NOTES for Co2 10:12

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).