Now this is our boast: our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. 

‘In popular novels nothing ever goes wrong for the hero. He strides through each episode of the story with success after success. It is not like that for ordinary people in real life; it was not like that for Paul. Because he did not return immediately to Corinth, as he had indicated he would, the Corinthians now regard Paul as a double-minded man, unable to stick to his plans. One senses in these words of Paul that nothing he can say will be able to change the Corinthians’ opinion about him. And yet from his viewpoint he had the best of reasons for changing his plans and honourable motives for doing so.’ (‘The message of 2 Corinthians’: Paul Barnett, p.36). N.B. He is referring to the whole of verses 12-22.

For sure, every Christian leader needs to be able to say what Paul does in verse 12. It’s a precious thing to have a clear conscience regarding your ”integrity” (or ‘holiness’, as it can be translated) and ”godly sincerity”. But Paul was clear that such a life is only possible by the grace of God.

I also think about his words in 1 Cor.15:10:

 ”But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.”

Paul was powerfully aware of the all-pervasive grace of God in saving and sanctifying him. It was that grace which kept him on track: still pursuing holiness in the face of great trials, including unjust criticism. He knew that if believers will have anything to ‘boast’ about regarding each other ”in the day of the Lord Jesus”, it will be entirely due to grace.

We too can move in the flow of this ‘amazing grace’ today. We don’t have to ‘go it alone.’ We shouldn’t try.