Translation & Sermon by
Nate Wilson for Christ The Redeemer Church, Manhattan, KS, 10 May
2026
Underlined words in Scripture quotes indicate words that
are in common with the Greek text of the sermon passage. Otherwise,
underlining indicates words to emphasize when reading this transcript
out loud.
“Two hundred years from now, will my
grandkids remember what I stood for?
Will I be remembered as
something more than passing celebrity?
Two hundred years from
now, will I be known for what I want to be famous for?
There’s
only one verdict that matters, and that’s my Lord’s.1”
There are a lot of bogus ways to measure the meaning and impact of your life. This morning we will be considering the Biblical way to measure life purpose and success through the example of the Apostle Paul.
Read my translation of the
passage:
12 For we are not going to go so far as to
contrast or compare ourselves to certain men who endorse themselves,
for indeed, when they measure themselves by themselves and compare
themselves with themselves they do not comprehend. Now as for
ourselves, it is not into measureless things that we will brag, but
rather according to the measure of the standard which God
apportioned by measure to us, to reach even as far as y’all. For,
unlike those who are not reaching out to y’all, we are
super-extending ourselves, for we preceded with the good news of the
Anointed One even as far as y’all! It is not into the measureless
things that we are bragging in others’ labors, but because we have
hope that as y’all’s faith increases, there will be enlargement
by y’all according to our standard in abundance, to evangelize
even among those beyond y’all, not using another’s standard so
as to boast in things that are already-done. But “let the bragger
keep on bragging in... the Lord,” for that is the one who
tests-genuine – not the one who endorses himself, but rather whom
the Lord endorses.
The guys in v.12 who were “commending themselves” to the Corinthians were mentioned back in the earlier chapters of 2 Corinthians:
2 Cor. 3:1 “Shall we begin again to provide endorsements for ourselves, when we have no need (as some guys do) for endorsement letters with y'all – or of endorsements from y'all?” (NAW)
2 Cor. 5:12 “We are not endorsing[commending] ourselves again to y'all, but rather giving y'all a launching-point for celebration concerning us, in order that y'all might have something in opposition to those who are celebrating in the superficial, but not in the heart.” (NAW)
Paul and Timothy don’t want to be “put in the same class as” those false apostles who boasted in outward appearance and relied on endorsements from famous persons but didn’t have any spiritual fruit to show for themselves2.
Now, there is certainly a Biblical basis for being held accountable to measurable standards and to living in accountable relationships with other believers in the church, but Paul is criticizing the essentially-humanistic approach to ministry that ignores God’s will and God’s word and instead organizes around man-made standards and goals and commendations.
When we measure ourselves by ourselves, we will be tempted to “rig” the rules to make ourselves look better compared to others.3
For instance, since it has been a spiritual discipline of mine for years to translate a Bible verse from the Hebrew Old Testament or Greek New Testament every day, I could invent a standard that the best Christians translate at least one verse a day out of the Bible.
Well, that would not require me to improve my spiritual disciplines at all while simultaneously defining most everybody else in the church as below me in spiritual disciplines. This is just a hypothetical example of how judging ourselves by ourselves tempts us to manipulate standards to make us feel better than other people.
Measuring ourselves by the people around us is no better.
Many of us were raised in institutional schools where all our academics were measured in comparison with the other children in our classrooms. In the old days, the person who made the highest grade got an A, and the person who made the lowest grade got an F, and the kids in the middle of the Bell Curve got C’s. This academic model taught me the unbiblical value of constantly measuring my intellect and skill and spirituality by my peers. As long as I was doing better than most of them, I was affirmed as okay.
This can lead to measuring progress by the wrong metrics. I’ve read of pastors who focused on Sunday morning attendance numbers as the most important standard for measuring the success of their church. It’s great to reach more people with the Gospel, but what they found was that they could attract more attendance by incorporating less Bible-teaching and more worldly entertainment, which moved them away from God’s will as a church. At the same time, they burned themselves out because the more hours they worked, the more people they attracted to their church, and since the goal was to attract the most people, they worked insane hours until they had no spiritual life to share in ministry. Measuring the wrong thing, or measuring the wrong balance of things is spiritually dangerous.
Social media is another example. For one thing, it enables us to quickly group together with such large numbers of like-minded people around the world that it creates the illusion that ours is the only right way to think, without the benefit of normal community patterns of working through differences of opinion.
Social media is also designed to mold you to think humanistically. Every electronic message you post is evaluated in real time by your peer group. If enough of them affirm it with a “like,” you feel good about yourself, and the more people like it, the wider your post circulates until you can consider yourself a “social influencer.” But if not many people like it, it falls into the black hole of the Internet Archive, and you’re a nobody, because nobody cares about your opinion. That kind of man-centered thinking is the polar opposite of the way God wants us to think. He wants us to measure ourselves by His word, and it doesn’t matter much what other people think as long as you are doing God’s will.
I’m not saying that Christians can’t use social media; I’m just pointing out dangers of using the wrong metrics and standards.
The Proverbs have a lot more to say about this:
Proverbs 20:6 “Most men will proclaim each his own goodness, But who can find a faithful man?” (NKJV)
Proverbs 27:2 “Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth; A stranger, and not your own lips.” (NKJV)
Proverbs 25:27 “It is not good to eat much honey; So to seek one's own glory is not glory.” (NKJV)
Proverbs 26:12 “Do you see a man wise in his own eyes? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” (NKJV)
Proverbs 30:12 “There is a generation that is pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness.” (NKJV)
In the book of Revelation, Jesus said to the church in Laodicea: “...I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— I counsel you to buy from Me gold refined in the fire, that you may be rich; and white garments, that you may be clothed, that the shame of your nakedness may not be revealed; and anoint your eyes with eye salve, that you may see. As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent. Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” (Rev. 3:14-22, NKJV)
So what are the proper metrics?
In verse 13, the Greek word for “measure” is prominent, appearing 3 times.
(Unfortunately, some English versions translated it with a different English word every time, making it harder to see the common theme!)
The first time it occurs in v.13, it is in a negative form, and it is plural: “we will not boast/brag beyond limits/measure” – literally “about measureless things.” We need a definite standard by which to measure progress, not a nebulous standard like “better” or “great” – we need a standard that is absolute and not a “rubber yardstick” that we can stretch or shrink to make ourselves look good.
The second occurrence of the Greek word for “measure/limit” in v.13 is in the phrase “measure of the standard/rule/sphere/field/area of influence.”
This attaches the word for “measurement” to a word for an absolute “standard.”
The Greek word is kanon-, which you may have heard before in the context of the standardization of the books of the Bible – the Biblical “canon” (spelled with only one ‘n’ in the middle, not to be confused with the big gun that is spelled with two ‘n’s in the middle).
We also get our word “cane” from this Greek word; it is a “measuring stick” which absolutizes standards so that real measurement is possible.
And where does this canon, this “standard/rule” come from? The third instance of the Greek word for “measure” in v.13 tells us that it is “apportioned/distributed/appointed/assigned to us by God.” God is the one who sets the standard for us by providing the absolute standard of His Word – the canon of the Bible – to judge our successes and failures.
At the end of v.13 and in v.14, we see the phrase “reach even as far as unto y’all,” and in v.14 we see phrase “overextending/going too far/stretch beyond our measure.”
It appears therefore that Paul is answering yet another of his opponents’ criticisms. This criticism seems to be to the effect that Paul has overextended himself. He has no business trying to make disciples in Corinth, so far from his own country. Maybe they are accusing Paul of hyperextending himself to increase his metrics and make a competition out of who can win the most converts.
Paul’s answer is that he is using the metrics which God has given him4
In Mark 16:15, Jesus said, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (KJV)
And in Matthew 28:19 “Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations...”
And God had specifically instructed Paul to focus his preaching on Gentiles:
Saying of Paul in Acts 9:15 “...he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings, and the children of Israel…” (ASV)
And Paul testifies in Acts 13:47 “For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, ‘I have set thee for a light of the Gentiles, That thou shouldest be for salvation unto the uttermost part of the earth.’” (ASV)
and in Act 22:21 “And he said unto me, ‘Depart: for I will send thee forth far hence unto the Gentiles.’” (ASV)
So the canon-metrics God gave specifically to Paul were “Gentiles, Kings and Jews,” “extremities of the earth,” and “Gentiles far away.” So that’s where Paul went, and up to that point, he says at the end of v. 13 that he reached as far West as Corinth. In time he would reach even further west to Rome and France.
The same Greek word for “reach” at the end of v. 13, shows up again in v. 14 as a participle “not reaching.”
This “not reaching” in v. 14 is plural and present tense, so it is something that a plurality of people were not doing at the present time of Paul’s writing, but the Greek text does not say whether that plurality is the Apostles or some other group of people who were not reaching out to the Corinthians.
Most English versions interpret this participle as an untrue hypothetical case – that it was not true that Paul had not reached out to the Corinthians, but I don’t think that the fact that Paul had reached out to the Corinthians was actually in dispute.
I think that it is describing another group of teachers – perhaps the auspicious Jewish leaders who, unlike Paul, had not out to the Corinthians, but who had endorsed the false teachers that came to Corinth after Paul.
This interpretation goes together with the verb later in v.14, “we were the first to come/we preceded,” which highlights the fact that Paul and his cohort came to Corinth before their critics did, indicating a greater devotion to obeying God more quickly and extensively on the part of Paul in comparison with the false apostles5.
If this is the case, then the apostle’s “hyper-extending/stretching” themselves in v.14 to obey God “according to the measure” of God’s command to reach the Gentiles is brought up as a good thing, not as a bad thing, because it was Paul and Timothy’s faithful stretching themselves out in this way that brought the good news of salvation to Corinth.
However, the traditional interpretation of v.14 – that Paul is denying that he disobeyed God by overextending his authority to include Corinth – is really stating the same thing as my interpretation, just in negative words.
And we can apply this principle to ourselves both negatively and positively:
What has God specifically commanded you to do? Are you stretching yourself to fulfill it according to the standards which God has given you?
If you are a parent, God commands you to, “Discipline your son while there is hope” (Prov. 19:18, NASB), adding that “...the one who loves his child is diligent in disciplining...” (Prov. 13:34, NET). Are you pushing yourself in the area of child-training or are you being negligent?
If you are employed, God commands you in Colossians 3:22 “[O]bey in all things your masters according to the flesh... in sincerity of heart, fearing God.” Are you genuinely putting out all you’ve got to benefit your employer, or are you being lazy?
And, regarding world evangelism, we’ve been commanded to “go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation” and “make disciples of every nation.” Have you settled down to a comfortable extension of the gospel that is not quite to all the world or every nation, or are you stretching yourself to find ways to extend the gospel further and further?
Conversely, are you being careful not to go beyond what God has commanded you to do or to step outside of the standards He has revealed for doing it? (1 Cor. 4:6)
For instance, we are to “teach [disciples] everything that [Christ] commanded,” but oftentimes we prioritize teaching disciples to observe additional man-made rules and traditions that Christ did not command.
Or we try to usurp authority in spheres where He did not give us jurisdiction, such as over other people’s children, or outside of the jurisdiction of our particular household or church or nation, or even by exercising rebellion and disrespect toward the authorities God has placed over us.
Paul already addressed some of this in 1 Corinthians 4:5-7 “Therefore don’t keep judging anyone before the time – until whenever the Lord shall come, Who will both bring to light the secrets of the darkness and will reveal the plans of their hearts, and then the praise from God will happen to each person… and learn this from us: not to be above the things which have been written, in order that it not be [this] one over [that] one, should y’all continue to be puffed up against the other. For... what do you have which you did not receive, and if you received, what are you boasting about as though you had not received?” (NAW)
Let’s stretch ourselves to obey God fully, using whatever legitimate authority and strength He has given us.
It should be noted that in the Greek text of verse 15, the word “not” does not negate the participle “boasting” but rather the phrase “beyond limits/without measures.” Paul does his share of bragging (as we’ve seen already in these epistles), but he doesn’t brag about what he shouldn’t or about what God hasn’t commanded him to do. This is probably a dig at the super-apostles who are bragging about things they had no business bragging about6.
Paul also doesn’t take credit for the labor of other people, although he is very invested in working with other people like Titus and Timothy (and with the whole church), and he expresses delight in the accomplishments of these co-workers earlier in his letter as well. But again, this is probably a dig at the false apostles who are claiming jurisdiction over the church in Corinth – a church Paul planted, not them.
In v.15 (and again in v.16) Paul comes back to the canon – the standard/rule/sphere/area of influence/activity which God had given him – the commission to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. This is the center of his vision for ministry. So, in verse 15, as he thinks ahead about the future, he anticipates that this mission will be “enlarged/expanded by” the Corinthians as their “faith increases/grows.”
This interpretation disagrees with a few English versions which added the word “we” to the verb “be enlarged/expanded.”
This Greek verb is an infinitive with no explicit subject, so we have to figure out from the context what it is that Paul wants to see “enlarged/expanded,”
and I don’t think it is consistent with Paul’s character to be so self-aggrandizing as to want to see himself enlarged. I think what he wants to see expanded is the ministry of evangelizing Gentiles (and thereby the kingdom of Christ).
In v.16, what’s the very next thought he thinks? “preaching the gospel to the regions beyond” – that’s what Paul wants to see expanded as the Corinthians’ faith grows.
As 19th century Classical Greek expert Marvin Vincent put it in his Word Studies of the New Testament, “Paul means that, as the faith of the Corinthians increases, he hopes that his apostolic efficiency will increase, so that Corinth shall become the basis of larger efforts, extending into other regions.”
Paul wrote in Romans 15:20 “...I have made it my aim to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build on another man's foundation…” (NKJV)
I realize this isn’t the only possible way to interpret this passage7, but here’s what I think is going on:
Paul wants the Christians in Corinth to distance themselves from the Judaistic “super-apostles” (who don’t believe Jesus is the Messiah) and to reconnect with him (and the Gospel that Jesus is the Messiah).
He also wants them to practice giving by taking up the collection for the poor in Jerusalem that he wrote about in chapters 8-9.
Then he plans to come visit them again, and while he’s there, he wants them to donate toward his next evangelistic trip even further west into Europe.8
It would not be appropriate for Paul to report back to his home church in Syria
that he was evangelizing Jews in the Holy Land (It might have been appropriate for James or Peter, but not for Paul, because that wasn’t his commission.),
nor would it be appropriate for him to report that he is planting more churches in Greece and Asia Minor where there are now elders capable of leading churches (That might have been appropriate for Timothy or Titus, but not Paul, because that wasn’t his commission.),
rather, he should be reporting that he is planting churches out in Rome and France and beyond, because that is specifically what God had commissioned him to do9, (and his church leaders would be right to hold him accountable to that standard and not to a standard fitting for another man with another calling).
Now, not everybody is called and gifted to do pioneering church-planting among unreached peoples like Paul, but Jesus’ Great Commission calls us all to support the spread of the gospel into more new places and to make disciples who will help spread the gospel.10
Let me remind you that the Great Commission is not completed yet:
according to Joshua Project, as of the year 202511, there were some 5,000 languages which do not have the whole Bible translated into their language yet.
According to the Southern Baptist International Mission Board, as of the year 202412, there were still some 6,800 ethnic groups which still need front-line missionaries (like Paul) to go to them to plant the first churches.
And the Gordon-Conwell Center For The Study of Global Christianity estimates that, as of the year 202413, 2.26 billion individuals have never heard the gospel even once and probably couldn’t even if they wanted to.
God has given us the task of world evangelization in all three metrics:
both in terms of “all creatures,”
in terms of “every tribe/ethnic group,”
and in terms of “every tongue/language,”
so these are clear canon-standards which can be objectively measured (even if we have to do some estimating in order to calculate them for the whole globe)14.
Traveling Team spokesman Claude Hickman graphically summed up statistics in the World Christian Trends Database on Christian giving15 thus: “If you were in a ballroom with a fifty foot ceiling, and the ceiling represented what Christians earned, you could stand two dollar bills, end to end, 12” from the floor to represent what Christians tithe. But to see how little is used for the unreached you would have to stack both bills and lay them flat (roughly 1/2 mm).
I doubt that our particular congregation’s giving is as bad as that, but these statistics illustrate the fact that most Christians could probably give more toward the spread of the gospel.
That’s one reason why our church has added support for the Nienke family as they moved to North Africa this year, and we’ll support you too if you will go!
Let’s keep pushing ourselves to fulfill our Master’s commands with diligence and excellence.
And boasting in the Lord, according to v.17, is a form of evangelism. It’s a great way to introduce people to how great Jesus is and why He should be exalted as Lord.
Verse 17 contains a quote of Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus saith Jehovah, ‘Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorie[s] glory in this, that he ha[s] understanding, and know[s] me, that I am Jehovah who exercise[s] lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight...’” (ASV) Hey, I know the God “who exercises lovingkindness, justice, and righteousness in the earth.” Can I pray to Him for you? Can I tell you about Him?
Psalm 44:7-8 “...You delivered us from our oppressors, and those who hated us You put to shame. It is in God that we have boasted all the day, and it is Your name forever that we will praise!” (NAW)
If someone becomes a Christian through your witness, praise God!
If the church we minister together in flourishes for another hundred years, praise the Lord!
“If we are able to fix good rules for our conduct, or act by them, or have any good success in so doing, the praise and glory of all are owing unto God.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 AD
Verse 18 closes by referring back to the false teachers in v.12 who were “endorsing/commending” themselves.
It really doesn’t matter how famous the people are who write you letters of recommendation; it doesn’t matter how famous you make yourself with impressive looks and feats of accomplishment on your résumé. In the end, what counts is that Jesus says to you on Judgment Day, “Come here, you who have been blessed by my Father! Start inheriting the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!” (excerpted from Matt. 25:34, NAW)
“[S]trive to approve [y]ourselves to God, and His approbation will be [y]our best commendation.” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 AD
In Luke 16:15, Jesus said, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is highly esteemed among men is an abomination in the sight of God…” (NKJV, cf. Prov. 21:2) Are you using the right standard of measurement for your life?
If you do what He has called you to do, it is certain to be acceptable to God!16
How do we get this commendation from the Lord Jesus?
Romans 5:8 tells us “...God commends His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (NKJV)
We don’t earn God’s love. It comes as a free gift from Jesus Who died to save sinners, and He gives this free gift to those who acknowledge that they are sinners in need of His salvation.17 Will you seek God’s approval by asking Him to forgive you of your sins on the basis of Jesus’ sacrificial death on your behalf?
Then once He has made us right with Himself and made us one of His people, He gives us work to do in partnership with Him as He saves more people. Will you stretch yourself in new ways to share the good news of Jesus with others so that, as your faith grows, the kingdom of God grows to include more and more believers?
ByzantineB |
NAW |
KJVC |
RheimsD |
MurdockE |
CopticF |
12 Οὐ γὰρ τολμῶμεν ἐγκρῖναιG ἢ συγκρῖναιH ἑαυτούς τισι τῶν ἑαυτοὺς συνιστανόντων· ἀλλὰI αὐτοὶ ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἑαυτοὺς μετροῦντες καὶ συγκρίνοντες ἑαυτοὺς ἑαυτοῖς οὐ συνιοῦσινJ. |
12 For we are not going to go so far as to contrast or compare ourselves to certain men who endorse themselves, for indeed, when they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves they do not comprehend. |
12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. |
12
For we dare not match
or compare
ourselves with some that commend
themselves:
but |
12 For we dare not value, or compare ourselves, with X those who vaunt X: but they, X X X X because they compare themselves with themselves, are not wise. |
12 For we are not bold to compare ourselves or to measureB/equalS ourselves with some who commend themselves: but they themselves in themselves are measuring themselves, [and areB] comparingB/equallingS themselves with themselves, [andS] are not understanding. |
13 ἡμεῖς δὲ οὐχὶ εἰς τὰ ἄμετραK καυχησόμεθα, ἀλλὰ κατὰ τὸ μέτρον τοῦ κανόνοςL οὗ ἐμέρισεν ἡμῖν ὁ Θεὸς μέτρου, ἐφικέσθαι ἄχρι καὶ ὑμῶν. |
13 Now as for ourselves, it is not into measureless things that we will brag, but rather according to the measure of the standard which God apportioned by measure to us, to reach even as far as y’all. |
13
But we X will
not boast
of things |
13 But we will not glory beyond our measureX: but according to the measure of the rule which God hath measured to us, X a measure to reach even unto you. |
13 But we will not glory beyond our measureX, but within the measure of the limit[s] which God hath imparted to us, X X that we should reach as far as you. |
13
But we (pron.) |
14 οὐ γὰρ ὡς μὴ ἐφικνούμενοιM εἰς ὑμᾶς ὑπερεκτείνομεν ἑαυτούς· ἄχρι γὰρ καὶ ὑμῶν ἐφθάσαμεν ἐνN τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, |
14 For, unlike those who are not reaching out to y’all, we are super-extending ourselves, for we preceeded with the good news of the Anointed One even as far as y’all! |
14
For we
stretch not ourselves beyond
our
measure,
as though we
reach |
14
For we
stretch
not ourselves beyond [our
measure], as
if we
reach |
14
For we
do
not stretch
ourselves,
as if not reaching
to you; for we d |
14 For not [having beenS] as [thoseS] not reaching to you we stretch (out) ourselves [to youB] the moreB/XS]: for we reached to you [alsoB] in the Gospel of Christ: |
Byzantine |
NAW |
KJV |
Rheims |
Murdock |
Coptic |
15 οὐκO εἰς τὰ ἄμετρα καυχώμενοι ἐν ἀλλοτρίοις κόποιςP, ἐλπίδα δὲ ἔχοντες, αὐξανομένης τῆς πίστεωςQ ὑμῶν, ἐν ὑμῖν μεγαλυνθῆναιR κατὰ τὸν κανόνα ἡμῶν εἰς περισσείανS, |
15 It is not into the measureless things that we are bragging in others’ labors, but because we have hope that as y’all’s faith increases, there will be enlargement by y’all according to our standard in abundance, |
15 Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, |
15 Not glorying beyond measureX in other men's labours: but having hope of your increasing faith, to be magnified in you according to our rule abundantly. |
15
And we do not glory
beyond
our measureX,
in the toilX
of others: but we have the hope, that when your faith shall
|
15
not boasting [ourselvesB]
in unmeasuredness[esB/XS],
in toils {of other menB/[which] are |
16 καὶ εἰς τὰ ὑπερέκειναT ὑμῶν εὐαγγελίσασθαι, οὐκ ἐν ἀλλοτρίῳ κανόνι εἰς τὰ ἕτοιμα καυχήσασθαι. |
16 to evangelize even among those beyond y’all, not using another’s standard so as to boast in things that are already-done. |
16
To preach the gospel X in
the regions
beyond you, and
not to boast
in another man's line
|
16 Yea, unto those [places] that are beyond you to preach the gospel: not to glory in another man's rule, in those things that are made ready [to our hand]. |
also, as to make announcements beyond you. It is not in the measure of other[s], and in things ready prepared, that we will glory. |
16
[for usS]to preach glad tidings to {[you],
thingsB/thoseS} which are { |
17 ῾Ο δὲ καυχώμενος ἐν Κυρίῳ καυχάσθω·U |
17 But “let the bragger keep on bragging in... the Lord,” |
17 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. |
17 But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. |
17 But let him that will glory, glory in the Lord. |
17 But he who boasteth [himselfB], let him boast [himselfB] in the Lord. |
18 οὐ γὰρ ὁ ἑαυτὸν συνιστῶνV, ἐκεῖνός ἐστι δόκιμος, ἀλλ᾿ ὃν ὁ Κύριος συνίστησιν |
18 for that is the one who tests-genuine – not the one who endorses himself, but rather whom the Lord endorses. |
18 For not he that commendeth himself X is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. |
18
For not he who commendeth
himself X is
approved:
but he, whom |
18 For not he who praiseth himself, X is approved; but he whom the Lord praiseth. |
13
For not he who [willS] commendeth himself X is the
|
1This is the chorus to “200 Years From Now” by Nate Wilson, recorded on the Kansan Celts album entitled Lover.
2“Paul… declares with strong irony that there are... limits to his boldness: he would not be so daring as to put himself on an equality or even to compare himself with certain individuals whose daring is so extraordinary that they rest their authority upon self-commendation!” ~P. E. Hughes, 1962 AD
320th century New Testament Greek grammar expert A. T. Robertson commented, “Setting themselves up as the standards of orthodoxy, these Judaizers always measure up to the standard while Paul falls short.”
4“‘Has the Lord given me such a thing? I shall be satisfied with this measure. I shall not either desire or claim to myself any thing more.’ This he calls the measure of his rule. For every one’s rule, according to which he ought to regulate himself is this — God’s gift and calling.” ~J. Calvin, 1546 AD
5Paul therefore belies the principle of Islam and Mormonism that more-recent revelation supersedes older revelation.
6“In each clause, too, we must understand as implied, a contrast between him and the false Apostles…” ~J. Calvin
7Vincent, for instance, in his Word Studies explained the view held by most scholars: “It is not as if God had not appointed our apostolic labor to reach to you. If He had not thus appointed, then our desire to labor among you would have been an overstretching of ourselves. Therefore, in boasting of our labor in Corinth, we do not boast beyond our measure.”
8“[T]he apostle’s missionary strategy was based on the sound principle that the consolidation of existing work must precede further advance (Murray Harris).” ~G. Wilson
9“[H]e would not act beyond his commission as to persons or things, nor go beyond the line prescribed to him, which he plainly intimates the false apostles did, while they boasted of other men's labors. The apostle's resolution was to keep within his own province, and that compass of ground which God had marked out for him. His commission as an apostle was to preach the gospel every where, especially among the Gentiles, and he was not confined to one place; yet he observed the directions of Providence...” ~Matthew Henry, 1714 AD
10“And this same vision, so truly catholic and ecumenical, is no less essential for the local Christian communities and congregations of every generation, our own included, if the temptation to narrow-hearted inward-looking insularity, by which every such community or congregation is constantly threatened, is to be abhorred and overcome. The local church in which this temptation is not abhorred and overcome actually becomes a hindrance to the spread of the good news. It degenerates into a religious club and is in danger of having its candlestick removed (Rev. 2:5).” ~P. E. Hughes, 1962 AD
11https://media.joshuaproject.net/public/assets/media/handouts/status-of-world-evangelization.pdf
12https://grd.imb.org/wp-content/uploads/documents/gsec-files/2024-05_GSEC_Overview.pdf
13https://www.gordonconwell.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2024/01/Status-of-Global-Christianity-2024.pdf
14To these standards could be added the geographical standard from the Great Commission of Acts 1: “both to Jerusalem and to Judea and to the uttermost parts of the earth,” but since this has been fairly well-fulfilled, I pass over it here.
15https://static1.squarespace.com/static/4f661fde24ac1097e013deea/t/61fad19d0bbaad2bcc465978/1643827613106/WCT_Table20-3.pdf
16“The Lord accepts his own recommendation.” ~A. T. Robertson, Word Pictures
17See 2 Cor. 7:11 for an example of acknowledgment of sin on the part of the Corinthians, using similar wording in Greek.
AWhen
a translation adds words not in the Greek text, but does not
indicate it has done so by the use of italics or greyed-out text, I
put the added words in [square brackets]. When one version chooses a
wording which is different from all the other translations, I
underline it. When a version chooses a translation which, in my
opinion, either departs too far from the root meaning of the Greek
word or departs too far from the grammar form of the original text,
I use strikeout. And when a version omits a word
which is in the original text, I insert an X. I also place an X at
the end of a word if the original word is plural but the English
translation is singular. I occasionally use colors to help the
reader see correlations between the various editions and versions
when there are more than two different translations of a given word.
NAW is my translation. My original chart includes annotated copies
of the NKJV, NASB, NIV, and ESV, but I erase them from the online
edition so as not to infringe on their copyrights.
BThis Greek New Testament is the 1904 “Patriarchal” edition of the Greek Orthodox Church. As published by E-Sword in 2016. The Robinson-Pierpont Byzantine majority text of the GNT and the Textus Receptus are very similar. The Westcott-Hort, Nestle-Aland, UBS, and Tregelles editions, however, are a slightly-different family of GNTs developed in the modern era, focusing on the few manuscripts which are older than the Byzantine manuscripts. Even so, the practical differences in the text between these two editing philosophies are minimal.
C1769 King James Version of the Holy Bible; public domain. As published by E-Sword in 2019.
DRheims New Testament first published by the English College at Rheims, A.D. 1582, Revised and Diligently Compared with the Latin Vulgate by Bishop Richard Challoner, Published in 1582, 1609, 1752. As published on E-Sword in 2016.
EJames Murdock, A Literal Translation from the Syriac Peshito Version, 1851, Robert Carter & Brothers, New York. Scanned and transcribed by Gary Cernava and published electronically by Janet Magierra at http://www.lightofword.org, and published on E-Sword in 2023.
FThis is my conflation of the English translations of the Northern Bohairic and Southern Sahidic traditions published by Oxford Clarendon Press in 1905 and 1920 respectively, neither of which named the translator or editor. The beginnings and ends of multiple-word variants are marked out with brackets, with a superscript “S” for Sahidic or “B” for Bohairic. The editor of the Sahidic compilation did not have manuscripts for some verses, and I have not discovered a published English translation of the subsequently-discovered manuscripts, so variants in that section for that tradition are not listed.
GHapex legomenon. Literally “judge in.” Due to its obvious pairing with another krinai verb with a different prefix, I thought it best to use a commonly-used pair of verbs in English – “compare… contrast.” Robertson noted in his Word Pictures that “Plummer suggests ‘to pair and compare’ for the play on the words here.
HLit. “judge together.” The only other instance of this verb in the GNT is 1 Cor. 2:13, where is it translated “compare/ combine/explain/interpret.” It occurs 7x in the LXX of Genesis 40-41 and Dan. 5:7 in the context of Joseph and Daniel “interpreting” dreams, and once again in Num. 15:34 to describe a judicial ruling.
IMost English versions translate “but” (although NIV omits it), but I think this is a case of L&N#91.1 “contrastive emphasis – ‘certainly’.”
JThe three oldest-known manuscripts spell this word συνιασιν (P46 - 3rd Century), συνισασιν (א(- 4th century), and συνειασιν (B - 4th century), but by the 9th century, the consensus settled out on συνιοῦσιν as the way to spell this word, so this is the spelling of the Majority, the Textus Receptus, and the Greek Orthodox editions. All the contemporary critical editions, however, go with the spelling of the oldest manuscript. There is no difference in meaning.
KHanna’s Grammatical Aid took the position that this means “[we do not boast] ‘by reference to a standard which we have no right to use’ ... since it would not be necessary for Paul to convince the Corinthian Church that he was not boasting about things beyond which he actually knew. This context portrays the fact that Paul did not want to boast about another man's labor (thus taking the credit for it, cf. v. 15).” But I would point out that what is negated is not the boasting but the measure. A. T. Robertson was more accurate in his Word Pictures: “‘Into the unmeasured things,’ \’“the illimitable.’”
LRare
word in the Greek Bible. Only here (incl. vs. 15-16), Gal. 6:16, and
Mic. 7:4 (which seems to be a mistake). Literally, it is a “cane,”
used as a standard of measurement, so it is a synonym to metron,
or more properly, the standard of that measurement.
The
English translator of Calvin’s commentary, John Pringle,
approvingly cited Hammond and Paxton in a footnote, claiming that
this phrase is “agonistical,” picturing
the Roman foot-races where
runners would be disqualified if they stepped outside the lines of
their course. P. E. Hughes
picked up on the same picture in his commentary.
Vincent
agreed with my interpretation: “Paul regarded his ministry as
specially to the Gentiles, and that he habitually refused to
establish himself permanently where any former Christian teacher had
preached. The Jewish teachers at Corinth had invaded his sphere as
the apostle to the Gentiles, and had also occupied the ground which
he had won for himself by his successful labors among the
Corinthians, as they did also at Antioch and in Galatia. He says
here, therefore,
that his boasting of his apostolic labors is not without measure,
like that of those Jewish teachers who establish themselves
everywhere, but is confined to the sphere appointed for him, of
which Corinth, thus far, was the extreme limit. Hence the measure of
the rule is the measure defined by the line which God has drawn. The
image is that of surveying
a district, so as to assign to different persons their different
parcels of ground.” (Vincent’s
image of surveying was probably derived from Lightfoot’s
commentary on Gal. 6:16 from
1865. Lightfoot’s manuscript on 2 Cor. was not published until
2016!) Robertson,
in his Word Pictures,
agreed “Paul’s
measuring-rod extends to Corinth,” correcting
Vincent on one point – that the canon was more about the “rule
to walk by.”
MKJV, Turner, NASB, Hughes, NIV, and ESV all interpreted as though this participle were a false narrative of a past event contrary to fact, but since it is present tense, it must describe an ongoing situation. This led me in the direction of the Coptic translations. Also, the NKJV, which invents the singular noun “authority” as the subject of this plural participle cannot be correct.
NKJV, ASV, Moulton, and NASB interpreted with the locative meaning of this preposition, which yields a strangely mystical meaning. (How does one come in the gospel?) Calvin only somewhat-more-reasonably explained that “in” “declares on what ground he had come to the Corinthians.” The associative meaning, however, makes more sense: “we reached out to you with the gospel message.”
OMost English versions translate this particle as negating the participle “boasting,” but Greek grammar only uses this particle for indicative verbs, therefore this particle negates the phrase “into measureless things.”
PThe Greek grammar here is unclear as to how to relate the accusative phrase “into the measureless things” and the dative phrase “in others’ labors.” KJV & NASB interpret them in apposition to one another as objects of the prepositional verb, “others’ labors” defining what is meant by “beyond limits,” but NIV and ESV turn “beyond limits” into an adverbial phrase to avoid having the two phrases in apposition, leaving just “in others’ labors” as the object of the boasting.
Q“[H]e intimates that the weakness of faith under which they labored was the reason why his career had been somewhat retarded.” ~J. Calvin
REnglish versions up through 1901 seem to have interpreted the subject of this infinitive verb “to be enlarged” as “we,” even though it is not stated explicitly in the Greek. But in 1908, Moulton published in his Grammar the interpretation that “canon” should be the subject of this verb, and the NIV, ESV, and NET interpreted it this way.
SThe other instance of this noun in 2 Cor. is in 8:2.
THapex legomenon. Compound of the plural far-demonstrative (“those”) and the preposition “over.” Robertson identified it as an “ablative genitive” in his Grammar.
UCompare with Jeremiah 9:23 ἀλλ᾽ ἢ ἐν τούτῳ καυχάσθω ὁ καυχώμενος συνίειν καὶ γινώσκειν ὅτι ἐγώ εἰμι κύριος… (Common words underlined, dotted underlining indicates different, but synonymous wording.)
VThis is the reading of the majority of Greek manuscripts (the oldest original of which dates to the 9th century) and of the Textus Receptus and Greek Orthodox editions of the Greek New Testament. All the Greek manuscripts from before the 9th century (followed by another 15 from the 9th - 15th centuries) contain an additional syllable συνιστανων, but there is no difference in meaning.