NOTES for Co2 10:12

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¹²For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

Paul insists that his opponents can boast only in their own high opinion of themselves. But for himself he considers only one boast possible: the fulfillment of the mission laid on him by God, preaching and forming church communities. For him this is labor that he performs not as he is able, but as he must. In his daily concerns he leaves no room for the satisfaction of human vanity, the search for glory, or anything else just as temporary. The only thing precious in his eyes is life for the sake of God.

It is not for nothing that in the last verses of this passage the apostle seems to recall the text from the prophet Jeremiah: "But let the one who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord, who exercises mercy, judgment, and righteousness on the earth; for in these things I delight, says the Lord" (Jer 9:24).

Other notes

For Co2 10:12-18

¹³But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.

¹⁴For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:

¹⁵Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,

¹⁶To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to our hand.

¹⁷But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.

¹⁸For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.

Continuing to speak about himself and his ministry, Paul again says that he never made it his goal... Read more

Continuing to speak about himself and his ministry, Paul again says that he never made it his goal to achieve success or popularity in the Corinthian church or in any other church. About preachers who seek popularity, the apostle says that they "compare themselves with themselves" (v. 12), thereby noting the key feature of every kind of self-assertion: the self-assertive person always considers himself, and himself alone, the only criterion of truth. Paul, however, is not trying to compare himself with anyone at all. He is simply doing God's work, saying of himself that he will boast "according to the measure of the portion given by God" in this work (v. 13). But "boasting" of this kind is not boasting at all, because with this approach to one's own ministry the minister no longer needs to be preoccupied with an imagined "fit" or "lack of fit" either for the task set before him or for the audience sent to him by God. He does not need to "stretch" himself anywhere (v. 14); he simply does the work entrusted to him by God, and doing it brings him closer to those whom God has entrusted to him (vv. 14-16).

Summing up what has been said, Paul calls those who still want to boast about something to "boast in the Lord," which for him in fact means only one thing: to give everything, including all successes and achievements, to God, who Himself will grant His servant as much honor and respect from others as He considers necessary (vv. 17-18). This is not a call to modesty as such, but the fact that without humility, without complete surrender of oneself to the will of God, together with everything one has, including all successes and achievements in the work entrusted by God, one cannot enter the Kingdom. For there, what matters is not merit, but relationships. And these relationships are not determined by any merit. For the Kingdom the opposite is closer to the truth: any merits have meaning in it only insofar as they are the fruit of relationships among the inhabitants of the Kingdom. That is why Paul calls attention to the love that binds Christians together, not to merits that often become a cause of division.

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NOTES for Co2 10:12

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