9:8.

is able to give you an abundance of his every blessing so that your every want may in every respect. and at all times be abundantly supplied, and, as a result, you may give abundantly to every worthy cause. Just as it is written :

He scattered broadcast, he gave to the poor.

His goodness continues forever.

Now he who abundantly supplies seed to the

sower,

And bread for food,

Will supply and multiply your seed sown,
And will increase the fruits of your good-

ness.

So, then, being made rich in everything, you are rich, also, in every kind of generosity. And it is that which, through us, is calling out thanksgiving to God. For the rendering of this service not only supplies the necessities of your fellow-Christians, but it also results in abundant thanksgivings to God. For through the evidence afforded by the service you thus render, you cause them to praise God for your fidelity to your profession of faith in the Good News of the Christ, as well as for your generosity in sharing with them and with everybody. In their prayers also for you, they express their longing to see you, because of God's surpassing goodness as displayed in you.

Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift.

2 COR.

10: 1.

MEEK BUT MIGHTY.

107

Now I, Paul, myself, beg you by the meekness and gentleness of the Christ, I, who while among you am abjectly humble in my bearing towards you, but, when away from you, am bold in my language to you, I beg you not to make me show my boldness,

when I am again with you, by the confident bearing which I calculate I shall venture to adopt towards some of you who calculate that we are living as if we are under the influence of our carnal nature. We have a carnal nature, but our method of waging war against sin is not determined by it. For our weapons of war are not carnal, but are wonderfully effective for the overthrow of the fortresses of evil. And we effectively overthrow hostile arguments and every barrier raised against the knowledge of God. And if any one is devising evil against the Christ we cause him to desist from his purpose and to submit to him. And we are fully prepared to punish every act of disobedience when once your obedience has in every way been made complete.

You look at the outward appearance of things. If any one considers himself Christ's, let him think it over again in his own mind and come to the conclusion that just as he is Christ's so also are we. For even if I boast too much about our authority which the Lord gave us for the purpose of building you up and not for the purpose of tearing you down, I

am not ashamed.

10: 8.

I say this so that it may not seem as if I am overawing you by means of my letters. For "His letters," they say, are impressive and vigorous, but his bodily appearance is weak, and his speaking contemptible." Let any one who says such a thing as that be assured of this, that what the words of our letters show us to be when away from you, that also will our deeds show us to be when with you. For we have not the audacity to class ourselves or compare ourselves with some of those who indulge in self-recommendation. On the other hand, when such as they are, measure themselves by themselves, and compare themselves with themselves, they show a lack of discernment. We, though, will make no boast which goes beyond the limits of our own work. On the contrary, we will confine ourselves to the limits of the sphere to which God limited us when he permitted us to come as far as Corinth. we are not overreaching ourselves as we would be doing if we were not in the habit of coming to you. For, not only is this the case, but it is also the fact, that we were the first to reach you with the Good News of the Christ. We are not, then, unreasonably laying claim to other men's labors. But it is our hope that, with the increase of your faith, our influence among you may be very greatly extended within the sphere of our activity. For in this

For

2 COR. 10: 16.

BOASTING IN THE LORD.

109

way we shall carry the Good News to districts beyond you, and not boast of work furnished ready to hand within the field of another man's activities.

Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord.

For it is not he who recommends himself who wins approval, but he whom the Lord recommends.

I wish you would tolerate a little folly in me! But I need not wish it, for you are indeed tolerating it. For my boasting is not a selfish boasting. It springs from my zealous affection for you. For I have given you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a pure bride to the Christ. But I am afraid that, as the Serpent by his craftiness deceived Eve, so your minds may in some way be seduced from the single-minded devotion due from. you to the Christ. For if a newcomer is proclaiming Jesus as different from him whom I proclaimed, or if you are receiving a Spirit of another kind altogether from him whom you did receive, or a Good News different altogether from that which you welcomed, you are nobly tolerant ! For I consider myself in no way inferior to the most prominent Apostles. And even if I am rude in speech, I am not deficient in knowledge. On the contrary, we made this perfectly plain to everybody in what we did for you.

11:7.

Or, did I do wrong in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, when I brought you the Good News of God without accepting anything for my services? I robbed other Churches by taking pay from them so that I might serve you. And when I was with you, and in want, I became a burden to none of you. For my want was supplied by our brothers who came from Macedonia. Yes, in every way, I kept myself from being a burden to you, and I will continue to do so. As surely as the truth of Christ is in me I will allow no one in any part of Greece to deprive me of my right to make this boast. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do.

At any rate, what I am doing I will also continue to do, so that I may cut away the ground from under those who are looking for an opportunity to attack me, and further, so that in what they are boasting about they may appear in their true characters just as we also do. For such men are false Apostles, sham laborers. They keep assuming the appearance of the Apostles of Christ. wonder. For Satan himself is continually assuming the appearance of an angel of light.

And no

So it is not surprising if his servants also assume the appearance of servants of goodness. Their end will be in harmony with their doings.