We are not overstepping our bounds, as if we had not come to you. Indeed, we were the first to reach you with the gospel of Christ.
Parallel translations
- WEB For we don’t stretch ourselves too much, as though we didn’t reach to you. For we came even as far as to you with the Good News of Christ,
- 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:
- 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;
- NASB For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we did not reach to you, for we were the first to come even as far as you in the gospel of Christ;
- 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Paul is not overreaching in claiming the Corinthians, for he was the first to bring them the gospel of Christ. His authority over them is well-founded.
Overview
Paul stresses that he is not stretching beyond his bounds, because he himself carried the good news of Christ to Corinth. His apostolic relationship to them rests on having planted the church. This historical fact silences rivals who would claim the Corinthians as their own.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Rom 1:16I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, first to the Jew, then to the Greek.
- 1 Cor 4:15Even if you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers; for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel.
- 1 Tim 1:11that agrees with the glorious gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted.
- 1 Cor 9:1–2Am I not free? Am I not an apostle? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord? Are you yourselves not my workmanship in the Lord?
- 1 Cor 3:5–6What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? They are servants through whom you believed, as the Lord has assigned to each his role.
- Mark 1:1This is the beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
- 2 Cor 3:1–3Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
- Col 1:5the faith and love proceeding from the hope stored up for you in heaven, of which you have already heard in the word of truth, the gospel
- 2 Cor 2:12Now when I went to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ and a door stood open for me in the Lord,
- Rom 2:16on the day when God will judge men’s secrets through Christ Jesus, as proclaimed by my gospel.
- Gal 1:6–8I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
- 1 Cor 2:10But God has revealed it to us by the Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
- Acts 20:24But I consider my life of no value to me, if only I may finish my course and complete the ministry I have received from the Lord Jesus—the ministry of testifying to the good news of God’s grace.
- Rom 15:18–19I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed,
- 2 Cor 4:4The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
- Rom 16:25Now to Him who is able to strengthen you by my gospel and by the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery concealed for ages past
- 1 Cor 3:10By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.
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Christ at the center
In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.
How 2 Corinthians 10:14 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.