2 Corinthians 10:14 kjv
For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:
2 Corinthians 10:14 nkjv
For we are not overextending ourselves (as though our authority did not extend to you), for it was to you that we came with the gospel of Christ;
2 Corinthians 10:14 niv
We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:14 esv
For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10:14 nlt
We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ.
2 Corinthians 10 14 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| 2 Cor 10:13 | But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, which includes even you. | Defines assigned sphere of ministry. |
| Rom 15:20 | and thus I make it my ambition to preach the gospel, not where Christ has already been named, lest I build on someone else's foundation. | Paul's missionary principle of new ground. |
| 1 Cor 3:10 | According to the grace of God given to me, like a skillful master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. | Paul as Corinth's spiritual founder. |
| Gal 2:7-8 | But on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles). | Division of apostolic labor/target audience. |
| Acts 18:1-11 | After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth... and he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. | Historical account of Paul in Corinth. |
| Rom 1:5 | through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, including you Gentiles. | Paul's divinely appointed apostleship. |
| 2 Cor 10:17 | "Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord." | Proper object of boasting. |
| 2 Cor 10:18 | For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. | Divine approval is paramount. |
| Jer 9:23-24 | Thus says the Lord: "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom... but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me..." | Old Testament principle of true boasting. |
| 1 Cor 4:6 | "...that you may learn by us not to go beyond what is written..." | Avoiding exceeding biblical boundaries. |
| 2 Cor 3:1-3 | Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? You yourselves are our letter of recommendation... | Corinthians as living proof of Paul's ministry. |
| Rom 1:16 | For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes... | Power of the Gospel. |
| 1 Cor 1:17-18 | For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel... For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. | Focus on Gospel content, not human rhetoric. |
| Gal 1:6-9 | I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. | Singularity and integrity of the Gospel. |
| Eph 1:13 | In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit... | The Gospel's role in salvation. |
| Acts 1:8 | But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. | Commission to spread the Gospel globally. |
| Mk 16:15 | Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. | The Great Commission. |
| 2 Cor 11:23 | Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—with far greater labors... | Paul's authentic labors for Christ. |
| Php 3:8-9 | Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. | Paul's supreme priority: Christ and His Gospel. |
| 1 Pet 4:15 | But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler (ἀλλοτριοεπίσκοπος). | Avoiding unjustified intrusion (meddling). |
| Jude 1:3 | Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. | Contending for true gospel doctrine. |
| 2 Tim 4:2-5 | preach the word... fulfill your ministry. | Faithful execution of God-given ministry. |
2 Corinthians 10 verses
2 Corinthians 10 14 Meaning
In 2 Corinthians 10:14, the Apostle Paul defends his legitimate apostolic ministry in Corinth. He asserts that he is not overstepping his divinely assigned boundaries, nor is he boasting in another's sphere of labor. Paul emphasizes that his presence and work in Corinth were the foundational establishment of the gospel of Christ there, meaning he was the first to preach the Good News to them, thereby confirming his God-given authority and right to minister among them, contrary to the claims of the false teachers.
2 Corinthians 10 14 Context
Chapter 10 of 2 Corinthians finds Paul vigorously defending his apostolic authority and the legitimacy of his ministry against "false apostles" or "super-apostles" who had infiltrated the Corinthian church. These opponents boasted in their own perceived strengths, oratorical skills, and external appearances, while disparaging Paul's seemingly weak bodily presence and unpolished speech (2 Cor 10:1, 10). They accused Paul of being bold when absent but timid when present. Paul's defense shifts the standard of boasting from human metrics to God's commendation and the sphere of ministry assigned by God.
Verse 14 is a crucial part of Paul's argument where he counters the accusation that he is encroaching upon another's territory or boasting without legitimate cause. The historical context confirms that Paul himself established the Corinthian church during his second missionary journey (Acts 18), making the Corinthians the fruit of his direct evangelism. Thus, he claims his right to address them not as an interloper but as their spiritual father and foundational apostle.
2 Corinthians 10 14 Word analysis
For (γὰρ, gar): A conjunction connecting this verse to the preceding thought. It provides an explanation or justification for why Paul is not boasting beyond measure (v. 13) or overreaching.
we are not overextending ourselves (οὐ γὰρ ὡς μὴ ἐφικνούμενοι, ou gar hōs mē ephiknoumenoi): The Greek phrase expresses negation of overreaching. The verb ἐφικνοῦμαι (ephiknoumai) means "to arrive at," "to reach." The negation implies "we are not acting as if we had not reached you," but are firmly within our bounds. This directly challenges the charge of trespassing.
as if we did not reach you (ὡς μὴ φθάσαντες, hōs mē phthasantes): The participle φθάσαντες (phthasantes) from φθάνω (phthanō) means "having come/arrived at," "reached." This phrase emphasizes the false premise the opponents assume—that Paul was not the original evangelist in Corinth.
for we did come even as far as to you (ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄχρι καὶ ὑμῶν ἐφθάσαμεν, alla kai achri kai hymōn ephthasamen): A strong affirmative counter-statement. Alla kai ("but even") adds emphasis. Achri kai hymōn ("even to you") highlights that Corinth was indeed within his divinely appointed field, confirming his initial arrival and the establishment of the gospel there. Ephthasamen is from φθάνω (phthanō), mirroring the previous word choice but in a positive assertion.
with the gospel of Christ (ἐν τῷ εὐαγγελίῳ τοῦ Χριστοῦ, en tō euangeliō tou Christou): This is key. It clarifies the nature and power of Paul's "reaching" them. His coming wasn't for personal gain or human wisdom, but with (or in) the good news of Jesus Christ. This defines the entire legitimate basis of his ministry and differentiates it from the human-centered approach of his detractors.
Words-group analysis:
- "we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach you": This phrase complex directly refutes the subtle (or overt) accusations made against Paul. The "overextending ourselves" or "going beyond our measure" refers to ministering in a field that God had not assigned or where someone else had already laid the foundation. By linking it to "as if we did not reach you," Paul identifies the core misrepresentation: his opponents falsely suggested his ministry in Corinth was illegitimate because he wasn't the first, or wasn't within his rightful "measure."
- "for we did come even as far as to you with the gospel of Christ": This serves as Paul's definitive rebuttal and a statement of historical and spiritual fact. He reasserts his original arrival and foundational work. The emphasis is on his prior evangelistic presence ("even as far as to you") and the specific, divinely ordained content and power of his ministry—"the gospel of Christ"—which distinguished his work from any humanly-derived boasts or interventions.
2 Corinthians 10 14 Bonus section
The "overextending ourselves" directly ties into the concept of a God-given "measure" (μέτρον, metron) or "sphere" (κάνων, kanōn) introduced in verses 13 and 15-16. Paul viewed ministry not as an unbounded enterprise, but as a task performed within God's specific allocation. For Paul, the proof of his legitimate sphere was the demonstrable spiritual fruit—the Corinthian believers themselves—produced through his initial proclamation of the gospel. This implicitly challenges the "false apostles" who perhaps sought to claim credit for work they did not initiate or ministered based on human-defined achievements rather than divine commission and evidence. The integrity of the "gospel of Christ" also subtly counters any alternative "gospel" or method of persuasion the opponents might have been employing, affirming Paul's allegiance solely to the divine message.
2 Corinthians 10 14 Commentary
2 Corinthians 10:14 serves as a pivotal point in Paul's defense of his apostolic authority in Corinth. Paul unequivocally states that his ministry in their city is not an illegitimate overextension or a boast without proper foundation. His claim rests on the undeniable historical fact that he was the original planter of the church there. He didn't come in "as if" he had never reached them before; he did reach them first. The basis of his legitimate claim is further solidified by the nature of his arrival: it was "with the gospel of Christ." This was not about personal charisma or worldly wisdom, but the authoritative, life-transforming message of Jesus Christ. Therefore, Paul's right to speak to the Corinthians, admonish them, and wield his apostolic authority amongst them was undeniable because they were the spiritual fruit of his divinely commissioned, foundational ministry. His legitimate boast was not in human accomplishment but in the sphere God had opened and the work God had enabled through the power of the gospel.