10:10 Paul’s letters are sometimes difficult and demanding, as other Christians also found (cp. 2 Pet 3:16). • in person he is weak: Paul had no domineering presence, bulldozing people into submission (cp. 2 Cor 1:24; 1 Cor 2:1-5). The earliest descriptions of Paul’s personal appearance (Acts of Paul and Thecla, around AD 200) depict him as “a man of small height, almost bald, with crooked legs, but with a good body and eyebrows meeting. His nose was hooked, full of grace, for sometimes he appeared like a man and sometimes had the face of an angel.” • his speeches are worthless: Unlike Apollos (Acts 18:24), Paul was not an eloquent preacher or captivating orator when he came to Corinth (2 Cor 11:6; 1 Cor 2:3-4). His message, however, was charged with a power no human rhetoric could command, as it was given in the Holy Spirit.

10:1–13:13 In this section, Paul defends his ministry as an apostle. • These chapters pose several problems arising from a distinct change of tone and style. Chapters 1–9 are full of joy stemming from the reconciliation of sinners with God and of the Corinthians with Paul. Yet from this point on, Paul is on the defensive. These chapters are full of harsh words, bitter recriminations, passionate irony, and rebuke. The remarkable break at 10:1 has inspired a number of explanations: (1) These chapters might be a separate letter, perhaps the “severe letter” sent earlier to Corinth (2:3-4; 7:8-9). (2) It might be that, while the majority of the church members were obedient to the appeal for reconciliation, there was still a rebellious minority to whom Paul addressed these four chapters. (3) More likely, a new situation had arisen since Titus first brought back his glowing report of restored harmony (7:5-16). In this scenario, some anti-Paul missionaries had arrived in Corinth and launched a virulent campaign against the apostolic message of good news (see 11:4, 13-15). They claimed that Paul was no real apostle or even a true Christian (10:7) and that he had no right to come to Corinth...