12We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. 13We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you. 14We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. 15Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our area of activity among you will greatly expand, 16so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in another man's territory. 17But, "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." 18For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.
Dig Deeper
My students were sure they had it all figured out. They had completed their timeline projects on Egyptian history and were busy comparing one another’s work. Some of the students had adorned their work with some beautiful drawings and impressive artistic additions that really impressed the other students. When they reviewed one another’s work, it was those extra artistic flairs that convinced them that those students would be the one’s to receive a high grade. The problem was that the students were not the one’s determining the grades, nor were they determining the criterion on which the assignments would be graded. I was the one doing that. What they had failed to understand was that, although the extra artwork was nice and helped their grades slightly, it was the fundamentals of accuracy, thoroughness, and good writing that were far more important. Because of that, several of the timelines that received the highest grades were not the fanciest or most attractive, they were the ones who had followed the guidelines of the assignment and completed the important work excellently.
This is one of the things that Paul is trying to help those see who might still be swayed by his opponents in Corinth, or still sitting on the fence. His opponents, those claiming to be apostles, only appeared impressive if they were judged by the wrong standards. They looked impressive and flashy but that is not how an apostle or any worker in the gospel should be judged. On this point, Paul was extremely clear, and so should they be.
Paul’s opponents were claiming that Paul had shown that it was they, not Paul, who had the right to exercise apostolic authority over the community in Corinth. Paul, in chapters 11-12 will pick up the question of whether these men should be considered apostles at all, but for right now he will deal with the topic of his own claim of apostolic authority over the Church in Corinth. To do so he will first, establish the proper criterion for determining apostolic authority and second, he will demonstrate that he, not his opponents, meet that standard.
His opponents evidently spent a lot time judging their worth by comparing themselves to one another. Paul points out that this is a fundamental flaw in their understanding that shows that they did not understand the true nature of apostolic authority. They are not wise because they are judging by flashy human standards of their own abilities, spiritual gifts, and rhetorical excellence. Paul, though, will have none of that. He sarcastically confirms that he wouldn’t dare to use those standards because he knows he won’t match up well in that contest. He will limit himself to the things that God uses to establish authority. Paul is only interested in God’s standard, which is that God established Paul as the one to reach Corinth with the gospel. That is the marker of Paul’s authority because that door was opened and established by God. Paul is not trying to boast in the Lord of authority that he does not have. His point is obvious. This is what his opponents have done by claiming authority in a community in which they did not establish. Paul believed that the founding of a community was the only appropriate and divinely instituted measuring stick for determining true apostolic authority.
Paul’s authority has been demonstrated by the fact that God had allowed him into Corinth and had ordained him as the one who would preach the gospel and establish a Christian community there. Now Paul hopes that he can complete the establishment of the gospel community in Achaia in the East so that more areas in the West, like Spain, can have the gospel preached to them. Paul, presumably, will only go to areas opened to him by the will of God and he believes that God will not call him to expand his areas of ministry until his work in and around Corinth has been firmly established. These are the things that Paul will boast of. In Paul’s eyes, the only true grounds for boasting in the Lord, the only rightful standard of exercising authority is that the approval comes directly from God’s will. Boasting in the Lord is to boast in the divine mercy of God. The fact that Paul’s opponents were boasting in and claiming authority because of their own abilities and talents was a clear indicator that they were trying to grade themselves based on the extras rather than the necessary requirements.
For Paul, the problem with his opponents is not that they are boasting, it is that they are boasting in all the wrong things. They are comparing themselves to one another and boasting in their own natural abilities. Paul is not interested in the things that most humans value. What is important for him is that the object of the boasting is what God has done. In verse 17, Paul quotes from Jeremiah 9:23-24, which is a call from Jeremiah to acknowledge God for his grace and provision. Paul’s opponents were claiming authority in Corinth because of their impressive stature, their prosperity, and their flashy abilities. The fact that they claimed authority based on these criterion were a demonstration that their boast of authority came from the wrong source. They were not relying on and acknowledging God. By commending themselves and claiming authority that was not given to them by God, they have shown themselves to not be wise and to fail to have an understanding of divine approval. Just as in Paul’s day, the church in our day must constantly be on guard for those that would commend themselves according to human standards but are not commended by the Lord according to His standards.
Devotional Thought
When you consider who is effective in Christian ministry, do you tend to judge or commend others by God’s standards or by human standards? Paul says that his apostolic authority was established by the fact that God allowed him to spread the gospel to Corinth. By what ways, in our own churches and ministry, might we determine who is approved by God?
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