INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS 11 In this chapter, the apostle continues his discourse concerning the false teachers; blames the Corinthians for their connivance at them, and subjection to them; gives a true and ample description of them; compares himself with them, and by various instances shows, t... [ Continue Reading ]
WOULD TO GOD YOU COULD BEAR WITH ME A LITTLE,.... The false apostles boasted so much of their gifts, abilities, and usefulness, that the apostle found himself under a necessity of saying some things in his own defence, for the honour of God, and the good of this church; which otherwise his modesty w... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR I AM JEALOUS OVER YOU WITH GODLY JEALOUSY,.... He lets them know it was not so much on his own account, or at all with any selfish views, or for any secular interest of his own, that he was so concerned, but it was "a godly jealousy", or a "zeal of God"; which he was inspired with by God, and wh... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT I FEAR LEST BY ANY MEANS,.... Jealousy is always attended with fear, care, and solicitude, whether in things natural or spiritual. The apostle, as things were in this church, could not but express his fears, lest AS THE SERPENT BEGUILED EVE THROUGH HIS SUBTLETY; that is, the old serpent the dev... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR IF HE THAT COMETH,.... Meaning either some particular man, the apostle might have had some information of, who came from Judea to Corinth, under the character of a true apostle; or anyone of the false apostles whatever, who came of their own accord, and was never sent by Christ, or by any of his... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR I SUPPOSE I WAS NOT A WHIT BEHIND,.... This is very modestly expressed by the apostle; for he does not assert, and in a haughty and confident way affirm, but only supposes, or thinks that this might be admitted, that he was not inferior to, or did not come short of, in gifts, grace, and usefulne... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT THOUGH I BE RUDE IN SPEECH,.... Which might be objected to him, setting himself upon a level with men so famous for their diction, and elegance of style; and to this he answers, not by owning he was so, but granting it to be so; for the Apostle Paul was not an unlearned man, an idiot in speech,... [ Continue Reading ]
HAVE I COMMITTED AN OFFENCE IN ABASING MYSELF,.... Either by behaving among them, when he was first with them, in a very modest and humble manner, in much fear and trembling, without pride and haughtiness, or affectation of power and authority over them; or by using a popular style, suited to the ca... [ Continue Reading ]
I ROBBED OTHER CHURCHES,.... Meaning the churches of Macedonia; not that what he had of them was by force and rapine, or by plundering of them, and spoiling of their substance, and living upon them against their wills, as soldiers use a conquered people, though the allusion is to such a custom; for... [ Continue Reading ]
AND WHEN I WAS PRESENT WITH YOU, AND WANTED,.... Whilst he was among them, preaching the Gospel to them, he wanted the common necessaries of life: and yet, says he, I WAS CHARGEABLE TO NO MAN, or "benumbed no man"; a metaphor, as some think, taken from the torpedo, or cramp fish; which is of such a... [ Continue Reading ]
AS THE TRUTH OF CHRIST IS IN ME,.... To show the firmness of his resolution, and how determined he was to abide by it, he joins an oath to it; for these words are the form of an oath; and it is as if he should say, as sure as Christ is truth, who is in me; or as that the truth of grace, or the truth... [ Continue Reading ]
WHEREFORE? BECAUSE I LOVE YOU NOT?.... Why did the apostle do this? why did he take nothing, and resolve to take nothing of the Corinthians, for preaching the Gospel to them? why did he determine, that no man should prevent his glorying of this, in all the country of Achaia? was it because he did no... [ Continue Reading ]
BUT WHAT I DO, THAT I WILL DO,.... As he preached the Gospel freely at Corinth and in Achaia, so he was determined to do it for the future, for this reason only, or chiefly: THAT, says he, I MAY CUT OFF OCCASION FROM THEM WHICH DESIRE OCCASION: meaning the false apostles, who sought for, and were... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR SUCH ARE FALSE APOSTLES,.... Such as those he had in view, who sought an occasion to depress him, and exalt themselves, and to get money from the Corinthians; these were "false apostles", or apostles falsely so called; they had the name, but not the thing; they were not called and sent forth by... [ Continue Reading ]
AND NO MARVEL,.... This need not be wondered at, nor is it any new or strange thing; nor should it be thought to be incredible that there are such persons in being: FOR SATAN HIMSELF IS TRANSFORMED INTO AN ANGEL OF LIGHT; a good angel, one that has his abode in the regions of light; and is possesse... [ Continue Reading ]
THEREFORE IT IS NO GREAT THING,.... It is no strange and wonderful thing; it may easily be given into; no man need to make any doubt of it, or hesitate concerning it, since the devil himself, who is an angel of darkness, is transformed into an angel of light: IF HIS MINISTERS ALSO BE TRANSFORMED AS... [ Continue Reading ]
I SAY AGAIN, LET NO MAN THINK ME A FOOL,.... For praising himself, or speaking in his own commendation; which he was obliged to do, in vindication of his own character, against the false apostles, for the sake of the Gospel he preached, and for the advantage and welfare of the Corinthians; that they... [ Continue Reading ]
THAT WHICH I SPEAK,.... Meaning in vindication and commendation of himself, on this subject of glorying; or, as here expressed, IN THIS CONFIDENCE OF BOASTING; for which he thought he had good ground and foundation to go upon, and therefore might express himself with the greatest assurance, see 2 C... [ Continue Reading ]
SEEING THAT MANY GLORY AFTER THE FLESH,.... Or with respect to things external, such as their high birth and parentage, carnal descent, circumcision, learned education, and the like; of which the false apostles, being Jews, boasted, who it seems were many; and though a multitude is not to be followe... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR YE SUFFER FOOLS GLADLY,.... They bore with the false apostles, who were fools; were continually proclaiming their folly, boasting of themselves, ascribing that to themselves which did not belong to them, and were puffed up by their fleshly minds; they indulged these men in their folly, and that... [ Continue Reading ]
FOR YE SUFFER IF A MAN BRING YOU INTO BONDAGE,.... They not only suffered and tolerated the foolish boasting of these men with pleasure, but patiently and stupidly bore their oppressions, injuries, and insults, things that were intolerable, which no man of any sense and wisdom would ever suffer; and... [ Continue Reading ]
I SPEAK AS CONCERNING REPROACH,.... These words may be considered either as explanative of the latter part of the former verse, "if a man smite you on the face"; that is not to be understood strictly and literally, of one man's striking another on the face, but of reproach and contumelious language,... [ Continue Reading ]
ARE THEY HEBREWS? SO AM I,.... The nation of the Jews were called Hebrews, not from Abraham, as some have w thought, through ignorance of the Hebrew language, which will by no means admit of such a derivation and etymology of the name; wherefore the Jewish writers never make mention of this opinion... [ Continue Reading ]
ARE THEY MINISTERS OF CHRIST?.... The apostle could have answered to this question that they were not, being neither sent by Christ, nor preachers of him, and who sought their own things and not his, being false apostles, and deceitful workers; but he chose not to litigate this point with them, and... [ Continue Reading ]
OF THE JEWS FIVE TIMES RECEIVED I FORTY STRIPES SAVE ONE. We have no account in the Acts of the Apostles, or elsewhere, of any one of these five scourgings, which the apostle underwent from the Jews; but there is no doubt to be made of them. The number of stripes he received at each time agrees with... [ Continue Reading ]
THRICE WAS I BEATEN WITH RODS,.... Or "wands", by the Romans; for this was a Roman punishment, distinct from scourging with cords used by the Jews. There is mention made but of one time only that he was so beaten, elsewhere, and that is in Acts 16:22 which was at Philippi; but that he was so many ti... [ Continue Reading ]
IN JOURNEYING OFTEN,.... Through several countries and kingdoms to preach the Gospel, as he did from Jerusalem round about to Illyricum: IN PERILS OF WATERS; by the floods being out, which made it very troublesome and dangerous travelling, especially to persons on foot, as was the case of our apost... [ Continue Reading ]
IN WEARINESS AND PAINFULNESS,.... Through long journeys and frequent preaching; or "in labour and trouble"; or in troublesome labour, for all labour is not so; as hunting, hawking, c. though laborious, yet delightful but the labours of the apostle were painful and troublesome to the flesh, though he... [ Continue Reading ]
BESIDES THOSE THINGS THAT ARE WITHOUT,.... Or are omitted, which he had passed by, and had not mentioned in the account and enumeration of things he had given; for otherwise the things he had taken notice of and instanced in, were things external; but besides them and many other things which would b... [ Continue Reading ]
WHO IS WEAK, AND I AM NOT WEAK?.... What church is so? or what particular believer is so? for he had not only the care of all the churches, but of all believers upon him; whoever was weak in the faith he was concerned for them, to instruct, establish, and strengthen them; and suited his discourses,... [ Continue Reading ]
IF I MUST NEEDS GLORY,.... The apostle signifies that glorying was not agreeable to him; he was not fond of it, it was a subject he did not delight to dwell upon; what he had done was by force, and through necessity; he was compelled to it by the boasts of the false apostles: and since he must needs... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GOD AND FATHER OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,.... These words are in the form of an oath, and are a solemn appeal to God, that knows all things, for the truth of the whole that he had declared in the foregoing verses, and of the remarkable deliverance related in the following. "God", says he, who is... [ Continue Reading ]
IN DAMASCUS THE GOVERNOR UNDER ARETAS THE KING,.... Aretas or Al-Hareth was a king of Arabia, of the family of the Gassanii; among whom were many of this name r; and who for some hundreds of years ruled over Syria, of which Damascus was the metropolis. The fourth king of that family was of this name... [ Continue Reading ]
AND THROUGH A WINDOW IN A BASKET WAS I LET DOWN,.... The house in which he was, like Rahab's, was built upon the wall of the city, and as she let down the spies by a cord through the window, and as David was by Michal; so the apostle was let down by the brethren with cords, as Jeremiah was, Jeremiah... [ Continue Reading ]