2 Corinthians 12:10 Komentář

In this chapter the apostle proceeds in maintaining the honour of his apostleship. He magnified his office when there were those who vilified it. What he says in his own praise was only in his own justification and the necessary defence of the honour of his ministry, the preservation of which was necessary to its success. First, He makes mention of the favour God had shown him, the honour done him, the methods God took to keep him humble, and the use he made of this dispensation (Co2 12:1-10). Then he addresses himself to the Corinthians, blaming them for what was faulty among them, and giving a large account of his behaviour and kind intentions towards them (Co2 12:11 to the end).

INTRODUCTION TO 2 CORINTHIANS 12 The apostle in this chapter proceeds upon the same subject, in vindicating himself against the false teachers, and giving proof of his apostleship; he takes notice of a very remarkable and unusual vision he was favoured with; makes mention of an uncommon temptation of Satan, how he was delivered from it, and the use it was of to him; excuses his boasting to the Corinthians; lays the blame of it upon them who obliged him to do it, though they had such undeniable proofs of his apostleship among them; signifies he intended to come and see them, and expresses his strong affection for them, and good will towards them; removes the calumnies of covetousness, guile, and craftiness; reproves them for their sins, and threatens them in case of impenitence. Though in some respects glorying was not so convenient, and quite disagreeable to the apostle himself, yet such were his circumstances, that it was become necessary for him to do it, and therefore goes on with it; and to his character, qualifications, labours, sufferings, and deliverances, adds the visions and revelations of the Lord he had been honoured with, Co2 12:1 and singles out a very particular one, which he describes by the time when, about fourteen years ago; by the person who saw it, himself, whom he speaks of in the third person, that there might be as little appearance of boasting as possible; by the place where it was seen, the third heaven, into which he was caught; by the form or manner of the vision, or the circumstance and condition in which he was when he saw it, of which he could give no account; as whether in or out of the body, Co2 12:2, which last circumstance is repeated to denote the certainty of it, and his ignorance as to this part of it; for the truth of which he appeals to God, Co2 12:3, and affirms again, that such an one as he had described was caught up to paradise; by which he explains what he meant by the third heaven, and further declares, that being there he heard words unutterable, Co2 12:4. Now though this vision was matter of glorying, yet since he was the person that was so highly honoured with it, he would not dwell any longer on it, but rather speak of his infirmities, as he afterwards does, Co2 12:5, yet if he had shown a design of boasting, it would not have been acting a foolish part; however, he thought it best to forbear, lest it should lead any into too high an opinion of him, Co2 12:6, and indeed, these high enjoyments were apt to fill himself with pride and vanity, wherefore God, in his infinite wisdom, thought fit to take some methods to humble him; which leads him to give an account of a sore temptation that befell him, which was grievous to him, and in which he was buffeted by Satan; the end of which was to keep down his pride, and hide it from him, Co2 12:7. The use this was of to him, and how he behaved under it, and the request he made to the Lord to be freed from it, are declared in Co2 12:8, to which he received an answer, which was full and satisfactory, gave him pleasure, and determined him to glory in his infirmities, Co2 12:9, which he does in Co2 12:10, and gives an enumeration of them, and his reason for glorying in them: and whereas he knew he should be chargeable with folly, in glorying in other things as he had done, he blames the Corinthians for it, who had obliged him to it; for had they engaged as they should have done in the vindication and commendation of him, there would have been no need of his own; and they were furnished with matter and arguments enough for such a purpose, since it must have been a plain case to them that he was not inferior to the chief of the apostles, Co2 12:11, of which they had a full demonstration, partly by the signs, wonders, and mighty deeds which were done in the midst of them by him, Co2 12:12, and partly by the gifts of grace bestowed on them through his ministry, on account of which they did not come short of any other churches; unless it was in this, that they had the Gospel preached without charge unto them, Co2 12:13, the apostle goes on to acquaint them that he had a third time intended to come and see them, when he would be no more burdensome and chargeable to them than he had been before; have no regard to theirs but to them, acting the part of a father that lays up for his children, but takes nothing from them, Co2 12:14, and expresses his strong affection for them, even though they should show but little to him, and his earnest desire to be serviceable to them, and the pleasure he should take therein, Co2 12:15, and whereas it was suggested by the false teachers, that though he did not take money of them in person, he had used some underhand crafty methods by the means of others to drain them of it, Co2 12:16, he replies and vindicates his innocence, by putting the question to them in general; whether he had made any gain by any persons he had sent to them, Co2 12:17, and particularly inasmuch as he had sent Titus and another brother, whether he had made any gain of them, and whether the apostle and he were not of the same spirit; and whether they did not take the same steps, Co2 12:18, and then observes, that all the pains that he took in the vindication of himself, was not so much on his own account as theirs, even for their edification, that that might not be hindered, for whom he had the most endeared affection: and for the truth of all this he appeals to God, Co2 12:19, and closes this chapter with observing the many evils which were among them, which he feared he should find among them, when he came, unrepented of; and which would be matter of grief and humiliation to him, and oblige him to use that severity among them which would not be agreeable to them, Co2 12:20.

Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you,.... Not only the doctrine which he preached, the power that attended it, and the success it met with among them, were clear signs and evident proofs of his being sent by Christ; not only they themselves, who were converted under his ministry, were testimonials and seals of his apostleship, but also the many other wonderful works done by him confirmed the same, and showed him to be an apostle, and that he was not a whit behind, but equal to the chiefest of them: nor does he refer them to signs that were wrought by him, among others, and in other places, which were many; but to those which they themselves were witnesses of, and therefore might and ought to have spoken of them in defence of him; and in order to stop the mouths of the false apostles, a particular enumeration of these signs follows: in all patience; it is one sign, and what is here mentioned in the first place of an apostle and minister of Christ, that he patiently bears all injuries and indignities, reproaches, persecutions, and all manner of afflictions, for Christ's sake and the Gospel's; and this the apostle did; and had he not been sent by Christ, it is not reasonable to imagine that he would have exposed himself to so many evils and dangers; or would have bore with so much patience the ill usage of men, and particularly the unkindness and ingratitude he met with at Corinth; but he took all patiently, having their good and the glory of Christ at heart: in signs and wonders, and mighty deeds; meaning preternatural and miraculous performances; such as raising the dead, healing the sick, cleansing lepers, casting out devils, speaking with divers tongues, and the like, which were confirming evidences of apostleship; so , "wonders and powers", or "mighty deeds", are mentioned together by the Jews (i), as the same things. (i) Zohar in Exod. fol. 96. 2. & 97. 1.

And if these severities will seem to be more grievous than martyrdoms, yet once more he says: "Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake." He also says, in verses occurring in a previous part of the epistle: "Our condition is such, that we are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; and are in need, but not in utter want; since we are harassed by persecutions, but not forsaken; it is such that we are east down, but not destroyed; always bearing about in our body the dying of Christ.

Plainly, a Christian will "glory" even in the flesh; but (it will be) when it has endured laceration for Christ's sake, in order that the spirit may be crowned in it, not in order that it may draw the eyes and sighs of youths after it.

Not in the amount of money, not in the pride of power, not in the height of glory is victory gained, but the Lord freely gives his help to those who seek him through excessive affliction. Such was Paul, who made his afflictions his boast. Therefore he was able to say, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” … Do you see where affliction leads you? To hope that does not disappoint..

This weakness is mighty in Christ, as the Apostle has said, When I am weak, then I am strong. This humility excludes frailty.

"Wherefore I take pleasure in many weaknesses." Of what sort? tell me. "In injuries, in persecutions, in necessities, in distresses." Seest thou how he has now revealed it in the clearest manner? For in mentioning the species of the infirmity he spake not of fevers, nor any return of that sort, nor any other bodily ailment, but of "injuries, persecutions, distresses." Seest thou a single-minded soul? He longs to be delivered from those dangers; but when he heard God's answer that this befitteth not, he was not only not sorry that he was disappointed of his prayer, but was even glad. Wherefore he said, "I take pleasure," 'I rejoice, I long, to be injured, persecuted, distressed for Christ's sake.' And he said these things both to check those, and to raise the spirits of these that they might not be ashamed at Paul's sufferings. For that ground was enough to make them shine brighter than all men. Then he mentions another reason also. "For when I am weak, then am I strong." 'Why marvellest thou that the power of God is then conspicuous? I too am strong "then;"' for then most of all did grace come upon him. "For as His sufferings abound, so doth our consolation abound also."

Where affliction is, there is also consolation; where consolation, there is grace also. For instance when he was thrown into the prison, then it was he wrought those marvellous things; when he was shipwrecked and cast away upon that barbarous country, then more than ever was he glorified. When he went bound into the judgment-hall, then he overcame even the judge. And so it was too in the Old Testament; by their trials the righteous flourished. So it was with the three children, so with Daniel, with Moses, and Joseph; thence did they all shine and were counted worthy of great crowns. For then the soul also is purified, when it is afflicted for God's sake: it then enjoys greater assistance as needing more help and worthy of more grace. And truly, before the reward which is proposed to it by God, it reaps a rich harvest of good things by becoming philosophic. For affliction rends pride away and prunes out all listlessness and exerciseth unto patience: it revealeth the meanness of human things and leads unto much philosophy. For all the passions give way before it, envy, emulation, lust, rule desire of riches, of beauty, boastfulness, pride, anger; and the whole remaining swarm of these distempers. And if thou desirest to see this in actual working, I shall be able to show thee both a single individual and a whole people, as well under affliction as at ease; and so to teach thee how great advantage cometh of the one, and how great listlessness from the other.

Paul does not say that he enjoyed these things but that he had learned to cope with them.

I desired, he says, as a human being, to be delivered from afflictions, but after I heard what I heard, I boast and am of good cheer, that is, I rejoice, I find pleasure in weaknesses. Then, lest you think that he means fever and other illnesses, he explains these weaknesses to you, saying that they consist "in reproaches" and so on. This, on the one hand, puts to shame the false apostles who boast in afflictions, as opponents of God, and on the other hand, persuades the disciples not to be ashamed of their teacher, but rather to take pride in him, since the dangers exist by the will of God and for the glory of Christ. What do you marvel that the power of God is revealed in weaknesses? For I too become stronger amidst them, having in myself the most abundant grace, as, for example, in those cases when, being in prison, I converted the jailer (Acts 16:31), when, having suffered shipwreck, I brought fear upon the barbarian islanders (Acts 28:4–6), when, standing before the judge in chains, I overcame both him and my accusers (Acts 26:31). Thus, he appeared strong, courageous, and glorious when he was weak, that is, when he was in danger.

The other effect is joy. Hence he says: For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses. In regard to this he does two things. First, he mentions the effect of joy; secondly, he assigns the reason for it (v. 10b). He mentions the effect of joy and the matter of joy. He says therefore: because the power of Christ dwells in me in all tribulations, I am content, i.e., I am greatly pleased and take joy in the infirmities I mentioned: "Count it all joy, my brethren, when you meet various trials" (Jas. 1:2). The weaknesses in which he rejoices abundantly on account of Christ's grace are then listed. First, those which come from an internal cause, namely, his infirmities; hence he says, in my weaknesses: "Their infirmities were multiplied: afterwards they made haste" (Ps. 16:5, Vulgate), namely, toward grace. Secondly, those that come from an external cause: first, as to the word, when he says, in insults: "Then they left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for the name" (Ac. 15:4); then as to deed, and this either as to a lack of good things, when he says, in hardships, i.e., in the lack of things necessary and in the poverty by which he was pressed: "Contribute to the needs of the saints" (Rom. 12:13). Or as to experiencing evils inflicted, and this as to external things: "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake" (Matt. 5:10), when he says, in bodily persecutions, which we experience from place to place and everywhere, as well as to internal things, saying, in calamities, i.e., in anxieties of soul: "I am straitened on every side" (Dan. 13:22, Vulgate). But in all these things the material which makes for joy is that they are for Christ. As if to say: I am pleased because I suffer for Christ: "But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief" (1 Pet. 4:15). He assigns the reason for this joy, when he says, for when I am weak, then I am strong, i.e., when as a result of what is in me or as a result of persecutions, I fall into any of the aforesaid, God's help is applied to me to strengthen me: "Your consolations cheer my soul" (Ps. 94:19); "Let the weak say, I am strong" (Jl. 3:10, Vulgate); "Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed every day" (2 Cor. 4:16). And in Ex. (1:12) it says that the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they multiplied.

St. Paul mentions some wonderful revelations which he had received from the Lord, Co2 12:1-5. He speaks of his suffering in connection with these extraordinary revelations, that his character might be duly estimated, Co2 12:6. That he might not be too much exalted, a messenger of Satan is sent to buffet him; his prayer for deliverance, and the Divine answer, Co2 12:7-9. He exults in sufferings and reproaches, and vindicates his apostleship, Co2 12:10-13. Promises to come and visit them, Co2 12:14, Co2 12:15. Answers some objections, Co2 12:16-18. And expresses his apprehensions that when he visits them he shall find many evils and disorders among them, Co2 12:19-21.

Therefore I take pleasure - I not only endure them patiently, but am pleased when they occur; for I do it for Christ's sake - on his account; for on his account I suffer. For when I am weak - most oppressed with trials and afflictions, then am I strong; God supporting my mind with his most powerful influences, causing me to rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.

REVELATIONS IN WHICH HE MIGHT GLORY: BUT HE RATHER GLORIES IN INFIRMITIES, AS CALLING FORTH CHRIST'S POWER: SIGNS OF HIS APOSTLESHIP: HIS DISINTERESTEDNESS: NOT THAT HE IS EXCUSING HIMSELF TO THEM; BUT HE DOES ALL FOR THEIR GOOD, LEST HE SHOULD FIND THEM NOT SUCH AS HE DESIRED, AND SO SHOULD HAVE TO BE SEVERE AT HIS COMING. (2Co. 12:1-21) He proceeds to illustrate the "glorying in infirmities" (Co2 11:30). He gave one instance which might expose him to ridicule (Co2 11:33); he now gives another, but this one connected with a glorious revelation of which it was the sequel: but he dwells not on the glory done to himself, but on the infirmity which followed it, as displaying Christ's power. The oldest manuscripts read, "I MUST NEEDS boast (or glory) though it be not expedient; for I will come." The "for" gives a proof that it is "not expedient to boast": I will take the case of revelations, in which if anywhere boasting might be thought harmless. "Visions" refers to things seen: "revelations," to things heard (compare Sa1 9:15) or revealed in any way. In "visions" their signification was not always vouchsafed; in "revelations" there was always an unveiling of truths before hidden (Dan 2:19, Dan 2:31). All parts of Scripture alike are matter of inspiration; but not all of revelation. There are degrees of revelation; but not of inspiration. of--that is, from the Lord; Christ, Co2 12:2.

take pleasure in--too strongly. Rather as the Greek, "I am well contented in." infirmities--the genus. Two pairs of species follow, partly coming from "Satan's messenger," partly from men. reproaches--"insults." when--in all the cases just specified. then--then especially. strong--"powerful" in "the power of Christ" (Co2 12:9; Co2 13:4; Heb 11:34).