The Bible Says
2 Corinthians 12:19-21 Meaning

In 2 Corinthians 12:19-21, Paul makes the pivot complete that he began in 2 Corinthians 12:10, where he acclaimed “for when I am weak then I am strong.” He has been gradually morphing his boasting competition with the false apostles into a spiritual lesson for the Corinthians. And now he states this overtly, saying: All this time you have been thinking that we are defending ourselves to you. Actually, it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ; and all for your upbuilding, beloved (v. 19).

On one level Paul spoke to the Corinthians in a manner which he termed as “foolishness” and “boasting” in defending ourselves to you. But at a deeper level, Paul constructed his argument such that in the sight of God Paul has been speaking in Christ with the specific purpose of the upbuilding of the Corinthian believers. The Greek word translated upbuilding is often translated “building” as well as “edification.”

This continues a metaphor Paul used in his first letter. Paul likened himself to being a “wise master builder” who had laid the foundation for their spiritual growth (1 Corinthians 3:10). And that foundation was, and is, Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11). Paul is now writing this letter so he might build upon that foundation, in contravention to the false apostles who seek to tear down.

A key to his defense are the words speaking in Christ. Throughout the letter, Paul’s primary thought has been that all that he is, does, or says is in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Whatever defense Paul presents is actually a presentation to God, for it is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ. His defense is not centered in himself, his self-esteem, his knowledge, or anything other than in Christ. That is his motivation (2 Corinthians 5:14).

He told us earlier that a part of the reason for this is that he was not permitted to speak of the revelations he was given in order to build himself up. This compelled him to only speak in the sight of God for the upbuilding of these Corinthian saints. Since his defense is in Christ, he says to the Corinthians, then it is all for your upbuilding, beloved.

It is not about Paul, but it is about Christ. He does not consider the Corinthians as his judge, for his only judge is Christ. And Paul considers the Corinthians as his beloved. He is their spiritual father and is giving them the love of a caring parent, as he expressed in 2 Corinthians 12:14. He described one of the difficulties he endured as a true apostle of Christ as the “daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches” he had planted (2 Corinthians 11:28).

Now he expresses such a concern for his upcoming, third visit to Corinth: For I am afraid that perhaps when I come I may find you to be not what I wish and may be found by you to be not what you wish (v. 20a).

The phrase I am afraid translates a single Greek word with the root “phobeo.” This word, usually translated “fear” or “afraid,” refers to a state of concern over a consequence that is sufficient to cause a change in behavior. We see this in numerous occasions where people are told not to fear something, meaning “do not reorient your behavior because of this thing that frightens you.”

An example of the use of “phobeo” in scripture is the parable Jesus told in Luke 18:1-5 of the unrighteous judge. This man “did not fear God and did not respect man” meaning that he did whatever he wanted to do without regard to what God or any person thought or might do about it. But this judge altered his behavior because a persistent woman wore him down (Luke 18:5).

Paul says he is afraid, meaning he has trepidation about coming and finding them in a state of disobedience. But he will say in the next chapter that in spite of this concern, he is determined “that if I come again I will not spare anyone” (2 Corinthians 13:2). He is determined that he will do this “since you are seeking for proof of the Christ who speaks in me” (2 Corinthians 13:3). He is fearful but has pre-decided that he will overcome this fear and deal with any disobedience he finds.

He pleaded with the Corinthians at the beginning of the defense of his apostleship to deal with the problems he addresses in this letter, so that he “need not be bold” or “courageous against some” that need correction (2 Corinthians 10:2). He dearly wanted the Corinthians to deal with the problems themselves so that he did not have to do it. It seems clear that Paul preferred to avoid in-person conflict but was determined to face it anyway because that is what was called for to serve his children in the faith.

His fear has nothing to do with their view or possible rejection of him. It has to do with concerns that he may find deficiencies in their ethical behavior. His fear, as we learn in his following statements, is that he will have to bring some kind of discipline to those in rebellion against the truth (2 Corinthians 13:2-3).

He now enumerates some of his specific fears: that perhaps there will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances (v. 20b).

Paul lists four pairs of ethically deficient behaviors that he fears he might find in some of the members of the church at Corinth.

• Strife and jealousy would indicate that he would encounter the opposite of peace. These words describe a culture of “me versus you,” where one person or group seeks advantage over the other. This is exploitation rather than love of others, and the opposite of what Jesus commanded (John 13:34). Part of the reason Paul deemed the “boasting” contest with the false apostles as “foolishness” was because it was a “me versus you” argument.

• Angry tempers and disputes would indicate Paul is fearful he might find explosive tempers with disputes dividing people into different factions opposed to being in unity with one another. He addressed this in his first letter as well, chiding the Corinthians for dividing into camps of “Paul” or “Apollos” (1 Corinthians 3:4).

• Slanders and gossip are sins of speech that would indicate negative, perhaps even false, information being told about others, even within the church. This again would suggest that people are seeking advantage over others by tearing them down. Paul has ample reason to suspect this might be happening because he has been defending against such false accusations since the beginning of Chapter 10.

• Arrogance and disturbances refer to pride or conceit and disorder and disruption, perhaps even public disorder when the church gathers. Certainly, Paul does not want to encounter these kinds of behaviors when he comes, but he puts the Corinthians on notice that he will not tolerate such attitudes or sins in the church.

We can observe that this list overlaps with Paul’s listing of the deeds of the flesh in Galatians 5:19-21. Paul set forth that the end of these behaviors is to “bite and devour one another” and to end up being “consumed by one another” (Galatians 1:15). The opposite and superior way to live is to walk in the Spirit and exhibit the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). The result of walking in the Spirit is “through love” to “serve one another” (Galatians 5:13). In doing this, God’s law is fulfilled in that we are loving our neighbors (Galatians 5:14).

Paul ends this chapter by stating another fear. Not only is he concerned he will find the Corinthian believers walking in the flesh and biting and devouring one another, he also says: I am afraid that when I come again my God may humiliate me before you, and I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced (v. 21).

Paul’s fear was in what he perceived might be the condition of some of the believers in the church in Corinth. His expression that God may humiliate me might surprise us. We would be naturally inclined to worry about being humiliated before other people. But Paul is not speaking of that. He is still speaking spiritually, in Christ (2 Corinthians 12:19). His concern is that God may humiliate him.

The root of the Greek word translated may humiliate appears in a number of places where it speaks of humility before God:

• Philippians 2:8 says Jesus humbled Himself by following His Father’s will by becoming a human and dying on the cross.
• James 4:10 says, “Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord and He will exalt you.”
• 1 Peter 5:6 says, “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time.”

It seems from these verses that being humbled before God is a good thing. But Paul’s next statement lets us know that he is not trying to avoid his own humility before God. He already told us that although he is an eminent apostle, he is a “nobody” (2 Corinthians 12:11). He also told us that his strength is found in Christ alone, through his weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). His primary concern seems to be having to see his children in sin and spend time disciplining rather than fellowshipping with them:

And I may mourn over many of those who have sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they have practiced (v. 21b).

Notice that Paul says I may mourn. He was afraid that he might find these sins in some members in the church, but he did not know for certain if that would be the case. Paul had confronted the practice of impurity, immorality, and sensuality in his first letter (Chapters 5 and 6) and he was aware, since he had been in Corinth for a length of time, of the immorality that was common to the culture there (1 Corinthians 5:1).

His call for repentance and discipline had previously taken place through him and the congregation. But Paul’s fear was that new problems had arisen that had not been properly dealt with through repentance. So, he is putting the Corinthians on notice that when he comes, he will confront these sexual sins (impurity, immorality, and sensuality) as well as relational sins (strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances) should he find them in the church.

The Greek word translated they have practiced simply carries with it the idea of performing or accomplishing something. This is a simple statement of fact; if Paul finds that the Corinthians are in sin, again, he has resolved to deal with it, again. In doing this he knows he will create more sorrow, which he would dearly prefer to avoid.

We can infer from this addition of concerns about immorality that the false apostles and workers of deceit (as Paul described them in 2 Corinthians 11:13) were either incorporating or at least accommodating immoral practices as a part of their work on behalf of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:14). In the next chapter, he will again implore the believers in Corinth to deal with their own sin before his arrival.