The account of a remarkable vision granted to the apostle, vs. 1-6. The other evidences of his apostleship and his conduct and purposes in the exercise of his office, vs. 7-21.

PAUL’S REVELATIONS AND VISIONS.

He would give over boasting, and refer not to what he had done, but to what God had done; not to scenes in which he was the agent, but to those in which he was merely the subject — to revelations and visions. He had been caught up to the third heavens, and received communications and revelations which he was not permitted to make known. This was to him, and to all who believed his word, a more reliable evidence of the favor of God to him as an apostle than any thing he had yet mentioned, vs. 1-6.

With this extraordinary proof of the divine favor there was given him some painful bodily affection, from which he could not be delivered, in order to keep him duly humble, vs. 7-10. This reference to his personal experience was exceedingly painful to him. He had been forced by their unreasonable opposition to speak of himself as he had done; for the external signs of his apostleship should have convinced them that he was the immediate messenger of Christ, vs. 11, 12. They themselves were a standing proof that he was truly an apostle. They were not less richly endowed than other churches founded by other apostles. If inferior at all, it was only that he had refused to be supported by them. This he could not help. He was determined to pursue in the future the course in that matter which he had hitherto adopted; neither by himself nor by others, neither mediately nor immediately, would he receive any thing at their hands, vs. 13-18. All this self-vindication was of little account. It was a small matter what they thought of him. God is the only competent and final judge. His fear was that when he reached Corinth he would be forced to appear as a judge; that not finding them what he desired them to be, he should be obliged to assume the aspect of a reprover, vs. 19-21. 1. It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.

The authorities differ much as to the text in this verse. The common text has dh> (indeed, doubtless ) with few MSS. or versions in its support.

Many of the oldest MSS. read dei~ , it is necessary ; some few de> , which is adopted by Meyer as the original reading. The difference is only as to the shades of the thought. The idea is that boasting is not expedient; he will pass to something else, or at least to things which implied no agency or superior power on his part. Is not expedient. Here again some MSS. read with the common text, ouj sumfe>rei moi , ejleu>somai ga>r , (is not expedient for me, for I will come;) others with Lachmann, Tischendorf, and Ruckert, ouj sumfe>roi mesomai de>, (it is not expedient indeed, but I will come .) The common text is on the whole to be preferred.

Boasting, the apostle says, is not expedient for me , either in the sense that it does not become me, is not a seemly or proper thing; or, is not profitable; does not contribute to set my apostleship in a clear light. There is a better way of proving my divine mission than by boasting. The former explanation is better suited to the apostle’s mode of representation. He had repeatedly spoken of boasting as a kind of folly, something derogatory and painful. He expresses me same feeling here when he says it is not expedient. I will come . Our translators omit the ga>r , for I will come . The connection is with a thought omitted. Boasting is not expedient, (therefore I desist,) for I will pass to something else. What follows in the relation of the revelations made to him, was no self-laudation, but a recital of God’s goodness. Visions and revelations . The latter term is, on the one hand, more general than the former, as there might be revelations where there were no visions; and, on the other, the latter is higher than the former, as implying a disclosure of the import of the things seen. Of the Lord; not visions of which the Lord was the object; it was not seeing the Lord that he here speaks of, but visions and revelations of which the Lord is the author. By Lord is obviously to be understood Christ, whose continued existence and divine power over the thoughts and states of the soul is hereby recognized. 2. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven .

He speaks of himself in the third person, “I knew a man.” Why he does this is not clear. He narrates what had happened as though he had been a spectator of the scene, perhaps because his own activity was so completely in abeyance. A man in Christ ; a man who was in Christ; the scriptural designation of a Christian, because union with Christ makes a man a Christian. It is the one only indispensable condition of salvation; so that all who are in Christ are saved, and all who are out of Christ perish. It is also the plain doctrine of the Bible that, so far as adults are concerned, this saving union with Christ is conditioned, not on any thing external, not on union with this or that external church, but on a personal appropriating act of faith, by which we receive and rest on Christ alone for salvation.

And still further, it is no less clearly taught that holiness of heart and life is the certain fruit and therefore the only satisfactory evidence of the genuineness of that faith. Above fourteen years ago . The event referred to in this verse is not the same as that which occurred at the time of Paul’s conversion. That was a vision of Christ to the apostle here on earth, this was a translation of the apostle into heaven; that occurred twenty years before the probable date of this epistle. So that the two agree neither in nature, nor in the time of their occurrence. Whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell . The point as to which Paul was in doubt, was not the nature of the event, not as to whether it was a mere exaltation of his consciousness and perceptions or a real translation, but simply whether that translation was of the soul separated from the body, or of the body and soul together. Though heaven is a state, it is also a place. According to the scriptural representation, more is necessary to our introduction into heaven than merely opening the eyes to what is now about us and around us. The glorified body of our Lord is somewhere, and not every where. Such an one caught up; aJrpage>nta , carried away, the proper term to express a removal from one place to another without the agency of the subject. Paul was entirely passive in the translation of which he here speaks. Comp. Acts 8:39; 1 Thessalonians 4:17, “Caught up to meet the Lord in the air.” To the third heaven. This means either the highest heavens; or, on the assumption that Paul used the language and intended to conform to the ideas of the Rabbins who taught that there were seven heavens, it means the air, the region of the clouds. He was caught up into the air, and then still further raised to Paradise. The former explanation is to be preferred, 1. Because there is no evidence that the opinions of the Jewish writers, whose works are still extant, were prevalent at the time of the apostle. 2. Because there is no evidence in the New Testament that the sacred writers adopted those opinions. 3. Because if Paul believed and taught that there were seven heavens, that is, if he sanctioned the Rabbinical doctrine on that subject, it would be a part of Christian doctrine, which it is not. It is no part of the faith of the Christian church. 4. Because it is plain that the “third heaven” and “paradise” are synonymous terms; and paradise, as is admitted, at least by those who suppose that Paul here speaks as a Jew, means heaven. 3, 4. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) how that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter.

This is a repetition of v. 2, with the exception of the substitution of the word “paradise” for the phrase “the third heaven.” Paradise is a word of Sanscrit origin, and signifies a park, or garden. It is used in the Septuagint, Genesis 2:8, in the description of Eden, which was a paradise or garden.

The word was early used among the Jews as a designation of heaven, or the abode of the blessed after death, as appears from Luke 23:43, (compare Ecclesiasticus 40:17, 28.) In Revelation 2:7, it occurs in the same sense. And heard unspeakable words, a]rrhta rJh>mata literally, unspoken words; here obviously the meaning is words not to be spoken, as explained by what follows. Which it is not lawful for a man to utter. The communications made to the apostle he was not allowed to make known to others. The veil which conceals the mysteries and glories of heaven God has not permitted to be raised. It is enough that we know that in that world the saints shall be made perfectly holy and perfectly blessed in the full enjoyment of God forever. 5. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.

Of such a one, uJpetou , for such a one, i.e. in his behalf; or, uJpe>r being taken in the sense of peri> , about, or concerning. This latter gives the better sense. ‘Concerning such a person I will glory.’ This is equivalent to saying, ‘Such an event is a just ground of glorying.’ But toiou>tou is not to be taken as neuter, (of such a thing,) as is plain from the antithetical eJmautou~ . ‘Of such a one, but not of myself.’ The translation which he had experienced was a proper ground of boasting, because it was a gratuitous favor. It implied no superiority on the part of the subject of this act of divine goodness, and therefore might be gloried in without assuming any special merit to himself. Of myself I will not glory; that is, he would not boast of his personal qualities as entitling him to admiration. But (eij mh>, except) in my infirmities. That is, ‘I will boast concerning myself only of those things which prove or imply my own weakness.’ 6. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool for I will say the truth: but (now) I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me (to be), or (that) he heareth of me.

The connection as indicated by (ga>r ) for, is not immediately with what is expressed in the preceding verse, but with a thought obviously implied.

Paul had said he would not glory concerning himself. The reason for this determination was not the want of grounds of boasting. ‘I could do it, for if I chose to boast, I should not be a fool ; i.e. an empty boaster — for I would speak the truth.’ But I forbear (fei>domai de> sc. tou~ kauca~sqai ). Abundant as were the materials for boasting at the apostle’s command, justly as he could refer to the extraordinary gifts with which he was endowed, and the extraordinary success which had attended his labors, he did not dwell on these things. The reason which he assigns for this forbearance is that others might not be led to think of him too highly.

He did not wish to be judged of by what he said of himself or of his experiences. He preferred that men should judge of him by what they saw or heard. 7. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure .

As Paul determined not to give occasion to others to think too highly of him, he here tells us that God provided against his being unduly elated even in his own mind. It is a familiar matter of experience that men are as much exalted in their own estimation by the distinguishing favor of their superiors, as by the possession of personal advantages. Therefore, the apostle, although he would not boast of himself, was still in danger of being unduly elated by the extraordinary manifestations of the divine favor. The order of the words is inverted. “And by the excess of revelations lest I should be exalted above measure;” uJperai>rwmai , be lifted up above what is meet or right. The expression excess , or exceeding abundance, of revelations seems to refer not exclusively to the event above mentioned, but to other similar communications made to him at other times. That was not the only occasion on which God had unveiled to the apostle the treasures of divine knowledge. There was given to me , i.e. by God. It was God who sent the trial here referred to, and from God the apostle sought deliverance. A thorn in the flesh , sko>loy th|~ sarki> . The word sko>loy properly means a sharpened stake, a palisade, then any piece of sharpened wood, and specifically a thorn. This last is the meaning best suited to this passage, and is the one commonly adopted. Others say the meaning is, “a goad for the flesh,” borrowing a figure from oxen, metaphora a bobus sumpta, as Calvin says, others again understand skolo>y to refer to a stake on which offenders were impaled, or the cross on which they were suspended. A stake, or cross, for the flesh, would be a figurative expression for bodily torture. Flesh may be taken literally for the body, or figuratively for the corrupt nature. Calvin and many others take the latter view. But there is no reason for departing from the literal meaning, which should in all cases be preferred, other things being equal.

The dative sarki> may be rendered either, for the flesh, or pertaining to the flesh, i.e. in the flesh. This last is to be preferred, as it suits the context and is sustained by the parallel passage, Galatians 4:14, ton mou to mou . If this is the true interpretation of the word sa>rx , it goes far to determine the nature of the thorn of which the apostle here speaks. It cannot be the evil suggestions, or fiery darts of Satan, as Luther, Calvin, and others, understand it; nor some prominent adversary, as many of the ancients suppose; it was doubtless some painful bodily affection. A messenger of Satan . In the Bible the idea is often presented that bodily diseases are at times produced by the direct agency of Satan, so that they may be regarded as his messengers, something sent by him. The word Sata~n is used here probably as an indeclinable noun, as in the Septuagint in one or two places, but in the New Testament it is always, except in this instance, declined, nom. Satana~v , gen. Satana~ . On this account many are disposed to take the word here as in the nominative, and translate the phrase angel Satan , i.e. an angel (or messenger) who is Satan. But inasmuch as Sata~n is at times indeclinable, and as Satan is never in the New Testament called an angel, the great majority of commentators give the same exposition as that given in the English version. To buffet me , i[na me kolafi>zh| , in order that he (i.e. the angel or messenger) may buffet me . The use of the present tense seems to imply that “the thorn in the flesh” was a permanent affection under which the apostle continued to suffer. Lest I should be exalted above measure . This last clause expresses the design of God in permitting the apostle to be thus afflicted. He carried about with him a continued evidence of his weakness.

However much he was exalted although raised to the third heaven, he could not extract this rankling thorn. And the experience of God’s people shows that bodily pain has a special office to perform in the work of sanctification. In the unrenewed its tendency is to exasperate; when self-inflicted its tendency is to debase and fill the soul with groveling ideas of God and religion, and with low self-conceit. But when inflicted by God on his own children, it more than any thing teaches them their weakness and dependence, and calls upon them to submit when submission is most difficult. Though he slay me, I will trust in him, is the expression of the highest form of faith. 8, 9. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

For this thing, uJpetou , in reference to this; uJpe>r is here used in the sense of peri> . Tou>tou may be neuter, for this thing, i.e. this affliction; or masculine referring to a]ggelov , “about this angel or messenger of Satan,” etc. This is generally preferred on account of the following clause, i[na ajposth~| , that he might depart from me. I besought the Lord, says the apostle, thrice. So our blessed Lord prayed “the third time saying, Let this cup pass from me.” Paul was therefore importunate in his petition for deliverance from this sore trial. He says, I besought the Lord, that is, Christ, as is clear not only from the general usage of Scripture, but from what follows in v. 9, where he speaks of the “power of Christ.” And he said unto me, ei]rhke> moi . The perfect is used either for the aorist, or in its proper force connecting the past with the present. The answer was not simply something past, but something which continued in its consoling power. Winer, 41. “He has said;” the answer was ever sounding in the apostle’s ears, and not in his ears only, but in those of all his suffering people from that day to this. Each hears the Lord say, My grace is sufficient for thee, ajrkei~ soi hJ ca>riv mou . These words should be engraven on the palm of every believer’s hand. My grace, either, ‘my love,’ or metonymically, ‘the aid of the Holy Spirit,’ which is so often meant by the word grace. The connection is in favor of the common meaning of the term. ‘My love is enough for thee.’ These are the words of Christ. He says, to those who seek deliverance from pain and sorrow, ‘It is enough that I love you.’ This secures and implies all other good. His favor is life; his loving-kindness is better than life. For my strength is perfected in weakness. This is given as the reason why the grace or favor of Christ is all-sufficient. That reason is, that his strength is perfected, i.e. clearly revealed as accomplishing its end, in weakness. ‘Weakness, in other words, says our Lord, is the condition of my manifesting my strength. The weaker my people are, the more conspicuous is my strength in sustaining and delivering them.’ Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities. The sense is not, ‘I will glory in infirmities rather than in other things,’ as though Paul had written ma~llon ejn tai~v asqenei>aiv but, ‘I will rather glory in infirmities than seek deliverance.’ If Paul’s sufferings were to be the occasion of the manifestation of Christ’s glory, he rejoiced in suffering. This he did hJdi>sta , most sweetly, with an acquiescence delightful to himself. His sufferings thus became the source of the purest and highest pleasure. Kauca>omai ejn tai~v ajsqenei>aiv does not mean I glory in the midst of infirmities, but on account of them. See 5:12; 10:15; Romans 2:23, etc., etc. This rejoicing on account of his sufferings, or those things which implied his weakness and dependence, was not a fanatical feeling, it had a rational and sufficient basis, viz., that the power of Christ may rest upon me. The word is ejpiskhnw>sh| , may pitch its tent upon me; i.e. dwell in me as in a tent, as the shechinah dwelt of old in the tabernacle. To be made thus the dwelling-place of the power of Christ, where he reveals his glory, was a rational ground of rejoicing in those infirmities which were the condition of his presence and the occasion for the manifestation of his power. Most Christians are satisfied in trying to be resigned under suffering. They think it a great thing if they can bring themselves to submit to be the dwelling-place of Christ’s power. To rejoice in their afflictions because thereby Christ is glorified, is more than they aspire to. Paul’s experience was far above that standard. The power of Christ is not only thus manifested in the weakness of his people, but in the means which he employs for the accomplishment of his purposes.

These are in all cases in themselves utterly inadequate and disproportionate to the results to be obtained. The treasure is in earthly vessels that the excellency of the power may be of God. By the foolishness of preaching he saves those who believe. By twelve illiterate men the church was established and extended over the civilized world. By a few missionaries heathen lands are converted into Christian countries. So in all cases, the power of Christ is perfected in weakness. We have in this passage a clear exhibition of the religious life of the apostle, and the most convincing proof that he lived in communion with Christ as God. To him he looked as to his supreme, omnipresent, all-sufficient Lord for deliverance from “the thorn in the flesh,” from the buffetings of the messenger of Satan, under which he had so grievously suffered. To him he prayed. From him he received the answer to his prayer. That answer was the answer of God; it implies divine perfection in him who gave it. To what suffer would the favor of a creature be sufficient? Who but God can say, “My grace is sufficient for thee?” To Paul it was sufficient. It gave him perfect peace. It not only made him resigned under his afflictions, but enabled him to rejoice in them. That Christ should be glorified was to him an end for which any human being might feel it an honor to suffer. It is therefore most evident that the piety of the apostle, his inward spiritual life, had Christ for its object. It was on him his religious affections terminated; to him the homage of his supreme love, confidence and devotion was rendered. Christianity is not merely the religion which Christ taught; but it is, subjectively considered, the religion of which Christ is the source and the object. 10. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The difference between glorying in infirmities and taking pleasure in them, is that the former phrase expresses the outward manifestation of he feeling expressed by the latter. He gloried in infirmities when he boasted of them, that is, referred to them as things which reflected honor on him and were to him a source of joy. As they were thus the occasions of manifesting the power of Christ, Paul was pleased with them and was glad that he was subjected to them. Infirmities is a general term, including every thing in our condition, whether moral or physical, which is an evidence or manifestation of weakness. From the context it is plain that the reference is here to sufferings, of which reproaches, necessities, persecutions and distresses were different forms. For Christ’s sake . These words belong to all the preceding terms. It was in the sufferings, whether reproaches, necessities, persecutions or distresses, endured for Christ’s sake, that the apostle took pleasure. Not in suffering in itself considered, not in self-inflicted sufferings, nor in those which were the consequences of his own folly or evil dispositions, but in sufferings endured for Christ’s sake, or considered as the condition of the manifestation of his power. For when I am weak, then am I strong. When really weak in ourselves, and conscious of that weakness, we are in the state suited to the manifestation of the power of God. When emptied of ourselves we are filled with God.

Those who think they can change their own hearts, atone for their own sins, subdue the power of evil in their own souls or in the souls of others, who feel able to sustain themselves under affliction, God leaves to their own resources. But when they feel and acknowledge their weakness he communicates to them divine strength. 11. I am become a fool in glorying; ye have compelled me: for I ought to have been commended of you: for in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing . I am become a fool , etc. This some understand as ironically said, because the self-vindication contained in what precedes was not an act of folly, although it might be so regarded by Paul’s opposers. It is more natural, and more in keeping with the whole context, to understand the words as expressing the apostle’s own feelings. Self-laudation is folly. It was derogatory to the apostle’s dignity, and painful to his feelings, but he was forced to submit to it. And, therefore, in his case and under the circumstances, although humiliating, it was right. Ye have compelled me. It was their conduct which made it necessary for the apostle to commend himself. This is explained in the following clause. For I ought to have been commended of you. If they had done their duty in vindicating him from the aspersions of the false teachers, there would have been no necessity for him to vindicate himself. They were bound thus to vindicate him, for in nothing was he behind the very chiefest apostles. It is an imperative duty resting on all who have the opportunity to vindicate the righteous. For us to sit silent when aspersions are cast upon good men, or when their character and services are undervalued, is to make ourselves partakers of the guilt of detraction. The Corinthians were thus guilty under aggravating circumstances; because the evidences of Paul’s apostleship and of his fidelity were abundant. He came behind in no one respect the very chief of the apostles. Besides this they were not only the witnesses of the signs of his divine mission, but they were the recipients of the blessings of that mission. For them therefore to fail to vindicate his claims, and services was an ungrateful and cowardly dereliction of duty. By the chief of the apostles, still more clearly here than in 11:5, are to be understood the most prominent among the true apostles, as Peter, James, and John, who in Galatians 2:9 are called pillars. Neither here nor in 11:5 is it an ironical designation of the false teachers. Though I be nothing. The apostle felt that what was the effect of the grace, or free gift of God, was no ground of self-complacency or self-exaltation. 1 Corinthians 4:7; 15:8-10. There were therefore united in him a deep sense of his own unworthiness and impotence, with the conviction and consciousness of being full of knowledge, grace and power, by the indwelling of the Holy Ghost. 12. Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds.

This is the proof that he did not come behind the chief apostles. Truly; me>n , to which no de> answers. The opposition is plain from the connection. ‘The signs indeed of an apostle were wrought among you, but you did not acknowledge them.’ So Ruckert, De Wette, and others. The signs of an apostle were the insignia of the apostleship; those things which by divine appointment were made the evidence of a mission from God.

When these were present an obligation rested on all who witnessed them to acknowledge the authority of those who bore those insignia. When they were absent, it was, on the one hand, an act of sacrilege to claim the apostleship; and, on the other, an act of apostasy from God to admit its possession. To acknowledge the claims of those who said they were apostles and were not, was (and is) to turn from God to the creature, to receive as divine what was in fact human or Satanic. This is evidently Paul’s view of the matter, as appears from 11:13-15, where he speaks of those who were the ministers of Satan and yet claimed to be the apostles of Christ. Comp. Revelation 2:2. These signs of an apostle, as we learn from Scripture, were of different kinds. Some consisted in the manifestations of the inward gifts of the apostleship (i.e. of those gifts the possession of which constituted a man an apostle); such as plenary knowledge of the gospel derived by immediate revelation from Jesus Christ, Galatians 1:12; 1 Corinthians 15:3, inspiration, or that influence of the Holy Spirit which rendered its possessor infallible in the communication of the truth, 1 Corinthians 2:10-13; 12:8, in connection with 12:29 and 14:37. Others of these signs consisted in the external manifestations of God’s favor sanctioning the claim to the apostleship, Galatians 2:8. To this class belongs fidelity in teaching the truth, or conformity to the authenticated standard of faith, Galatians 1:8,9. Unless a man was thus kept faithful to the gospel, no matter what other evidence of being an apostle he might be able to adduce, he was to be regarded as accursed. Galatians 1:8. To this class also belong, success in preaching the gospel, 1 Corinthians 9:2; 2 Corinthians 3:2,3; the power of communicating the Holy Ghost by the imposition of hands, Acts 8:18; 19:6; the power of working miracles, as appears from the passage under consideration, from Romans 15:18,19, and many other passages, as Hebrews 2:4; Mark 14:20; Acts 5:12; 14:3; and a holy walk and conversation, 2 Corinthians 6:4. without these signs no man can be recognized and obeyed as an apostle without apostasy from God; without turning from the true apostles to those who are the ministers of Satan. In all patience , or constancy. This does not mean that the patient endurance of severe trials was one of the signs of his apostleship, but that those signs were wrought out under adverse circumstances requiring the exercise of the greatest constancy. In signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds . These are different designations for the same thing. Miracles are called signs in reference to their design, which is to confirm the divine mission of those who perform them; wonders because of the effect which they produced; and mighty deeds (duna>meiv ) because they are manifestations of divine power. 13. For what is it therein ye were inferior to other churches, except (it be) that I myself was not burdensome to you? forgive me this wrong . For . The connection indicated by this particle is with the assertion in v. 12. ‘I am not inferior to the chief apostles, for you are not behind other churches.’ The fact that the churches founded by Paul were as numerous, as well furnished with gifts and graces, as those founded by the other apostles, was a proof that he was their equal. In other words, as it is said Galatians 2:8, “He that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me towards the gentiles.”

Comp. 1 Corinthians 1:5-7. Were ye inferior to other churches , literally, less, or weaker than. The verb hJtta>omai (from h[ttwn , less ) has a comparative sense, and therefore is followed by uJpe>r , beyond ; ‘weak beyond other churches.’ The only distinction to the disadvantage of the Corinthians was, that the apostle had refused to accept aid from them.

This is not to be regarded as a sarcasm, or as a reproach. It was said in a tone of tenderness, as is plain from what follows. Forgive me this wrong.

It was, apparently, a reflection on the Corinthians; it seemed to imply a want of confidence in their liberality or love, that Paul refused to receive from them what he willingly received from other churches. In the preceding chapter he endeavored to convince them that his doing so was no proof of his want of affection to them, or of his want of confidence in their love to him. His conduct in this matter had other and sufficient reasons, reasons which constrained him to persist in this course of conduct, however painful to him and to them. 14. Behold, the third time I am ready to come to you; and I will not be burdensome 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.

The Acts of the Apostles mention but one visit of Paul to Corinth prior to the date of this epistle. From this passage, as well as from <470201> 2:1 and <471301> 13:1, 2, it is plain that he had already been twice in that city. The words, therefore, the third time , in this verse, belong to the word come , and not to I am ready . The sense is not, ‘I am the third time ready,’ but, ‘I am ready to come the third time.’ His purpose was to act on this third visit on the same principle which had controlled his conduct on the two preceding occasions. I will not be burdensome to you , I will receive nothing from you.

For this he gives two reasons, both not only consistent with his love for them, but proofs of his love. For I seek not yours, but you . This is the first reason. He had no mercenary or selfish ends to accomplish. It was not their money, but their souls he desired to win. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children . This was the second reason. He stood to them in the relation of a parent. In the course of nature, it was the parent’s office to provide for the children, and not the children for the parent. You must allow me, says Paul, a parent’s privilege.

Thus gracefully and tenderly does the apostle reconcile a seemingly ungracious act with the kind feelings which he cherished in himself and desired to excite in them. 15. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved .

As I am your father, I will gladly act as such, spend and be spent for you; even though I forfeit your love by acting in a way which love forces me to act. This is the strongest expression of disinterested affection. Paul was willing not only to give his property but himself, his life and strength, for them (literally, for your souls, uJpe>r tw~n yucw~n uJmw~n ), not only without a recompense, but at the cost of their love. 16. But be it so, I did not burden you: nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile.

Be it so; that is, admitted that I did not personally burden you, yet (you may say) I craftily did it through others. This was designed to meet the ungenerous objection which the false teachers might be disposed to make.

They might insinuate that although he refused to receive any thing himself, he quartered his friends upon them, or spoiled them through others. I caught you with guile, do>lw| uJma~v e]labon , i.e. I despoiled you by artifice, as an animal is taken by being deceived. This shows the character of the opponents of the apostle in Corinth. That he should think it necessary to guard against insinuations so ungenerous and so unfounded, is proof of his wisdom in refusing to give such antagonists the least occasion to question the purity of his motives. 17, 18. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you? I desired Titus, and with (him) I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you? walked we not in the same spirit? (walked we) not in the same steps?

The best refutation of the insinuation that Paul did in an underhand way by others what he refused to do openly and in his own person, was an appeal to facts. The Corinthians knew the charge to be unfounded. They knew that no one of those whom Paul had sent to Corinth received any compensation at their hands. This was specially true in the case of Titus, his immediate representative. All his messengers followed the example, and doubtless the injunctions of Paul, in bearing their own expenses. The mission of Titus to Corinth here referred to, is not that mentioned in chap. 8, which was not yet accomplished, but that mentioned in chap. 7, designed to ascertain the effect produced by Paul’s previous letter. In the same spirit; either the same inward disposition of mind, or with the same Holy Spirit, i.e. imbued and guided by the same divine agent, who controls the conduct of the people of God. In the same steps. Paul and his messengers walked in the same footsteps. That is, they all followed Christ, whose steps mark the way in which his followers are to tread. 19. Again, think ye that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ: but (we do) all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.

There were two false impressions which the apostle here designs to correct. First, that he felt himself accountable to the Corinthians, or that they were the judges at whose bar he was defending himself. Second, that his object was in any respect personal or selfish. He spoke before God, not before them; for their edification, not for his own reputation. Again think ye. Do you again think, as you have thought before. Instead of pa>lin , again, the MSS. D, E, J, K read pa>lai, formerly, long. This reading is adopted by the majority of modern editors. The sense then is, ‘Ye are long of the opinion,’ or, ‘Ye have long thought.’ Comp. eij pa>lai ejpe>qanen , whether he had been long dead, in Mark 15:44. The common reading has so much MSS. authority in its favor, and it gives so good a sense, that it is generally by the older editors and commentators retained. With pa>lin the passage is best read interrogatively. Do ye again think? as they had before done. See <470301> 3:1; 5:12. They were too much disposed to think that the apostle, like the false teachers, was anxious to commend himself to their favor, and to appeal to them as his judges. He on more occasions than one gives them to understand that he was not under their authority, his office was not received from their hands, and he was not accountable to them for the manner in which he exercised it. See Corinthians 4:3. Excuse ourselves unto you; uJmi~n, before you as judges.

Excuse, ajpologe>omai , to talk oneself off, to plead, or answer for one self.

This was not the position which the apostle occupied. He was not an offender, real or supposed, arraigned at their bar. On the contrary, as he says, we speak before God ; i.e. as responsible to him, and as in his presence; in Christ , i.e. as it becomes one conscious of his union with the Lord Jesus. In all his self-vindication he considers himself as a Christian speaking in the presence of God, to whom alone he was, as a divinely commissioned messenger, answerable for what he said. All things, dearly beloved, for your edification . This is the second point. His apology, or self-vindication, had their good, not his reputation or advantage, for its object. 20. For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would, and (that) I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest (there be) debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings, whisperings, swellings, tumults .

He aimed at their edification, for he feared their state was not what he could desire. He feared lest they would not be acceptable to him, nor he to them. What he feared was that the evils to which frequent reference had already been made, should be found still to exist. Those evils were, e]reiv , contentions , such as existed between the different factions into which the church was divided, some saying we are of Paul, others, we are of Cephas, etc., see 1 Corinthians 1:11; envyings , zh~loi , those feelings of jealousy and alienation which generally attend contentions; qumoi> , outbreaks of anger ; ejriqei~ai , cabals . The word is from e]riqov , a hireling , and is often used of a factious spirit of party; katalaliai< and yiqurismoi> , backbiting and whisperings, i.e. open detractions and secret calumnies; fusiw>seiv , swellings , i.e. manifestations of pride and insolence; ajkatastasi>ai , tumults , i.e. those disorders which necessarily follow the state of things above described. This is a formidable list of evils, and it seems hard to reconcile what is here said with the glowing description of the repentance and obedience of the church found in the preceding part of this epistle, especially in chapter 7. To account for this discrepancy some suppose, as before mentioned, that the latter part of this epistle, from ch. 10 to the end, formed a distinct letter written at a different time and under different circumstances from those under which the former part was written. Others, admitting that the two portions are one and the same epistle sent at the same time, still assume that a considerable interval of time elapsed between the writing of the former and latter parts of the letter; and that during that interval intelligence had reached the apostle that the evils prevailing in the church had not been so thoroughly corrected as he had hoped. The common and sufficient explanation of the difficulty is, that part of the congregation, probably the majority, were penitent and obedient, while another part were just the opposite. When the apostle had the one class in view he used the language of commendation; when the other, the language of censure. Examples of this kind are abundant in his epistles. The first part of his first epistle to the Corinthians is full of the strongest expressions of praise, but in what follows severe reproof fills most of its pages. 21. (And) lest, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and (that) I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness, and fornication, and lasciviousness, which they have committed.

The same apprehension expressed under a different form. The word again may belong to coming , “me coming again;” or with will humble , “God will humble me again.” This implies that during his second unrecorded visit, Paul was humbled by what he saw in Corinth, and grieved, as he says, 2:1, in having to use severity in suppressing prevalent disorders. He feared lest his third should prove like that painful second visit. The more obvious and natural connection, however, of pa>lin is with ejlqo>nta , as in our version. ‘Lest God will humble me when I come again.’ Nothing filled the apostles with greater delight than to see the churches of their care steadfast in faith and in obedience to the truth; and nothing so pained and humbled them as the departure of their disciples from me paths of truth and holiness.