2 Corinthians 10-11
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Chapter 10
1 By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away! - There is a description of Paul found in the apocryphal work Acts of Paul and Thecla: “And he saw Paul coming, a man little of stature, thin haired upon the head, crooked in the legs, with eyebrows joining, and nose somewhat hooked, full of grace: for sometimes he appeared like a man, and sometimes he had the face of an angel.”
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds – See Ephesians 6.
5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ – The battlefield is the mind.
17 But, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” 18For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends – Cf. Jeremiah 9:23-24.
Chapter 11
2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him – The betrothed couple, though not allowed to consummate the union physically, was legally regarded as husband and wife; and it could be broken only by death or divorce, and unfaithfulness during that time was considered adultery (cf. Matt. 1:18-19). The betrothal period culminated in the ceremony, marking the completion of the covenant. During the betrothal period, it was the father’s responsibility to ensure that his daughter remained faithful to her pledged husband. He would then present her to him at the wedding ceremony as a pure virgin.
3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ – Cf. Genesis 3:1-5.
4 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough – Some commentators believe that this “different gospel” was the legalism preached by Judaizers to the Galatians (see Galatians 3:1-6). Galatians 1:6-9 describes this legalist teaching as a different gospel. And the false teachers in Corinth were Jews who were bragging about their Jewish heritage (11:22). So, according to this view, the “other Jesus” was a Jesus who taught obedience to Jewish laws as the way to salvation. However, in this letter, instead of discussing the law, Paul reinforced over and over that his credentials as an apostle came directly from Christ. And as proof of that, Christ had demonstrated his power through Paul’s weaknesses (3:1-5; 4:8-12; 6:3-10; 11:16-33). Apparently the false teachers were boasting of their superior credentials (3:1; 11:22), their speaking ability (10:10; 11:6), and their ecstatic spiritual experiences (12:1, 12). They had begun to compare their ministry to Paul’s. The Isthmian Games, held at Corinth, featured many speech contests in which contestants would speak on a given subject and be judged. The speaker who could impress the audience would win. And so, this “other Jesus,” was a powerful speaker and a wonder worker—not the suffering and crucified Jesus whom Paul preached (see 1 Corinthians 1:23; Philippians 2:5-11).
6 I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. – The phrase “not be a trained speaker” in the Greek is ἰδιώτης Idiōtēs. It means an idiot or ignoramus. They were calling Paul an idiot.
24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one – Cf. Deut 25:3.
33 But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped through his hands – Cf. Acts 9: 23-25
“This toast of high rabbinic circles, this educated and sincere Pharisee, this man who had access to the highest officials in Jerusalem, slunk out of Damascus like a criminal, lowered like a catch of dead fish in a basket whose smelly cargo he had displaced” (D.A. Carson From Triumphalism to Maturity [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1984], 127-28).
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