2 Corinthians
Chapter 10
Overview
Some people in Corinth have mistaken Paul’s quiet manner in person for weakness, while calling his letters bold and forceful. Paul answers with restraint, but he does not tiptoe around the issue. He explains that his struggle is not fought with ordinary human weapons; it is a battle against proud ideas that keep people from knowing God. He then defends the authority the Lord gave him, not to crush the Corinthians but to strengthen them. Finally, Paul exposes the foolishness of self-promotion: people who measure themselves by themselves make a very convenient measuring stick.
1I, Paul, appeal to you with the gentleness and kindness of the Messiah. I am the one who is supposedly humble when I am with you but bold toward you when I am away.
2Please do not make me act boldly when I come. I am confident that I can confront those who think we are guided by ordinary human motives.
3We live as ordinary human beings, but we do not fight our battle by ordinary human methods.
4The weapons we fight with are not merely human. God makes them powerful enough to tear down strongholds. With them we demolish false arguments
5and every proud obstacle raised against knowing God. We capture every thought and bring it into obedience to the Messiah.
6We are also ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.
7You are looking only at outward appearances. If anyone is confident that he belongs to the Messiah, he should think again and recognize that we belong to the Messiah just as he does.
8Even if I boast somewhat more about our authority—the authority the Lord gave us to strengthen you, not tear you down—I will not be embarrassed for doing so.
9I do not want it to seem as though I am trying to frighten you with my letters.
10Someone says, “Paul’s letters are serious and forceful, but in person he seems weak, and his speaking is unimpressive.”
11Anyone who says this should understand that what we say in letters while absent is exactly what we will do when present.
12We would not dare place ourselves in the same class as—or compare ourselves with—certain people who recommend themselves. They measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another. They have no understanding.
13But we will not boast beyond proper limits. We will stay within the area of work God measured out for us, an area that reaches all the way to you.
14We are not stretching beyond our proper reach, as though you were outside that area. We were the ones who reached you with the good news about the Messiah.
15We do not boast beyond our limits about work done by others. Instead, we hope that as your faith grows, our work among you will expand greatly within the area assigned to us.
16Then we can announce the good news in regions beyond you, without boasting about work already completed in someone else’s area.
17Whoever boasts should boast about the Lord.
18The person who recommends himself is not the one who has proved trustworthy. The trustworthy person is the one the Lord recommends.