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<center><h1>Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary
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on the Whole Bible</h1>
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[<A HREF="MHC00000.HTM">Table of Contents</A>]<BR>
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Matthew Henry<BR><I>Commentary on the Whole Bible</I> (1721)
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<!-- (Begin Body) -->
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<CENTER>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+3><B>S E C O N D C O R I N T H I A N S.</B></FONT>
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<BR>
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<BR><FONT SIZE=+2>CHAP. XI.</FONT>
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<HR SIZE=1 WIDTH=50>
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</CENTER>
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<FONT SIZE=-1>
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<P>
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In this chapter the apostle goes on with his discourse, in opposition
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to the false apostles, who were very industrious to lessen his interest
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and reputation among the Corinthians, and had prevailed too much by
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their insinuations. I. He apologizes for going about to commend
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himself, and gives the reason for what he did,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:1-4">ver. 1-4</A>.
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II. He mentions, in his own necessary vindication, his equality with
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the other apostles, and with the false apostles in this particular of
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preaching the gospel to the Corinthians freely, without wages,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:5-15">ver. 5-15</A>.
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III. He makes another preface to what he was about further to say in
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his own justification,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:16-21">ver. 16-21</A>.
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And,
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IV. He gives a large account of his qualifications, labours, and
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sufferings, in which he exceeded the false apostles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:22-33">ver. 22, to the end</A>.</P>
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</FONT>
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<A NAME="2Co11_1"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_2"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_3"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_4"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec1"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Apostle Asserts His Claims.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 57.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>1 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in <I>my</I> folly:
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and indeed bear with me.
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2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have
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espoused you to one husband, that I may present <I>you as</I> a chaste
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virgin to Christ.
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3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve
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through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the
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simplicity that is in Christ.
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4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have
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not preached, or <I>if</I> ye receive another spirit, which ye have
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not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye
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might well bear with <I>him.</I>
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here we may observe,
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1. The apology the apostle makes for going about to commend himself. He
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is loth to enter upon this subject of self-commendation: <I>Would to
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God you could bear with me a little in my folly,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:1"><I>v.</I> 1</A>.
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He calls this folly, because too often it is really no better. In his
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case it was necessary; yet, seeing others might apprehend it to be
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folly in him, he desires them to bear with it. Note, As much against
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the grain as it is with a proud man to acknowledge his infirmities, so
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much is it against the grain with a humble man to speak in his own
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praise. It is no pleasure to a good man to speak well of himself, yet
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in some cases it is lawful, namely, when it is for the advantage of
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others, or for our own necessary vindication; as thus it was here. For,
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2. We have the reasons for what the apostle did.
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(1.) To preserve the Corinthians from being corrupted by the
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insinuations of the false apostles,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:2,3"><I>v.</I> 2, 3</A>.
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He tells them <I>he was jealous over them with godly jealousy;</I> he
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was afraid lest their faith should be weakened by hearkening to such
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suggestions as tended to lessen their regard to his ministry, by which
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they were brought to the Christian faith. He had <I>espoused them to
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one husband,</I> that is, converted them to Christianity (and the
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conversion of a soul is its marriage to the Lord Jesus); and he was
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desirous to <I>present them as a chaste virgin</I>--pure, and spotless,
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and faithful, not having <I>their minds corrupted</I> with false
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doctrines by false teachers, as <I>Eve was beguiled by the subtlety of
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the serpent.</I> This godly jealousy in the apostle was a mixture of
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love and fear; and faithful ministers cannot but be afraid and
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concerned for their people, lest they should lose that which they have
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received, and turn from what they have embraced, especially when
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<I>deceivers have gone abroad,</I> or have <I>crept in among them.</I>
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(2.) To vindicate himself against the false apostles, forasmuch as they
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could not pretend they had another Jesus, or another Spirit, or another
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gospel, to preach to them,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:4"><I>v.</I> 4</A>.
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If this had been the case, there would have been some colour of reason
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to bear with them, or to hearken to them. But seeing there is but one
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Jesus, one Spirit, and one gospel, that is, or at least that ought to
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be, preached to them and received by them, what reason could there be
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why the Corinthians should be prejudiced against him, who first
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converted them to the faith, by the artifices of any adversary? It was
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a just occasion of jealousy that such persons designed to preach
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another Jesus, another Spirit, and another gospel.</P>
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<A NAME="2Co11_5"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_6"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_7"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_8"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_9"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_10"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_11"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_12"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_13"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_14"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_15"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec2"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Apostle Asserts His Claims.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 57.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>5 For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest
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apostles.
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6 But though <I>I be</I> rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but
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we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.
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7 Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might
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be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God
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freely?
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8 I robbed other churches, taking wages <I>of them,</I> to do you
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service.
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9 And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable
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to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which
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came from Macedonia supplied: and in all <I>things</I> I have kept
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myself from being burdensome unto you, and <I>so</I> will I keep
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<I>myself.</I>
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10 As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of
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this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
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11 Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.
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12 But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion
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from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they
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may be found even as we.
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13 For such <I>are</I> false apostles, deceitful workers,
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transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
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14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an
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angel of light.
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15 Therefore <I>it is</I> no great thing if his ministers also be
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transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be
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according to their works.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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After the foregoing preface to what he was about to say, the apostle in
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these verses mentions,</P>
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<P>
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I. His equality with the other apostles--that <I>he was not a whit
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behind the very chief of the apostles,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:5"><I>v.</I> 5</A>.
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This he expresses very modestly: <I>I suppose so.</I> He might have
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spoken very positively. The apostleship, as an office, was equal in
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all the apostles; but the apostles, like other Christians, differed one
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from another. These <I>stars differed one from another in glory,</I>
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and Paul was indeed of the first magnitude; yet he speaks modestly of
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himself, and humbly owns his personal infirmity, that he was <I>rude in
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speech,</I> had not such a graceful delivery as some others might have.
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Some think that he was a man of very low stature, and that his voice
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was proportionably small; others think that he may have had some
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impediment in his speech, perhaps a stammering tongue. However, he was
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not rude <I>in knowledge;</I> he was not unacquainted with the best
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rules of oratory and the art of persuasion, much less was he ignorant
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of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, as had been <I>thoroughly
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manifested among them.</I></P>
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<P>
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II. His equality with the false apostles in this particular--the
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preaching of the gospel unto them freely, without wages. This the
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apostle largely insists on, and shows that, as they could not but own
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him to be a minister of Christ, so they ought to acknowledge he had
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been a good friend to them. For,
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1. He had preached the gospel to them freely,
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:7-10"><I>v.</I> 7-10</A>.
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He had proved at large, in his former epistle to them, the lawfulness
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of ministers' receiving maintenance from the people, and the duty of
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the people to give them an honourable maintenance; and here he says he
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himself had <I>taken wages of other churches</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:8"><I>v.</I> 8</A>),
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so that he had a right to have asked and received from them: yet he
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waived his right, and chose rather to abase himself, by working with
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his hands in the trade of tent-making to maintain himself, than be
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burdensome to them, that they might <I>be exalted,</I> or encouraged to
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receive the gospel, which they had so cheaply; yea, he chose rather to
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be supplied from Macedonia than to be chargeable unto them.
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2. He informs them of the reason of this his conduct among them. It was
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not because <I>he did not love them</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:11"><I>v.</I> 11</A>),
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or was unwilling to receive tokens of their love (for love and
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friendship are manifested by mutual giving and receiving), but it was
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to avoid offence, that <I>he might cut off occasion from those that
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desired occasion.</I> He would not give occasion for any to accuse him
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of worldly designs in preaching the gospel, or that he intended to make
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a trade of it, to enrich himself; and that others who opposed him at
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Corinth might not in this respect gain an advantage against him: that
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wherein <I>they gloried,</I> as to this matter, <I>they might be found
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even as he,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:12"><I>v.</I> 12</A>.
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It is not improbable to suppose that the chief of the false teachers at
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Corinth, or some among them, were rich, and taught (or deceived) the
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people freely, and might accuse the apostle or his fellow-labourers as
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mercenary men, who received hire or wages, and therefore the apostle
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kept to his resolution not to be chargeable to any of the
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Corinthians.</P>
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<P>
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III. The false apostles are charged <I>as deceitful workers</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:13"><I>v.</I> 13</A>),
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and that upon this account, because they would <I>transform
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themselves</I> into the likeness of the apostles of Christ, and, though
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they were the ministers of Satan, would seem to be the <I>ministers of
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righteousness.</I> They would be as industrious and as generous in
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promoting error as the apostles were in preaching truth; they would
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endeavour as much to undermine the kingdom of Christ as the apostles
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did to establish it. There were counterfeit prophets under the Old
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Testament, who wore the garb and learned the language of the prophets
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of the Lord. So there were counterfeit apostles under the New
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Testament, who seemed in many respects like the true apostles of
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Christ. And no marvel (says the apostle); hypocrisy is a thing not to
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be much wondered at in this world, especially when we consider the
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great influence Satan has upon the minds of many, who <I>rules in the
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hearts of the children of disobedience.</I> As he can turn himself into
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any shape, and put on almost any form, and look sometimes <I>like an
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angel of light,</I> in order to promote his kingdom of darkness, so he
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will teach his ministers and instruments to do the same. But it
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follows, <I>Their end is according to their works</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:15"><I>v.</I> 15</A>);
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the end will discover them to be deceitful workers, and their work will
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end in ruin and destruction.</P>
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<A NAME="2Co11_16"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_17"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_18"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_19"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_20"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_21"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec3"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Apostle Asserts His Claims.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 57.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>16 I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet
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as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.
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17 That which I speak, I speak <I>it</I> not after the Lord, but as
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it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.
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18 Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.
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19 For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye <I>yourselves</I> are wise.
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20 For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man
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devour <I>you,</I> if a man take <I>of you,</I> if a man exalt himself, if
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a man smite you on the face.
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21 I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak.
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Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold
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also.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here we have a further excuse that the apostle makes for what he was
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about to say in his own vindication.
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1. He would not have them think he was guilty of folly, in saying what
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he said to vindicate himself: <I>Let no man think me a fool,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:16"><I>v.</I> 16</A>.
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Ordinarily, indeed, it is unbecoming a wise man to be much and often
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speaking in his own praise. Boasting of ourselves is usually not only
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a sign of a proud mind, but a mark of folly also. However, says the
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apostle, yet <I>as a fool receive me;</I> that is, if you count it
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folly in me to <I>boast a little,</I> yet give due regard to what I
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shall say.
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2. He mentions a caution, to prevent the abuse of what he should say,
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telling them that what he spoke, <I>he did not speak after the
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Lord,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:17"><I>v.</I> 17</A>.
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He would not have them think that boasting of ourselves, or glorying in
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what we have, is a thing commanded by the Lord in general unto
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Christians, nor yet that this is always necessary in our own
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vindication; though it may be lawfully used, because not contrary to
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the Lord, when, strictly speaking, it is not after the Lord. It is the
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duty and practice of Christians, in obedience to the command and
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example of the Lord, rather to humble and abase themselves; yet
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prudence must direct in what circumstances it is needful to do that
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which we may do lawfully, even speak of what God has wrought for us,
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and in us, and by us too.
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3. He gives a good reason why they should suffer him to boast a little;
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namely, because they suffered others to do so who had less reason.
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<I>Seeing many glory after the flesh</I> (of carnal privileges, or
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outward advantages and attainments), <I>I will glory also,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:18"><I>v.</I> 18</A>.
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But he would not glory in those things, though he had as much or more
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reason than others to do so. But he gloried in his infirmities, as he
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tells them afterwards. The Corinthians thought themselves wise, and
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might think it an instance of wisdom to bear with the weakness of
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others, and therefore suffered others to do what might seem folly;
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therefore the apostle would have them bear with him. Or these words,
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<I>You suffer fools gladly, seeing you yourselves are wise</I>
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:19"><I>v.</I> 19</A>),
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may be ironical, and then the meaning is this: "Notwithstanding all
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your wisdom, you willingly suffer yourselves to be <I>brought into
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bondage</I> under the Jewish yoke, or suffer others to tyrannize over
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you; nay, to <I>devour you,</I> or make a prey of you, and <I>take of
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you</I> hire for their own advantage, and to <I>exalt themselves</I>
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above you, and lord it over you; nay, even to <I>smite you on the
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face,</I> or impose upon you to your very faces
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(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:20"><I>v.</I> 20</A>),
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upbraiding you while they reproach me, as if you had been very weak in
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showing regard to me,"
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.
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Seeing this was the case, that the Corinthians, or some among them,
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could so easily bear all this from the false apostles, it was
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reasonable for the apostle to desire, and expect, they should bear with
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what might seem to them an indiscretion in him, seeing the
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circumstances of the case were such as made it needful that
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<I>whereinsoever any were bold</I> he should be <I>bold also,</I>
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<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:21"><I>v.</I> 21</A>.</P>
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<A NAME="2Co11_22"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_23"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_24"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_25"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_26"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_27"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_28"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_29"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_30"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_31"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_32"> </A>
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<A NAME="2Co11_33"> </A>
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<A NAME="Sec4"> </A>
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<TABLE WIDTH="100%" BORDER=0>
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<TR><TD><FONT SIZE=+1><I>The Apostle Recounts His Sufferings.</I></FONT></TD>
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<TD ALIGN=RIGHT VALIGN=BOTTOM><FONT SIZE=-1>A. D.</FONT> 57.</TD></TR>
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<TR><TD COLSPAN=2><HR SIZE=1></TD></TR>
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</TABLE>
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<P>
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<FONT SIZE=+1>22 Are they Hebrews? so <I>am</I> I. Are they Israelites? so <I>am</I> I.
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Are they the seed of Abraham? so <I>am</I> I.
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23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I <I>am</I>
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more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in
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prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
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24 Of the Jews five times received I forty <I>stripes</I> save one.
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25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I
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suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
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26 <I>In</I> journeyings often, <I>in</I> perils of waters, <I>in</I> perils
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of robbers, <I>in</I> perils by <I>mine own</I> countrymen, <I>in</I> perils by
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|
the heathen, <I>in</I> perils in the city, <I>in</I> perils in the
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|
wilderness, <I>in</I> perils in the sea, <I>in</I> perils among false
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brethren;
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27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger
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|
and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
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28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon
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|
me daily, the care of all the churches.
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|
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn
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not?
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|
30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which
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|
concern mine infirmities.
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|
31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is
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|
blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
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32 In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city
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|
of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
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33 And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall,
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|
and escaped his hands.
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</FONT></P>
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<P>
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Here the apostle gives a large account of his own qualifications,
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|
labours, and sufferings (not out of pride or vain-glory, but to the
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|
honour of God, who had enabled him to do and suffer so much for the
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|
cause of Christ), and wherein he excelled the false apostles, who would
|
|
lessen his character and usefulness among the Corinthians.
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|
Observe,</P>
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<P>
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|
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|
I. He mentions the privileges of his birth
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|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:22"><I>v.</I> 22</A>),
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|
|
|
which were equal to any they could pretend to. He was a Hebrew of the
|
|
Hebrews; of a family among the Jews that never intermarried with the
|
|
Gentiles. He was also an Israelite, and could boast of his being
|
|
descended from the beloved Jacob as well as they, and was also of the
|
|
seed of Abraham, and not of the proselytes. It should seem from this
|
|
that the false apostles were of the Jewish race, who gave disturbance
|
|
to the Gentile converts.</P>
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|
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|
<P>
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|
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|
II. He makes mention also of his apostleship, that he was more than an
|
|
ordinary minister of Christ,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
God had counted him faithful, and had put him into the ministry. He had
|
|
been a useful minister of Christ unto them; they had found full proofs
|
|
of his ministry: <I>Are they ministers of Christ? I am more so.</I></P>
|
|
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|
<P>
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|
|
|
III. He chiefly insists upon this, that he had been an extraordinary
|
|
sufferer for Christ; and this was what he gloried in, or rather he
|
|
gloried in the grace of God that had enabled him to be more <I>abundant
|
|
in labours,</I> and to endure very great sufferings, such as <I>stripes
|
|
above measure, frequent imprisonments,</I> and <I>often</I> the dangers
|
|
of <I>death,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:23"><I>v.</I> 23</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, When the apostle would prove himself an extraordinary minister,
|
|
he proves that he had been an extraordinary sufferer. Paul was the
|
|
apostle of the Gentiles, and for that reason was hated of the Jews.
|
|
They did all they could against him; and among the Gentiles also he met
|
|
with hard usage. Bonds and imprisonments were familiar to him; never
|
|
was the most notorious malefactor more frequently in the hands of
|
|
public justice than Paul was for righteousness' sake. The jail and the
|
|
whipping-post, and all other hard usages of those who are accounted the
|
|
worst of men, were what he was accustomed to. As to the Jews, whenever
|
|
he fell into their hands, they never spared him. <I>Five times</I> he
|
|
fell under their lash, and received <I>forty stripes save one,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:24"><I>v.</I> 24</A>.
|
|
|
|
Forty stripes was the utmost their law allowed
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=De+25:3">Deut. xxv. 3</A>),
|
|
|
|
but it was usual with them, that they might not exceed, to abate one at
|
|
least of that number. And to have the abatement of one only was all the
|
|
favour that ever Paul received from them. The Gentiles were not tied up
|
|
to that moderation, and among them <I>he was thrice beaten with
|
|
rods,</I> of which we may suppose once was at Philippi,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+16:22">Acts xvi. 22</A>.
|
|
|
|
<I>Once he was stoned</I> in a popular tumult, and was taken up for
|
|
dead,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+14:19">Acts xiv. 19</A>.
|
|
|
|
He says that <I>thrice he suffered shipwreck;</I> and we may believe
|
|
him, though the sacred history gives a relation but of one. <I>A night
|
|
and a day he had been in the deep</I>
|
|
|
|
(<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:25"><I>v.</I> 25</A>),
|
|
|
|
in some deep dungeon or other, shut up as a prisoner. Thus he was all
|
|
his days a constant confessor; perhaps scarcely a year of his life,
|
|
after his conversion, passed without suffering some hardship or other
|
|
for his religion; yet this was not all, for, wherever he went, he went
|
|
in perils; he was exposed to perils of all sorts. If he journeyed by
|
|
land, or voyaged by sea, he was in perils of robbers, or enemies of
|
|
some sort; the Jews, his own countrymen, sought to kill him, or do him
|
|
a mischief; the heathen, to whom he was sent, were not more kind to
|
|
him, for among them he was in peril. If he was in the city, or in the
|
|
wilderness, still he was in peril. He was in peril not only among
|
|
avowed enemies, but among those also who called themselves brethren,
|
|
but were false brethren,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:26"><I>v.</I> 26</A>.
|
|
|
|
Besides all this, he had great weariness and painfulness in his
|
|
ministerial labours, and these are things that will come into account
|
|
shortly, and people will be reckoned with for all the care and pains of
|
|
their ministers concerning them. Paul was a stranger to wealth and
|
|
plenty, power and pleasure, preferment and ease; he was in <I>watchings
|
|
often,</I> and exposed to <I>hunger and thirst;</I> in <I>fastings
|
|
often,</I> it may be out of necessity; and endured <I>cold and
|
|
nakedness,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:27"><I>v.</I> 27</A>.
|
|
|
|
Thus was he, who was one of the greatest blessings of the age, used as
|
|
if he had been the burden of the earth, and the plague of his
|
|
generation. And yet this is not all; for, as an apostle, the <I>care of
|
|
all the churches</I> lay on him,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:28"><I>v.</I> 28</A>.
|
|
|
|
He mentions this last, as if this lay the heaviest upon him, and as if
|
|
he could better bear all the persecutions of his enemies than the
|
|
scandals that were to be found in the churches he had the oversight of.
|
|
<I>Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:29"><I>v.</I> 29</A>.
|
|
|
|
There was not a weak Christian with whom he did not sympathize, nor any
|
|
one scandalized, but he was affected therewith. See what little reason
|
|
we have to be in love with the pomp and plenty of this world, when this
|
|
blessed apostle, one of the best of men that ever lived, excepting
|
|
Jesus Christ, felt so much hardship in it. Nor was he ashamed of all
|
|
this, but, on the contrary, it was what he accounted his honour; and
|
|
therefore, much against the grain as it was with him to glory, yet,
|
|
says he, <I>if I must needs glory,</I> if my adversaries will oblige me
|
|
to it in my own necessary vindication, <I>I will glory in these my
|
|
infirmities,</I>
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:30"><I>v.</I> 30</A>.
|
|
|
|
Note, Sufferings for righteousness' sake will, the most of any thing,
|
|
redound to our honour.</P>
|
|
|
|
<P>
|
|
|
|
In the
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:32-33">last two verses</A>,
|
|
|
|
he mentions one particular part of his sufferings out of its place, as
|
|
if he had forgotten it before, or because the deliverance God wrought
|
|
for him was most remarkable; namely, the danger he was in at Damascus,
|
|
soon after he was converted, and not settled in Christianity, at least
|
|
in the ministry and apostleship. This is recorded,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=Ac+9:24,25">Acts ix. 24, 25</A>.
|
|
|
|
This was his first great danger and difficulty, and the rest of his
|
|
life was a piece with this. And it is observable that, lest it should
|
|
be thought he spoke more than was true, the apostle confirms this
|
|
narrative with a solemn oath, or appeal to the omniscience of God,
|
|
|
|
<A HREF="http://bible.gospelcom.net/bible?version=KJV&passage=2Co+11:31"><I>v.</I> 31</A>.
|
|
|
|
It is a great comfort to a good man that <I>the God and Father of our
|
|
Lord Jesus Christ,</I> who is an omniscient God, knows the truth of all
|
|
he says, and knows all he does and all he suffers for his sake.</P>
|
|
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|
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