Monday, 30 November 2015
As the truth of Christ is in me, no one shall stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
2 Corinthians 11:10
Paul invokes the name of Christ in the adamancy of his words. “As the truth of Christ is in me…” He uses the same general formula in Romans 9:1 as well –
“I tell the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit…”
The thought he is presenting is that because he must answer to Christ alone, his words are to be taken as truthful. “I could no more change my mind about this matter than tell a lie to Christ.” And the thought which he is adamant about is that “no one shall stop me from this boasting.”
The “boasting” is what he has been referring to in the previous verses. It is that he has preached the message of Christ without charge to the Corinthians or otherwise been burdensome to them in any way. He would continue to conduct himself in this manner towards them. The word for “shall stop” means properly “to fence in” or “enclose.” In turn, it then conveys the idea of “to stop, blocking something off so that it cannot spread or get out of hand.”
Paul had determined that nothing would fence in his desire to work without any type of compensation for his labors from those in Corinth. However, instead of singling them out, he says, “in the regions of Achaia.” Here he uses the word klima, which is a word uniquely used by him in the New Testament. It began as a scientific term which eventually became a colloquialism. It is where we get our word “climate” from. In this case, it identifies a larger area than just Corinth, meaning Achaia, probably because he was including the church in Cenchrea and any other churches connected to those at Corinth.
Life application: In Paul’s words, he is not making an oath concerning his intent. Rather, he is saying that as he is a follower of Christ, and as Christ cannot be lied to, then his words should obviously remain truthful, lest he be perceived as even attempting to lie to Him. We can see that there is nothing wrong with such a statement. However, if we make one similar to it, we had better be telling the truth. If we are not, then we have disgraced the name of Christ to others and we have proven that the name of the very Lord who we have called on doesn’t have any true value to us.
Heavenly Father, help us to be people of integrity that others will see and say, “I know that person can be trusted.” As we bear the name of Your Son, what kind of followers of Him would we be if we were known to willfully cheat, steal, or lie? What value would Your name really be if others knew that we were willing to sacrifice it for falsehood? Be with us and guide us, always remembering our position as followers of Christ. Amen.