How would you respond if someone accused you of being a coward? How would you feel if others mocked your appearance? What if a group of individuals criticized you for being “all talk and no action” when you were not present to defend yourself? What if you worked to build a ministry where none had existed only to have an array of critics with a “higher level of authority” follow in your absence with an attempt to discredit you and lead others into error?
These examples are not unlike the issues that Paul the Apostle faced in writing to the church at Corinth- and these unfortunate realities will help to account for the aggressive change in tone we will encounter as we enter 2 Corinthians 10. Beginning in chapter ten and continuing through the rest of this letter, Paul will turn to address a group of false teachers and others who had infiltrated the Corinthian fellowship. This context will become important as Paul goes on to deal with a contingent within the church who sought to invalidate his God-ordained leadership.
In reading through the final four chapters of 2 Corinthians, it may help to remember that the ability to effectively communicate with others sometimes comes down to finding a way to interact with them in a way they respect and understand. While the first nine chapters of 2 Corinthians were generally positive and supportive, it appears there was a minority within the church who simply refused to listen to Paul and continued to pursue a decidedly un-Christ-like agenda.
This may explain what we find beginning here in 2 Corinthians chapter ten: a final attempt by Paul to speak a “language” that his critics could understand and get the attention of those who apparently refused to respond to anything else. This confrontational approach was clearly not Paul’s preferred means of communication and his reluctance to engage in that kind of conversation is evident in this quote from 2 Corinthians 12:11-12…
“I have been talking like a fool, but you made me do it. You are the ones who should say good things about me. I am worth nothing, but those ‘great apostles’ are not worth any more than I am! When I was with you, I patiently did the things that prove I am an apostle—signs, wonders, and miracles” (NCV).
So just as we might delay some unwelcome news as long as possible, it appears that Paul waited until the end of this letter to communicate a strongly-worded message he surely wished he did not have to deliver.