For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as if we reached not unto you. For we are come as far as to you in the Gospel of Christ.
ου γαρ ως μη εφικνουμενοι εις υμας υπερεκτεινομεν εαυτους αχρι γαρ και υμων εφθασαμεν εν τω ευαγγελιω του χριστου
8 Church Fathers comment on this verse
“We not only were among you, but also preached the Gospel, proclaimed, persuaded, and corrected.” Probably those who reproached Paul merely came to the apostolic disciples, and because of this one arrival attributed the whole success of the work to themselves. “But we,” the Apostle says, “did not act so. No one can say that we were unable to come to you, and that only in words we extend our boasting even as far as you. For we also preached the word of faith to you.”
Probably the false apostles, and those who went somewhere without any preaching, boast merely of their arrival and attribute everything to themselves. Therefore the Apostle says: we do not stretch ourselves as though we had not reached you. For we reached you not simply, but with the Gospel of Christ. That is, we not only came, as they did, but also came with the preaching of the Gospel.
For it is not as though, as the Syriac and others read, that is, “not as those who have not yet reached you with their preaching,” we preached to you. We stretch ourselves toward being glorified among you, for we reached even you with the Gospel of Christ.
That is, it is not as though we had not come to you. We do not strain ourselves by preaching, but firmly come to you by God’s direction. To strain oneself also means to stretch farther than usual, but not beyond the limits. For God gave a measure, which His evangelists kept and which the Apostle Paul himself also keeps. Paul shows them this so that they may know he was sent to the Corinthians by God. Therefore they must obey his exhortations, lest those who despise him enter into opposition against God Himself, who sent the Apostle to them.
We used the measure given to us, and by it we measure our works. We know that we reached even you and brought you the divine Gospel. Yet we hope to go farther, certainly when you are confirmed in the faith and bear witness to our labors.
Far be it from us to exalt ourselves over another's labors. He expressed this in the words, "not to boast in another man's rule over things already prepared."
He gives his opponents to understand that they do not undertake the labor of preaching to those who do not yet believe. They only try to corrupt those who have accepted the preaching.
Since he had repeatedly used the word "we boast," he added this of necessity, lest they think that he truly thought highly of himself:
Saint Paul is authorized to severity by his apostolic calling (2 Cor 10:12-12:18). The Apostle defends and proves the certainty of this high calling by pointing to the preaching portion appointed to him by God Himself (2 Cor 10:12-18). “We are not like those who put themselves forward, boastfully and self-appointed. We do not stretch ourselves as though we had not reached you, for we reached even you with the Gospel of Christ, so as to preach the Gospel beyond you, and not to boast in what is ready in another’s portion.”
Entering into a further comparison of himself with others, the Apostle shows his apostolic dignity in his labors. This dignity authorizes him for severity. First of all, the Corinthians themselves are the portion of his great labors, which he hopes to increase still more as the fruits of Christian preaching increase among them.
Meanwhile his opponents have no labors, but only self-praise without any higher foundation. Therefore they are content with comparing themselves with one another. The pagan philosophers of Greece acted so, and so did certain false apostles.
True preachers have the basis for praise not in themselves, but in God, and in the measure to which they fulfill His appointment.
St. John Chrysostom says: "It is likely that they said in praise of themselves, 'We shall convert the whole world; we shall reach the ends of the earth.' But we, the Apostle says, are not so. We act according to the measure of the rule which God has apportioned to us, a measure reaching even to you.
"Thus he does not say more of himself than he has done. What he has done, he ascribes to God. God apportioned the measure. As a householder divides vineyards among farmers, so God appointed to each of us his own portion.
"Therefore we do not boast of anything greater, but of what has been given us to reach. And why do I say, 'We reached even to you with the Gospel'? I hope that, as your faith grows, when you increase in faith, our portion will be extended still farther.
"For we shall go farther to preach and labor, and not boast in what others labored over. Fittingly he called his labor a rule, a portion, and a measure. He speaks as one who has entered into possession of the world and received a beautiful inheritance.
"By this he shows that all this is God's work. Even the power to boast, he says, is given to us by God."
"We stretch ourselves," that is, we enlarge ourselves within ourselves in imaginary self-praise and expand in praises of ourselves.
Judging from this, the thought of the text will be as follows. "No one can say that, without having reached you, we expand ourselves by saying that we have reached you, trumpeting about ourselves in empty boasting. For we have in fact reached you, and we reached you with the Gospel of Christ. That is, we did not merely come to you, but also proclaimed the Gospel to you" (Oecumenius).
"We were not only among you, but evangelized, preached, persuaded, and corrected. For it is likely that those who criticized Paul came only to the Apostle's disciples, and because of their coming attributed the whole success of the work to themselves.
"But we, the Apostle says, did not act so. No one can say to us that we could not come to you, and that only in words we extend our praise as far as you. For we also preached the word of faith to you" (St. Chrysostom).
Yet the words "we stretch ourselves beyond measure," hyperekteinomen heautous, may perhaps be better translated, "we stretch ourselves farther and farther, more and more," meaning the widening of the circle of apostolic activity.
The Apostle wants to say: we proceed gradually, stretching from place to place. For now we have only reached you, and do not stretch farther. First you must be properly confirmed in the faith. When you are confirmed, we shall go farther, as the next verse says.
To stretch farther without having reached you would be unworthy of praise. Who will praise a farmer who leaves uncultivated strips behind him? We do not act so. We go step by step. We reached you with the Gospel, and glory to God. This has been done by us, and for now this is what we say.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 19 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS