The life and work of St. Paul

416 THE LIFK AND WOEK OP ST. PAUL.
spheres of work in which they had not laboured l and ; by whispered sedcc-
tions had been beguiling the Corinthians from the simplicity of their original
faith. 1 In contrast to the self -supporting toils and forbearance of St. Paul,
these men and their coryphaeus had maintained their claim to Apostolic
authority by an insolence, rapacity, and violence, 3 which made Paul ironically
remark that his weakness in having any consideration for his converts, instead
of lording it over them, had been a disgrace to him. And, strange to say,
the ministry and doctrine of this person and his clique had awakened a distinct
echo in the hearts of the unstable Corinthians. They had taken thorn at their
own estimate ; had been dazzled by their outrageous pretensions ; benumbed
by the " torpedo-touch " of their avarice ; and confirmed in a bold disregard
for the wishes and regulations of their true Teacher.*
It is at these intruders that St. Paul hurls his indignant, ironical, unanswerable
apology. "Mean as he was of 4
aspect," he entreats them by the gentleness aud
mildness of Christ that when he came he might not be forced to show that if " lie
walked after the flesh," at any rate the weapons he wielded were not after the flesh,
but strong enough to humble insolence, and punish disobedience, and rase the strongholds
of opposition, and take captive every thought into the obedience of Christ.
Did they judge by outward appearance ? They should find that he was as near to
Christ as any member of the party that used His name. They should find that his
personal action, founded on a power of which he well might boast, but which God
had given him for their edification, not for destruction, could be as weighty and
powerful, as calculated to terrify them, as his letters. 6 He would not, indeed, venture
to enter with them into the mean arena of 7
personal comparisons, which proved the
unwisdom of his opponents nor would lie ; imitate them in stretching his boasts to
an illimitable extent. He would confine these boasts to the range of the measuringline
which God had given him, and which was quite large enough without any overstraining
to reach to them, even as His Gospel had first reached them ; for, unlike
his opponents, he was not exercising these boasts in spheres of labour not his own,
but had hope that, as their faith enlarged, he would be still more highly esteemed,
and the limit of his work extended to yet wider and untried regions. Let the boaster
then boast in the Lord, since the test of a right to boast was not in self-commendation,
but in the commendation of the Lord.s
He entreats them to bear with him, just a little, in this folly nay, he is sure they
do so.9 He feels for thcia a godly jealousy, desiring to present thorn as a chaste
virgin to Christ, but fearful lest they should be seduced from their simplicity as tho
eerpent beguiled Eve. It would have been easy for them (it appears) to tolerate this
10 new preacher if he is preaching another Jesus, a different spirit, a different gospel;
but he professes to preach the same, and such being the caso be had no more
i 1. 13. si. 8. si. 20, 21. x. 13 ; si. 3, 20 ; xii. 13,14,
Mauv of these expressions, as St. Chiysosloin saw, are quotations of the sneers of his opponents
KOT eipiMtiav