18 I begged Titus, and sent the brother with [him]: did Titus at all make gain of you? have we not walked in the same spirit? [have we] not in the same steps?
So that we begged Titus that, according as he had before begun, so he would also complete as to you this grace also;
and father of circumcision, not only to those who are of [the] circumcision, but to those also who walk in the steps of the faith, during uncircumcision, of our father Abraham.
Here I am: testify against me before Jehovah, and before his anointed. Whose ox have I taken? or whose ass have I taken? or whom have I defrauded? whom have I injured? or of whose hand have I received any ransom and blinded mine eyes therewith? and I will restore it to you. And they said, Thou hast not defrauded us, and thou hast not injured us, neither hast thou taken aught of any man's hand.
Moreover from the time that I was appointed to be their governor in the land of Judah, from the twentieth year even to the thirty-second year of Artaxerxes the king, twelve years, I and my brethren have not eaten the bread of the governor.
I have coveted [the] silver or gold or clothing of no one. Yourselves know that these hands have ministered to my wants, and to those who were with me. I have shewed you all things, that thus labouring [we] ought to come in aid of the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Now when I came to Troas for the [publication of the] glad tidings of the Christ, a door also being opened to me in [the] Lord, I had no rest in my spirit at not finding Titus my brother; but bidding them adieu, I came away to Macedonia.
Receive us: we have injured no one, we have ruined no one, we have made gain of no one.
But thanks [be] to God, who gives the same diligent zeal for you in the heart of Titus. For he received indeed the entreaty, but, being full of zeal, he went of his own accord to you; but we have sent with him the brother whose praise [is] in the glad tidings through all the assemblies; and not only [so], but [is] also chosen by the assemblies as our fellow-traveller with this grace, ministered by us to the glory of the Lord himself, and [a witness of] our readiness; avoiding this, that any one should blame us in this abundance [which is] administered by us; for we provide for things honest, not only before [the] Lord, but also before men. And we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved to be of diligent zeal in many things, and now more diligently zealous through the great confidence [he has] as to you. Whether as regards Titus, [he is] my companion and fellow-labourer in your behalf; or our brethren, [they are] deputed messengers of assemblies, Christ's glory.
But I hope in [the] Lord Jesus to send Timotheus to you shortly, that *I* also may be refreshed, knowing how ye get on. For I have no one like-minded who will care with genuine feeling how ye get on. For all seek their own things, not the things of Jesus Christ. But ye know the proof of him, that, as a child a father, he has served with me in the work of the glad tidings.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 12 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 12
In this chapter the apostle proceeds in maintaining the honour of his apostleship. He magnified his office when there were those who vilified it. What he says in his own praise was only in his own justification and the necessary defence of the honour of his ministry, the preservation of which was necessary to its success. First, He makes mention of the favour God had shown him, the honour done him, the methods God took to keep him humble, and the use he made of this dispensation (v. 1-10). Then he addresses himself to the Corinthians, blaming them for what was faulty among them, and giving a large account of his behaviour and kind intentions towards them (v. 11-21).
2Cr 12:1-10
Here we may observe,
2Cr 12:11-21
In these verses the apostle addresses himself to the Corinthians two ways:-