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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - 2 Corinthians 6:3 - 6:10
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
The example of Paul in the midst of difficulties:
v. 3. Giving no offense in anything, that the ministry be not blamed;
v. 4. but in all things approving ourselves as the ministers of God, in much patience, in afflictions, in necessities, in distresses,
v. 5. in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;
v. 6. by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghost, by love unfeigned,
v. 7. by the Word of Truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
v. 8. by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report: as deceivers, and yet true;
v. 9. as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and, behold, we live; as chastened, and not killed;
v. 10. as sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet possessing all things.
Paul here sets forth his own example, partly in vindication of his own conduct, partly with the intention of stimulating emulation. He conducts himself so that he gives no one an occasion for stumbling, since any deliberate act of that kind would have reacted upon the Gospel. He could not indeed hinder the self-righteous and self-conceited from taking offense at the Word of the Cross and blaspheming both the office and its ministers, 1Co_4:12-13. But he made use of the most untiring vigilance in doctrine and life, lest someone should find a reason for censuring him; he took heed to himself in the most scrupulous manner, lest on his account someone should stumble and fall.
The apostle now speaks of the distinctive characteristics of his apostolic office in detail: But in all things commending ourselves as God's servants do, He acted so conscientiously in all things pertaining to his office and to his whole life that his boast of proving his worth was not too strong. He and his fellow-workers were examples of all that was good in their office as well as in their daily conduct. As it was appropriate for the ministers of God, their whole life was a testimony to the office with which they had been entrusted. This was true, first of all, in the enduring of outward hardships. They did their work in great patience, in determined perseverance, in steadfast calmness, since this was necessary for enduring and conquering the peculiar difficulties which they were obliged to encounter. They worked in afflictions occasioned by the hatred of their enemies; in distresses, in various troubles which fall to the lot of the persecuted; in straits of perplexities, from which there seemed to be no escape, which left them at a loss as to how they might proceed. The enemies of the Gospel also succeeded in making their enmity felt in the person of Paul, in stripes, when he was beaten, Act_22:24; in imprisonments, Act_16:24; in tumults, when the people did not wait for the judgment of the authorities, but aroused the rabble in a demonstration against the person and work of the Christian teachers, Act_13:50; Act_14:5-19; Act_16:22; Act_17:5; Act_18:12. He was troubled also in hard labors, both in preaching the Gospel and in supporting himself while so doing, making his body weary and sapping his strength, 1Co_15:10; Act_20:26; in watchings, many a sleepless night being credited to his account, since he was active day and night, Act_20:7-31, in behalf of the souls entrusted to him; in fastings, which he undertook voluntarily, partly as a fine outward training, Act_14:23, partly to keep his body in subjection, 1Co_9:27, partly also to strengthen his body for the endurance of hardships, chap. 11:27. What an example for all ministers of all times! And how earnestly does this account rebuke the superficiality and externalism of many modern Christians!
The apostle next shows his behavior as a true minister of Christ in inward gifts and qualities: in integrity of mind and life, in the moral purity which cleanses itself from all contamination of flesh and spirit; in knowledge, which is essentially the right understanding of the good, acceptable, and perfect will of God, the ability to form the proper judgment regarding the various conditions and circumstances of men in the light of God's Word; in long-suffering, an attribute of especial value in a missionary, since it enables him to bear the weaknesses of those deficient in knowledge and to hold back his righteous indignation on account of insults; in kindness, according to which the apostle showed his benignant gentleness in seeking and promoting the welfare of his neighbor, whether friend or enemy. All these qualities are not natural abilities of the apostle, but they are gifts of the Holy Ghost, who also works love unfeigned, true, genuine love, which knows nothing of hypocrisy and dissimulation, 1Co_13:1-13 : Col_3:12. And as a possessor of these gifts and qualities, Paul does his work in the Word of Truth, in his activity as a messenger of the Lord, for he preached only the pure, unadulterated, divine doctrine, chap. 4:2; in the power of God which enables him to do the work of his ministry, which causes him to take all his own reason and ability captive under the obedience of Christ, 2Co_10:5; Rom_1:16.
A further feature of the apostle's work was this, that he commended himself as a minister of God through the weapons of righteousness on the right and on the left, carrying on the warfare of the Lord not with carnal instruments, but with those means that are appropriate for the justice of the Lord's cause, using them for offense as well as for defense. In doing this, he was undaunted, no matter whether the way of his ministry led through honor or dishonor, through evil reports or good reports; exposed a she was to slanderous, malicious tongues, he accepted it in the spirit which characterized his Lord, as a testimony for the fact that he was doing his work as a servant of God and not of men, Gal_1:10; Joh_15:18.
Thus Paul proved his character to be diametrically opposite to that which was ascribed to him by his enemies. He was defamed as a deceiver, just as his Master was before him. Joh_7:12, as one that was trying to defraud the people by false doctrines, by teaching new gods, Act_17:18; and yet he was true, in the eyes of God as well as in those of men that were won by the Word of Truth. He was unknown, misjudged, misunderstood, represented as an obscure person without proper credentials, as the teacher of a sect which was everywhere spoken against, Act_28:22; Act_24:14; and yet he was well known before Him who had inscribed his name in heaven, Luk_12:20, as well as to them that had felt the power of the Gospel in their hearts, Gal_4:15. He was dying, surrounded on all sides by enemies that sought his life, and may often have been reported dead, and he himself often gave up all hope of life, Act_27:21; 2Co_1:8 : and yet, behold, by a miracle of God he was living, he had till now triumphed over death. He carried on his work as chastened, stricken with the consequences of sin in his body, as his adversaries were sure to sneer of him, 2Co_12:7, and yet the chastening of the Lord did not kill him, Psa_118:18, its intention rather being to purify him in life and work, to make him more valuable for the ministry which was entrusted to him. Sorrowful indeed he was; for the enmity of men, the evil reports, the distresses and perplexities, the chastenings of the Lord caused him sorrow according to the flesh; and yet he was always rejoicing, for all the troubles of this present life could not rob him of his joy in the Lord and his blessed hope of salvation, Php_4:4. Poor he was in this world's goods, a pauper so far as the money of this life was concerned, yet he made many rich, beyond the dreams of avarice, in spiritual blessings, in the treasures of heaven. Yea, he was one of those that had nothing which is counted in the eyes of this world, neither wealth nor social position; and yet he possessed all things, 1Co_3:22, having the riches of the grace of God in Christ Jesus as a treasure which no man could take from him. Note: What Paul here says of himself and of his fellow-ministers is true of all messengers of the Gospel at all times, and, in a degree, of all true believers. It therefore behooves them to pass through the dangers and persecutions, through the trials and distresses of the world, with their eyes fixed upon the heavenly glory which is promised them as a reward of mercy, in their Redeemer, Jesus Christ. It is worthwhile to notice also in this section how the enthusiasm of the apostle carries him forward on a wave of eloquence: "When Paul's heart was all ablaze with passion, as in Second Corinthians, he did pile up participles like boulders on a mountainside, a sort of volcanic eruption... But there is always a path through these participles. Paul would not let himself be caught in a net of mere grammatical niceties. If necessary, he broke the rule and went on. But Moulton is right in saying that all this is 'more a matter of style than of grammar. ' It is rhetoric."