Chapter Ten

¹ Chapter Ten. Now I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Having finished his words concerning almsgiving, he now begins the sterner matters, both against the false apostles and against those who slandered him as unlearned and as boasting to no purpose; and he is about to commend himself, being constrained to it, lest the preaching be brought into contempt. He therefore recounts both his own achievements and the grace of God that was given. So that one would not err in calling this Epistle an encomium of Paul. For the present, then, at the very outset the discourse displays some such intention, directed against those who called him powerless and a boaster: that I entreat you, I Paul myself, the teacher of the world (for the words I Paul myself display dignity, just as also the I Paul say to you), and I beseech you, that those who revile me may not compel me to use my power against them. Now it is a great thing even that he himself entreats. But he also brings forward the meekness of Christ to mediation, as if saying: Reverence the gentleness of Christ, through which I entreat you; and at the same time he shows why he spares them: that it is on account of imitating the meekness of Christ, and not on account of being weak. Do not, therefore, compel me to depart from it—which I so long for that I even set it before you as a mediator.

² Who in presence indeed am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. Either he says this ironically, making use of the words of those who slandered him; for those men said that, when he is present, he is worthy of no account, but lowly, contemptible, whereas when he is absent he puffs himself up and vaunts, and is over-bold against us and threatens. Or he says these things truly concerning himself: that I, who in my presence am lowly and meek toward you, now, even if I utter great things, do not do this out of madness, but out of being bold toward you.

³ But I beseech you that, when present, I may not be bold with that confidence wherewith I reckon to be daring against certain ones who reckon of us as walking according to the flesh. I beseech you, he says, that you may not compel me to use my power with boldness (for he calls his power “confidence”); wherewith I reckon to be daring—that is, I suppose and reckon, or conjecture, from the things wherein those men compel me—against those who slander us as hypocrites and boasters; for this is the meaning of walking according to the flesh. And observe how he calls it daring, merely to defend himself against certain ones; and yet it was not on his own behalf, but on behalf of the preaching, that he was about to do this. But nevertheless it is more proper to a teacher always to delay in punishments, and not quickly to employ them.

⁴ For though walking in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. That is, though clothed with flesh, we do not use fleshly weapons. For he is discoursing about the preaching, showing that it is not human, nor in need of help from below. And by saying we war, he showed that we have taken up war and battle.

⁵ For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly. That is, not wealth, not glory, not eloquence, not flatteries, not pretences; for such are the fleshly weapons.

⁶ But mighty before God, to the casting down of strongholds. He did not say, But spiritual (for this he certainly ought to have said, in contradistinction to the fleshly), but, mighty, hinting that the weapons of those men are weak and powerless. And mark his freedom from pride: he did not say, We are mighty, but, The weapons are mighty before God—that is, God made them mighty. For since they were driven about and scourged, and these things seemed to be marks of weakness, he says that they are mighty before God. For the strength of God appears especially through these, and it is he who works and wars, even though we are the ones clothed with them. And where are they mighty? To the casting down of strongholds; and what the strongholds are, he goes on to add.

⁷ Casting down reasonings. The syllogisms of the Greeks, he says, and their conceit, we cast down through these weapons; or else, that we overthrow their very reasonings and their souls out of the error by which they are held fast, and subject them to the truth. For the reasoning of the Areopagite, and his great-mindedness, was indeed cast down from impiety, but was bowed beneath piety. And observe, he did not say, We bring up siege-engines, but, Straightway we cast down—showing the ease of the victory and the might of the darts.

⁸ And every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God. He continues in the metaphor, that he may more vividly show what he means. He says, then, that even if you should name a high thing—that is, a tower, or a fortress set against the knowledge of God, that is, against the Gospel—this also we cast down.

⁹ And bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. The word “captivity” signifies two things: both the loss of freedom, and the complete capture, so as not to resist again. According to the second signification, then, Paul now said bringing into captivity. For we do not merely prevail, he says, and conquer every human thought, but we also take it captive—which is the more perfect victory. Then, since the word “captivity” is harsh, he says, to the obedience of Christ; that is, We lead them into subjection to him—a slavery more precious than all freedom; for from perdition to salvation, and from death to life, we subject them to Christ. Consider, then, those in Ephesus who burned their books of magic, and you will understand how Paul took men captive.

¹⁰ And being in readiness to avenge every disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. Here too he put these men in fear. For we wait for you, he says, until, when through exhortation we have set you right and removed you from those men, then upon those alone, left behind as incurable, we may bring the knife. We hold our punishment, therefore, in readiness, but, while you are mingled together with them, we are hindered, lest the blow touch you also. And by saying, when your obedience is fulfilled, he hints that they obey even now, but not perfectly. And he threatens these things that both these and those may be set right, and that he may strike no one. Now first within us reasonings are formed, as the worse wrestle against the better; then they become high things, when, namely, they conquer, when also they are exalted against the divine knowledge, and so greatly that they run up even into the rank of thought—such as are called inspirations. For a thought is a simple and non-discursive application of the mind, showing the things themselves more excellently than demonstration does. There are, then, even among those deceived by demons, such seeming thoughts, which Paul, and whoever is according to him, takes captive to the obedience of Christ.

¹¹ Look at the things that are before your face. Not only does he put in fear those who deceive, but he also rebukes those who are deceived; wherefore he says: Judge from the things that appear—whoever boasts greatly, whoever is rich, whoever wears about him the mask of virtue.

¹² If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him reckon this again from himself, that even as he is Christ’s, so also are we. For the false apostles boasted greatly as being Christ’s, and perhaps eyewitnesses. And the words from himself he used instead of: Let him not wait for our rebuke against him, but let him consider that, in this very thing—being Christ’s—he has nothing more than we. For it is not that he is Christ’s, while I am another’s. But this he said condescendingly, since, as he goes on, he shows how much he himself excels.

¹³ For even if I should boast somewhat more abundantly concerning the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for casting down, I shall not be put to shame.[1] He did not say, I have authority to punish and to exact penalty, while they do not have it; but, in a restrained way, somewhat more abundantly. And he did not say, If I boast, but, If I should boast—that is, If I should be willing; concerning the authority, he says, which the Lord has given me—again ascribing the whole to him. And I received this from God, that I might build up to the faith, doing good, not that I might punish. How then did you say, Casting down reasonings? Because this very thing especially builds up: to cast down [all] the rotten things, and to throw down the hindrances. How then do you threaten them, if you did not receive the authority to casting down? Primarily I received it to building up; but if anyone be incurable, we shall use casting down also. If, then, I should be willing, he says, to boast that God has given me something more, so that I have authority both to do good primarily, and, when I am forced, to punish, I shall not be put to shame—that is, I shall not be shown to be a liar or a boaster.

¹⁴ That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by the epistles. For the epistles indeed, he says, are weighty and strong; but the bodily presence is weak, and the speech of no account. Let such a one reckon this, that what we are in word by epistles when absent, such are we also in deed when present. What he means is this: I was able to boast, but, lest I should seem to terrify you by my letters—such things as my slanderers indeed say, that “He vaunts in his epistles, and writes fearful things, but when he arrives he is contemptible, and is convicted of not being what he writes”—but let him know, he says, whoever it may be that says these things, that we not only threaten weighty things, but are also able, when present, to bring the threats into deed.

¹⁵ For we do not dare to rank or to compare ourselves with certain of those who commend themselves. Here he shows them to be boasters, and boasting great things concerning themselves. He says, then, that we do not dare to rank ourselves—that is, to number ourselves with them—or to compare ourselves—that is, to set ourselves alongside certain of these who praise themselves.

¹⁶ But they, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, do not understand. Those men, he says, do not deem it worthy to be compared with any other men, but they compare themselves with themselves and contend with one another, and do not perceive how ridiculous they are in boasting such things. For each one, calling himself superior, casts down the other; and thus all appear estimable through one another—which, being laughable, they themselves do not understand.

¹⁷ But we will not boast to things beyond measure. For those men, vaunting perhaps, said: We have reached the ends of the earth, and have turned the world about. But we are not so, he says.

¹⁸ But according to the measure of the rule which God apportioned to us as a measure, to reach even to you. As God, dividing a vineyard among husbandmen, so also marked off the world for us, the apostles. According, then, to the measure of the rule which God apportioned to us, we will boast. And what is the measure? To reach even to you. Since, then, this is our measure, we boast even to you.

¹⁹ For we do not overstretch ourselves, as though not reaching to you; for we came even as far as you in the Gospel of Christ. It was likely that the false apostles, having arrived anywhere even without preaching, would vaunt from the bare sojourn, and reckon the whole to themselves. The Apostle therefore says that not as though we had not reached you do we overstretch ourselves. For we came, not simply, but, in the Gospel of Christ; that is, not having merely sojourned, as those men, but also with the preaching of the Gospel.

²⁰ Not boasting to things beyond measure in other men’s labors, but having hope, as your faith grows, to be magnified among you according to our rule to abundance, so as to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another’s rule, in things made ready to hand. He indicates that those men adorn themselves with the labors of the apostles, and boast to things beyond measure—that is, excessively, and in other men’s labors. But we are not so; rather, having reached as far as you, we speak freely as far as you. And we hope—in God, that is (for Paul is not wont to make pronouncements)—that, having sufficiently taught you and increased your faith, we may be magnified indeed among you. For then is a teacher magnified, when the things of his disciples increase—that is, when the measure which he obtained advances exceedingly. Why, then, “we hope”? Because we shall preach the Gospel also in the regions beyond you, and perhaps shall boast over those also, if indeed we shall profit them. And everywhere he calls it a rule and a measure, as a builder of the world and a master-builder, and that he may show that the whole is God’s, who gave the rule and the measure; wherefore he adds:

²¹ But let him that boasts, boast in the Lord. For having such works, we do not vaunt, nor reckon anything to ourselves; but to God we ascribe the whole, even the very measure which we have reached. Those men, therefore, ought also to have boasted in this.

²² For not he that commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends. He did not say, We are approved, but, whom the Lord commends; that is, whom the truth of the work and of the labor, together with the grace of God, declares to be approved.