of his sufferings and humiliations, revelations and self-sacrifices.] 22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? [230] so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. [This verse shows clearly that Paul's enemies were Judaizing Jews. They had evidently boasted of their race, nationality, etc., to the disparagement of Paul. They probably urged that Paul was greatly inferior to them because he was born at Tarsus, was a Roman citizen, lived much like a Gentile, and did not abjectly obey the Jewish law. By their whisperings they no doubt laid the foundation for that calumny which was long after found formed against him; for "it would appear from Epiphanius," says Stanley, "that Judaizers went so far as to assert that he was altogether a Gentile by birth, and only adopted circumcision in order to marry the high priest's daughter." In answer to this rising cloud of slander, Paul asserts his racial, national, etc., equality with his enemies. He was a Hebrew, he belonged to the sacred nation and spoke the sacred language (Acts 22:2); and an Israelite, he belonged to the theocracy, and being of the seed of Abraham, he was by birth an heir to the promises, and was not a proselyte nor descended from one.] 23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly [1 Cor. 15:10], in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft. [1 Cor. 15:31. On Jewish grounds Paul claimed equality, but as a minister of Christ, superiority. Knowing that his enemies would say that it accorded with his general insanity to thus assert his superiority, he ironically admits his madness in thus asserting that his ministerial labors exceeded those of his easy-living adversaries--theirs being in fact no labor at all, but rather an effort to steal the credit of his labors. This verse gives the general bodily distresses endured, while the next three tell of special cases. According to Acts, Paul had, up to this date, been imprisoned but once, and was afterwards imprisoned thrice. Clement of Rome, who wrote toward the close of the first century, says that Paul was imprisoned seven times. Paul's life for long periods was hourly exposed to death (Acts 9:23; 13:50; 14:5, 6, 19; 17:5, 13); but the best comment on this expression is the catalogue of sufferings which follow.] 24 Of the Jews five times [231] received I forty stripes save one. [Deut. 25:2. The law limited all beatings to forty stripes; but one stripe was omitted lest the law should be accidentally broken through careless counting. Such a scourging inflicted the agony of death, and generally resulted in it. Not one of these scourgings is mentioned in Acts.] 25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day have I been in the deep [The Romans punished by using the vine rods of the soldiers or the fasces of the lictors, and no law limited the number of strokes. Such beatings often caused death. Roman citizenship was presumed to protect from such punishment, but in his orations Cicero tells us that in the provinces the rights of citizenship were often set at nought in this respect. Luke tells of but one of these beatings (Acts 26:22). The stoning took place at Lystra (Acts 14:19). Luke tells in all six sea voyages, but says nothing of the wreckings here mentioned. In referring to the twenty-four-hour struggle for life amidst the waves, Paul uses the present tense, showing that the horror of his situation was still vividly remembered]: 26 in journeyings often, in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers, in perils from my countrymen, in perils from the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren [Disasters at sea remind Paul of similar trials by land, and the eightfold reiteration of "perils" emphasizes the fact that he was nowhere safe. Traveling in those days was both arduous and dangerous. The highways were infested with robbers and the streams were often without bridges, the mountain torrents were sudden and violent in their risings, and the science of navigation and the art of shipbuilding were each extremely crude. For perils from his own countrymen, see Acts 13:45, 50; 14:2, 5; 17:5, 13; 18:15; 19:9; 21:27. They even attempted to take his life a few weeks later as he was leaving Jerusalem (Acts 23). For perils from the Gentiles, see Acts 19:30, 31. For his perils in the cities, see verse 32 and Acts 9:24, 25, 29; 13:50; 14:5, 19; 16:19; 17:5, 13; 18:12; 19:23. Perils from false brethren [232] were the most distressing of all, for they wounded the affections--Phil. 3:18; Gal. 2:4]; 27 in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. [The apostle here tells how he labored until labor became a pain; how he sacrificed his sleep that he might teach, preach and pray (Acts 20:31; 1 Thess. 3:10); how his journeyings often took him where he suffered for water and was faint with hunger; how he often fasted for the good of the cause (Acts 13:2, 3; 14:23; 1 Cor. 9:27); and how he was cold and insufficiently clad. The apostle makes no mention of the frequency of his hunger and thirst, etc., for the recurrency of these trials was beyond his control. He employs the word "often" when speaking of the watchings and fastings which were directly under his control, and which he might have avoided had he chosen to do so. Surely this catalogue of privations must have made the apostle's character stand in strong contrast to the self-indulgent spirit of his adversaries. From physical trials Paul now turns to those which were mental.] 28 Besides those things that are without, there is that which presseth upon me daily, anxiety for all the churches. [Besides the things which I have already mentioned--trials which come from external circumstances--there are others which attack me daily; I mean the wranglings, disputes, backslidings and apostasies of all the churches which are constantly brought to my attention that I may instruct, arbitrate or discipline according as the cases may demand. This verse may also be taken to mean that there were trials other than those mentioned, which came upon Paul from without.] 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is caused to stumble, and I burn not? [In this verse Paul shows what the care of the churches meant to him. It was an excessive drain upon his sympathies. If any weak one suffered through the rash selfishness of a brother who abused his liberty by eating in an idol temple, Paul suffered with him as if he also were weak, and if any were caused to stumble, Paul made the case of such a one his own, and burned with indignation.] 30 If I must needs [233] glory, I will glory of the things that concern my weakness. [If my enemies force upon me the moral necessity of boasting, I will at least not boast of my exploits, but of those things which others might regard as matters of shame. Thus the apostle shows how impossible it was for him to really boast after the fashion of a worldly mind.] 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed for evermore knoweth that I lie not. [This solemn asseveration is not to be restricted to the statements contained in the next two verses, but applies to all he has said or is about to say in this entire section. No doubt in the apostle's own mind it was called forth by what he was about to say concerning his revelations, his mind looking forward to what he intended to say when he added the last item to his catalogue of sufferings.] 32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes in order to take me: 33 and through a window was I let down in a basket by the wall, and escaped his hands. [In the walled cities of the Orient, houses were often built against the walls so that the windows projected over them. No doubt in Paul's mind an apostle in a basket seemed the depth of humiliation. Aretas was king of Arabia from B. C. 7 to A. D. 40. Damascus belonged to Rome, and it has puzzled some to find it at this time under the control of the king of Arabia. But it will be remembered that Aretas engaged in war with Herod, because he dismissed the Arab's daughter and took his niece, Herodias, for a wife. Aretas defeated Herod, and the Romans took up the quarrel, and it seems likely that in the ensuing contest the city of Damascus fell, for a time, into the hands of the Arabians.]

      XII. 1 I must needs glory, though it is not expedient; but I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. [I feel constrained to go on with my boosting, though I recognize that it is not expedient for me to do so since it gives my enemies further material for detraction and vilification. Yet I will speak of the visions which the Lord gave me and the revelations which they brought me.] 2 I know a [234] man in Christ, fourteen years ago (whether in the body, I know not; or whether out of the body, I know not; God knoweth), such a one caught up even to the third heaven. 3 And I know such a man (whether in the body, or apart from the body, I know not; God knoweth); 4 how that he was caught up into Paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for man to utter. 5 On behalf of such a one will I glory: but on mine own behalf I will not glory, save in my weaknesses. [Here Paul speaks of an experience of his, but declines to name himself, or use the first person, lest he might be thought to be glorying in his own exaltation. He had been caught up into paradise, or the secret place of the Almighty. This he calls the third heaven, for in the Jewish estimation the air was the first heaven, the region of the sun, moon and stars was the second heaven. Somewhere beyond the stars was the abode of the Almighty. He was miraculously drawn up into heaven, but whether his whole personality went thither, or whether merely that part of him (his spiritual nature) which was suited to comprehend and enjoy heaven, he could not tell. While here he had heard words which it was not lawful for him to try to interpret by the insufficient and consequently misleading worth of earth. He tells this event, but it was an honor so much above his deserving that he avoids even such a method of telling it as might be construed to be boastful. If he gloried on his own behalf, it would still be in his weaknesses. As Paul wrote this epistle in A. D. 57, the deduction of fourteen years would bring us to A. D. 43, the season when Paul was in Antioch.] 6 For if I should desire to glory, I shall not be foolish; for I shall speak the truth: but I forbear, lest any man should account of me above that which he seeth me to be, or heareth from me. [Now, if I should desire to boast, I should not need to foolishly vaunt myself as to imaginary things, but I could confine myself to truth, and tell many wonderful experiences of visions exposed to my eyes and revelations imparted to my mind. But I forbear to proceed further, [235] lest any man should think of me as more excellent than my conduct or my speech would indicate. This I do not want. I desire no exaggerated reverence, but seek only that goodwill and esteem which my conduct merits.] 7 And by reason of the exceeding greatness of the revelations, that I should not be exalted overmuch, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, that I should not be exalted overmuch. [From the earliest ages down men have indulged in wild speculation as to what Paul meant by his thorn in the flesh. See comment on 1:10. The most plausible theory is that it was disfiguring and acute ophthalmia. Suffice it to say that it was some bodily infirmity which acted as a balance to Paul's mind, drawing his thoughts and attention to his earthly state, lest they should dwell too constantly in meditation upon the things which had been revealed to him.] 8 Concerning this thing I besought the Lord thrice [Matt. 26:44], that it might depart from me. 9 And he hath said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my power is made perfect in weakness. [Phil. 4:13; 1 Cor. 2:3-5.] Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. [The prayer was not granted, but a compensation was made for denying it. How evident it must have been to the Corinthians, from the sufferings he so cheerfully endured, that he was the true messenger of Christ! Paul's use of the phrase "rest upon me" suggests the resting of the Spirit on the apostles at Pentecost--Acts 2:3.] 10 Wherefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in injuries, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong. [God so orders it that the times of my weakness are the very hours when my strength is revealed, and thus each period of death is turned into a season of resurrection--4:10.] 11 I am become foolish: ye compelled me; for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing was I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I am nothing. [You, [236] who should have spoken in my defense and commendation, by keeping silence have compelled me to boast, and to show that, nobody as I am, I am at least equal to these overmuch apostles.] 12 Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, by signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For what is there wherein ye were made inferior to the rest of the churches, except it be that I myself was not a burden to you? forgive me this wrong. [And you are without excuse in thus compelling me to defend myself by proving my apostleship, for it was proved long since among you by the miracles which I wrought among you as signs and evidences of it (evidences which his enemies wholly lacked); and also by the patient spirit in which I wrought the miracles, for I have again and again forborne to use my power to crush my wicked opposers (1:1-3; 1 Cor. 4:21). And I so fully proved my apostleship among you, that you showed to no disadvantage whatever when compared with other churches founded by any others, for you had all the signs, gifts, graces, etc., which they had, unless it be that I myself did not aid my opposers in the good work of extorting wages from you--forgive me for thus wronging you! These last words, though ironical, are superbly dignified and pathetic. By his disinterested kindness to them, the apostle had favored them above all other churches--11:8.] [237]

IV.

THE THIRD VISIT. CONCLUSION.

12:14-13:14.

      14 Behold, this is the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be a burden to you: for I seek not yours, but you: for the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. [There has been much dispute as to whether Paul says that this is his third visit, or the third time he has intended to visit. Evidently it was to be his third visit. See 2:1; 12:21; 13:1, 2. [237] Knowing that if this letter moved them to repentance or shame, the Corinthians would wish him to accept some compensation for his services, and that if he did so his enemies would revive their slanders against him, and assert that his whole purpose in writing was to gratify his mercenary desires, Paul makes it easy to decline any such offer on their part by declining it now beforehand. He asserts that he will maintain himself without their support, as he has done on his two former visits, and lest they should resent this independence on his part, he declares that he is actuated thereto by an intense love for them--a love which seeks not their money for his benefit, but their souls for their own benefit. He affectionately, yet almost playfully, bases his conduct on that rule as to parents and children which, though it sometimes permits children to aid parents, obliges parents always to maintain children. He was their spiritual father (1 Cor. 4:14, 15), and he claims the obligations of his parental relation as if they were much-coveted rights. Thus, as throughout the epistle, the thunders of the apostle have quickly subsided into the tender accents of the parent.] 15 And I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more abundantly, am I loved the less? 16 But be it so, I did not myself burden you; but, being crafty, I caught you with guile. [And as a doting parent I will gladly spend all that I have and all that I am for your soul's sake. Gladly, as it were, will I break the earthen vessel that its contents may be lavishly poured out upon you (4:7; Mark 14:3). And can it be possible that you will be so unnatural as to love me less in proportion as I love you the more? "But," say my detractors, "you apparently did not burden us; we concede this to be so; but you caught us with guile, for you have levied contributions, ostensibly for the poor in Jerusalem, but really to reimburse yourself for the wages which you feel to be due you, and about which you have been so noisily boasting."] 17 Did I take advantage of you by any one of them whom I have sent unto you? 18 I exhorted Titus, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take any advantage of you? walked we [238] not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps? [Now let us look at the facts and see where I used such guile. My detractors admit that I myself took nothing: then I must have taken it through the agency of others. If so, by whom? Titus and the brother who accompanied him were the only agents I sent. Did Titus thus cheat you in my behalf? Did he not, on the contrary, show you the same inner spirit of self-sacrifice which I displayed? Did he not outwardly follow my plans, exhorting you not to give it to him, or send it to me, but to lay it up in your own treasury weekly as I directed? See 1 Cor. 16:1, 2. If Titus, as we have supposed, accompanied the messengers who bore Paul's first epistle to Corinth, he very naturally carried out the directions of that epistle. Who was then with him we do not know. Titus had not yet reached Corinth to undertake this work a second time as Paul directed (8:6, 16, 17). Paul's actions were ever free from guile or covetousness--1 Thess. 2:3-5.] 19 Ye think all this time that we are excusing ourselves unto you. In the sight of God speak we in Christ. But all things, beloved, are for your edifying. 20 For I fear, lest by any means, when I come, I should find you not such as I would, and should myself be found of you such as ye would not; lest by any means there should be strife [1 Cor. 6:7], jealousy [11:19, 22], wraths, factions [1 Cor. 1:11], backbitings, whisperings, swellings [1 Cor. 8:1, 2], tumults [disorders]; 21 lest again when I come my God should humble me before you, and I should mourn for many of them that have sinned heretofore, and repented not of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they committed. [Doubtless all the while you have been reading or listening to my words you have been thinking that you are sitting in judgment on my case, and that I have been making my defense before you, anxiously hoping for a favorable verdict. Be not deceived. We can never be judged by you, but are divinely appointed a judge over you (Matt. 19:28). My only object is to speak before God in Christ, that is, to [239] acquaint you with the truth as it appears in God's sight, that you may be instructed and not left in harmful ignorance. For I fear that even yet after all this instruction you may not profit by it, so that when I come I may find you not obedient as I would have you, and that I may be found of you not gentle as you would have me to be. For I expect to find among you the very sins which I have reproved in these epistles, and which were there when I last visited you (2:1). I will not spare you this time as I did then, but I shall exercise discipline, and therefore I fear that I shall mourn for many whom I shall be compelled to deliver over to Satan (1 Cor. 5:5), because they still impenitently persist in their unchaste sins despite all my reproof.]

      XIII. 1 This is the third time I am coming to you. At the mouth of two witnesses or three shall every word be established. [Deut. 19:15.] 2 I have said beforehand, and I do say beforehand, as when I was present the second time, so now, being absent, to them that have sinned heretofore, and to all the rest, that, if I come again, I will not spare [The apostle here declares that patience has reached its just limit. Twice he has been present and has forborne, but at the third coming he will handle them with rigorous discipline. He will not, however, proceed rashly, nor will he decide who is guilty by direct or immediate revelation, lest he be regarded as arrogating to himself the offices of both witness and judge. He will proceed by due legal form, and call witnesses, since they are to be had, and obviate the necessity of employing miraculous knowledge. Some argue from the context that Paul means to say that his three visits will be, as it were, three witnesses against them, or that his thrice-repeated threats are shown to be true by these repetitions. But such interpretations are fanciful. There may, however, be a parallelism in Paul's thought; thus: Let my three warnings, repeated at such long intervals, persuade you that my words will testify against me if I do not keep them by punishing you, for I have thrice said I would do this thing, viz.: when I first wrote, when I was present, and now, when [240] I am writing again, that I would do this thing]; 3 seeing that ye seek a proof of Christ that speaketh in me; who to you-ward is not weak, but is powerful in you: 4 for he was crucified through weakness, yet he liveth through the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him through the power of God toward you. [The apostle here gives the reason why he had so fully decided to discipline: they had tauntingly desired it. You ascribe, says he, weakness to the Christ who speaks in me, and strength to the Christ, who, according to their profession, speaks in these false apostles, and you would put me to the test. Their Christ, ye say, is the mighty Keeper of the Jewish law, while mine is the weak, crucified Christ. But you should remember that he has not been weak toward you, either in my ministry (12:12), or in miracles and judgments (6:7; 1 Cor. 2:4, 5; 11:30), or in the bestowal of gifts (1 Cor. 1:7), for, though he did indeed manifest through the weakness of our humanity a mortal life susceptible to death by crucifixion (Phil. 2:7, 8; 1 Cor. 1:23; Heb. 2:14); yet, per contra, through the power of God the Father working in him (Rom. 1:4; 6:4; Eph. 1:20), he overcome this weakness and lives again. And by virtue of our union with him, we follow the pattern of his life in our dealings with you; for you who have beheld our physical weakness, infirmities, gentle forbearance, etc. (10:10; 12:5, 9, 10), and have, as it were, put our influence and power to death among you, shall behold also in me the same divine power of God effecting a resurrection of us because of our union with Christ, that we may exercise our rightful authority over you. We should note the direct assertion of inspiration, and the willingness to have it tested contained in verse 3.] 5 Try your own selves, whether ye are in the faith; prove your own selves. Or know ye not as to your own selves, that Jesus Christ is in you? unless indeed ye be reprobate. 6 But I hope that ye shall know that we are not reprobate. [Ye who are so eager to put me to the test as to whether I am united with Christ, would exercise a truer wisdom if you tested your own selves to see whether you are [241] in possession of that faith which should unite you with Christ--yea, test your own selves and do not foolishly wait for me to apply the rigors of my testing. Ye seek to know whether Christ is in me, but the obvious, immediate way of testing this is to see if I have been able to impart Christ to you. Or have you indeed lost all consciousness of Christ being in you, using you as his temple? Compare John 15:4, 5; 1 John 3:24; Gal. 2:20; 4:19; Eph. 3:17; Col. 1:27. Surely you have this consciousness which is the conclusive test of my ministry (3:1-3; 1 Cor. 9:2), unless indeed ye are proved to be no Christians at all, by the application of this test. But I hope that by my testing when I come, the true authority of Christ in me may be vindicated, and that, testing me, you may find me approved by the testing. Reprobate means that which fails to stand the test (Jer. 6:30). It is evident to the casual observer that Paul uses the word in an entirely different sense from that horrible meaning read into it by Calvin.] 7 Now we pray to God that ye do no evil; not that we may appear approved, but that ye may do that which is honorable, though we be as reprobate. 8 For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth. [While hoping or expecting to be vindicated, his prayer is of a different sort. We pray, says he, that you may be kept from evil, and thus escape the discipline. We do not thus pray for the sake of approving ourselves by showing our power to restrain you from evil (and thus our approval would result from our prayer), but we thus pray because of our earnest desire for your righteousness. We would have you do that which is honorable, even though you thereby deprive us of the opportunity of vindicating ourself, so that we shall still be looked upon by you as untrustworthy, and not capable of enduring tests. Compare with the like unselfishness at Rom. 9:3. For our apostolic power is given to us to use, not against, but for, the truth. We are powerless against anything which is right and true. If ye, therefore, do the truth, you withdraw your demand for a test of us, and deprive us of this chance of vindicating ourselves by showing our power, and this we desire that you should do.] 9 For we rejoice, when [242] we are weak, and ye are strong: this we also pray for, even your perfecting. 10 For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not when present deal sharply, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for casting down. [Here Paul amplifies the thought of verses 7 and 8. If the Corinthians are only perfected in strength, if they are mighty in faith and righteousness, he is content to be looked upon as weak by them; and therefore to spare himself the pains of disciplining them at his coming, he has taken the milder method of doing so by letter. For it indeed pained him to use divine power in tearing down a Church, when that power was given him for the purpose of building up churches. In short, Paul was content that they should look upon him as no apostle it all, provided they could do so without any injury to themselves. He was zealous for his apostolic authority over them, because without his guiding power they would make shipwreck of the faith.] 11 Finally, brethren, farewell. [Literally, rejoice; a reverting to the purpose declared in 1:24. Compare Phil. 4:4.] Be perfected [Eph. 4:13; Matt. 5:48]; be comforted [1:6; 7:8-13; 1 Thess. 4:18]; be of the same mind [1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:2; 1 Pet. 3:8; Rom. 12:16, 18]; live in peace [Eph. 4:3]: and the God of love and peace shall be with you. 12 Salute one another with a holy kiss. [Rom. 16:16; 1 Cor. 16:20; 1 Pet. 5:14. See note on 1 Thess. 5:26.] 13 All the saints salute you. [That is, all the saints with me in Macedonia.] 14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. [This is the full apostolic benediction. It contains three blessings respectively derived from the three divine sources. It occurs nowhere else in the Scripture. Coming, as it does, after this, the most severe of letters, it reminds one that the greatest showers of blessing often follow the fiercest flashes of lightning and the mightiest reverberations of thunder. Thus closes Paul's second epistle to the church at Corinth. It evidently furthered the good work set in motion by the first epistle and by Titus; for when Paul a little later [243] wrote his letter to the Romans from Corinth, he was evidently in a calm and peaceful frame of mind. Also compare 10:15, 16 and notes, with Rom. 15:22-24. Moreover, the collection for Jerusalem was taken, and was apparently generous, for Paul accompanied them who bore it to Jerusalem. Compare 1 Cor. 16:4 and note, with Rom. 16:18; Acts 20:4.] [244]