Author: Rev. Lek Aik Wee

2 Corinthians 10:15 Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,

The Apostle Paul was speaking of the work that he was personally involved in the establishment of the church in Corinth. It was not a work of other men’s labours. He personally laboured in the work, he testified, by the grace of God. His hope was that the church in Corinth would increase in faith and be spiritually mature and established so that through them there will be further resources “we shall be enlarged by you” to bring the gospel to the regions beyond.

Nineteenth-century preacher and author, A. B. Simpson, gives a wonderful example of the power of accumulative prayer. In the city of Rangoon, Burma, resided the largest and finest bell in the East. It was the pride of the great Buddhist Temple, Shwee-da-gone. During one war the bell sank in a river. Over the years, various engineers tried but failed to raise it. At last, a clever priest asked permission to try, but only if the bell was given to his temple.

The priest had his assistants gather an immense number of bamboo rods. One by one the rods were fastened to the bell at the bottom of the river. After thousands of them had been fastened, the bell began to move. When the last bamboo rod was attached, the buoyancy of the accumulated rods lifted the bronze bell from the mire of the river bottom to the stream’s surface.

2 Corinthians 10:14 For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:

In the Apostle Paul’s second missionary journey in which the church of Corinth was established, was recorded by Luke the beginning of that journey in Acts 15:40 “And Paul chose Silas, and departed, being recommended by the brethren unto the grace of God.” The poet Philip Doddridge (1702-1751) aptly described “grace” in the words of the hymn entitled “Grace! ‘Tis a Charming Sound” that is the throbbing heartbeat of the missionary in Ephesians 2:8:

Grace! ‘tis a charming sound

Harmonious to the ear

Heaven with the echo shall resound,

And all the earth shall hear.

Saved by grace alone!

This is all my plea:

Jesus died for all mankind

And Jesus died for me.

In the second missionary journey recorded in Acts 15:36-18:22, according to Scroggie, the occupied 2 ½ – 3 years and the distance travelled was 2800 miles (1230 miles by sea and 1570 miles by land) from A.D. 50-53. The first and second Epistles to the Thessalonians were written respectively in A.D. 52 and A.D. 53.

It was a true record of the grace of God.

2 Corinthians 10:13 But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.

It was the Apostle Paul who had come to the city of Corinth to preach the gospel that saw to the establishment of the church in Corinth. This work was established as it were through the working of God in the Apostle Paul’s ministry. It was during his 2nd Missionary journey that the church was started.

Recall Luke’s record in Acts 18 where the Apostle Paul departed from Athens to Corinth (Acts 18:1). He abode with Aquila and Priscilla who were tentmakers. On the Sabbath, he would make his way to the Jewish synagogue to preach the gospel. He was opposed but God was with him to save Justus who lived next to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue also believed with all his household and many other Corinthians hearing the gospel believed.

2 Corinthians 10:12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

The Apostle Paul was truthful to his confession of faith. He has not another face to hide himself. He was not a different person in his writing from who he was in person. His mission was his Master’s. He testified in Galatians 2:20 “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” His life was to exalt his Master! He was an obedient to his Master call. What a blessed life!

It was a life lived by the grace of God. Washington Gladden (1879) was the writer of the hymn “O Master Let Me Walk with Thee”. He articulated how a weak vessel needs to be surrendered to be fit for the Master’s use.

2 Corinthians 10:11 Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.

Coventry was a centre for the weaving trade in medieval times, most famously, Coventry was known for cloth dyed a particular shade of blue. The phrase “True blue” is supposed to derive from the blue cloth that was made at Coventry, England in the late middle ages. The town’s dyers had a reputation for producing material that didn’t fade with washing, that is, it remained ‘fast’ or ‘true’. The Coventry story also has the added credence of closely matching the ‘steadfast, unwavering’ meaning of the phrase.

The phrase ‘as true as Coventry blue’ originated then and is still used (in Coventry at least). The town’s standing was recorded in 1670 by John Ray in the first edition of A Compleat Collection of English Proverbs:

“Coventry had formerly the reputation for dying of blues; insomuch that true blue became a Proverb to signifie one that was always the same and like himself.”

2 Corinthians 10:10 For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

What the Corinthians have read from his letters was exactly who the Apostle Paul was. He stood by what he wrote. What he wrote was true to who he was. It had been alleged that his ordinary physical appearance does not gel with the spiritual strength of the letters that he wrote. Therefore, the letters have been called to question. How could such a weak person write such powerful letters!

The power of those letters was Spirit-led writing. As the Apostle Peter would have rightly put it in 2 Peter 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” The Apostle Peter’s spiritual authority came from the Lord Jesus Himself as he testified in 2 Peter 1:17-19 “For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:” Just as it was with the Apostle Paul as recorded our Lord’s conversation with Ananais in Acts 9:15-16 “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” This was exactly the work the Apostle Paul was doing. It was the Lord’s work through this weak vessel!

2 Corinthians 10:8-9 For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.

The Apostle Paul was careful to use his authority to build up the faith of the saints. It was not meant to frighten or scare them, or worse to harm them. He had to clear himself so that it will not be misconstrued. MacDonald observed insightfully, “He knew there were false teachers exercising authority among the Corinthians which they had never received from the Lord.”

The Apostle Paul was not there but was aware of the falsehoods planted concerning his ministry amongst the Corinthians. As such, he was duty-bound to clarify, albeit, by a letter.

The Apostle Paul could have let the matter rest, after all, he was far away, but his heart will have no rest until he saw to the spiritual well-being of the Corinthians. True to the trust that our Lord placed upon him, we saw him discharging his work with heart, soul, mind and strength for the glory of God.