23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am talking foolishly) I am more so; I have had more experience of hard work, of prisons, of blows more than measure, of death.
But in everything making it clear that we are the servants of God, in quiet strength, in troubles, in need, in sorrow, In blows, in prisons, in attacks, in hard work, in watchings, in going without food;
But by the grace of God, I am what I am: and his grace which was given to me has not been for nothing; for I did more work than all of them; though not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
For I will make clear to him what troubles he will have to undergo for me.
What then is Apollos? and what is Paul? They are but servants who gave you the good news as God gave it to them.
And why are we in danger every hour? Yes, truly, by your pride in me, my brothers in Christ Jesus our Lord, my life is one long death. If, after the way of men, I was fighting with beasts at Ephesus, what profit is it to me? If the dead do not come to life again, let us take our pleasure in feasting, for tomorrow we come to an end.
Yes, we ourselves have had the answer of death in ourselves, so that our hope might not be in ourselves, but in God who is able to give life to the dead: Who gave us salvation from so great a death: on whom we have put our hope that he will still go on to give us salvation;
Unnoted, but still kept fully in mind; as near to death, but still living; as undergoing punishment, but not put to death;
And even if I am offered like a drink offering, giving myself for the cause and work of your faith, I am glad and have joy with you all:
For you had pity on those who were in prison, and had joy in the loss of your property, in the knowledge that you still had a better property and one which you would keep for ever.
In which I put up with the hardest conditions, even prison chains, like one who has done a crime; but the word of God is not in chains.
May the Lord give mercy to the house of Onesiphorus because he frequently gave me help, and had no feeling of shame because I was in chains;
If you keep these things before the minds of the brothers, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, trained in the words of the faith and of the right teaching which has been your guide:
We sent Timothy, our brother and God's servant in the good news of Christ, to give you strength and comfort in your faith;
Now I have joy in my pain because of you, and in my flesh I undergo whatever is still needed to make the sorrows of Christ complete, for the salvation of his body, the church;
As it is said in the holy Writings, Because of you we are put to death every day; we are like sheep ready for destruction.
And when they had given them a great number of blows, they put them in prison, giving orders to the keeper of the prison to keep them safely: And he, having such orders, put them into the inner prison with chains on their feet.
Only that the Holy Spirit makes clear to me in every town that prison and pains are waiting for me.
And he came to us, and took the band of Paul's clothing, and putting it round his feet and hands, said, The Holy Spirit says these words, So will the Jews do to the man who is the owner of this band, and they will give him up into the hands of the Gentiles.
For he was hoping that Paul would give him money: so he sent for him more frequently and had talk with him. But after two years Porcius Festus took the place of Felix, who, desiring to have the approval of the Jews, kept Paul in chains.
And as they were there for some days, Festus gave them Paul's story, saying, There is a certain man here who was put in prison by Felix:
And when we came into Rome, they let Paul have a house for himself and the armed man who kept watch over him.
And for the space of two years, Paul was living in the house of which he had the use, and had talk with all those who went in to see him,
Give attention to the things which are before you. If any man seems to himself to be Christ's, let him keep in mind that we are as much Christ's as he is.
For in my opinion, I am in no way less than the most important of the Apostles.
I have been forced by you to become foolish, though it was right for my praise to have come from you: for in no way was I less than the chief of the Apostles, though I am nothing. Truly the signs of an Apostle were done among you in quiet strength, with wonders and acts of power.
For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles,
I then, the prisoner in the Lord, make this request from my heart, that you will see that your behaviour is a credit to the position which God's purpose has given you,
So that it became clear through all the Praetorium, and to all the rest, that I was a prisoner on account of Christ;
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Corinthians 11
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 11 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 11
In this chapter the apostle goes on with his discourse, in opposition to the false apostles, who were very industrious to lessen his interest and reputation among the Corinthians, and had prevailed too much by their insinuations.
2Cr 11:1-4
Here we may observe,
2Cr 11:5-15
After the foregoing preface to what he was about to say, the apostle in these verses mentions,
2Cr 11:16-21
Here we have a further excuse that the apostle makes for what he was about to say in his own vindication.
2Cr 11:22-33
Here the apostle gives a large account of his own qualifications, labours, and sufferings (not out of pride or vain-glory, but to the honour of God, who had enabled him to do and suffer so much for the cause of Christ), and wherein he excelled the false apostles, who would lessen his character and usefulness among the Corinthians. Observe,
In the last two verses, he mentions one particular part of his sufferings out of its place, as if he had forgotten it before, or because the deliverance God wrought for him was most remarkable; namely, the danger he was in at Damascus, soon after he was converted, and not settled in Christianity, at least in the ministry and apostleship. This is recorded, Acts 9:24, 25. This was his first great danger and difficulty, and the rest of his life was a piece with this. And it is observable that, lest it should be thought he spoke more than was true, the apostle confirms this narrative with a solemn oath, or appeal to the omniscience of God, v. 31. It is a great comfort to a good man that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is an omniscient God, knows the truth of all he says, and knows all he does and all he suffers for his sake.