It is not expedient doubtless for me to glory
Though it was lawful for him to glory, and was necessary in the
present circumstances of things, in vindication of himself, and
to preserve the Corinthians from being carried away with the
insinuations of the false apostles; and so for the honour and
interest of Christ and the Gospel; yet it was not expedient on
some other accounts, or profitable and serviceable to himself; he
might find that it tended to stir up pride, vanity, and elation
of mind in him, and might be interpreted by others as proud
boasting and vain glorying; wherefore he chose to drop it, and
pass on to another subject; or rather though it was not expedient
to proceed, yet, before he entirely quitted it, he thought it
proper to say something of the extraordinary appearances of God
unto him. Some copies, and the Vulgate Latin version, read, "if
there was need of glorying, it is not indeed expedient"; the
Syriac version, "there is need of glorying, but it is not
expedient"; and the Arabic version, "neither have I need to
glory, nor is it expedient for me: I will come to visions and
revelations of the Lord"; such as the Lord had made to him, and
not man; and which were not the fruit of his own fancy, or the
delusions of Satan; but were from the Lord Jesus Christ, and his
glory. The apostle might very well speak of "visions" or heavenly
appearances, since he was favoured with many; his conversion was
owing to a vision or appearance of Christ to him, whom he saw
with his bodily eyes, and heard him speaking to him, and which he
calls "the heavenly vision"; at another time when at Troas, a
vision appeared to him in the night, and a man of Macedonia stood
and prayed him to come over and help them; and when at Corinth
the Lord spoke to him by a vision, and bid him not be afraid, but
go on preaching the Gospel, because he had much people there to
be brought in through his ministry: and as for revelations,
besides what are ordinary and common to all believers, he had
extraordinary ones; the Gospel and the scheme of it, the
knowledge of the several particular doctrines of it, were not
attained to by him in the common way, but he had them by the
revelation of Jesus Christ; the several mysterious parts of it,
particularly that of the calling of the Gentiles, to which might
be added, the change that will be upon the living saints at
Christ's second coming, were made known to him by revelation; and
sometimes in this extraordinary way he was directed to go to such
or such a place, as at a certain time he went up to Jerusalem by
"revelation", where he was to do or suffer many things for the
sake of Christ: though he had no revelation of anything that was
different from, and much less contrary to the Gospel, and as it
was preached by the other apostles; for there was an entire
agreement between him and them in their ministry; see ( Galatians
2:2 Galatians
2:7-8 ) , and these visions and revelations were for his
instruction, direction, and encouragement in the ministration of
the Gospel; and being of an extraordinary nature, were suitable
to those extraordinary times, and not to be expected in an
ordinary way, nor is there any need of them now; besides, these
were visions and revelations of the Lord, and not the effects of
enthusiasm, and a warm imagination, nor diabolical delusions, or
the pretensions and cheats of designing men; and were for the
confirmation and establishment of the Gospel, and not to
countenance a new scheme, or introduce a new dispensation;
wherefore all visions and revelations men pretend to, which are
for such a purpose, are to be despised and rejected.