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- St. Paul mentions some wonderful revelations which he
had received from the Lord, 1-5.
- He speaks of
his suffering in connection with these extraordinary
revelations, that his character might be duly
estimated, 6.
- That he might not be too much exalted, a
messenger of Satan is sent to buffet him; his prayer
for deliverance, and the Divine answer, 7-9.
- He
exults in sufferings and reproaches, and vindicates his
apostleship, 10-13.
- Promises to come and visit
them, 14,15.
- Answers some objections, 16-18.
- And
expresses his apprehensions that when he visits them he
shall find many evils and disorders among them, 19-21.
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Verse 1. It is not expedient for
me
There are several various readings on
this verse which are too minute to be noticed here; they seem
in effect to represent the verse thus: "If it be expedient to
glory, (which does not become me,) I will proceed to visions,"
preceding chapter, in reference to glorying is, that
though to boast in any attainments, or in what God did by him,
was in all possible cases to be avoided, as being contrary to
the humility and simplicity of the Gospel; yet
the circumstances in which he was found, in reference to the
Corinthian Church, and his detractors there, rendered it
absolutely necessary; not for his personal vindication, but
for the honour of the Gospel, the credit of which was
certainly at stake.
I will come to
visions
οπτασιας. Symbolical
representations of spiritual and celestial things, in which
matters of the deepest importance are exhibited to the eye of
the mind by a variety of emblems, the nature and properties of
which serve to illustrate those spiritual things.
Revelations
αποκαλυψεις. A manifestation of things not before known,
and such as God alone can make known, because they are a part
of his own inscrutable counsels.
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Verse 2. I knew a man in
Christ
I knew a Christian, or a Christian
man; for to such alone God now revealed himself, for vision
and prophecy had been shut up from the Jews.
Fourteen years ago
On what occasion or in what place this transaction took
place we cannot tell; there are many conjectures among learned
men concerning it, but of what utility can they be when every
thing is so palpably uncertain? Allowing this epistle to have
been written some time in the year 57, fourteen
years counted backward will lead this transaction to the year
42 or 43, which was about the time that Barnabas
brought Paul from Tarsus to Antioch, Acts
11:25,26, and when he and Paul were sent by the Church of
Antioch with alms to the poor Christians at Jerusalem. It is
very possible that, on this journey, or while in Jerusalem, he
had this vision, which was intended to be the means of
establishing him in the faith, and supporting him in the many
trials and difficulties through which he was to pass. This
vision the apostle had kept secret for fourteen years.
Whether in the body I cannot
tell
That the apostle was in an
ecstasy or trance, something like that of Peter,
Acts
10:9, there is reason to believe; but we know that being
carried literally into heaven was possible to the Almighty.
But as he could not decide himself, it would be ridiculous in
us to attempt it.
Caught up to the third
heaven.
He appeared to have been carried up
to this place; but whether bodily he could not tell, or
whether the spirit were not separated for the time, and taken
up to the third heaven, he could not tell.
The third heaven-The Jews talk of seven
heavens, and Mohammed has received the same from them; but
these are not only fabulous but absurd. I shall
enumerate those of the Jews.
1. The YELUM, or curtain, -" Which in the morning is
folded up, and in the evening stretched out." Isaiah
40:22: He stretcheth out the heavens as a CURTAIN,
and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in.
2. The firmament, or EXPANSE, "In which the sun,
moon, stars, and constellations are fixed." Genesis
1:17: And God placed them in the FIRMAMENT of
heaven.
3. The CLOUDS, or AETHER, "Where the mill-stones are which
grind the manna for the righteous." Psalms
78:23, Though he had commended the CLOUDS from
above, and opened the doors of heaven, and had rained
down manna,
4. The HABITATION, "Where Jerusalem, and the temple, and
the altar, were constructed and where Michael the great prince
stands and offers sacrifices." 1 Kings
8:13: I have surely built thee a HOUSE TO DWELL IN,
a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.
"But where is heaven so called?" Answer: In Isaiah
63:15: Look down from HEAVEN, and behold from
the HABITATION, , of thy holiness.
5. The DWELLING-PLACE, "Where the troops of angels sing
throughout the night, but are silent in the day time, because
of the glory of the Israelites." Psalms
42:8: The Lord will command his loving-kindness
in the day time, and in the night his song shall
be with me. "But how is it proved that this means heaven?
"Answer: From Deuteronomy
26:15. Look down from thy holy habitation,
the DWELLING-PLACE of thy holiness; and from
heaven, and bless thy people Israel.
6. The FIXED RESIDENCE, "Where are the treasures of snow
and hail, the repository of noxious dews, of drops, and
whirlwinds; the grotto of exhalations," heavens thus
denominated?" Answer: In 1 Kings
8:39,49, Then hear thou in HEAVEN thy
DWELLING-PLACE, thy FIXED RESIDENCE.
7. The ARABOTH, Where are justice, judgment, mercy, the
treasures of life; peace and blessedness; the souls of the
righteous, the souls and spirits which are reserved for the
bodies yet to be formed, and the dew by which God is to vivify
the dead." Psalms
89:14, ; Isaiah
59:17; ; Psalms
36:9, ; Judges
6:24; ; Psalms
24:4; 1 Samuel
25:29; ; Isaiah
57:20: All of which are termed Araboth, Psalms
68:4. Extol him who rideth on the heavens,
ba ARABOTH, by his name Jah.
All this is sufficiently unphilosophical, and in several
cases ridiculous.
In the sacred writings three heavens only are
mentioned. The first is the atmosphere, what
appears to be intended by rekia, the firmament or
expansion, Genesis
1:6. The second, the starry heaven; where are the
sun, moon, planets, and stars; but these two are often
expressed under the one term shamayim, the two
heavens, or expansions, and in Genesis
1:17, they appear to be both expressed by rekia
hashshamayim, the firmament of heaven. And,
thirdly, the place of the blessed, or the
throne of the Divine glory, probably expressed by the
words shemei hashshamayim, the heavens of
heavens. But on these subjects the Scripture affords us
but little light; and on this distinction the reader is not
desired to rely.
Much more may be seen in Schoettgen, who has
exhausted the subject; and who has shown that ascending to
heaven, or being caught up to heaven, is a form of
speech among the Jewish writers to express the highest
degrees of inspiration. They often say of Moses that he
ascended on high, ascended on the firmament,
ascended to heaven; where it is evident they mean only
by it that he was favoured with the nearest intimacy with God,
and the highest revelations relative to his will, understand
St. Paul thus, it will remove much of the difficulty from this
place; and perhaps the unspeakable words, 2 Corinthians
12:4, are thus to be understood. He had the most sublime
communications from God, such as would be improper to mention,
though it is very likely that we have the substance of these
in his epistles. Indeed, the two epistles before us seem, in
many places, to be the effect of most extraordinary
revelations.
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Verse 4. Caught up into
paradise
The Jewish writers have no less
than four paradises, as they have seven heavens;
but it is needless to wade through their fables. On the word
paradise See Clarke on Genesis
2:8. The Mohammedans call it [Arabic] jennet
alferdoos, the garden of paradise, and say that God
created it out of light, and that it is the habitation
of the prophets and wise men.
Among Christian writers it generally means the place of
the blessed, or the state of separate spirits.
Whether the third heaven and paradise be the same place we
cannot absolutely say; they probably are not; and it is likely
that St. Paul, at the time referred to, had at least
two of these raptures.
Which it is not lawful for a man
to utter.
The Jews thought that the Divine
name, the Tetragrammaton Yehovah, should not be
uttered, and that it is absolutely unlawful to
pronounce it; indeed they say that the true pronunciation is
utterly lost, and cannot be recovered without an express
revelation. Not one of them, to the present day, ever attempts
to utter it; and, when they meet with it in their reading,
always supply its place with Adonai, Lord. It is
probable that the apostle refers to some communication
concerning the Divine nature and the Divine economy, of which
he was only to make a general use in his
preaching and writing. No doubt that what he
learned at this time formed the basis of all his
doctrines.
Cicero terms God illud inexprimible, that
inexpressible Being. And Hermes calls him
ανεκλαλητοςαρρητοςσιωπηφωνουμενος: The ineffable, the
unspeakable, and that which is to be pronounced in
silence. We cannot have views too exalted of the
majesty of God; and the less frequently we pronounce his
name, the more reverence shall we feel for his
nature. It is said of Mr. Boyle that he never
pronounced the name of God without either taking off his
hat or making a bow. Leaving out profane swearers,
blasphemers, and such like open-faced servants of Satan, it is
distressing to hear many well intentioned people making
unscripturally free with this sacred name.
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Verse 5. Of such a one will I
glory
Through modesty he does not mention
himself, though the account can be understood of no
other person; for, did he mean any other, the whole account
would be completely irrelevant.
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Verse 6. I shall not be a
fool
Who that had got such honour from God
would have been fourteen years silent on the subject?
I will say the
truth
I speak nothing but truth; and the
apostle seems to have intended to proceed with something else
of the same kind, but, finding some reason probably occurring
suddenly, says, I forbear-I will say no more on this
subject.
Lest any man should think of me
above
The apostle spoke of these
revelations for two purposes: first, lest his
enemies might suppose they had cause to think
meanly of him; and, secondly, having said thus
much, he forbears to speak any farther of them, lest his
friends should think too highly of him. It is a
rare gift to discern when to speak, and
when to be silent; and to know when enough is
said on a subject, neither too little nor too
much.
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Verse 7. And lest I should be
exalted
There were three evils to be
guarded against: 1. The contempt of his gifts and call
by his enemies. 2. The overweening fondness of
his friends. And, 3. Self-exultation.
A thorn in the
flesh
The word σκολοψ signifies a
stake, and ανασκολοπιζεσθαι, to be tied to a
stake by way of punishment; and it is used, says
Schoettgen, to signify the most oppressive
afflictions. Whatever it was, it was τησαρκι, in the
flesh, i.e. of an outward kind. It was neither
sin nor sinfulness, for this could not be
given him to prevent his being exalted above
measure; for sin never had and never can have this
tendency. What this thorn in the flesh might be has
given birth to a multitude of conjectures: Tertullian
thought it dolor auriculae, the ear ache;
Chrysostom, κεφαλαλγια, the head ache; Cyprian,
carnis et corporis multa ac gravia tormenta, many
and grievous bodily torments. I believe the apostle to refer
simply to the distresses he had endured through the opposition
he met with at Corinth; which were as painful and grievous to
him as a thorn in his flesh, or his being bound to a
stake; for, if he could have devoted himself to
destruction, Romans
9:3, for his rebellious and unbelieving countrymen, what
must he have suffered on account of an eminent Church
being perverted and torn to pieces by a false teacher! God
permitted this to keep the apostle humble, and at last
completely delivered the Church out of the hands and influence
of this deceiver; none, not even the incestuous person, having
been turned finally out of the way by the false doctrines
there preached.
The messenger of
Satan
Another mode of expressing what he
calls the thorn in the flesh; and he seems most plainly
to refer to the false apostle at Corinth. The apostle
himself was, as he styles himself to this Church,
αποστολοςινσουχριστου, 2 Corinthians
1:1, the apostle of Jesus Christ. The person in
question is styled here αγγελοςσαταν, the apostle or
angel of Satan. It is almost impossible to mistake the
apostle's meaning and reference. JESUS CHRIST sent Paul
to proclaim his truth, and found a Church at Corinth. SATAN,
the adversary of God's truth, sent a man to
preach lies at the same place, and turn the Church of God into
his own synagogue; and by his teaching lies and
calumnies the apostle was severely buffeted. We need
seek no other sense for these expressions. Many, however,
think that the apostle had really some bodily infirmity
that rendered him contemptible, and was the means of
obstructing the success of his ministry; and that the false
apostle availed himself of this to set St. Paul at nought, and
to hold him out to ridicule. I have shown this, elsewhere, to
be very unlikely.
The best arguments in favour of this opinion may be found
in Whitby; but I forbear to transcribe them because I
think the meaning given above is more correct. No infirmity of
body nor corporeal sufferings can affect and distress a
minister of the Gospel, equally to the perversion or
scattering of a flock, which were the fruit of innumerable
labours, watchings, fastings, prayers, and tears.
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Verse 8. I besought the
Lord
That is, Christ, as the next
verse absolutely proves, and the Socinians themselves confess.
And if Christ be an object of prayer in such a case as this,
or indeed in any case, it is a sure proof of his
divinity; for only an omniscient Being can be made an
object of prayer.
Thrice
Several
suppose this to be a certain number for an
uncertain; as if he had said, I often besought
Christ to deliver me from this tormentor: or, which is perhaps
more likely, the apostle may refer to three solemn,
fixed, and fervent applications made to Christ at
different times; at the last of which he received the
answer which he immediately subjoins. It is worthy of remark,
that our Lord in his agony acted in the same way: at three
different times he applied to God that the cup might depart
from him; and in each application he spoke the same words, Matthew
26:39-44. There is, therefore, a manifest allusion to our
Lord's conduct in these words of the apostle.
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Verse 9. My grace is sufficient for
thee
Thou shalt not be permitted to sink
under these afflictions. Thy enemies shall not be able to
prevail against thee.
My strength is made perfect in
weakness.
The more, and the more
violently, thou art afflicted and tried, being upheld
by my power, and prospered in all thy labours, the more
eminently will my power be seen and acknowledged. For the
weaker the instrument I use, the more the power of my grace
shall be manifested. See at the end of this chapter. "2Co
12:21" Will I rather glory in my
infirmities
Therefore, his
infirmities do not mean his corruptions, or
sins, or sinfulness of any kind; for it would be
blasphemous for any man to say, I will rather glory that God
leaves my corruptions in me, than that he should take them
away.
That the power of Christ may rest
upon me.
επισκηνωσηεπ εμε. That it may
overshadow me as a tent, or tabernacle;
affording me shelter, protection, safety, and
rest. This expression is like that, John
1:14: And the word was made flesh,
καιεσκηνωσενενημιν and made his tabernacle among
us-full of grace and truth. The same eternal WORD
promised to make his tabernacle with the apostle, and
gives him a proof that he was still the same-full of grace
and truth, by assuring him that his grace should be
sufficient for him. Paul, knowing that the promise of
grace could not fail, because of the Divine
truth, says: Most gladly, therefore, will I rather
glory in my afflictions, that such a power of
Christ may overshadow and defend me.
The words are also similar to those of the Prophet Isaiah,
Isaiah
4:5: On all the glory shall be a defence. God gives
the glory, and God gives the defence of that
glory. The apostle had much glory or honour;
both Satan and his apostles were very envious; in himself the
apostle, as well as all human beings, was weak, and
therefore needed the power of God to defend such glory.
Grace alone can preserve grace. When we get a particular
blessing we need another to preserve it; and
without this we shall soon be shorn of our strength, and
become as other men. Hence the necessity of continual
watchfulness and prayer, and depending on
the all-sufficient grace of Christ. See Clarke on 2 Corinthians
11:30.
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Verse 10. Therefore I take
pleasure
I not only endure them
patiently, but am pleased when they occur; for I
do it for Christ's sake-on his account; for on
his account I suffer. For when I am weak-most
oppressed with trials and afflictions, then am I
strong; God supporting my mind with his most powerful
influences, causing me to rejoice with joy unspeakable and
full of glory.
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Verse 11. I am become a fool in
glorying
It is not the part of a
wise or gracious man to boast; but ye
have compelled me-I have been obliged to do it, in
order to vindicate the cause of God.
I ought to have been commended of
you
You should have vindicated both myself
and my ministry against the detractors that are among you.
The very chiefest
apostles
See 2 Corinthians
11:1.
Though I be
nothing.
Though I have been thus set at
nought by your false apostle; and though, in consequence
of what he has said, some of you have been ready to consider
me as nothing-what we call good for nothing.
This must be the meaning of the apostle, as the following
verses prove.
A kind of technical meaning has been imposed
on these words, of which many good people seem very fond. I
am nothing-I am all sin, defilement, and unworthiness in
myself; but Jesus Christ is all in all. This
latter clause is an eternal truth; the former may be very true
also; the person who uses it may be all sin,
defilement, apostle of the Gentiles was so
too, because this is not true; it is false, and it is
injurious to the character of the apostle and to the grace of
Christ; besides, it is not the meaning of the text, and the
use commonly made of it is abominable, if not wicked.
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Verse 12. The signs of an apostle
were wrought among you
Though I have been
reputed as nothing, I have given the fullest proof of
my Divine mission by various signs, wonders, and
miracles, and by that patience which I have manifested
towards you: though I had power from God to inflict punishment
on the transgressors, I have in every case forborne to do it.
Is the man nothing who wrought such miracles
among you?
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Verse 13. For what is it wherein you
were inferior
This is a fine, forcible, yet
delicate stroke. It was your duty and your
interest to have supported your apostle; other Churches have
done so: I did not require this from you; in this respect all
other Churches are superior to you. I am the
cause of your inferiority, by not giving you an
opportunity of ministering to my necessities:
forgive me the wrong I have done you. It is the
privilege of the Churches of Christ to support the
ministry of his Gospel among them. Those who do not contribute
their part to the support of the Gospel ministry either care
nothing for it, or derive no good from it.
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Verse 14. The third time I am
ready
That is, this is the third time that
I am ready-have formed the resolution, to visit
you. He had formed this resolution twice before, but
was disappointed. See 1 Corinthians
16:5, and ; 2 Corinthians
1:15,16. He now formed it a third time, having more
probability of seeing them now than he had before. See 2 Corinthians
13:2.
I seek not yours, but
you
I seek your salvation, I desire
not your property; others have sought your
property, but not your salvation. See 2 Corinthians
11:20.
For the children ought not to lay
up for the parents
You may have many
teachers, but you have but one FATHER; for in
Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the
Gospel; see 1 Corinthians
4:15. Ye are my children, and I am your father. You
have not contributed to my support, but I have been
labouring for your life. I will act towards you as the loving
father who works hard, and lays up what is necessary to enable
his children to get their bread.
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Verse 15. And I will very gladly
spend and be spent for you
I will continue
to act as a loving father, who spends all he has upon his
children, and expends his own strength and life in providing
for them the things necessary for their preservation and
comfort.
Though the more abundantly I love
you
I will even act towards you with the
most affectionate tenderness, though it happen to me, as it
often does to loving fathers, that their disobedient children
love them less, in proportion as their love to them is
increased. Does it not frequently happen that the most
disobedient child in the family is that one on which the
parents' tenderness is more especially placed? See the parable
of the prodigal son. It is in the order of God that it should
be so, else the case of every prodigal would be utterly
deplorable. The shepherd feels more for the lost sheep than
for the ninety-nine that have not gone astray.
If I be asked, "Should Christian parents lay up money for
their children?" I answer: It is the duty of every parent who
can, to lay up what is necessary to put every child in a
condition to earn its bread. If he neglect this, he
undoubtedly sins against God and nature. "But should not a man
lay up, besides this, a fortune for his children, if he
can honestly?" I answer: Yes, if there be no poor within his
reach; no good work which he can assist; no heathen region on
the earth to which he can contribute to send the Gospel of
Jesus; but not otherwise. God shows, in the course of his
providence, that this laying up of fortunes for children is
not right; for there is scarcely ever a case where money has
been saved up to make the children independent and
gentlemen, in which God has not cursed the blessing. It
was saved from the poor, from the ignorant, from
the cause of God; and the canker of his displeasure
consumed this ill-saved property.
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Verse 16. But be it so, I did not
burden you
That is: You grant that I did
not burden you, that I took nothing from you, but preached to
you the Gospel freely; but you say that, BEING CRAFTY, I
caught you with guile; i.e. getting from you, by means of
others, what I pretended to be unwilling to receive
immediately from yourselves.
Many persons suppose that the words, being crafty, I
caught you with guile, are the words of the apostle
and not of his slanderers; and therefore have concluded that
it is lawful to use guile, deceit, purpose. This doctrine is
abominable; and the words are most evidently those of the
apostle's detractors, against which he defends his conduct in
the two following verses.
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Verse 17. Did I make a gain of
you
Did any person I ever sent to preach
the Gospel to you, or help you in your Christian course, ever
get any thing from you for me? Produce the proof if you can.
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Verse 18. I desired
Titus
I never sent any to you but
Titus and another brother; 2 Corinthians
8:6,18. And did Titus make a gain of you? Did he
get any thing from you, either for himself or for
me? You know he did not. He was actuated by the same
spirit, and he walked in the same steps.
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Verse 19. Think ye that we excuse
ourselves
απολογουμεθα; That we make an
apology for our conduct; or, that I have sent Titus and that
brother to you because I was ashamed or afraid to come myself?
We speak before God in
Christ
I have not done so; I speak the
truth before God; he is judge whether I was actuated in this
way by any sinister or unworthy motive.
For your edifying.
Whatever I have done in this or any other way, I have done
for your edifying; not for any emolument to
myself or friends.
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Verse 20. I fear, lest, when I
come
I think the present time is
used here for the past; the apostle seems most
evidently to be giving them the reason why he had
not come to them according to his former purposes, and why
he sent Titus and his companion. He was afraid to come at that
time lest he should have found them perverted from the right
way, and he be obliged to make use of his apostolical
rod, and punish the offenders; but, feeling towards
them the heart of a tender father, he was unwilling to
use the rod; and sent the first epistle to them, and
the messengers above mentioned, being reluctant to go himself
till he had satisfactory evidence that their divisions were
ended, and that they had repented for and put away the evils
that they had committed; and that he should not be obliged to
bewail them who had sinned so abominably, and had not repented
for their crimes. If this verse be understood in this way, all
difficulty will vanish; otherwise, what is here said does seem
to contradict what is said, 2 Corinthians
7:6,16, as well as many things both in the eighth
and ninth chapters.
Debates, envyings
From these different expressions, which are too
plain to need interpretation, we see what a
distracted and divided state the Church at
Corinth must have been in. Brotherly love and
charity seem to have been driven out of this once
heavenly assembly. These debates, opposites to that
love which the apostle recommends and explains by its
different properties in the 13th chapter of his first
epistle.
Mr. Wakefield translates the original thus: strifes,
rivalries, passions, provocations, slanders,
whisperings, swellings, quarrels.
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Verse 21. Lest, when I come
again
And even after all that has been done
for you, I fear that when I do come-when I pay you my
second visit, my God will humble me-will permit
me to be affected with deep sorrow through what I may
see among you; as I have been by the buffetings of the
apostle of Satan, who has perverted you. Humiliation is
repeatedly used for affliction, and here ταπεινωση has
certainly that meaning.
Have sinned already
προημαρτηκοτων. Who have sinned before; who were
some of the first offenders, and have not yet repented.
Of the uncleanness, relaxation of discipline, else
such abominations could not have been tolerated in the
Christian Church. And although what is here spoken could only
be the ease of a few; yet the many were ill
disciplined, else these must have been cast out. On the whole,
this Church seems to have been a composition of excellences
and defects, of vices and virtues; and should not be quoted as
a model for a Christian Church.
1. FROM St. Paul we receive two remarkable sayings
of our Lord, which are of infinite value to the welfare and
salvation of man; which are properly parts of the Gospel, but
are not mentioned by any evangelist. The first is in Acts
20:35: I have showed you, the words of the Lord Jesus,
how he said, IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE.
Every liberal heart feels this in bestowing its bounty; and
every poor man, who is obliged to receive help, and whose
independency of spirit is still whole in him, feels this too.
To the genuine poor, it is more burdensome to
receive a kindness, than it is to the generous man who
gives it. The second is recorded in the ninth
verse of this chapter 2 Corinthians
12:9: He said unto me, MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR
THEE; FOR MY STRENGTH IS MADE PERFECT IN WEAKNESS. Of these
two most blessed sayings, St. Paul is the only
evangelist. This last is of general application.
In all states and conditions of life God's grace
is sufficient for us. If in any case we miscarry, it is
because we have not sought God earnestly. Let no man
say that he is overcome by sin through want of grace; God's
grace was sufficient for him, but he did not apply for it
as did St. Paul, and therefore he did not receive it.
Men often lay the issue of their own infidelity to the charge
of God, they excuse their commission of sin through their
scantiness of grace; whereas the whole is owing to their
carelessness, and refusal to be saved in God's own
way; and in this way alone will God save any man,
because it is the only effectual way.
2. The apostle must have been brought into a blessed state
of subjection to God, when he could say, I take pleasure
in infirmities; that is, in afflictions and
sufferings of different kinds. Though this language was
spoken on earth, we may justly allow, with one, that he
learned it in HEAVEN.
3. St. Paul preached the Gospel without being
burdensome. In every case the labourer is worthy of
his hire. He who labours for the cause of God should be
supported by the cause of God; but wo to that man who
aggrandizes himself and grows rich by the spoils
of the faithful! And to him especially who has made a
fortune out of the pence of the poor! In such a man's
heart the love of money must have its throne. As
to his professed spirituality, it is nothing; he
is a whited sepulchre, and an abomination in the sight
of the Lord. If a man will love the world, (and he does love
it who makes a fortune by the offerings of the poor,) the love
of the Father is not in him.
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Copyright Statement
The Adam Clarke Commentary is a derivative of an
electronic edition prepared by GodRules.net.
Bibliography
Information
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary
on 2 Corinthians 12". "The Adam Clarke Commentary".
<http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/view.cgi?book=2co&chapter=012>.
1832.
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