2 Corinthians 10:2

2 I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards.

2 Corinthians 10:2 Meaning and Commentary

2 Corinthians 10:2

But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present,
&c.] That is, he entreated them that they would so behave for the future, that he might have no occasion, when he came among them, to use that power and authority they called boldness, which he had received from Christ for edification, and not destruction; as for that asperity and roughness with which he wrote, and which was thought to be too severe, it was in order to reclaim them, and so prevent that sharpness he was empowered by Christ to use: for though he had said in his former epistle, ( 1 Corinthians 4:21 ) "shall I come unto you with a rod or in love? and in the spirit of meekness?" he chose to come in the latter, rather than with the former; namely, not

with that confidence wherewith,
says he,

I think to be bold:
by "confidence" he means the faith of miracles he was possessed of, and particularly the power he, and other apostles had, of striking dead or blind incorrigible offenders, or of delivering them to Satan to undergo some corporeal punishment; which he had been thinking of, and reasoning about in his own mind, and was almost come to a conclusion concerning it, to inflict it upon, and with it to be bold,

against some which think of us as if we walked according to the
flesh;
who not barely thought so within themselves, but reasoned the matter with others, and would fain persuade them to believe that they did walk in a carnal manner; not that they had the face to say, that they walked after the dictates of corrupt nature, or lived in open vice and profaneness; but that they walked in craftiness, had their conversation in the world with fleshly wisdom, seeking their own worldly interest and secular advantage; which is denied by the apostle, ( 2 Corinthians 1:12 ) and was the real case, and true picture of the false teachers themselves.

2 Corinthians 10:2 In-Context

1 I myself, Paul, appeal to you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!—
2 I ask that when I am present I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards.
3 Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards;
4 for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments
5 and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Gk [according to the flesh]
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.