The Pulpit Commentary — 2 Corinthians — Section 243

Yer. 7.-Pauis spedal power. "Do ye look on things after the ou,tward' ~ppear~. nncc?" These words point to two evils. , . • . . .. ·' I. JUDGING FROM APPEARANCE, " Do ye look on things nfter the outward· appear- ' nuce?" or that '.' are before your face,'.' The teachers at Corinth who w:ere O~J?OS_ed tu the apostle prided themselves on their external advantages, and regarqed ,thelil,se1;vies as superior in appearance, rank, and manners to Paul. 'l;'hey judged fro~ ·lliPl?eararice. This judgrnent led them to regard Paul as theii: inferior. Bat was he infed'o.r? .. Was he not, in all that is intrinsically excellent, in mental capacity, in spiritqa+ ;JrIJo'i\il~dgc\: in Christly enthusiasm, and supernatural power, their supedor, tho very pr41~~ ;er .~he. a11ostles? Men judged Christ by the "outward. appearance," and hc:i:w, fel~e_.. wickep, nnd pernicious their judgment turned out to. be I The .ODfY true,· test' :is "tqe .'fruit. "By their fruits ye shall know them;" fruits, not actions.'.,_which often.):nisrepres'ePrt: the character of the soul-but productions that are the natural, complete, ,11ind,. ~POl!-.~ 1 tnneous outgrowth and expression of the leading moral. principles ,o~1 I;l)_a!]-'~.-,llfe,, Because men judge from "the outward appearance," wolves in society..pass, ,fo~ sbQ(jP, paupers for princes, devils for saints, churls for philanthropists, etp'. " •: '... , II. .A.ltROGATING SUPERIOR CmusTLINEss. "If any me.n 'trust 'to. hii:µseH that he,isi Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, ;is ,he 'is Christ's, 'even s9 are, we. Christ's_" Whllst there were those in the Corinthian Church who said so1D,e of them; were of Paul, of Apollos, of Cephas, there were some wh6'said they ·were 'of Christ,. They wished to be regarded as superior to all, as knowing more of Christ, being more intimate with him, having a stronger claim upon him .. It might be_ that;SO!);le 9f the members of this party bad (not like Paul) been with Christ while o~ earth, hiicU~\k.~~. with him, walked with him, feasted with him, an,d :of this. they 'wowd bpa:sp! ,. Buf thousands could boast of this who bad no vital fellowsp~p w~th ;Chris~,'· r:I;he(e.i!-~'f~YBi have been men in Churches who have arrogated superior piety .. ,I hav~ kµof{n.nqt. a few, not distinguished by any _spiritual nobleness, wli?'. 'Y'er~ a9custoi;i;i,~a'. 1 ~I) i/p~~l of him as" my Christ,"" my Saviour,"" my Redeemer,"-implyi.µ~ t~~t'._~e ;w;iw: II/-Ol'e; to them than to others. , :- '.J,,,, J; . .,;- : t Vers_ B-10.-God's gift of .special pow~r to man. "For (hf?ug];l:Isliou!fboast,''.' etc. These verses present to our attention God's gif~ of spediai P?1!1ef; _tq, ~n: ::r;~~, "authority" of which the apostle here speaks was, m all pro~a. p1l.1t7, a, s~~e. rn~P,11-:!l. endowment. Such an endowment be both claimed and InaD;lfesteOi (see 4,~ts .fl!J,. 8-11; xiv. 8-10; xv. 9-12)- Having this power he was sup\ltiorJ".·~~ to tb,~ e.bl~~~ of bis censors in Corinth, and he felt that should he" boast some-what of, this t)lere. was no reason for him to be ashamed. The words suggest three r~ar'li:s,' conqe~nh1g; such special gift of power to man. , . , ,, . ·... . , ;,1 i' , 1, L IT IB UNDER MA-"l'B CONT!10L. Paul's la~g11.3;ge seems to 1~ply_ .ih~t he ,m1~ht or might not use his "authority" or power; 1t did not coerp~ ~l!D-; 1t. d'.i.a. ,notilnajre him a mere instrument; it did not. overbea,. his will or.infr,inge ,in'a11r ~af .~i~ fre~_doin, of action. God has given except10nal power to some i;nen~to ~ose~! El1J11h, ~I1~~~l Peter, etc. ; but in all ea.sea it seemed to leave them free-free to 1,1se 1t_ or n~,t, ~() ~s~ it in this direction or in thst. _The Maker and Ma-n.ager _of the ur11ve~s~, r.esl?fcts t:•1crmore the free agency with which he has endowed his rat10nal and moral offs_pnni. en. x. 1-18.] 'l'Ilffi SECOND EPISTLE TO TllE CORINTHl1\NS.