2 Corinthians 10:17

CONTEXT- Titus came and we are able ministers 

2 Corinthians 7:1-10:18

1 Therefore, beloved, because we have these promises, let us purify ourselves from every unclean association with flesh and spirit, and let us work to be set apart in holiness with reverence to God. 2 Open your hearts to us. We have done injustice to no one. We have corrupted no one through erroneous teaching; we have greedily taken advantage of no one. 3 I am not speaking to condemn you, for I have told you already that you are in our hearts. Whatever we do we are together with you. 4 Great is my boldness of speech with respect to you; great is my boasting of you. I am totally filled with encouragement. I superabound with joy in spite of our pressures of life. 5 For when we were come into Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we had pressures from all sides: conflicts from the outside and anxiety from within. 6 But God Who encourages the downhearted who are humble, encouraged us by the return of Titus. 7 Now it was not just by his physical return, but by his encouragement, whereby he was encouraged by you, which he relayed to us when he reported how you love me, how sorry you are, and how eager you are to stand with me. So I rejoiced even more. 8 If I made you feel grieved by my letter, I do not regret writing it, even if I did regret it. For now I see that the letter only grieved you for a short time. 9 So now I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because the grief led you to a change in heart. It was a grief leading back to alignment and harmony with God. Thus, you were not injured by us. 10 (For grief leading to God energizes repentance to salvation which is irrevocable, but worldly grief produces death.) 11 So look at what this grief leading back to alignment and harmony with God has produced in you: diligence [to correct your error], an answer [of truth in the face of accusation], annoyance [with Satan’s devices], reverence [for God], a longing [for fellowship with God], earnest desire [for spiritual matters], vengeance [against the Devil]. In every way you have established and commended yourselves to be pure in this affair. 12 Now the reason I wrote to you was neither for the sake of him who did injustice nor for the sake of him who suffered injustice, but that our diligent care for you before God might become evident to you. 13 On account of this [telling all that is necessary], we have been encouraged. But we rejoiced even more abundantly by your encouragement which was relayed to us through the joy of Titus, whose life was refreshed by you. 14 I am not ashamed of anything which I have boasted about you to him [Titus]. As everything we told you was true, so our boasting of you to Titus was found to be true. 15 And so his feelings for you superabound as he recalls how all of you were obedient and how you welcomed him with deepest respect and obedience. 16 I rejoice that I have good courage with complete confidence in you in everything. Ch 8  1 Brothers, we want you to know about the grace of God [abundant sharing] given by the churches of Macedonia. 2 Through much endurance of pressures, their constant joy and willingness to live according to need have caused them to abound with the riches of simple living [liberality]. 3 I am a witness that they [the Macedonians] were willing [to give] of their own ability and even beyond their ability. 4 They insistently urged us that they would be allowed to share in the grace [participate in giving] of ministering to the saints [at Jerusalem], 5 And not only as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us in the will of God. 6 So we encouraged Titus, who already began to work with you, to bring this work of grace [abundant sharing] also to the point of success among you. 7 Therefore, as you abound in every work, namely believing, the Word, knowledge, diligence, and in your love to us, so you should abound in this grace [abundant sharing] also. 8 I am not giving you a commandment, but I am proving through the diligence of other believers the genuineness of your love also. 9 You know the grace [generous giving] of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich [the Son of God], yet for you he became poor [servant]. So from his being poor [servant], you were made rich [sons of God], 10 In this matter I give judgment, for this is for your profit. You were not only willing, but started to do it last year. 11 So now finish doing it. As there was an eager desire [to abundantly share], so finish doing it out of what you have. 12 If a man is eager to do it [abundantly share], that is well pleasing [to God], as long as it is in proportion to his ability, not his inability [to give]; 13 [abundant sharing] is not so others have relief and you have pressure, but so there is a balance. 14 At the present your abundance supplies their deficiency, so at other times their abundance supplies your deficiency [to Jerusalem]. So there is a balance. 15 As it is written, “He that gathered much had no excess, and he that gathered a little did not lack.” 16 Thanks be to God Who put the same diligence in the heart of Titus for you. 17 For he accepted our encouragement, and, being very diligent, he willingly is returning to you. 18 And we are sending with him the brother who has been praised in [the ministry of] the good news by all the churches. 19 In addition, he has been chosen by the churches to travel with us as we carry this grace [abundant sharing] to minister to the saints [at Jerusalem] for the glory of the same God and our own eagerness [to give], 20 in order to avoid anyone criticizing us regarding [the administration of] this extremely generous giving ministered by us. 21 We take good care of these valuables, not only before God, but before men also. 22 With them [Titus and the brother] we have sent our brother whom we often have proved diligent in many matters and now who is even more diligent because of his confident trust in you. 23 Regarding Titus, he is my partner and your fellow worker, and our brothers are the delegates
[apostles] sent by the churches [to Jerusalem]. They are the glory of Christ. 24 Therefore, show them openly, before all the churches, the proof of your love and of our boasting on your behalf. Ch 9  1 Now concerning the ministering [abundant sharing] to the saints, it is superfluous for me to write to you. 2 For I know your eagerness, and so I boasted about you to the Macedonians, that Achaia made preparations last year; and your zeal has stirred many to action. 3 But I am still sending the brother, so that our boasting about you will not be void in this matter, that you will have made the preparations even as I said. 4 If the Macedonians should come with me and find that you have not made preparations, we (not to mention you) will be embarrassed in this great boasting. 5 Therefore I carefully considered it necessary to encourage the brothers to go to you before I do and to make sure that your promised collection is done
before our arrival, that it is collected and ready as a blessing and not out of compulsion. 6 And so, he who sows sparingly, sparingly will he reap; and he who sows with blessing, with blessing will he reap. 7 Let each individual give as he decides in his own heart, not from grief [condemnation] or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 God is able to make the greatest of all grace [spiritual and material] abound to you, so that you who have the greatest of all sufficiency in all things at all times may abound in all good works. 9 It is written, “He [who shares] has distributed and given to the poor; his righteousness remains forever.” 10 Now “He [God] Who abundantly supplies seed to the sower and food for eating,” will supply and multiply back your seed and will cause growth in the vintage of your righteousness. 11 In everything you are enriched with all generosity and simplicity of life so that by us thanksgiving to God is perfected. 12 For the work of this service not only completely supplies the need of the saints, but it also causes many to abound in thanksgivings to God. 13 By the proof [of your love]— this service [your abundant sharing]—others glorify God for your demonstrated subjection to the gospel of Christ and for the generosity and simplicity of your sharing fully with them and hence to all. 14 And with prayers of supplication on your behalf, they long to be with you because of the superabundant grace of God which is upon you. 15 Thanks to God for His indescribable gift! Ch 10  1 Now I, Paul, myself encourage you by the meekness and moderation [charitable on insignificant points] which Christ demonstrated. Although I am humble in appearance to you, yet being absent I am courageous in dealing with you. 2 And I pray that, when I am present, I will not have to be courageous with the confidence with which I am determined to daringly confront those who have determined that we walk according to the flesh. 3 Although we live in the flesh, we do not work according to the standard of the flesh. 4 The implements of our labor are not of the flesh, but they are powerful through God to the demolishing of rebellious fortresses. 5 Demolish your human logic from the high position to which you have lifted it vertically against the knowledge of God [which you have known by experience]. Be wise, lead captive every thought to Christ, which you have attentively listened to and heard. 6 And when you are fully obedient, having attentively listened and heard, then you are prepared to maintain justice among those who refuse to listen and hear. 7 Do you simply observe the superficial appearance of things? If anyone has fully persuaded himself that he is of Christ, let him reason again with himself. As he is of Christ, so we also are of Christ. 8 For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority which the Lord gave me, I shall not be ashamed because He gave us this authority for your edification and not your destruction. 9 Yet I am hesitant, because I do not want to appear to terrify you by epistles. 10 For some say the epistles are heavy and strong, but his bodily presence is weak and unforceful, and his public speaking is crude, illiterate, and worthless. 11 Let those people consider this: Whatever we are in our word by epistles while we are absent, so shall we be in our work when we are present. 12 We do not dare to classify ourselves competitively or compare ourselves in any way with those who commend themselves. However, by measuring [as the length of the race] and comparing themselves with each other, they lack understanding [their knowledge does not flow together]. 13 We will not boast outside of our measure, but according to the measure of the boundary of our lane which God apportioned to us, a measure in which we were able to run and reach you. 14 For we did not overstretch the boundary of our lane so that we could not reach you, but we arrived first at the Corinthian finish line with the good news of Christ. 15 We did not boast of other men’s labors, which would be beyond the measure of our lane; but we expected after your believing had grown that, by your believing, the boundary of our lane would be greatly extended. 16 Then we would be able to
preach the good news in places far beyond you, yet not within the boundary of a lane where others have preached so as to boast of work already done. 17 "Let him who boasts, boast in the Lord” [Jeremiah 9:24]. 18 It is not the one who commends himself who stands approved before God, but the one whom the Lord commends.

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The Structure of 2 Corinthians 

A. 1:1-2 salutation
   B. 1:3-14 deliverance in time of trouble
     C. 1:15-2:2 second intended visit
       D. 2:3-11 satan's devices
          E. 2:12-4:18 Titus did not come but we are able ministers
             F. 5:1-11 the tabernacle
                G. 5:12-21 the ministry of reconciliation
                G. 6:1-10 workers together
             F. 6:11-18 the temple
          E. 7:1-10:18 Titus came and we are able ministers
       D. 11:1-12:13 satan's messengers
     C. 12:14-13:4 third intended visit
   B. 13:5-11 prove yourself in time of trouble
A. 13:12-14 salutation

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