II Corinthians 10:1-18
A few brief comments as an introduction to chapter 10… A number of Biblical scholars maintain that chapters 10 to 13 are not really a part of the letter that Paul wrote to the Corinthians that we now call II Corinthians. They maintain that these chapters may well be all or part of a “lost letter” that Paul wrote to the Corinthians sometime between his writing of I and II Corinthians. The tone of the letter changes dramatically from Paul’s tone in the first nine chapters, especially with respect to his high praise for the Corinthians in chapters 8 and 9. In chapter 10 he again expresses his frustration that some people in the Corinthian church are against him, attempting to elevate themselves by speaking lowly of him, as in For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” (v. 10) So we see him actively defending himself in chapter 10. However, the more conservative scholars accept all 13 chapters of II Corinthians as one letter, maintaining that his change of tone in these later chapters is directed to a few individuals, not the entire Corinthian church.
A few comments on a few verses… But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding. (v. 12) I find myself fully guilty here, all too often like the Pharisee in Luke 18:9-14, who says God, I thank You that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get. I think it’s especially easy for us to compare ourselves to other denominations – happy that we are not Baptists or Methodists or (gasp) Episcopalians!! If I catch myself doing anything like that, I can easily ask myself how I compare to Jesus. That sets me on the right track! Verse 18 closes this thought and this chapter nicely: For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
Slava Bohu!
Thank you, Fred!
I too need to work on and remember that the standard is God’s standard not other people for comparison. When I focus on God’s standards, pride (self-promotion) or low self-esteem (self focused, too) are not my main responses. Instead, focusing on God’s standard and Jesus’s example, my response is humility, remorse, and thankfulness turning into joy.