Verse 1
2 Corinthians 11:1. Would to God
— Rather, I wish; (for the word
God is not in the original
text;) you could bear a little
with me — So does he pave the
way for what might otherwise
have given offence; in my folly
— Of commending myself, which to
many may appear folly; and
really would be so if it were
not, on this occasion,
absolutely necessary for the
maintaining of my authority
among you. For, &c. — I
therefore do it because I am
jealous over you with a godly
jealousy — Jealousy is a passion
which renders a person impatient
of a rival or partner, with
respect to a thing or person
beloved. By telling them he was
jealous over them, the apostle
gives them to know he so
exceedingly loved them, that he
could not bear that any should
pretend to have more regard for
them than he had; and withal
that he feared lest their
affections should be alienated
not only from him, but also from
Christ, through the insinuations
of false teachers among them,
and they should be rendered
unfaithful to him here, and
unfit to be presented to him as
his spouse hereafter. For — By
successfully preaching the
gospel to you, and bringing you
into the engagements of the
Christian covenant; I have
espoused you to one husband —
Even to him whose servant and
ambassador I am, and have led
you into a holy contract with
him, which hath been mutually
scaled; that I may present you
as a chaste virgin to Christ —
Pure in affection, and spotless
in your conduct. “Here,” says
Whitby, “is thought to be an
allusion to the αρμοσυνοι of the
Lacedemonians,” a sort of
magistrates, whose office it was
to educate and form young women,
especially those of rank and
figure, designed for marriage,
and then to present them to
those who were to be their
husbands; and if this officer
permitted them, through
negligence, to be corrupted,
between the espousals and
consummation of the marriage,
great blame would naturally fall
upon him. “The Greek
commentators, however, agree
with our translation, rendering
ηρμοσαμην, here used, by
εμνηστευσα, I have espoused you.
As therefore the Jews say that
Moses espoused Israel to God in
mount Sinai, when he made them
enter into covenant with him;
so, saith the apostle here, by
converting you to the Christian
faith, I have espoused you to
one husband, even Christ.” The
betrothing of persons to Christ
is accomplished in the present
life, but their marriage is to
take place in the life to come;
when they shall be brought home
to their husband’s house, to
live with him for ever. And the
apostle, having betrothed the
Corinthian believers to Christ,
was anxious to preserve them
chaste or true to their future
spouse, that when the time of
their marriage came, they might
not be rejected by him.
Verse 3
2 Corinthians 11:3. But I fear —
Love is full of these fears;
lest by any means — By some
means or other; as the serpent —
A most apposite comparison;
deceived Eve — Simple, ignorant
of ill; by his subtlety — Which
is in the highest degree
dangerous to such a disposition;
so your minds — (We might
therefore be tempted, even if
there were no sin in us;) should
be corrupted — Losing their
virginal purity; from the
simplicity that is in Christ —
Namely, that simplicity which is
lovingly intent on him alone.
“That it was the devil who
beguiled Eve, our Lord hath
intimated, by calling him a
murderer from the beginning, and
a liar, John 8:44. The same also
St. John hath intimated, by
giving the name of the old
serpent to him who is called the
devil and Satan, who deceiveth
the whole world, Revelation
12:9; Revelation 20:2. Besides,
in the history of the fall, the
serpent is said to have been
punished, as a rational and
accountable agent. Wherefore,
what Moses hath written of the
fall, is not an apologue, or
fable, with a moral meaning, as
Middleton and others contend,
but a true history of things
really done, in which the devil
was the chief actor.” —
Macknight. See note on Genesis
3:1-15.
Verses 4-6
2 Corinthians 11:4-6. For if he
that cometh — After me, with
such extraordinary pretences;
preach another Jesus — Can point
out to you another Saviour; whom
we have not preached — Who shall
better or equally deserve your
attention and regard; or if ye
receive another spirit — By his
preaching, which ye have not
received — By ours, and which
can bestow upon you gifts
superior to those which you
received through our ministry;
or another gospel — Bringing you
tidings equally happy, evident,
and important, with those which
we brought you; ye might well
bear with him — In his
pretensions to exceed us, and
there would be some excuse for
your conduct; but how far this
is from being, or so much as
seeming to be, the case, I need
not say. For I suppose —
λογιζομαι, I reckon, or, I
conclude, upon most certain
knowledge; that I was not a whit
behind — I was in nothing
inferior to; the very chiefest
apostles — Either in spiritual
gifts, or the greatness of my
labours and sufferings, or in
the success of my ministry. By
the chiefest apostles, St. Paul
meant Peter, James, and John,
whom he called pillars,
Galatians 2:9. Let the Papists
reconcile this account which
Paul gives of himself as an
apostle, with their pretended
supremacy of Peter over all the
apostles. But, or for, though I
be rude, or unskilful, in speech
— Speaking in a plain, unadorned
way, like an unlearned person,
as the word ιδιωτης, here used,
properly signifies. “The
apostle,” says Macknight,
“called himself unlearned in
speech, because, in preaching,
he did not follow the rules of
the Grecian rhetoric. His
discourses were not composed
with that art which the Greeks
showed in the choice and
arrangement of their words, and
in the disposition of their
periods. Neither were they
delivered with those modulations
of voice, and with those studied
gestures, wherewith the Greeks
set off their orations. This
sort of eloquence the apostle
utterly disclaimed, for a reason
mentioned 1 Corinthians 1:17. It
seems the faction in Corinth had
objected to him his want of
these accomplishments.” Or, as
some think, the irony of the
faction was levelled, not
against the apostle’s style, but
against his pronunciation and
action in speaking, which,
through some bodily infirmity,
was ungraceful and unacceptable.
See on 2 Corinthians 10:10.
Probably the faction objected
both imperfections to him. Yet
not in knowledge — If I be
unskilful in speech, I am not so
in the knowledge of the gospel
of Christ, and of the
dispensations which were
introductory to it. But we have
been thoroughly made manifest,
&c. — You have had sufficient
proof of my acquaintance with
the great doctrines of
Christianity, and what my gifts
are, and therefore you ought not
to call in question my authority
as an apostle, or my ability to
teach, direct, and govern your
church, nor to prefer another in
opposition to me.
Verses 7-9
2 Corinthians 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, (1
Corinthians 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, 2 Corinthians
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
Philippians 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.
Verses 10-12
2 Corinthians 11:10-12. As the
truth of Christ is in me — As
sure as I am a true Christian,
and an apostle. The expression
has the nature of an oath. See
on Romans 9:1. No man shall stop
me of this boasting — For I will
receive nothing from you.
Wherefore — For what reason have
I resolved on this? Is it, as my
enemies tell you, because I do
not love you, and will not be
obliged to you? God knoweth that
is not the case. But what I do,
&c. — As if he had said, The
true reason why I do so, and
resolve to continue the same
course, is this; that I may cut
off occasion, namely, of
reproaching me, or boasting of
themselves, from them which
desire occasion for so doing;
that wherein they glory —
Namely, of their preaching
freely, at least sometimes, or
some of them, or pretending to
do so; they may be found even as
we — To have no advantage over
me in this respect. It would
seem that the false teachers at
Corinth, in imitation of the
apostle, pretended to take
nothing for their preaching, and
boasted of their
disinterestedness. Nevertheless,
on other pretences they received
presents from their disciples in
private, nay, extorted them. See
2 Corinthians 11:20. Wherefore,
to put these impostors to shame,
and to oblige them really to
imitate him, the apostle
declared that he never had taken
any thing, nor ever would take
any thing from the Corinthians,
whether in public or in private,
on any account whatever.
Verses 13-15
2 Corinthians 11:13-15. For such
are false apostles — Whatever
they may pretend to the
contrary, being destitute of
that divine mission which all
the true apostles have;
deceitful workers — Pretending
to great disinterestedness in
their work, while their only
design is to promote their own
interest; transforming
themselves into the appearance
of apostles of Christ — By
pretending to preach the gospel
without reward. And no marvel
they assume that appearance; for
Satan himself — In subordination
to whom they act, can put on
such deceitful appearances, and
be transformed into an angel of
light — Wearing, on certain
occasions, a mask of sanctity
and religion, in his attempts to
deceive and insnare the souls of
men, so that one would imagine
his suggestions to be of a
celestial and divine original.
“In this manner, it may be
supposed, Satan transformed
himself, when he tempted our
Lord in the wilderness; and in
like manner also when he tempted
our first mother Eve. Evil
spirits are called angels of
darkness, because they employ
themselves in promoting error
and wickedness, which is
spiritual darkness. Whereas,
good angels are called angels of
light, because they employ
themselves in promoting truth
and virtue, which is spiritual
light.” Therefore, it is no
great thing — Nothing
extraordinary; if his ministers
also, under his influence, be
transformed — That is, make
themselves to appear; as
ministers of righteousness —
False teachers are justly called
ministers of Satan, because they
are employed in disseminating
error, whereby Satan’s kingdom
is supported in the world. And,
on the other hand, with equal
propriety are the teachers of
true doctrine called ministers
of righteousness, because of the
efficacy of true doctrine to
promote righteousness in them
who receive it: whose end —
Notwithstanding all their
disguises; shall be according to
their works — Here the end, as
in Romans 6:21, signifies the
final issue of a course of
action; consequently the
retribution which shall be made
to the actor.
Verse 16-17
2 Corinthians 11:16-17. I say
again — He premises a new
apology to this new commendation
of himself; let no man think me
a fool — In boasting thus of
myself; let no one think I take
any pleasure in doing it, or
that I do it without a very
strong reason. Let the
provocation I have received be
considered: let the necessity of
the circumstance, and the
importance of my character, be
duly weighed, and I shall surely
be excused. But if otherwise —
If any one do think me foolish
herein, yet bear with my folly,
and hear me patiently without
offence; that I may boast myself
a little — As well as others.
That which I speak — On this
head; I speak it not after the
Lord — Not by any immediate
direction or inspiration from
Christ; nor after his example,
and in such a way as seems
worthy of him; but as it were
foolishly, &c. — In such a
manner as many may think
foolish, and indeed would be
foolish, were I not compelled to
it in order that I may vindicate
my apostleship, and confirm you
in the truth.
Verses 18-21
2 Corinthians 11:18-21. Seeing
that many glory after the flesh
— In circumcision, Jewish
extraction, and other outward
privileges and qualifications; I
will glory also — In the same
manner; nor can my seeming folly
offend you; for ye — The
disciples of the false apostles;
suffer fools gladly, seeing ye
yourselves are wonderfully wise
— And in your extraordinary
wisdom can cherish that arrogant
temper in others. As if he had
said, Being such very wise men,
I hope you will bear with this
piece of folly in me as you bear
with it in others. This is
written in the highest strain of
ridicule, as is plain from the
next verse, where, in mockery,
he mentions their abjectly
bearing the contumelious and
injurious behaviour of the false
teachers, as an example of their
wisdom in bearing. But it was a
bearing, not with fools, but
with knaves, to their own cost.
By taking notice of that
circumstance, therefore, the
apostle placed their pretended
wisdom in a truly ridiculous
light. For, &c. — Your patience
in bearing is indeed very great;
for ye suffer — Not only the
folly, but the gross abuses of
those false teachers; ye take it
patiently if a man — Any of the
false teachers; bring you into
bondage — Lord it over you in
the most arbitrary manner. If a
man devour you — By his
exorbitant demands,
notwithstanding his boast of not
being burdensome; if he take of
you — Gifts and presents,
pretending to exact nothing as
due; if he exalt himself — By
the most unbounded self-
commendation; if he smite you on
the face — Treat you as
disgracefully as if he did so. I
speak — What I have now said;
concerning reproach — Namely,
the reproach which they cast
upon you Gentiles as
uncircumcised and profane, while
they are all of a holy nation:
or, I mean it of those
reproaches with which they load
me and my fellow-labourers; as
though we had been weak — Or
contemptible, in comparison of
them, and could have used no
such authority over you.
Howbeit, whereinsoever any is
bold — Thinks he may value and
extol himself; (I speak
foolishly — That is, in
appearance;) I am bold also — I
have as much to say for myself,
as he has for himself.
Verse 22
2 Corinthians 11:22. Are they
Hebrews? — Descended from Heber,
(see Genesis 11:14,) and
speaking the Hebrew language,
though with some variation; so
am I — Paul indeed was a native
of Tarsus in Cilicia, but his
father and mother were Hebrews,
Philippians 3:5. And having been
sent to Jerusalem when young, he
was instructed by Gamaliel, a
noted Jewish doctor, Acts 22:3.
So that in Jerusalem he
perfected himself both in the
language and religion of his
nation, on all which accounts he
was truly a Hebrew descended of
Hebrews. Are they Israelites? —
Descended from Jacob, who, in
preference to his brother Esau,
was chosen to be the root of the
visible church of God in that
early age, and was called Israel
for the reason mentioned Genesis
32:28. This appellation,
therefore, signified that the
persons to whom it was given
were members of God’s visible
church by their descent from
Jacob, and consequently were
distinguished from proselytes
who were members by
circumcision, and not by
descent. Are they the seed of
Abraham? — Inasmuch as Abraham,
being constituted a father of
many nations, had two kinds of
seed; the one by natural
descent, called his seed by the
law; the other by faith, called
that which is of the faith of
Abraham, see Romans 4:13; Romans
4:16. Macknight thinks, that by
the seed of Abraham, the apostle
intended here his seed by faith,
or his spiritual seed; because
if he had meant his natural
seed, this question would have
been the same with the
preceding: a tautology, he
thinks, not to be imputed to the
apostle.
Verses 23-25
2 Corinthians 11:23-25. Are they
ministers of Christ? — “St. Paul
does not compare himself with
the false teachers as an
apostle, but as a minister of
Christ simply. And to show how
much he exceeded them in that
inferior character, he mentions
his labours in the ministry, and
his sufferings undergone in his
many journeys and voyages, for
the sake of spreading the
gospel. And from his account it
appears, that none of the heroes
of antiquity, however vehemently
actuated by the love of fame, or
of military glory or power,
either did or suffered as much
in the pursuit of their objects,
as the Apostle Paul did and
suffered for Christ and his
gospel.” I am more so than they;
in labours more abundant —
Sustained for a long series of
years; in stripes above measure
— All endured for Christ and his
cause. In prisons more frequent
— In the narrative of Paul’s
travels and sufferings,
contained in the Acts, we only
read of his being imprisoned
once, before this epistle was
written, namely, at Philippi.
But doubtless many particulars
of his life, besides the
imprisonments here referred to,
were omitted in that history,
for the sake of brevity. In
deaths oft — Surrounding me in
the most dreadful forms. Of the
Jews five times received I — In
their synagogues, and before
their courts of judgment; forty
stripes, save one — According to
the law, punishment by stripes
was restricted to forty, at one
beating, Deuteronomy 25:3; but
the whip with which these
stripes were given, consisting
of three separate cords, and
each stroke being counted as
three stripes, thirteen strokes
made thirty-nine stripes, beyond
which they never went. See
Whitby. As the apostle, before
his conversion, had been very
active in inflicting this
punishment on the disciples of
Christ, he could not complain
when he himself was treated in
the same manner by the zealots
for the law. Thrice was I beaten
with rods — By the Roman lictors
or beadles, at the command of
their superior magistrates. In
his history, contained in the
Acts, we find no mention made of
his being punished with stripes,
and only one instance occurs
there of his being beaten with
rods. See the margin. Once was I
stoned — Namely, at Lystra, at
which time he was left for dead.
Thrice I suffered shipwreck —
Before his voyage to Rome, in
which he was shipwrecked at
Malta; of these we have no
account in the Acts. A night and
a day I have been in the deep —
Probably floating on some part
of a shipwrecked vessel, by
which, possibly, he escaped to
shore. This, it is likely,
happened in one of the three
shipwrecks mentioned in the
preceding clause.
Verse 26-27
2 Corinthians 11:26-27. In
journeyings — For the sake of
preaching the gospel; often — In
which I have been exposed to a
variety of dangers, from waters,
robbers, my own countrymen, and
the heathen. In perils in the
city — From tumults. Of these
dangers, frequent mention is
made in the Acts: as in
Damascus; after that, in
Jerusalem; then in Antioch, in
Pisidia, Iconium, Thessalonica,
Berea, Corinth, and Ephesus; all
before the writing of this
epistle. In dangers in the
wilderness — Of perishing by
want, or by wild beasts; in the
sea — From storms and pirates;
among false brethren — Who,
amidst specious pretensions of
love and affection, secretly
watched, if not to destroy me,
at least to injure my character,
and ruin my usefulness. In
weariness — Through my incessant
labours; and painfulness — Or
fatiguing toil. The latter of
the words here used, μοχθος,
implies more than κοπος, the
former, namely, such hard labour
as caused great fatigue. In
watchings often — Continuing
many nights without sleep, which
might happen from various
causes, besides that mentioned
Acts 20:11, when he continued
his discourse till break of day.
In hunger and thirst — Not
having the necessaries of life
at hand. In cold and nakedness —
Having no place where to lay my
head, and no convenient raiment
to cover me; and yet appearing
before noblemen, governors, and
kings, and not being ashamed.
Verses 28-31
2 Corinthians 11:28-31. Besides
those things that are without —
These external troubles which I
have mentioned; that which
cometh upon me daily — Greek, η
επισυστασις μου η καθ’ ημεραν,
that which rusheth upon me
daily, or that which is my daily
pressure. The expression denotes
a crowd of people surrounding
and pressing upon a person, in
order to bear him down, and
trample upon him; an idea which
is elegantly applied to his
cares respecting the churches;
crowding in upon his mind, and
ready to overwhelm it. And this
is very properly mentioned here
among his sufferings, being
certainly not one of the least
of them, as may be easily
inferred from the account which
he has given in this and in his
former epistle, of the exceeding
grief which the errors and
irregularities of the single
church of Corinth caused him. In
saying, the care of all the
churches, he signified he was
deeply concerned for the
prosperity, even of those which
he had not seen in the flesh.
St. Peter himself could not have
said this in so strong a sense.
Who is weak — Namely, in grace,
and therefore oppressed with a
variety of doubts and fears, and
cast down; and I am not weak —
By sympathy, as well as by
condescension, manifested in
complying with their weakness.
Who is offended — Hindered in or
turned out of the good way; and
I burn not — With zeal and
desire to restore him: or am not
pained, as though I had fire in
my bosom? So that he had not
only the care of the churches,
but every person therein. If I
must needs glory — And I am
heartily sorry that any such
necessity is laid upon me; I
will glory of the things that
concern my infirmities — In my
sufferings for Christ, of
various kinds, such as I have
specified, (see 2 Corinthians
12:10,) sufferings which show my
weakness, and his strength, and
therefore humble me, and exalt
him. And in what I have said, I
have only spoken the exact
truth, without reigning or
aggravating any one
circumstance; for God knoweth
that I lie not — Even that
eternal Majesty of heaven and
earth; who is blessed for
evermore. This clause is added
to increase the solemnity of his
appeal to God for the truth of
what he had said, and was going
further to say; and that not
only concerning his deliverance
at Damascus, but concerning the
visions and revelations of the
Lord, to be mentioned in the
next chapter.
Verse 32-33
2 Corinthians 11:32-33. In
Damascus, &c. — As if he had
said, I must be permitted to add
one circumstance more to
illustrate the dangers to which
I was exposed, as soon as I
engaged in the Christian cause,
and the remarkable interposition
of Divine Providence for my
preservation: the governor under
Aretas — King of Arabia and
Syria, of which Damascus was a
chief city, willing to oblige
the Jews, kept the city of the
Damascenes with a garrison —
That is, setting guards at all
the gates, day and night;
desirous, or, determining, to
apprehend me — And to deliver me
to them. And in such a danger,
where even the form of a trial
was not to be expected, what
could I do but flee? Through a
window — Therefore, of a house
which stood on the city wall; I
was let down in a basket — With
ropes; and escaped his hands —
The assistance of good men
co-operating with the care of
God. Now, who that considers and
credits the above brief account,
though of but a part of the
labours and sufferings which the
apostle voluntarily sustained,
that he might testify to mankind
the gospel of the grace of God,
can for a moment question his
certain knowledge of the truth
and importance of that gospel;
especially as he neither reaped,
nor could expect to reap, any
worldly benefit whatever from
preaching it? Did he do and
suffer all these things to
spread a doctrine which, for any
thing he knew to the contrary,
might be false; or if true, was
not important to the salvation
of the human race? Surely no man
can suppose it, without first
supposing that the apostle was
destitute of common sense.
Consider this, reader, and
remember, at the same time, how
the Lord sanctioned and
confirmed his testimony, by
signs and wonders, and divers
miracles, and gifts of the Holy
Ghost, according to his own
will, and then think how thou
shalt escape if thou reject or
neglect such a gospel, or the
great salvation revealed in and
by it. |