The Consistent Servant Of Christ
THE CONSISTENT SERVANT OF CHRIST
2 CORINTHIANS 10:7-11
Paul reminds his readers of his relationship with Christ and his authority from Christ.
“Look at the obvious facts” (10:7, NLT) is Paul’s head-on appeal and answer to his critics’ charge implied in 10:1: “My critics have said that I am feeble when I’m with you in person.”
The counter-argument is directed against his opponents who claimed a special position as Christ’s (10:7), and did not hesitate to criticize the apostle on the ground that he was inferior to them (10:10). They made out that they enjoyed a special place in the church as authoritative teachers and possessed a commanding presence. Moreover, they had one great advantage in their favor; they were at Corinth and able to influence the church there firsthand.
It also seems that they turned their presence at Corinth to their own purposes, for implicit in Paul’s paragraph is the thought that he was under fire because of his absence. The point on which they had fastened was that he preferred to stay at a safe distance and to conduct his defense by correspondence (10:9-10). This policy, they were suggesting, is a coward’s refuge, for it seemed to imply that Paul was a strong personality when he wrote his letters, but when he appeared on the scene, his personal presence was nowhere near as impressive. Perhaps his opponents were also harking back to his supposed indecisiveness of action (1:17) and failure to come to Corinth as he had promised (2:1). Now (they would explain to the Corinthians and so capitalize on Paul’s nonappearance) we know the real reason; he was afraid to come, and can only terrify people by letters written from a comfortable distance (10:9). How does he reply to this charge (10:11)?
Notes 10:7: no allusion to the “Christ party” of 1 Corinthians 1:12 should be read into this mention of “being Christ’s.” 10:10: Paul’s letters were (and are) exactly this: see 2 Peter 3:16. The second part of the statement is what Paul strongly denies, if duplicity and “double talk” are insinuated. But we have it on his own confession that he was no eloquent preacher or captivating orator (1 Corinthians 2:3-4; 2 Corinthians 11:6), like Apollos (Acts 18:24). His message, however, was charged with a power no human rhetoric can command. To what source does he trace it?