2 Corinthians 3:1

2 Corinthians 3:1 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
• New International Version (NIV)Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
• English Standard Version (ESV)Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, epistles of commendation to you or letters of commendation from you?

Context of 2 Corinthians 3:1

Are we beginning to praise ourselves again? Are we like others, who need to bring you letters of recommendation, or who ask you to write such letters on their behalf? Surely not! 2The only letter of recommendation we need is you yourselves. Your lives are a letter written in our hearts; everyone can read it and recognize our good work among you. 3Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.

2 Corinthians 3:1 word by word

Ἀρχόμεθα πάλιν ἑαυτοὺς συνιστάνειν; ἢ μὴ χρῄζομεν ὥς τινες συστατικῶν ἐπιστολῶν πρὸς ὑμᾶς ἢ ἐξ ὑμῶνRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Do we beginἄρχομαιarchomai · to rule/beginG756
• againπάλινpalin · againG3825
• to commendσυνίστημι, συνιστάωsunistaō sunistanō sunistēmi · to commendG4921
• ourselvesἑαυτοῦheautou · themselfG1438
• orεἰei · ifG1487
• ·μήmē · notG3361
• need weχρῄζωchrēzō · to needG5535
• asὡςhōs · as/whenG5613
• someτιςtis · oneG5100
• epistlesἐπιστολήepistolē · epistleG1992
• of commendationσυστατικόςsustatikos · recommendedG4956
• toπρόςpros · to/withG4314
• youσύsu · youG4771
• orἤē · orG2228
• ofἐκek ex · out fromG1537

Cross-references for 2 Corinthians 3:1

• 2 Corinthians 2:17You see, we are not like the many hucksters who preach for personal profit. We preach the word of God with sincerity and with Christ’s authority, knowing that God is watching us.
• 2 Corinthians 5:12Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart.
• 2 Corinthians 10:8I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority.
• 2 Corinthians 12:11You have made me act like a fool. You ought to be writing commendations for me, for I am not at all inferior to these “super apostles,” even though I am nothing at all.
• 1 Corinthians 3:10Because of God’s grace to me, I have laid the foundation like an expert builder. Now others are building on it. But whoever is building on this foundation must be very careful.
• 1 Corinthians 4:15For even if you had ten thousand others to teach you about Christ, you have only one spiritual father. For I became your father in Christ Jesus when I preached the Good News to you.
• 1 Corinthians 10:33I, too, try to please everyone in everything I do. I don’t just do what is best for me; I do what is best for others so that many may be saved.
• Acts 18:27Apollos had been thinking about going to Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him to go. They wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to welcome him. When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God’s grace, had believed.
• 1 Corinthians 16:3When I come, I will write letters of recommendation for the messengers you choose to deliver your gift to Jerusalem.

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 3:1

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Do we begin again to commend ourselves - By speaking thus of our sincerity, Divine mission, etc., is it with a design to conciliate your esteem, or ingratiate ourselves in your affections? By no means. Or need we - epistles of commendation - Are we so destitute of ministerial abilities and Divine influence that we need, in order to be received in different Churches, to have letters of recommendation? Certainly not. God causes us to triumph through Christ…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Do we begin again - This is designed evidently to meet an objection. He had been speaking of his triumph in the ministry 2 Corinthians 2:14, and of his sincerity and honesty, as contrasted with the conduct of many who corrupted the Word of God, 2 Corinthians 2:17. It might be objected that he was magnifying himself in these statements, and designed to commend himself in this manner to the Corinthians. To this he replies in the following verses. To commend…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The preference of the gospel to the law given by Moses. (1-11) The preaching of the apostle was suitable to the excellency and evidence of the gospel, through the power of the Holy Ghost. (12-18) Verses 1-11 Even the appearance of self-praise and courting human applause, is painful to the humble and spiritual mind. Nothing is more delightful to faithful ministers, or more to their praise, than the success of their ministry, as shown in the spirits and…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-3Paul’s ministry was proven by the lives changed by the good news about Jesus, not by a letter of recommendation (compare Acts 18:27). Christ, who caused this change, used Paul to guide believers to him. The true signs are not in letters written with pen and ink on parchment, but in the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23) in human lives and engraved on human hearts.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-182Co 3:1-18. The Sole Commendation He Needs to Prove God's Sanction of His Ministry He Has in His Corinthian Converts: His Ministry Excels the Mosaic, as the Gospel of Life and Liberty Excels the Law of Condemnation. 1. Are we beginning again to recommend ourselves (2Co 5:12) (as some of them might say he had done in his first Epistle; or, a reproof to "some" who had begun doing so)! commendation--recommendation. (Compare 2Co 10:18). The "some" refers to…Read the comment

Topics related to 2 Corinthians 3:1

• Letters

In the dictionaries

• Corinthians, Second Epistle to the
• Plainness
• Sufficiency
• Untaken
• Apollos
• Commend
• Corinth
• Corinthians, Second Epistle to the
• Covenant, the New
• Epistle

Commentaries on 2 Corinthians 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings