Excusing Themselves before the Church? 2 Corinthians 12:19

Paul the apostle told the church members in Corinth, “I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother. Did Titus make a gain of you?, and he added, “walked we not in the same spirit? walked we not in the same steps?” In chapter twelve and verse nineteen of Second Corinthians, Paul asked the church members, “do you think that we excuse ourselves unto you?” where we read:

Again, do you think that we excuse ourselves unto you? we speak before God in Christ:

but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.

The verse begins, “Again, do you think that we excuse ourselves unto you?” Paul began with the word, “again” or “further and moreover”, “do you think” which means “did the church members judge, seem, account or repute” “that we excuse” or “that Paul and his companions defend, give a full account or make a defense of” “ourselves” which refers to Paul and his companions “unto you” or “toward the church members”?. Paul desired to know if the church members thought he and his companions needed to defend themselves.

The verse goes on to say, “we speak before God in Christ: but we do all things, dearly beloved, for your edifying.” Paul added the words, “we speak” which means “Paul and his companions uttered, declared and proclaimed” “before God” or “in front of and in the face of the Godhead bodily and trinity which is comprised of God the Father, Christ the Son and the Holy Spirit” “in Christ” which means “in the anointed One, the Messiah and the Son of God”: “but” which is a disassociation conjunction that means what is about to be stated takes precedence over what was just stated “” “we do all things” which means “Paul and his companions in each, every, the whole and everything done by them”, “dearly beloved” which means “beloved, esteemed, favorite and worthy of love”, “for your edifying” or “toward the church members' building up”. Everything Paul and his companions did fore the church in Corinth was for their benefit and “building up” in relationship with God.

When we consider these words of Paul, we see how important it was for the church members to know the motive of he and his companions. They intended to “build up” the church, and they needed no defense for doing so. Jesus Christ sent Paul through the Holy Spirit to the church in Corinth, and it was for their benefit, and not he and his companions. Let all who read these words be inspired by the motivation of Paul and his men, and may we too do everything to the “edification” of others.

Next time Paul tells the church members, “for I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I would”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then,

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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