There is a big difference between being a servant of Christ and a steward of the mysteries of God. Anyone who has read the Bible can be a servant of Christ, but to be a steward of the mysteries one must plumb their depths. Paul was acting as a steward of the mysteries when he commissioned Luke, for example, to write his Gospel, and when he sent Timothy^[1] to sort out the Ephesian church. I would even dare to say that in Corinth Paul acted like a servant of Christ, whereas in Ephesus he became a steward of the mysteries of God.^[2]

Paul says this because some of the Corinthians were denigrating him. He did not preach anything different from the apostles. By calling himself a servant of Christ and a steward of the mysteries of God, Paul implicitly points out who the false apostles are. He denies that what they preach is of Christ, because it is not in accord with apostolic tradition.

Paul honors the Corinthians by calling them servants and makes this even more precise when he adds the term stewards. For we should not give the mysteries of God indiscriminately to everyone, but only to those to whom they are due and to whom it is right that we should minister.

If Paul can say this of people like himself, Peter and Apollos, how much more will it be true of us? We ought to be on our guard to make sure that we are found to be trustworthy stewards.

A steward’s duty is to administer well the things that have been entrusted to him. The things of the master’s are not the stewards but the reverse—what is his really belongs to his master.

As you receive everything, call upon God for everything. What you have is from God. Always acknowledge that you are his debtor.

No banker plays fast and loose with other people’s deposits. Rather he looks after them in order to keep them safe for the one who has entrusted them to him.

It is obvious that Paul was not worried about himself because he had a clear conscience.

Paul says this not to exalt himself but to humble others who were getting too full of themselves. Paul says that he would not even presume to judge himself, because he is not capable of making an adequate assessment.

Paul accuses the Corinthians of two things. First, they exaggerate their praise, and second, they condemn others when they have no right to judge.

Through the wrongdoings of others I become a better disciple, but I am not thereby acquitted.

Paul knew that even if his heart was still prone to sin, his deeds were upright.

Paul may have committed certain sins without knowing that they are sins. His purpose here is not to say that he is blameless but to stop the mouths of those who were blaming him unreasonably. God is our judge, because only he knows for sure what is going on in our hearts.

If I am unable to judge myself, how shall I presume to judge others?

Why does Paul mention only commendation from God and say nothing about condemnation? The reason seems to be that only that which is commendable will reach God’s ears; the rest will be passed over in silence. I would even go so far as to say that it is God who receives the commendable things we have done, whereas the rest goes straight to the devil.

God will judge in his own good time. A judge is insulted if a servant presumes to pronounce a verdict before the judge makes the decision known.

Paul is not talking here about those sins that we all recognize and confess as such. Rather he is speaking about preferring one person before another and making invidious comparisons of moral behaviors. Only God, who knows all our secret doings, can judge that sort of thing with accuracy. Only he knows what is more and what is less worthy of punishment.

As long as there was a need for expressions as harsh as these, Paul refrained from drawing up the curtain and went on arguing as if he himself were the person to whom they were addressed. But when the time came to be gentler, he tore the curtain away and revealed who the people were whom he had concealed under the names of Paul and Apollos. This was not hypocrisy but gentleness and tact. For if he had said openly that the men whom the Corinthians were attacking were saints, they might have taken it badly. But by first humbling himself he gained their attention and respect.

Paul wrote this to people who thought that it was better to be baptized by some people rather than by others, who had been led astray by their eloquence and who by some trick believed that perverse teachings were right. In fact, everything these people had they had received from the apostle.

By showing that they have received all that they have from someone else, Paul points out the deficiencies of the Corinthians, which were not few in number.

The people who boast imagine that they are justified by their own efforts, and therefore they glory in themselves, not in the Lord.

Arguments like these, which appeal to our sense of shame, have two advantages. On the one hand, they cut deeper than open invective would ever do. On the other hand, they cause the person reprimanded to bear that deeper wound with greater patience.

Paul was worthy to be watched by angels as he strove to win the prize of Christ, as he struggled to establish the life of angels on earth and confound the wickedness of angels in heaven. For he wrestled with spiritual wickedness. Rightly did the world watch him, to follow his example.

From the things by which he vilifies himself, Paul shows us how great he is. From the things that make the Corinthians proud he displays their littleness.

The angels marvel at the apostles’ fortitude. As for human beings, some rejoice in the apostles’ afflictions, while others are moved to pity but have no help to offer.

Those who love Christ are fools as far as the world is concerned.

Paul said these things in order to provoke the Corinthians to consider that they should zealously seek to emulate the apostles in their dangers and their indignities, not in their honors and glories. For it is the former, not the latter, that the gospel requires.

Paul is talking about the present as much as about the past, because the Christian must always be living in this way, and not just occasionally. The wrestler may be crowned after a single victory, but if he then goes on to lose, he will not be crowned a second time.

Paul is saying that the main point is not that he and his fellow apostles are suffering, for that is common to all. What is unique about them is that they are suffering without despair or anger. On the contrary, they are full of rejoicing, and they prove it by returning good for the evil they receive.

Christ commanded us to bear insults meekly, both so that we might grow in virtue ourselves and that we might put our adversaries to shame.^[1] That effect is best produced not by reproach but by silence.

Paul is acting here like a good physician who alleviates the pain caused by his operation to remove the disease, so that the sick person will let himself be cured.

Not to speak against sins would have been impossible, since they would have remained uncorrected. To have left the wound untended after having spoken would have been harsh. Therefore Paul apologizes for being severe, because so far from destroying the effect of the knife it makes it sink in even deeper, while at the same time it looks toward soothing the pain of the wound. When a person is told that these things are being said in love and not in reproach, he will be more open to receiving correction.

The father is the one who has sown the seed of the gospel in their souls. The guides are those who have taken the child later on and helped him develop.

Paul is telling the Corinthians that nobody else will ever love them the way he does.

Paul is not claiming any dignity here, but rather he is showing the depth of his love. Dignity belongs to the teacher, but love is the mark of the father.

Paul is saying to the Corinthians: Be humble as I am humble, suffer as I suffer. It is by your sufferings, not by your gifts, that you will be rated.

Paul wants them to be imitators of him in these things, so that just as he has endured many hardships from unbelievers for their salvation and is still doing so as long as he preaches the free gift of God’s grace day and night, so they too ought to remain in his faith and doctrine and not accept the evil teachings of false apostles.

Paul’s real aim was that the Corinthians should imitate Christ. But because of their weakness, he presents himself as an intermediate model to follow. It is only because he imitates Christ that he exhorts the people to imitate him.

By this Paul meant that if he was humble, they should also be humble. What he was prepared to suffer, they should be prepared to suffer. They were to glory in their hardships, not in their blessings.

Paul shows how much he loves the Corinthians by sending his dearly beloved child, Timothy, to them, choosing thereby to be separated from him for the Corinthians’ sake.

By ways in Christ Paul means his embodied good deeds. He tells the Corinthians to remember them, because they are self-evident and do not need to be taught.

Paul’s behavior was completely consistent with his teaching.

Some of the Corinthians were angry that Paul had not come to them, not because they wanted him to but because they were proud and imagined that Paul thought they were unworthy of a visit. In fact, Paul wanted to go but had more important things to do.

It is clear from this that what was being said was that Paul and his companions were weak, while the Corinthians were strong.

Paul couches his promise to come in the will of God, because God knows more than man. If there was some advantage in Paul’s going to Corinth, God would make it known, and if he did not turn up, the Corinthians would know that the Lord had not wanted him to.

Paul promises to come, so that the Corinthians can prepare themselves for correction. On the one hand he was forced by his irritation to say I shall come, but on the other hand he added if the Lord wills, because of his sense of dependence on God.

It is not smooth talk that reveals the presence of the kingdom of God, but power. When there is power in the words, then the kingdom is present in them.

Actions speak louder than words, says Paul. If those Corinthians who are now arrogant want to prove something, let them show me when I come whether they can do the same miracles I can do. I do not want to find them hiding behind a wall of words, for that sort of thing means nothing to me.

It is not enough to preach the kingdom of God in order to be saved; one must also behave in a way which is worthy of the kingdom.

Let us not deceive ourselves with a false security, believing that a nonresponsive faith lacking good works can deliver us against the day of judgment.

Paul leaves it up to the Corinthians to decide how he should come to them. We too have a choice. Either we can fall into hell, or we can obtain the kingdom. But if you say that you are willing to do the right thing but not able, you are mistaken. All that means is that you are not willing strongly enough.

The rod does not mean that there is no love, but love is hidden behind its blows and is not perceived by the one who is on the receiving end.

Paul mentioned a rod first, that he might afterward comfort them with the spirit of meekness.

By rod Paul meant the compelling power of the Spirit, which he had used against Elymas and which God had used against him.^[1]