2 Corinthians 11:7

2Co 11:7-9. Have I committed an offence — Will any turn this into an objection; in abasing myself — Stooping to work at my trade; that ye might be exalted — To the dignity of being the children of God; because I have preached the gospel to you free of expense. “This the apostle’s enemies said was a presumption, that he knew himself to be no apostle; or, if he was an apostle, it showed that he did not love the Corinthians. The first of these objections he had answered in his former epistle, (1Co 9:3-19,) by proving his right to a maintenance, and by declaring that he declined using that right, merely to make his preaching the more acceptable and successful. The second objection he answers in this chapter, 2Co 11:11-15.” I robbed — Greek, εσολησα, I spoiled, as it were, other churches — (It is a military term;) taking wages — Οψωνιον, pay, (another military word,) of them, when I first came to you; to do you service — To serve your best interests by converting you to, and instructing you in, the faith of the gospel. It appears from Php 4:15-16, that it was from the church at Philippi that he received the support here spoken of. For the brethren there, “being strongly impressed with a sense of the advantages which mankind derived from the gospel, were so anxious to render the apostle’s preaching in Corinth successful, that, during his residence there, they sent him money, to prevent his being burdensome to the Corinthians. His acceptance of these presents he called a spoiling of the Philippians, because, as he was not labouring among them, he took their money without giving them any thing in return for it; and a taking of wages: but it was for a service performed, not to the Philippians, but to the Corinthians.” And when I was present with you and wanted — The gains of my labour not quite supplying my necessities; I was chargeable to no man — Of your church, or of Corinth. The word here used, κατεναρκησα, appears to be derived from ναρκη, which, Elian says, is the name of a fish, called by the Latins torpedo, because it deprives those who touch it of the sense of feeling. According to this derivation of the word, the apostle’s meaning is, I benumbed, or oppressed, or hurt, no one. See the notes of Joach. Camerar. For what was lacking — For my support; the brethren from Macedonia supplied — Though it seems the apostle generally maintained himself by his own labour, he was sometimes so occupied in preaching, and in the other functions of his ministry, that he had little time for working. This was the case when he was first at Corinth, at which time the Philippians relieved him. For he chose to receive help from the poor of that place, rather than from the rich Corinthians. In all things I have kept myself from being burdensome to you — In any way whatever; and will keep myself — So long as God shall enable me.

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

CRITICAL NOTES

2Co_11:7. Or.—Turning to another topic. Offence.—Lit. “Sin.” Freely.—I.e. “without charge.” Cf. Php_4:12.

2Co_11:8. Other Churches.—E.g. Philippi (Php_4:15). But, for another reason, not Thessalonica (2Th_3:8-9). Beet suggests that he accepted the second Philippian contribution, which reached him in Thessalonica, expressly with the Grecian journey and its expenses in his view. Robbed.—Cf. Rom_2:22; Act_19:37. Wages.—A soldier’s “pay,” as Rom_6:23.

2Co_11:9. Wanted.—I.e. “was in want.” Graphic touch of incidental fact, as to his residence in Corinth. Did not (perhaps his work did not leave him time to) earn enough for his necessities! The man who at that moment was the most important factor in the world’s progress. Burdensome.—See 2Co_12:13-14 (Separate Homily).

2Co_11:10.—The very truthfulness of Christ Himself. Like, “I say the truth in Christ” (Rom_9:1). A man who is “in Christ,” who is a member of Christ’s very body,—how shall anything but the true Christ who is in him find expression on his lips?

2Co_11:11.—Some said, perversely: “Yes; it shows plainly that you do not care for us, as you do for the Philippians.”

HOMILETIC ANALYSIS.—2Co_11:7-11

[Dr. J. Lyth, Homil. Treas., suggests:—]

I. Honest robbery (2Co_11:8).

II. Honourable poverty (2Co_11:9).

III. Honourable independence (2Co_11:7; 2Co_11:9-10).

I.

1. The labourer is worthy of his “wages.” [Opposite to “gift” Romans 6 ult.] A true minister earns his stipend; though the happier, higher theory is that his people see that he wants for nothing, whilst, without interruption or care, he gives all his time and strength to the work of God. But there are always “unreasonable men” (2Th_3:2) with whom, whatever he does, whatever course he adopts, the minister always “commits a sin.” If he take, or ask, for support, he is “mercenary” (2Co_12:17-18). If he do not ask, or refuses, support, he “does not care for” his people, or for their love, and will not let them show it (2Co_11:11). Again and again he can only carry his case by appeal to a higher court: “God knoweth.” Though, like Paul, he may now and then be compelled to speak out, to explain and defend himself and his conduct,—generally he does most wisely to see that his character is right before God, and to leave God to care for his reputation before men. Paul takes or refuses as may in any given case seem expedient. His is the true unchangeableness [like God’s own]; not that he never varies from one line of action, but that he never varies from the unchanging principles of his conduct.

2. Hence it is quite honest to have accepted the gifts of the Philippians. It is part of the privilege of the ministerial office to live more directly than does any other man, not actually a recipient of charity, upon the love of human hearts. There can be no “business payment” for what the true minister of Christ has done for a convert, or for what he gives to his people in his continuous ministrations. It is no exchange of values, as in business payments or wages. The true minister, nevertheless, does give full value for all he receives. The people, on the other hand, of their free-will and grateful love “minister once and again to his necessity” (Php_4:16). If a minister “will not work, neither should he eat” (2Th_3:10). But if he do his work, he may take “wages,” that are no wages, but the gifts of love.

3. Especially may he receive what may support him as he strikes out (like Paul setting out for work in Achaia) into regions where his reception and maintenance are doubtful. To shame a people, so well able to fulfil their obligation to the man who has led them to Christ as were the Corinthians, Paul may call it a quasi-sacrilegious “robbery” of the Church treasury at Philippi. But the Philippians love to see, the Corinthians ought to see, that Paul wants for nothing.

II. Honourable poverty.—A man like Paul in want, in a city like Corinth! Yet of all men in the empire then receiving their “wages,” this man—if only the “age” had known—was better worth his “salt,” and his salt-money—his salary—than the emperor, or his soldiers, or the philosophers, or the artists. It is the old paradox of Providence. Tiberius on the throne, feasted to the weariness of satiety; the Son of God hungry in the wilderness! Truly “the world is out of joint.” The Maker of the world, the Ordainer of the fundamental laws of human society, “meant it not so.” “I know how to … be abased; I know how to be … hungry … and to suffer need” (Php_4:12). Not every man does. It is a grace. The “poverty” of the ministry may mar a man’s character and impede his usefulness, if he allow it to occasion a perpetual anxiety, if it feed a continual bitterness against God and the Church, if he nurse a continual sense of “humiliation,” at being “poor” amongst the prosperous men in his church, if he be frequently talking of the “sacrifice” he made to enter the Christian ministry. Paul had “learned the secret.” It needs great grace “to be full”; but it needs great grace “to be hungry.” The minister “can do all things”—even wear ministerial poverty “honourably”—“through Christ who strengthened him” (Phil, ut supr.). Yet the beauty and right of such liberality as that of the poor Macedonians, the expression of their sympathy and love, and a precious fruit of their faith, remains equally honourable; whilst the wealthy indifference of Corinth, which should have seen to it that the Apostle had no need to practise the lesson of wearing poverty with honour, remains utterly selfish and blamable.

III. Honourable independence.—

1. “Honourable,” because it better enabled Paul “to do the Corinthians service,” and to silence the cavillers whose suggestions and cavils might impinge upon his character, and, through him representatively, upon that of the ministry generally. “No man shall stop me of this boasting.” “So will I keep myself.”

2. Such “independence” needs watching; needs perpetually bringing into review in the presence of Christ. It easily grows to be really a pride which will not take the gifts of those from whom real, or imaginary, slights may have been received. Very easily does sin creep in and make the boast of “independence” a piece of self-pleasing, and even of simple obstinacy of character.

3. “Independence” is only worth anything to a Christian minister so far as it means, or ministers to, a perfect freedom to speak the message of God in its fulness, without regard to men’s pleasure or displeasure. If, for the glory of Christ and his freedom to be faithful, the minister seek or keep independence, it may be “honourable.” It is then a just matter of “boasting,” and may be worth keeping at any price.

4. If the “truthfulness of Christ,” that perfect simplicity and directness of heart and judgment and will which were part of His perfect holiness, be in a man, it will dignify and sanctify his “independence” of character, opinion, circumstances. If a man’s motives bear bringing under the scrutiny of the eye of “God Who knoweth,” then though they be misjudged, as by somebody they certainly will be, or maliciously misrepresented, he may go on his way unmoved. It is often a good piece of holy strategy, by timely foregoing of rights—catching suggestion even from the very enemy—to destroy the very basis of operations, from which the assault of the unfriendly criticism or judgment is made. Only, once more, neither in the strategy, nor in the success of it, must Self find a foothold. All must be for the sake of Christ and to facilitate, or to remove hindrances to, His work.

The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.

Chapter 25

FOOLISH BOASTING.- 2Co_11:7-29 (R.V)

THE connection of 2Co_11:7 with what precedes is not at once clear. The Apostle has expressed his conviction that he is in nothing inferior to "the superlative apostles" so greatly honored by the Corinthians. Why, then, is he so differently treated? A rudeness in speech he is willing to concede, but that can hardly be the explanation, considerintg his fullness of knowledge. Then another idea strikes him, and he puts it, interrogatively, as an alternative. Can it be that he did wrong-humbling himself that they might be exalted-in preaching to them the Gospel of God for naught, i.e., in declining to accept support from them while he evangelized in Corinth? Do they appreciate the interlopers more highly than Paul, because they exact a price for their gospel, while he preached his for nothing? This, of course, is bitterly ironical; but it is not gratuitous. The background of fact which prompted the Apostles question was no doubt this-that his adversaries had misinterpreted his conduct. A true apostle, they said, had a right to be maintained by the Church; The Lord Himself has ordained that they who preach the Gospel should live by the Gospel; but he claims no maintenance, and by that very fact betrays a bad conscience. He dare not make the claim which every true apostle makes without the least misgiving.

It would be hard to imagine anything more malignant in its wickedness than this: Pauls refusal to claim support from those to whom he preached is one of the most purely and characteristically Christian of all his actions. He felt himself, by the grace of Christ, a debtor to all men; he owed them the Gospel; it was as if he were defrauding them if he did not tell them of the love of God in His Son. He felt himself in immense sympathy with the spirit of the Gospel; it was the free gift of God to the world, and as far as it depended on him its absolute freeness would not be obscured by the merest suspicion of a price to be paid. He knew that in foregoing his maintenance he was resigning a right secured to him by Christ; {1Co_9:14} humbling himself, as he puts it here, that others might be spiritually exalted; but he had the joy of preaching the Gospel in the spirit of the Gospel-of entering, in Christs service, into the self-sacrificing joy of his Lord; and he valued this above all earthly reward. To accuse such a man. on such grounds, of having a bad conscience, and of being afraid to live by his work, because he knew it was not what it pretended to be, was to sound the depths of baseness. It gave Paul in some measure the Masters experience, when the Pharisees said, "He casteth out devils by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils." It is really the prince of the devils, the accuser of the brethren, who speaks in all such malignant insinuations; it is the most diabolical thing any one can do-the nearest approach to sinning against the Holy Ghost-when he sets himself to find out bad motives for good actions.

As we shall see further on, Pauls enemies made more specific charges: they hinted that he made his own out of the Corinthians indirectly, and that he could indemnify himself, for this abstinence, from the collection (2Co_12:16-18, 2Co_8:8; 2Co_8:9.). Perhaps this is why he describes his actual conduct at Corinth in such vigorous language (2Co_11:7-11), before saying anything at all of his motives. "I preached to you the Gospel of God," he says, "for nothing." He calls it "the Gospel of God" with intentional fullness and solemnity; the genuine Gospel, he means-not another, which is no gospel at all, but a subversion of the truth. He robbed other Churches, and took wages from them, in order to minister to the Corinthians. There is a mingling of ideas in the strong words here used. The English reader thinks of Pauls doing less than justice to other Churches that he might do more than justice to the Corinthians; but though this is true, it is not all. Both "robbed" (ἐσύλησα) and "wages" (ὀψώνιον), as Bengel has pointed out, are military words, and it is difficult to resist the impression that Paul used them as such; he did not come to Corinth to be dependent on any one, but in the course of a triumphant progress, in which he devoted the spoils of his earlier victories for Christ to a new campaign in Achaia. Nay, even When he was with them and was "in want" (what a ray of light that one word ὑστερηθείς lets into his circumstances!), he did not throw himself like a benumbing weight on any one; what his own labors failed to supply, the brethren (perhaps Silas and Timothy) made good when they came from Macedonia. This has been his practice, and will continue to be so. He swears by the truth of Christ that is in him, that no man shall ever stop his mouth, so far as boasting of this independence is concerned, in the regions of Achaia. Why? His tender heart dismisses the one painful supposition which could possibly arise. "Because I love you not? God knoweth." Love is wounded when its proffered gifts are rejected with scorn, and when their rejection means that it is rejected; but that was not the situation here. Paul can appeal to Him who knows the heart in proof of the sincerity with which he loves the Corinthians.

His fixed purpose to be indebted to no one in Achaia has another object in view. What that is he explains in the twelfth verse. Strange to say, this verse, like 2Co_11:4, has received two precisely opposite interpretations.

(1) Some start with the idea that Pauls adversaries at Corinth were persons who took no support from the Church, and boasted of their disinterestedness in this respect. The "occasion" which they desired was an occasion of any sort for disparaging and discrediting Paul; and they felt they would have such an occasion if Paul accepted support from the Church, and so put himself in a position of inferiority to them. But Paul persists in his self-denying policy, with the object of depriving them of the opportunity they seek, and at the same time of proving them-in this very point of disinterestedness-to be in exactly the same position as himself. But surely, throughout both Epistles, a contrast is implied, in this very point, between Paul and his opponents: the tacit assumption is always that his line of conduct is singular, and is not to be made a rule. And in the face of 2Co_11:20 it is too much to assume that it was the rule of his Judaising opponents in Corinth.

(2) Others start with the idea, which seems to me indubitably right, that these opponents did accept support from the Church. But even on this assumption opinions diverge.

(a) Some argue that Paul pursued his policy of abstinence partly to deprive them of any opportunity of disparaging him, and partly to compel them to adopt it themselves ("that they may be found even as we"). I can hardly imagine this being taken seriously. Why should Paul have wanted to lift these preachers of a false gospel to a level with himself in point of generosity? To coerce them into a reluctant self-denial could be no possible object to him either of wish or hope. Hence there seems only

(b) the other alternative open, which makes the last clause-"that wherein they boast, they may be found even as we"-depend, not upon "what I do, that I will do," but upon "them that desire occasion." What the adversaries desired was, not occasion to disparage Paul in general, but occasion of being on an equality with him in the matter in which they gloried-viz., their apostolic claims. They felt the advantage which Pauls disinterestedness gave him with the Corinthians; they had not themselves the generosity needed to imitate it; it was not enough to assail it with covert slanders, {2Co_12:16-18} or to say that he was afraid to claim an apostles due; it would have been all they wanted had he resigned it. Then they could have said that in that in which they boasted-apostolic dignity-they were precisely on a level with him. But not to mention the spiritual motives for his conduct, which have been already explained, and were independent of all relation to his opponents, Paul was too capable a strategist to surrender such a position to the enemy. It would never be by action of his that he and they found themselves on the same ground.

At the very mention of such an equality his heart rises within him. "Found even as we! Why, such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ." Here, at last, the irony is cast aside, and Paul calls a spade a spade. The conception of apostleship in the New Testament is not that dogmatic traditional one, which limits the name to the Twelve, or to the Twelve and the Apostle of the Gentiles; as we see from passages like 2Co_8:23, Act_14:4; Act_14:14, it had a much larger application. What Paul means when he calls his opponents false apostles is not that persons in their position could have no right to the name; but that persons with their character, their aims, and their methods, would only deceive others when they used it. It ought to cover something quite different from what it actually did cover in them. He explains himself further when he calls them "deceitful workers." That they were active he does not deny; but the true end of their activity was not declared. As far as the word itself goes, the "deceit" which they used may have been intended to cloak either their personal or their proselytizing views. After what we have read in 2Co_10:12-18, the latter seems, preferable. The Judaising preachers had shown their hand in Galatia, demanding openly that Pauls converts should be circumcised, and keep the law of Moses as a whole; but their experience there had made them cautious, and when they came to Corinth they proceeded more diplomatically. They tried to sap the Pauline Gospel, partly by preaching "another Jesus," partly by calling in question the legitimacy of Pauls vocation. They said nothing openly of what was the inevitable and intended issue of all this-the bringing of spiritual Gentile Christendom under the old Jewish yoke. But it is this which goes to the Apostles soul; he can be nothing but irreconcilably hostile to men who have assumed the guise of apostles of Christ, in order that they may with greater security subvert Christs characteristic work. Paul dwells on the deceitfulness of their conduct as its most offensive feature; yet he does not wonder at it, for even Satan, he says, fashions himself into an angel of light. It is no great thing, then, if his servants also fashion themselves as servants of righteousness.

We can only tell in a general way what Paul meant when he spoke of Satan, the prince of darkness, transfiguring himself so as to appear a heavenly angel. He may have had some Jewish legend in his mind, some story of a famous temptation, unknown to us, or he may only have intended to represent to the imagination, with the utmost possible vividness, one of the familiar laws in our moral experience, a law which was strikingly illustrated by the conduct of his adversaries at Corinth. Evil, we all know, could never tempt us if we saw it simply as it is; disguise is essential to its power; it appeals to man through ideas and hopes which he cannot but regard as good. So it was in the very first temptation. An act which in its essential character was neither more nor less than one of direct disobedience to God was represented by the tempter, not in that character, but as the means by which man was to obtain possession of a tree good for food (sensual satisfaction), and pleasant to the eyes (aesthetic satisfaction), and desirable to make one wise (intellectual satisfaction). All these satisfactions, which in themselves are undeniably good, were the cloak under which the tempter hid his true features. He was a murderer from the beginning, and entered Eden to ruin man, but he presented himself as one offering to man a vast enlargement of life and joy. This is the nature of all temptations; to disguise himself, to look as like a good angel as he can, is the first necessity, and therefore the first invention of the devil. And all who do his work, the Apostle says, naturally imitate his devices. The soul of man is born for good, and will not listen at all to any voice which does not profess at least to speak for good: this is why the devil is a liar from the beginning, and the father of lies. Lying in word and deed is the one weapon with which he can assail the simplicity of man.

But how does this apply to the Judaisers in Corinth? To Paul, we must understand, they were men affecting to serve Christ, but really impelled by personal, or at the utmost by partisan, feelings. Their true object was to win an ascendency for themselves, or for their party, in the Church; but they made their way into it as evangelists and apostles. Nominally, they were ministers of Christ; really, they ministered to their own vanity, and to the bigotry and prejudices of their race. They professed to be furthering the cause of righteousness, but in sober truth the only cause which was the better for them was that of their own private importance; the result of their ministry was, not that bad men became good, but that they themselves felt entitled to give themselves airs. Over against all this unreality Paul remembers the righteous judgment of God. "Whose end," he concludes abruptly, "shall be according to their works."

The most serious aspect of such a situation as this is seen when we consider that men may fill it unconsciously: they may devote themselves to a cause which looks like the cause of Christ, or the cause of righteousness; and at bottom it may not be Christ or righteousness at all which is the animating principle in their hearts. It is some hidden regard to themselves, or to a party with which they are identified. Even when they labor, and possibly suffer, it is this, and not loyalty to Christ, which sustains them. It may be in defense of orthodoxy, or in furtherance of liberalism, that a man puts himself forward in the Church, and in either case he will figure to those who agree with him as a servant of righteousness; but equally in either case the secret spring of his action may be pride, the desire to assert a superiority, to consolidate a party which is his larger self, to secure an area in which he may rule. He may spend energy and talent on the work; but if this is the ultimate motive of it, it is the work of the devil, and not of God. Even if the doctrine he defends is the true one-even if the policy he maintains is the right one-the services he may accidentally render are far outweighed by the domestication in the Church of a spirit so alien to the Lords. It is diabolical, not divine; the Gospel is profaned by contact with it; the Church is prostituted when it serves as an arena for its exercise; when it comes forward in tile interest of righteousness, it is Satan fashioning himself into an angel of light.

At this point Paul returns to the idea which has been in his mind since 2Co_10:7 -the idea of boasting, or rather glorying. He does not like the thing itself, and just as little does he like the mask of a fool, under which he is to play the part: he is conscious that neither suits him. Hence he clears the ground once more, before he commits himself. "Again, I say, let no man think that I am foolish; but if that favor cannot be granted, then even as a foolish person receive me, that I also may boast a little." There is a fine satirical reflection in the "also." If he does make a fool of himself by boasting, he is only doing what the others do, whom the Corinthians receive with open arms. But it strikes his conscience suddenly that there is a higher rule for the conduct of a Christian man than the example of his rivals, or the patience of his friends. The tenderness of Pauls spirit comes out in the next words: "What I speak, I speak not after the Lord, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of glorying." The Lord never boasted; nothing could be conceived less like Him, less after His mind; and Paul will have it distinctly understood that His character is not compromised by any extravagance of which His servant may here make himself guilty. As a rule, the Apostle did speak "after the Lord"; his habitual consciousness was that of one who had "the mind of Christ," and who felt that Christs character was, in a sense, in his keeping. That ought to be the rule for all Christians; we should never find ourselves in situations in which the Christian character, with all its responsibilities, affecting both ourselves and Him, cannot be maintained. With Christ and His interests removed from the scene, Paul at length feels himself free to measure himself against his rivals. "Since many glory after the flesh, I also will glory." The flesh means everything except the spirit. Where Christ and the Gospel are concerned, it is, according to Paul, an absolute irrelevance, a thing to be simply left out of account; but since they persist in dragging it in, he will meet them on their own ground. What that is, first comes out clearly in 2Co_11:22 : but the Apostle delays again to urge his plea for tolerance. "Ye suffer the foolish gladly, being wise yourselves." It answers best to the vehemence of the whole passage to take the first clause here-"Ye suffer the foolish gladly"-as grim earnest, the reference being to the other boasters, Pauls rivals; and only the second clause ironically. Then 2Co_11:20 would give the proof of this: "Ye bear with the foolish gladly for ye bear with a man if he enslaves you, if he devours you, if he takes you captive, if he exalts himself over you, if he strikes you on the face." We must suppose that this strong language describes the overbearing and violent behavior of the Judaists in Corinth. We do not need to take it literally, but neither may we suppose that Paul spoke at random: he is virtually contrasting his own conduct and that of the people in question, and the nature of the contrast must be on the whole correctly indicated. He himself had been accused of weakness; and he frankly admits that, if comparison has to be made with a line of action like this, the accusation is just. "I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had been weak." This rendering of the Revised Version fairly conveys the meaning. It might be expressed in a paraphrase, as follows: "In saying what I have said of the behavior of my rivals, I have been speaking to my own disparagement, the idea involved being that I" (notice the emphatic ημεις) "have been weak. Weak, no doubt, I was, if violent action like theirs is the true measure of strength: nevertheless, wherein soever any is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also. On whatever ground they claim to exercise such extraordinary powers, that ground I can maintain as well as they."

Here, finally, the boasting does begin. "Are they Hebrews? so am I Are they Israelites? so am I Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I" This is the sum and substance of what is meant by their glorying after the flesh: they prided themselves on their birth, and claimed authority on the strength of it. They may have appealed, not only to the election of Israel as the Old Testament represents it, but to words of Jesus, like "Salvation is of the Jews." The three names for what is in reality one thing convey the impression of the immense importance which was assigned to it. "Hebrews" seems the least significant; it is merely the national name, with whatever historical glories attached to it in Hebrew minds. "Israelites" is a sacred name; it is identified with the prerogatives of the theocratic people: Paul himself, when his heart swells with patriotic emotion, begins the enumeration of the privileges belonging to his kinsmen after the flesh-"they who are Israelites." "Seed of Abraham," again, is for the Apostle, and probably for these rivals of his, equivalent to "heirs of the promises"; it describes the Jewish people as more directly and immediately interested-nay, as alone directly and immediately interested-in the salvation of God. No one could read Rom_9:4 f. without feeling that pride of race-pride in his people, and in their special relation to God and special place in the history of redemption was among the strongest passions in the Apostles heart; and we can understand the indignation and scorn with which he regarded men who tracked him over Asia and Europe, assailed his authority, and sought to undermine his work, on the ground that he was faithless to the lawful prerogatives of Israel. There was not an Israelite in the world prouder of his birth, with a more magnificent sense of his countrys glories, than the Apostle of the Gentiles: and it provoked him beyond endurance to see the things in, Which he gloried debased, as they were debased, by his rivals-made the symbols of a paltry vanity which he despised, made barriers to the universal love of God by which all the families of the earth were to be blessed. Driven to extremity, he could only outlaw such opponents from the Christian community, and transfer the prerogatives of Israel to the Church. "We," he taught his Gentile converts to say-"we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh." {Php_3:3}

Here he does not linger long over what is merely external. It is a deeper question that he asks in 2Co_11:23, "Are they ministers of Christ?" and he feels like a man beside himself, clean out of his senses (παραφρονων) - so unsuitable is the subject for boasting-as he answers, "I more." Many interpret this as if it meant, "I am more than a servant of Christ," and then ask wonderingly, "What more?" but surely., the natural meaning is, "I am a servant too, a higher degree." The proof of this is given in that tale of sufferings which bursts irrepressibly, from the Apostles heart, and sweeps us m its course like a torrent. If he thought of his rivals when he began, and was instituting a serious comparison when he wrote "in labors more abundantly [than they]," they must soon have escaped from his mind. It is his own life as a minister of Christ on which he dwells; and after the first words, if a comparison is to be made, he leaves the making of it to others. But comparison, in fact, was out of the question: the sufferings of the Apostle in doing service to Christ were unparalleled and alone. The few lines which he devotes to them are the most vivid light we have on the apostolic age and the apostolic career. They show how fragmentary, or at all events how select, is the narrative in the Book of Acts. Thus of the incidents mentioned in 2Co_11:25 we learn but little from St. Luke. Of the five times nine-and-thirty stripes, he mentions none; of the three beatings with rods, only one; of the three shipwrecks, none, {or Act_27:1-44, is later} and nothing of the twenty-four hours in the deep. It is not necessary to comment on details, but one cannot resist the impression of triumph with which Paul recounts the "perils" he had faced; so many they were, so various, and so terrible, yet in the Lords service he has come safely though them all. It is a commentary from his own hand on his own word-"as dying, and, behold, we live!" In the retrospect all these perils show, not only that he is a true servant of Christ, entering into the fellowship of his Masters sufferings to bring blessing to men, but that he is owned by Christ as such: the Lord has delivered him from deaths so great; yes, and will deliver him; and his hope is set on Him for every deliverance he may need. {2Co_1:10}

But, after all, these perils are but outward, and the very enumeration of them shows that they are things of the past. In all their kinds and degrees - violence, privation, exposure, fear-they are a historical testimony to the devotion with which Paul has served Christ. He bore in his body the marks which they had left, and to him they were the marks of Jesus; they identified him as Christs slave. But not to mention incidental matters, there is another testimony to his ministry which is ever with him-a burden as crushing as these bodily sufferings, and far more constant in its pressure: "that which cometh upon me daily, anxiety for all the Churches." Short of this, anything of which man can boast may be, at least in a qualified sense, "after the flesh"; but in this identification of himself with Christs cause in the world-this bearing of others burdens on his spirit-there is that fulfillment of Christs law which alone and finally legitimates a Christian ministry. Nor was it merely in an official sense that Paul was interested in the affairs of the Church. When the Church is once planted in the world, it has a side which is of the world, a side which may be administered without a very heavy expenditure of Christian feeling: this, it is safe to say, is simply out of sight. Pauls anxiety for the Churches is defined in all its scope and intensity in the passionate words of the twenty-ninth verse {2Co_11:29}: "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I burn not?" His love individualized Christian people, and made him one with them. There was no trembling timorous soul, no scrupulous conscience, in all the communities he had founded, whose timidity and weakness did not put a limit to his strength: he condescended to their intelligence, feeding them with milk, and not with meat; he measured his liberty, not in principle, but in practice, by their bondage; his heart thrilled with their fears; in the fullness of his Christ-like strength he lived a hundred feeble lives. And when spiritual harm came to one of them-when the very least was made to stumble, and was caught in the snare of falsehood or sin-the pain in his heart was like burning fire. The sorrow that pierced the soul of Christ pierced his soul also; the indignation that glowed in the Masters breast, as He pronounced woe on the man by whom occasions of stumbling come, glowed again in him. This is the fire that Christ came to cast on the earth, and that He longed to see kindled-this prompt intense sympathy with all that is of God in mens souls, this readiness to be weak with the weak, this pain and indignation when the selfishness or pride of men leads the weak astray, and imperils the work for which Christ died. And this is indeed the Apostles last line of defense. Nowhere could boasting be less in place than when a man speaks of the lessons he has learned at the Cross: yet these only give him a title to glory as "a minister of Christ." If glorying here is inadmissible, it is because glorying in every sense is "folly."

William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.

11:7 Paul was preaching God’s Good News . . . without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3; 20:34) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9; 2 Thes 3:8-9). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2Co 11:7. Ἢ ἁμαρτίαν) Or have I committed a sin? So, an objection might be raised against that assertion of the apostle in last verse, ἐν παντὶ, in everything.—ταπεινῶν, abasing myself) in my mode of living. [He had waived his apostolic right in this matter.—V. g.]—ὑψωθῆτε, ye might be exalted) spiritually.—τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐαγγέλιον, the Gospel of God) divine, most precious.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co_11:7. That Paul meant by his ἐν παντὶ φανερωθ. an advantageous manifestation, was obvious of itself; comp. 2Co_5:11. Hence, in order now to make good a distinctive peculiar point of his φανέρωσις, he continues with a question of bitter pain, such as the sense of being maliciously misunderstood brought to his lips: Or have I committed sinabasing myself in order that ye might be exaltedthat I gratuitously preached to you the gospel of God? No doubt the opponents had turned this noble sacrifice on his part, by way of reproach, into un-apostolic meannes.

ἐμαυτὸν ταπεινῶν] namely, by my renouncing, in order to teach gratuitously, my apostolic ἐξουσία, 1 Corinthians 9, and contenting myself with very scanty and mean support (comp. Act_18:3; Act_20:34). Chrysostom and others exaggerate it ἐν στενοχωρίᾳ διήγαγον, for καὶ ὑστερηθείς, 2Co_11:8, is only a temporary increased degree of the ταπείνωσις.

ἵνα ὑμεῖς ὑψωθῆτε] viz. from the lowness of the dark and lost pre-Christian condition through conversion, instruction, and pastoral care to the height of the Christian salvation. It is much too vague to take it of prosperity in general (Schulz, Rosenmüller, Flatt); and when Zachariae explains it: in order to prefer you to other churches, or when others think of the riches not lessened by the gratuitous preaching (Mosheim, Heumann, Morus, Emmerling), they quite fail to see the apostles delicate way of significantly varying the relations. Comp. 2Co_8:9. Chrysostom already saw the right meaning: μᾶλλον ᾠκοδομοῦντο καὶ οὐκ ἐσκανδαλίζοντο.

ὅτι] that, belongs to ἁμαρτ. ἐποίησα (to which ἐμαυτ. ταπεινῶν is an accompanying modal definition), inserted for the sake of disclosing the contrast of the case as it stood to the question. Ὅτι may also be taken as an exegesis of ἐμαυτ. ταπειν. κ.τ.λ., so that already with the latter the committing of sin would be described as regards its contents; comp. Act_21:13; Mar_11:5 (so Luther, Beza, and many others, also Osiander). But our view interweaves more skilfully into one the question with its contradictory content.

δωρεάν] has the emphasi.

τοῦ θεοῦ] Genitivus auctoris. Note the juxtaposition: δωρεὰν τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ εὐαγγ.: gratuitously the gospel of God (pretiosissimum, Bengel).

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 11:7 . ἢ ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησα κ . τ . λ .: or did I commit a sin (note the irony) in abasing myself ( cf. Phi 4:12 ), that ye might be exalted, sc. , in spiritual privileges ( cf. 1Co 9:11 ), because I preached to you the Gospel of God for nought?

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7–15. THE APOSTLE’S GLORYING ABOUT WORKING GRATUITOUSLY

With this passage 1 Corinthians 9, especially 2Co 11:12; 2Co 11:15; 2Co 11:18, should be compared. It was one of the marked characteristics of S. Paul’s ministry, that he did not avail himself of Christ’s principle, that ‘the labourer is worthy of his food,’ and that ‘they which proclaim the Gospel should live of the Gospel’ (Mat 10:10; Luk 10:7; 1Co 9:14). He did not claim support from the congregations in which he laboured, but maintained himself by the handicraft, which he had learned in his Cilician home, of making cilicium, a fabric of goats’ hair, used for tent-making (Act 18:3) and coverings of all kinds. Of this manufacture Tarsus was a centre; and, wherever he went, Paul could find purchasers for this useful material. This well-known practice of his, of supporting himself by his own handiwork, is mentioned in connexion with his work at Thessalonica (1Th 2:9; 2Th 3:8) and at Ephesus, where he perhaps showed αἱ χεῖρες αὗται, roughened with toil, as he spoke (Act 20:34). But it is of his work in Corinth that the fact is first mentioned; and it was perhaps there that it provoked most comment and criticism (Act 18:3; 1 Corinthians 9; 2Co 11:7-15; 2Co 12:14-18).

It was one of the charges of the Sophists against Socrates and Plato, that these philosophers taught gratuitously, thus confessing that their teaching was worth nothing; to which Socrates replied that it was shameful, and like prostitution, to turn the imparting of wisdom into a trade; while Plato pointed out that a man who could really teach men to be just might be sure that those whom he had made just would deal fairly with him; to insist on payment was to confess that the teaching would not be successful (Xen. Mem. I. vi. 1; Plat. Gorg. 520, Apol. 20; Arist. Eth Nic. IX. i. 5–7; Grote, Hist. of Greece, VIII. pp. 482 ff.; Windelband, Hist. of Anc. Philosophy, p. 110).

The same kind of charge may have been made by the Judaizers at Corinth. ‘Other Apostles did not hesitate to accept maintenance. Why did Paul refuse it? Because he knew that he was no true Apostle; or, because he set up as being better than the Twelve; or, because he was too proud to accept hospitality. And what an undignified thing for an Apostle to be a weaver of goats’ hair! Evidently reproaches of this kind increased since he wrote 1 Corinthians, in which he does not make much allusion to them.

7. Ἤ ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησα κ.τ.λ. Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you God’s gospel for nothing? For ἤ introducing an emphatic question comp. 1Co 6:2; Rom 2:4; Rom 3:29; Rom 6:3. The strong expression ἁμαρτίαν ποιῆσαι (1Jn 3:9; 1Pe 1:22; comp. τὴν ἀμ. π. 1Jn 3:4; 1Jn 3:8; Joh 8:34) is ironical. S. Paul uses it nowhere else: see Westcott on 1Jn 3:4. In ἐμαυτὸν ταπεινῶν he was following the example (Php 2:8) and the direction of Christ (Mat 18:4; Mat 23:12; Luk 14:11; Luk 18:14). He refers specially to working for his living in a rough handicraft. By ὑψωθῆτε he does not mean, ‘that you might be better off, through not having to support me,’ which is very inadequate; but ‘that you might be raised from heathenism to Christianity.’ He had just spoken of his manifesting his knowledge everywhere: they could hardly blame him for that. Or was it a crime that he manifested it gratis? Note the emphatic juxtaposition of δωρεάν and τὸ τοῦ θεοῦ εὐαγγέλιον: the most precious thing in the world is to be had for nothing (Rom 3:24; Rev 21:6; Rev 22:17). Note also the emphatic position of τοῦ θεοῦ: it is God’s Gospel, which that of the Judaizers is not. Elsewhere he writes τὸ εὑαγγ. τοῦ θεοῦ (Rom 15:16; 1Th 2:2; 1Th 2:8-9; comp. Mar 1:14): 1Pe 4:17 as here.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Another slander, to wit, that he was a rascal, and lived by the labor of his own hands. But herein, saith the Apostle, what can you lay against me, but that I was content to take any pains for your sakes, and when I lacked, to travail for my living with mine own hands in part, and partly also when poverty constrained me, I chose rather otherwise to seek my sustenance, than to be any burden to you, although I preached the Gospel unto you?

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

Have I--literally, "OR have I?" Connected with Co2 11:6, "Or will any of you make it an objection that I have preached to you gratuitously?" He leaves their good feeling to give the answer, that this, so far from being an objection, was a decided superiority in him above the false apostles (Co1 9:6-15).

abasing myself--in my mode of living, waiving my right of maintenance, and earning it by manual labor; perhaps with slaves as his fellow laborers (Act 18:3; Phi 4:12).

ye . . . exalted--spiritually, by your admission to Gospel privileges.

because--"in that."

gospel of God--"of God" implies its divine glory to which they were admitted.

freely--"without charge."

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 7. Have I committed an offence in abasing myself] Have I transgressed in labouring with my hands that I might not be chargeable to you? and getting my deficiencies supplied by contributions from other Churches, while I was employed in labouring for your salvation? Does your false apostle insinuate that I have disgraced the apostolic office by thus descending to servile labour for my support? Well; I have done this that you might be exalted-that you might receive the pure doctrines of the Gospel, and be exalted to the highest pitch of intellectual light and blessedness. And will you complain that I preached the Gospel gratis to you? Surely not. The whole passage is truly ironical.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7. Have I committed an offense? His humility was cast up to him by way of reproach, while it was an excellence that was deserving of no ordinary commendation. Humility here means — voluntary abasement; for in conducting himself modestly, as if he had nothing in him that was particularly excellent, so that many looked upon him as one of the common people, he had done that for the advantage of the Corinthians. For the man was inflamed with so great a desire, and so great an anxiety for their salvation, that he made a regard to himself a secondary consideration. Hence he says, that he had of his own accord made a surrender of his own greatness, that they might become great through his abasement. For his design was, that he might promote their salvation. He now indirectly charges them with ingratitude, in imputing to him as a fault so pious a disposition — not indeed for the purpose of reproaching him, but with the view of restoring them so much the better to a sound mind. And certainly, he wounded them more severely by speaking ironically, than if he had spoken in a simple way, and without a figure. He might have said, “What is this? Am I despised by you, because I have lowered myself for your advantage?” The questioning, however, which he makes use of, was more forcible for putting them to shame.

Because I preached freely This is a part of his abasement. For he had given up his own right, as though his condition had been inferior to that of others; but such was the unreasonableness of some of them, that they esteemed him the less on that account, as if he had been undeserving of remuneration. The reason, why he had given his services to the Corinthians gratuitously, is immediately subjoined — for he did not act in this manner everywhere, but, as we have seen in the former Epistle, there was a danger of his furnishing the false Apostles with a handle against him.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(7) Have I committed an offence (literally, a sin) in abasing myself . . .?—The rival teachers apparently boasted of their disinterestedness. “They didn’t come for what they could get.” St. Paul, we know, more than most men, had acted on the law of which they boasted as their special distinction, and in 1Co_9:1-18, in the discussion on the question of eating things sacrificed to idols, had dwelt with a pardonable fulness on his own conduct in this matter, as an example of foregoing an abstract right for the sake of a greater good. His enemies were compelled to admit this as far as his life at Corinth was concerned; but they had detected what they looked on as a grave inconsistency. He had accepted help from the churches of Macedonia (2Co_11:9), and in this they found ground for a two-fold charge: “He wasn’t above taking money from other churches—he was only too proud to take it from that of Corinth;” and this was made matter of personal offence. To take money at all was mean; not to take it from them was contemptuous.

He does not deny the facts. He repeats the irritating epithet, “abasing myself”; he adds the familiar antithesis (Mat_23:12; Luk_1:52; Luk_14:11; Luk_18:11), “Yes, but I did it that you might be exalted,” perhaps with reference to elevation in spiritual knowledge, perhaps, because the fact that he laboured for them without payment was the greatest proof of disinterested love for them which could be given.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. Have I committed an offence] Literally, committed sin (don sinne, Wiclif. Did I therein synne? Tyndale, Cranmer and the Geneva version). This passage is ironical. The Corinthians had allowed St Paul’s anxious desire not to be burdensome to them to be used against him (see 1Co_9:1-14). He asks if such an anxiety for their welfare was to be imputed to him as a sin. Cf. the very similar passage in ch. 2Co_12:13.

abasing myself] i.e. by working for his living, when he might have enjoyed what men are apt to regard as a dignified ease at their expense. For the word see note on ch. 2Co_10:1.

that you might be exalted] He speaks, not of temporal exaltation, for his coming made no difference, unless perhaps for the worse, in their temporal condition, but of the “height of Christian salvation” (Meyer) to which they had been lifted.

freely] Cf. 1Co_9:12-18; 1Th_2:9; Mat_10:8. There is a contrast intended between the greatness of the gift, the Gospel of God, and the cost for which it was imparted, for nothing (literally, as a gift). Cf. Isa_55:1.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Have I committed an offence in abasing myself,.... Either by behaving among them, when he was first with them, in a very modest and humble manner, in much fear and trembling, without pride and haughtiness, or affectation of power and authority over them; or by using a popular style, suited to the capacity of the common people; or by labouring with his own hands, exercising his trade of tent making among them, that he might provide food for himself, and not be chargeable to them; and which he suggests was so far from being criminal in him, that he ought rather to be commended for it; since it could not be thought to be with any view to himself, and his own advantage, but purely for their good:

that you might be exalted; that nothing might lie in their way of receiving the Gospel of Christ, or prejudice them against it; that they might the more easily be brought to listen to it, come to the knowledge of it, and embrace it, and so be exalted, as they were, to a participation of the grace of Christ; to fellowship with him; to the honour and dignity of being a church of Christ; to an enjoyment of the privileges of God's house; to have a name better than that of sons and daughters, and to have a right and title to the heavenly glory: "because", or is it

because I have preached to you the Gospel of God freely? The Gospel he preached was not his own, but God's; of which he was the author; his grace was the subject of it, and his glory the end of its ministration; which he had given to the apostle to preach; to which he had separated him, for which he had abundantly qualified him, and in which he was greatly succeeded by him. This he preached "freely" to the Corinthians at his first coming among them, without putting them to any expense, or receiving anything from them; which though he might lawfully have done, yet he judged it most advisable, at that time, to minister to his own necessities, by working with his hands, lest he should be burdensome to them; and this be an objection to the Gospel he preached, that he sought rather theirs than them; and for so doing he was not to be blamed, but to be praised: and yet such was the weakness of many at least in this church, that they highly valued the false apostles, who made merchandise of them, and treated with contempt this excellent servant of Christ, who had freely imparted the Gospel to them.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?

Ver. 7. I have preached to you freely] Because he get his living with his hands, that he might preach gratis, they despised him as a mean mechanic. This is merces mundi, the world’s wages. Nil habet infaelix paupertas, &c. Ministers must have an honourable maintenance (and not be forced to weave for a living, as Musculus was, or to serve the mason, as another great scholar), or else they will be shamefully slighted.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Have I committed an offence - Have I done wrong. Greek, “Have I committed a sin.” There is here a somewhat abrupt transition from the previous verse; and the connection is not very apparent. Perhaps the connection is this. “I admit my inferiority in regard to my manner of speaking. But this does not interfere with my full understanding of the doctrines which I preach, nor does it interfere with the numerous evidences which I have furnished that I am called to the office of an apostle. What then is the ground of offence? In what have I erred? Wherein have I shown that I was not qualified to be an apostle? Is it in the fact that I have not chosen to press my claim to a support, but have preached the gospel without charge?” There can be no doubt that they urged this as an objection to him, and as a proof that he was conscious that he had no claim to the office of an apostle; see the notes on 1Co. 9:3-18. Paul here answers this charge; and the sum of his reply is, that he had received a support, but that it had come from others, a support which they had furnished because the Corinthians had neglected to do it.

In abasing myself - By laboring with my own hands; by submitting to voluntary poverty, and by neglecting to urge my reasonable claims for a support.

That ye might be exalted - In spiritual blessings and comforts. I did it because I could thus better promote religion among you. I could thus avoid the charge of aiming at the acquisition of wealth; could shut the mouths of gainsayers, and could more easily secure access to you. Is it now to be seriously urged as a fault that I have sought your welfare, and that in doing it I have submitted to great self-denial and to many hardships? See notes on 1Co 9:18 ff.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Did I commit a fault? &c. It is a kind of reproach to them, and by the figure, called irony, with a reflection on the false preachers, who some way or other, got themselves handsomely maintained, while St. Paul neither took, nor would take any thing of them, that his adversaries might not have an occasion to say, he did as they did, or that they only did as he did. And lest they should suspect that he would receive nothing from them, because he did not love them (as men sometimes refuse presents from those whom they do not love) he appeals to God, how much he loves them. But he will have this to boast of against his adversaries, those false apostles and crafty labourers, who cunningly endeavoured to transform themselves, that they might be thought the apostles of Christ, insinuating themselves into their favour, and receiving at least presents from them, which St. Paul would not do, though it was but reasonable that he should live by the gospel. See 1 Corinthians chap. ix. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

What is it that hath made you take such offence at me; seeing you cannot say, that either in my call, or in my gifts and graces, or in my labours, or in the success of my labours, I have been inferior to the chiefest of the apostles? Doth this offend you, that for your sake I have veiled my authority, and departed from my right? Which makes some of you say, I am base in presence. Is it for my putting you to no charge in my preaching the gospel? This was a thing wherein he gloried, and told them, 1Co 9:6,12,15, that he would rather die, than have his glorying void in this particular.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7-12. Another, and the last, slur received from his detractors now is treated. They had rigidly exacted pay of the Corinthians for services, (ver.

20,) but Paul had refused all compensation. They therefore tried a twofold expedient; on the one hand to say that he refused pay because he was conscious of being a false apostle: and if that induced him to receive pay, then to say they were as good as he; for he took pay as well as themselves.

7. Committed… offence—As towards the Corinthians the offence would be the placing them in the beggarly position of receiving gratuitous benefit, and so (2Co_11:10) showing want of love, Paul admits the fact of a determination, to cut off all chance for his detractors, to receive no pay from Corinth.

Abasing myself—By working at his trade of tent-making, as he did for months with Aquila at Corinth. Act_18:3.

Exalted—Into a powerful Christian Church.

Freely—Gratuitously.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Have I? literally, or have I? An ironical exception to his manifestation of knowledge; "unless you think that I committed a sin in refusing to accept maintenance at your hands." It is clear that even this noble generosity had been made the ground for a charge against the apostle. "If he had not been conscious," they said, "that he has no real claims, he would not have preached for nothing, when he had a perfect right to be supported by his converts". (1Co_9:1-15) Abasing myself. The trade of tentmaker was despised, tedious, and mechanical, and it did not suffice to provide even for Paul"s small needs. (Act_18:3 Act_20:34) That ye might be exalted; namely, by spiritual. (Eph_2:4-6) The gospel freely. Some of them would feel the vast contrast between the words. The gospel was the most precious gift of God, and they had got it for nothing. Compare the fine lines of Lowell

For a cap and bells our lives we pay, Bubbles we earn with our whole soul"s tasking; "Tis only God who is given away, "Tis only heaven may be had for the asking.

To be a free and unpaid missionary was St. Paul"s pride (1Th_2:9; 2Th_3:8, 2Th_3:9; Act_20:33)

Vers. 7-12.

Questions asked and answered.

His enemies had charged that, if he were an apostle, he would have claimed a support from the Corinthians. Instead of that, he had worked at his trade as a tentmaker, and done what he could to gain a livelihood. It had been used against him. Was it, then, beneath the dignity of an apostle to labour with his own hands? What his right was to a maintenance he knew and they knew. But he had waived this right for reasons most satisfactory to himself. Had he committed a sin in this voluntary abasement that they might be exalted by his preaching gratuitously the gospel of God? Was this at variance with his statement that he had been "thoroughly made manifest" among them "in all things," and was not "a whit behind the very chiefest apostles"? In coming to Corinth, and while labouring there, he had "robbed other Churches," and what he lacked in sustaining himself had been supplied from Macedonia. This was done that he might not be "burdensome" unto them. Would his opponents say that he would claim remuneration for the future, or that he was running up a debt against them? Nay; the future shall be as the past. "So will I keep myself." Speaking in accordance with Christ"s truth in him, he would avow a fixed determination that this boasting should never be denied him in Achaia. But would they misinterpret this language and accuse him of wanting kind feelings towards them? "God knoweth." To be suspected of such a motive would do him wrong, since he meant it to be a proof of the sincerity and earnestness of his ministry in their behalf. No one should charge him with selfishness; he would be disinterested in all the services rendered to Corinth, that he might "cut off occasion from them" who were always eager to find or make an "occasion" against his apostleship. Had he, then, descended from the ordinary level of the apostolic office, and abased himself, that the Corinthians might be exalted by a special proof of his disinterested love? Further than this, he would protect the Church against these money-loving partisans, who, while standing in a hostile attitude towards him and his work, were looking after their own sordid interest, and intent on making a gain of godliness. "Wherein they glory, they may be found even as we." It was the spiritual intelligence of love. It was the prudence of sanctified worldly experience; and the wisdom of the serpent and the harmlessness of the dove were never more happily blended. L.

Gratuitous ministry.

It has been usual for all communities who possess religious ordinances and organizations to set apart an order of men to officiate as the representatives of the people generally, and to maintain them either by voluntary offerings or by public provision. The Lord Jesus sanctioned the maintenance of the Christian ministry by his general principle, "The labourer is worthy of his hire." And no one has more vigorously vindicated the right of spiritual teachers and preachers to live at the expense of those whom they benefit than has the Apostle Paul. Yet for himself, as the text and context prove, he was determined to waive this right, and to preach the gospel of God for nought. Why was this?

I THE PRINCIPLE OF GRATUITOUS MINISTRY IS THE BENEVOLENCE AND SACRIFICE OF CHRIST. Of our Lord Jesus we know that, though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, that he had not where to lay his head, that he had no possessions in this world which was yet his own. The spirit of the Master has in a greater or less measure penetrated the disciples. They have felt the force of the appeal, "Freely ye have received, freely give." No other religion has a supernatural power mighty enough to overcome the selfishness and self-seeking so characteristic of human nature.

II THE AIM OF GRATUITOUS MINISTRY IS THE SALVATION OF MEN. It is not expected that men should labour without fee or reward in order to supply the ordinary bodily and social wants of their fellow men. The apostle preached at Corinth amidst weakness, weariness, discouragement, and ingratitude, because he sought the spiritual welfare of the population of that wealthy, intellectual, but profligate city. His heart was moved by the spectacle of vice and idolatry which encumbered him on every side, and, being in possession of the true and only remedy, he sought to bring it within the reach and urge it upon the acceptance of all.

III THE SPECIAL PURPOSE OF GRATUITOUS MINISTRY IS TO REMOVE THE MINISTRY ABOVE THE SUSPICION OF INTERESTED MOTIVES. It is upon this that the Apostle Paul in this passage lays such stress. There were professing Christians who were ready enough to bring the charge of covetousness against the apostle of the Gentiles, and so to undermine his credit and authority. There was one way in which such designs might be surely and conclusively defeated, and, although this was a way involving self-denial to himself, Paul adopted it. He laboured with his hands, he accepted help from the poor Christians of Macedonia, so that he might hold himself altogether flee from any suspicion of working at Corinth for the sake of anything he might receive from the Corinthians. Herein he exemplified his own axiom, "All things are lawful, but all things are not expedient.

APPLICATION.

1. Learn the wonderful and unique power of the Christian religion, whichalone is capable of vanquishing the sinful selfishness of human nature.

2. Learn the importance of so acting as not to leave room even forsuspicion or calumny to injure Christian character and cripple Christian usefulness. T.

Vers. 7-12.

Misinterpretation.

I OUR BEST ACTS MAY BE MISINTERPRETED. Acts of the greatest nobility and unselfishness have often been. The world"s greatest benefactors have tasted the bitterness of being misunderstood.

1. We should not judge of our acts by man"s estimate of them.

2. We should not be surprised by any interpretation put on them.

3. We should not be dismayed by any interpretation.

4. We should rejoice that we have a higher, wiser, and more impartialtribunal than the human. Our Master said, "Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you!" (Luk_6:26) a pregnant warning to those who live upon the approval of men!

II MISINTERPRETATION SHOULD NOT HINDER US FROM CONTINUING IN A RIGHT COURSE.

1. We have not to give account to men, but to God.

2. To change our conduct might not avoid misinterpretation, but rathergive occasion for it (ver. 12).

III MISINTERPRETATION MAY BE MET AT SUITABLE TIMES BY EXPLANATION AND JUSTIFICATION OF CONDUCT.

1. It is well to take away occasion for misinterpretation. Misinterpretation,like martyrdom, should not be courted. Both should be borne heroically when they meet us in the path of duty.

2. It is often well to show that misinterpretation is misinterpretation. Weshould not forget that misinterpretation may

1. injure our usefulness;

2. injure those who misinterpret us;

3. bring dishonour upon Christ.

In this matter we have need to be wise as serpents and harmless as doves. H.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Have I committed an offense - Will any turn this into an objection? In humbling myself - To work at my trade. That ye might be exalted - To be children of God.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

offence

Sin. (See Scofield "Rom 3:23").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Observe here, 1. That St. Paul, in his former epistle to the Corinthians, abundantly proved the lawfulness of his taking maintenance from those to whom he preached the gospel: Yet here he tells the Corinthians, he preached freely to them, without putting them to any charge, though at the same time, he had subsistence from the brethren of Macedonia.

From whence learn, That one church ought to contribute towards the furtherance of the gospel in and amongst other churches. Here the brethren in Macedonia supplied the apostle with maintenance, whilst he preached to the church at Corinth.

Observe, 2. The reason why St. Paul did preach the gospel without receiving any thing for the same at Corinth; namely, to cut off occasion from the false apostles, who sought occasion to traduce and slander him, as a poor indigent fellow that preached for bread, and gloried that he preached freely.

Where note, That it is probable, that these false apostles were some rich men, who took no pay of the churches for what they did, but preached, or rather deceived freely, and would have reproached the apostle as a mercenary preacher, had he taken any thing.

From the whole, learn, 1. That it is agreeable to the mind of Christ, that the ministers and dispensers of his gospel should be maintained. A maintenance for the ministry, is certainly of divine right.

Learn, 2. That the apostles themselves did not all work, at least, not at all times, for their livelihood, but, generally speaking, did always receive maintenance from the churches: ver, 8, I robbed other churches, taking wages of them. We do not find the eleven apostles, after the Holy Ghost came upon them, wrought afterwards with their hands for their livelihood, but gave themselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word, Act 4:4.

Learn, 3. That though St. Paul did labour with his own hands at Corinth, and refused maintenance, for the reason forementioned, yet his example doth not enjoin us to work for our subsistence, with the labour of our hands, nor forbid us to take maintenance, when the churches we serve are able to maintain us. St. Paul tells us, when he wrought with his hands, he had then a power to leave working, 1Co 9:6. He had a right to a maintenance from the church at Corinth, though, upon prudential consideration, he did forbear it, and no law of Christ restrained him from it.

Learn, 4. That there have been persons, all along, from the first planting and preaching of the gospel, who have sought occasion, and taken all occasions, though very unjustly, to charge the ministers of Christ with covetousness, worldly mindedness, and with preaching for filthy lucre sake. It was St. Paul’s own case here; and therefore, says he, will I glory in this, that at Corinth, and all Achaia, I have preached freely, to cut off occasion from them that desire occasion, to charge me with covetousness and worldly-mindedness, which he would by no means give them an handle for. And thus it continues to this day: Let a minister be never so laborious in his office, or inoffensive in his life, if he expects but a moderate part of what is his just due, there are those that will cheat him of one half of his right, and them charge him with covetousness for demanding the other.

Observe, lastly, The description and character here given by St. Paul of the false apostles, They transform themselves into the apostles of Christ. that is, they pretend themselves to be Christ’s apostles, and act as if they were such indeed; they take up the doctrine of Christ in some things which the holy apostles taught, but it was that they might weaken the estimation of the true apostles in the hearts of the Corinthians, and set up themselves there.-

These false apostles was Judaizing Christians, who mingled Judaism with Christianity, and endeavoured to bring the Corinthians under the bondage of the ceremonial law. Behold here the first heresy with which the wisdom of God was pleased to exercise the church, even in the apostles’ days, that no church, and no age of the church, might pass without some temptation and trial; they transform themselves into the apostles of Christ, even as Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Then is Satan an angel of light, when he suggests good for evil ends, and under specious pretences of bringing glory to God, doth tempt persons to transgress the will of God.

Thus the false apostles would preach error with as great zeal and industry, as the apostles of Christ did preach truth, and use their utmost arguments, persuasions, and motives, for embracing of error, which the holy apostles did for the entertainment of truth, seeming to do the same things that the true ministers of Christ did. It is very possible for men to be really Satan’s instruments, animated and taught by him to do his work, against the interest of Christ and his truth, and yet, at the same time, pretend to excel and go beyond Christ’s faithful ministers in preaching truth and holiness. So that the highest pretences to truth, orthodoxness, free grace, purity, and unity, are no sufficient evidences of a true ministry. Satan and his ministers, who love to transform themselves sometimes into angels of light, may pretend to all these, and are, notwithstanding, the sworn enemies of Christ and his kingdom.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I preached to you the gospel of God for nought? [A second accusation which his enemies never wearied in presenting was that he had preached the gospel in Corinth without charge. They had said that he did this because he knew that he was not an apostle, and so was hindered by his conscience from taking the wages of an apostle--see 1Co_9:1-15 and notes. As Paul has already refuted this charge, he does not repeat the refutation; he merely asks them if he had committed a sin in so doing.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

7–12. Have I committed an offense, etc. He had at Corinth supported himself in part by his own labor (Acts 18:3). See note on 1 Cor. 9:13. Yet these false apostles seemed to have charged that he did not dare to ask for the support which was due an apostle.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

Did I sin by humbling myself so you might be exalted?

Paul is beginning to claim that he treated the Corinthians well. This rhetorical question can be translated as a statement, if necessary. AT: "I think we agree that I did not sin by humbling myself so you might be exalted" (See: Rhetorical Question)

freely preached the gospel of God to you

"preached the gospel of God to you without expecting anything from you in return"

I robbed other churches

This is an exaggeration to emphasize that Paul received money from churches who were not obligated to give to him. AT: "I accepted money from other churches" (See: Irony and Hyperbole and Generalization)

I could serve you

The full meaning of this can be made explicit. AT: "I could serve you at no cost" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

In everything I have kept myself from being a burden to you

"I have never in any way been a financial burden to you." Paul speaks of someone for whom one has to spend money as if they were heavy items that people have to carry. The full meaning of this can be made explicit. AT: "I have done all I can to make sure you do not have to spend money so that I can be with you" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information and Metaphor)

the brothers who came

These "brothers" were probably all male.

I will continue to do that

"I never will be a burden to you"

translationWords

sin

humble

exalt

preach

good news

God

church

servant

burden

brother

Macedonia

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

7.] Another particular in which he was not behind, but excelled, the ὑπερλίαν ἀπόστολοι viz. the gratuitous exercise of his ministry among them. On the sense, see 1Co 9:1 ff. and notes. The supposition is one of sharp irony.

ἐμ. ταπεινῶν] See Act 18:3. The exaltation which they received by his demeaning himself was that of reception into the blessings of the gospel, which was more effectually wrought thereby: not merely, their being thus more favoured temporarily, or in comparison with other churches.

ὅτι δωρ., &., is epexegetical of ἐμαυτὸν ταπεινῶν;—in that I gratuitously, &c.:—not, as Meyer, ἁμαρτ. ἐποίησα ὅτι, making ἐμαυτὸν … ὑψωθ. parenthetical. It was his wish to preach to them gratuitously, which necessitated his ταπεινοῦν ἑαυτόν, i.e. not exercising the apostolic power which he might have exercised, but living on subsidies from others, besides (which he does not here distinctly allude to) his working with his own hands at Corinth. See Stanley.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

7. Ἤ ἁμαρτίαν ἐποίησα … ὑμῖν; ‘Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you God’s Gospel for nothing?’ This use of ἤ to emphasize a question is not rare (1Co 6:2; Rom 2:4, Rom 3:29, Rom 6:3); it introduces an alternative which those who are addressed are not likely to accept. ‘If you do not admit what I have just stated, are you prepared to assert this?’ The extreme expression, ‘commit a sin’ (found nowhere else in Paul), is, of course, ironical; it is used without irony 1Pe 2:22; 1Jn 3:9; see Westcott on 1Jn 3:4 on the difference between ἁμαρτ. ποιέω and τὴν ἁμαρτ: ποιέω. He uses this strong language because his refusing to accept maintenance had been made a charge against him.* He states his reasons for refusing, 1Co 9:6-16 (see notes there); but his enemies may have said that the real reason was that he was too proud to do as other Apostles did, or that he refused, because he knew that he was not really an Apostle. We know from Didache xi. that the right of missionaries to maintenance for a short time was generally recognized c. a.d. 100, in accordance with Christ’s directions (Mat 10:10; Luk 10:7). But St Paul always insisted on supporting himself by the handicraft which was so common in his Cilician home of making cilicium, a fabric of goats’ hair, used for making tents (Act 18:3) and other coverings (1Th 2:9; 2Th 3:8; 2Co 12:14-18). In his speech at Ephesus (Act 20:34) he may have held up ‘these hands’ to show how hardened they were by his habitual handiwork. We must remember that nearly all his first converts were poor (1Co 1:26), and that few were in a condition to give prolonged hospitality to a missionary.

But not until he writes 2 Cor. does the Apostle intimate that anyone found fault with him for this habitual independence. At Corinth it would be easy to rouse prejudice against it. Greek sentiment would not allow a free citizen to undertake manual labour for anything less than dire necessity (Arist. Pol. iii. 5); and there was also a general feeling that teachers ought to be paid. The professional teachers of philosophy in Greece took large fees, and for this turning of instruction into a trade and selling wisdom for money, Socrates (Xen. Mem. I. vi. 1), Plato (Gorg. 520; Rev_20), and Aristotle (Eth. Nic. IX. i. 5-7) condemned them. The Sophists replied that those who taught gratuitously did so because they knew that their teaching was worth nothing. It is likely enough that the Judaizers uttered similar sneers against St Paul. Hence his asking if this practice of his was a ‘sin’ in the eyes of the Corinthians.

ἐμαυτὸν ταπεινῶν ἵνα ὑμεῖς ὑψωθῆτε. They might think it an undignified thing for an Apostle to ‘work night and day’ (1Th 2:9) with his hands at a rough craft; but he was only following the example of the Carpenter (Mar 6:3), and humbling himself in accordance with His admonitions (Mat 18:4, Mat 18:23:12; Luk 14:11, Luk 18:14). Yet he humbled himself, not with a view to his own subsequent exaltation, but ‘in order that ye might be exalted,’ by being raised from the death of heathen sins to the life of righteousness. Acting in this way can hardly be stigmatized as ἁμαρτίαν ποιῶν. ‘Be exalted’ means a great deal more than ‘be made superior to other Churches.’

δωρεὰν τὸ τοῦ Θεοῦ εὐαγγέλιον. Emphatic juxtaposition; ‘God’s Gospel, that most precious thing,— for nothing!’ Elsewhere we have τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τοῦ Θεοῦ (1Th 2:2, 1Th 2:8, 1Th 2:9; Rom 15:16) and τὸ εὐ. τοῦ Χριστοῦ (2:12, 9:13, 14; 1Co 9:12; etc.); but here, as in 1Pe 4:17, τοῦ Θεοῦ is emphatic by position. The Judaizers preach what is not God’s Gospel, and take maintenance for so doing; he gives God’s Gospel gratis. See on 10:16.

F G, f g r Vulg. (aut numquid peccatum fece) have ἢ μὴ ἁμαρτ. ἐπ., but most Latin texts have an or numquid. ἐμαυτόν (א B K M) rather than ἑαυτόν (D F G L P). Exaltaremini (Aug.) is preferable to exaltemini (Vulg.).

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Abasing myself. By working at his trade.

Preached the Gospel - freely [δωρεαν] gratuitously. Rev., for nought, is not an improvement, but is quite as ambiguous as freely. Without charge would be better. Paul 's very self - denial in this matter had been construed to his injury by his opponents, as indicating his want of confidence in the Corinthian Church, and his making gain for himself under the guise of disinterestedness. It was also urged that a real apostle would not thus relinquish his right to claim subsistence from the Church. Hence his question, Did I commit a sin, etc. ?

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.