10:1 gentleness of Christ While Paul seeks to defend himself, he does not want to do so in an angry or indignant manner; rather, he seeks to emulate the humility and gentleness shown by Christ (8:9; Matt 11:29; Luke 18:14; see Gal 6:1 and note).

Humility Devotional

am absent am bold toward you Paul is probably referring to how some of the Corinthians perceived him (compare 2 Cor 10:10).

10:2 behaving according to the flesh Some in the church community called Paul’s character into question (compare 2:17). Their reasons may have been the change in his travel plans (1:15–2:4; see note on 1:23) or the perceived mishandling of the financial relief collection (12:16–18).

10:3 do not wage war according to the flesh Paul uses spiritual weapons—such as the gospel, faith, truth, and prayer—to wage battle against his opposition (compare 6:6–7; Eph 6:10–17).

Spirit and Flesh in Paul’s Letters

10:4 fortresses This term is intended to refer to people’s standard ways of thinking, especially about Paul and the nature of his apostleship.

10:5 captive to the obedience of Christ Implies believers must submit their thoughts to Christ and bring them into conformity with His will.

10:6 all disobedience Refers to opposition to Paul’s apostolic authority. Compare 2 Cor 2:9.

10:7 according to appearance Some Corinthians continued to judge Paul and his ministry according to the standards of the time; they evaluated him according to his rhetoric, logic, and manner of reception by various communities.

10:8 authority that the Lord gave As he does throughout the letter, Paul emphasizes that his authority comes from God. See 1:1 and note.

building you up Some Corinthians may have perceived that Paul used his authority to oppress or take advantage of them (12:17). Paul identifies the true purpose of his authority: to strengthen the faith of believers so they grow in maturity.

10:9 I do not want to appear Paul’s wording here suggests that his opponents were accusing him of trying to frighten or intimidate the Corinthian believers with his letters. While Paul wrote things that grieved the Corinthians, he did not do so cruelly. Instead, he wrote out of love to encourage them toward repentance (see 2:4; compare 7:8–9).

Repentance

my letters Paul most likely wrote at least two other letters to the Corinthians in addition to 1 and 2 Corinthians. In 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to a previous letter where he instructed the Corinthians to not associate with immoral people (see 1 Cor 5:9 and note). In 2 Corinthians, he refers to another letter which he wrote out of distress and anguish (see 2 Cor 2:3 and note).

10:10 his speech is of no account According to the Corinthians’ standard, Paul was not an impressive orator. Paul may not have used any rhetorical techniques when he presented the gospel to the Corinthians; God’s power, not Paul’s speech, gave the message credibility.

10:12 classify or to compare The opponents in Corinth compared their skill and gifts to Paul’s as a means to devalue his authority within the church community. Paul asserts that such comparisons merely derive from people’s perspectives and are useless; his apostolic authority comes from God (Acts 9:15; 2 Cor 10:18).

10:13 God has assigned Paul considered the Corinthian church to be his God-given ministry assignment ever since he first founded the community (v. 14). He did not get involved in churches that other missionaries had planted (e.g., Rom 15:18–20); thus, he expected his fellow workers in the gospel to respect his missionary field (see 2 Cor 10:16). This leads Paul to cast his opponents as false apostles, since they attempted to supplant his apostolic role in Corinth (see 11:13).

10:14 as far as you with the gospel Paul ministered in Corinth and established the church there during his second missionary journey (see Acts 18:1–16). The gospel (euangelion) refers to the new covenant brought about in Christ (2 Cor 3:6; 4:4–6; see note on 3:3), which Paul defined in his previous letter in terms of Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Cor 15:1–4). His opponents were teaching a “different gospel” that distorted God’s Word (2 Cor 4:2; see 11:4 and note).

Euangelion Word Study

10:15 to be enlarged greatly by you Since Paul viewed the Corinthian church as his letter of recommendation (see 3:1 and note, and 3:2), he hoped their growth would result in more opportunities for his ministry.

10:16 the regions that lie beyond you Paul hopes his ministry in Corinth will result in opportunities to preach the gospel further west. He wanted to visit Rome and Spain after traveling to Jerusalem to deliver the collection for the church there (8:1–9:15; see Rom 15:25–29).

assigned to someone else Refers to those who opposed Paul; these people likely boasted about the church community in Corinth as though they planted it and cared for it. In 1 Corinthians, Paul dealt with the division caused by Corinthian believers associating themselves with specific ministers of Christ (1 Cor 1:11–17).

10:17 let him boast in the Lord A quotation of Jer 9:24 (compare 1 Cor 1:31).

10:18 commending himself See note on 2 Cor 10:12.