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A Model of Christian Maturity: An Exposition of 2 Corinthians 10-13
Bible scholar D. A. Carson unpacks 2 Corinthians 10-13, Paul's call for us to embrace discipline and obedience, as well as his thoughts on the nature of spiritual boasting and false leadership in the church. Through Paul we explore the struggles, opportunities, and intentions of a Christian under fire, journeying with him as he seeks to guide the Corinthian church and speak to us as well.
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1984
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294 people want to read
About the author
D.A. Carson
338 books734 followersDonald A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has been at Trinity since 1978. Carson came to Trinity from the faculty of Northwest Baptist Theological Seminary in Vancouver, British Columbia, where he also served for two years as academic dean. He has served as assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received the Bachelor of Science in chemistry from McGill University, the Master of Divinity from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and the Doctor of Philosophy in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. Carson is an active guest lecturer in academic and church settings around the world. He has written or edited about sixty books. He is a founding member and currently president of The Gospel Coalition. Carson and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois. They have two adult children.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 10, 2023
So very good. Pastors would be helped by meditating more on 2 Corinthians as a whole and this unit in particular. Carson is a sure guide.
January 8, 2021
Certainly one of the most important and powerful books I have ever read.
March 6, 2025
Extremely helpful for understanding a somewhat difficult section of scripture. Highly recommended. Involved, but with devotional value. Good brief background on the letter to start the book!
December 12, 2024
Great insight. Really helped me to understand the text and appreciate the extent of Paul's ministry.
December 27, 2013
This is the second Carson book we've used for a weekly Bible study. It has been excellent. The book reveals Paul's heart, his thorn in the flesh, chronicles his specific sufferings, models his style of spiritual leadership, and warns of false leadership in the church.
I understood the directive and process of church discipline, but this book stated the key: "Only if the body as a whole makes the offenders feel the sting of reproach and the shame of loving but firm ostracism will the step prove effective."
"Christians are especially open to the kind of cunning deceit that combines the language of faith and religion with the content of self-interest and flattery."
"The Christian church needs a little more both of Paul's discernment and intollerance."
"Paul's apostolic ministry is not discharged with aloof detachment but with flaming zeal, profound compassion, evangelistic fervor, and a father's heart."
I understood the directive and process of church discipline, but this book stated the key: "Only if the body as a whole makes the offenders feel the sting of reproach and the shame of loving but firm ostracism will the step prove effective."
"Christians are especially open to the kind of cunning deceit that combines the language of faith and religion with the content of self-interest and flattery."
"The Christian church needs a little more both of Paul's discernment and intollerance."
"Paul's apostolic ministry is not discharged with aloof detachment but with flaming zeal, profound compassion, evangelistic fervor, and a father's heart."
November 19, 2021
Excellent book. Insightful exposition and powerful application to the modern North American church! These chapters deserve more of our attention in our day of attractional, triumphalistic ministry which forfeits the weakness of the cross of Christ and the true resurrection power of Christ.
May 10, 2025
content is 5/5 Stars
however it took me almost a year to read 192 pages when I definitely read a 400 page book in one sitting two weeks ago because this book is s o d r y. I found myself thinking, "wow. that line was so convicting/encouraging/thought provoking. the next one is probably in four pages, I can probably skip the rest of the page." so that is why it took me so long cause I don't skip pages for goodness sake.
however it took me almost a year to read 192 pages when I definitely read a 400 page book in one sitting two weeks ago because this book is s o d r y. I found myself thinking, "wow. that line was so convicting/encouraging/thought provoking. the next one is probably in four pages, I can probably skip the rest of the page." so that is why it took me so long cause I don't skip pages for goodness sake.
April 25, 2019
Clarifing
A great work on an interesting portion of Paul's letters to the church at Corinth. The author went a bit deeper than he promised in the book's introduction.
A great work on an interesting portion of Paul's letters to the church at Corinth. The author went a bit deeper than he promised in the book's introduction.
January 8, 2021
A great help to me in understanding 2 Corinthians!
March 14, 2024
Sadly, this book only covers the final four chapters of 2 Corinthians. Nevertheless, it is quite outstanding. My only complaint is that there wasn’t more!!!
March 25, 2024
OK, but not great. I am a huge Carson fan, for the record.
February 10, 2017
I loved this commentary on chapters 10-13. It's a shame Carson has not done one on the whole letter. Carson's work on the Corinthians context in the first 50 some pages is worth the cost of the book. highly recommend this book to a pastor's library.
October 26, 2008
Wow D.A. Carson delivers again. I was very convicted by this book of what a model of true christian maturity is by exegeting from 2 cor 10-13. Paul is the ultimate example and I learned much about Paul and my great faults by reading this book.
David
David
November 12, 2014
Great look into the heart of the apostle Paul. Came away with a greater appreciation for the context of the Corinthian correspondence as well as the maturity of Paul as a Christian leader, especially in how he responded to the challenges of the detractors at Corinth.
September 10, 2019
My introduction to Dr. Carson's works. The chain of reasoning he links systematically, sentence after sentence, to resurrect Paul's thought process and the nuances of his aching heart for the embroiled Corinthian Church is itself a staggering work of love.
October 6, 2011
D.A. Carson... of course it was good!1 :-)
April 16, 2017
I have been studying 1 and 2 Corinthians with my Community Bible Study group. Not only do I study with an excellent group of ladies, but I also guide learning for middle school and high school students with the material. In order to help myself be able to answer questions and to prepare lessons for the students, I often find some commentaries and Christian living books to be helpful in lesson preparation.
When I came to the final part of 2 Corinthians, I was surprised to find that there were very few commentaries and books to help with my learning. So, I was thrilled to find that one of my favorite authors had written an exposition of the final four chapters of 2 Corinthians.
D. A. Carson writes this cook as part of an effort to help explain what true Christian maturity looks like. If you're unfamiliar with this section of 2 Corinthians, it is a very harsh section of condemnation for the church. They have allowed some flashy "super-apostles" to come into the church, and the church has begun to question Paul's authority and mission. Paul begins to discuss the "qualifications" of the "super-apostles" and the call of his ministry. Along the way he discusses thorns in the flesh, spiritual strongholds and calls for the church members to give themselves an examination to test the trueness of their faith.
Carson's exposition goes verse by verse and both gently explains the text and applies the passages to the Christian life. I want to spend the rest of this review sharing a few of my favorite quotes from the book to hopefully give you a little of the flavor.
Carson says in his discussion of chapter 10: "Argue a skeptic into a corner, and you will not take his mind captive for Christ, but pray for him, proclaim the gospel to him, live out the gospel of peace, walk righteously by faith until he senses your ultimate allegiance and citizenship are vastly different from his own, and you may discover that the power of truth, the convicting and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and the glories of Christ Jesus shatter his reasons and demolish his arguments until you take captive his mind and heart to make them obedient to Christ."
This is Carson's answer for the question of how we actually go about demolishing strongholds. As any of us who have tried to argue someone to faith knows, convincing someone to faith by arguing is almost impossible. In fact, having an actual argument with a skeptic is usually a step backward for our hopes of winning them to Christ.
Carson on tolerance: The appeal to limitless toleration—not just toleration of the other chap’s right to be wrong, but toleration pushed so far one can never say that anything or anyone is wrong—presupposes the greatest evil is to hold a strong conviction that certain things are true and their contraries are false. Worse, this presupposition operates because of an antecedent presupposition: confident knowledge in religious matters is impossible.
This is the problem of our day, isn't it? There was a ton of stuff I highlighted in this section because Carson's argument is that we are more defined by the things we oppose than the things that we tolerate. This is a completely fascinating section, and so relevant to the world we live in.
Carson on the topic of boasting: Christians ought to be greatly ashamed of boasting about strengths, skills, victories, training, successes, and productivity in their lives as if, on the one hand, we either earned those things or deserved them, or as if, on the other, such things make us intrinsically more acceptable to the Lord Jesus Christ. What do we have but what we have received? And if we received it as a gracious gift from God, how dare we boast about it (1 Cor. 4:7)?
Boasting is such a huge theme of this chapters, and Paul even answers a fool as a fool and "boasts" of his "accomplishments" in ministry. This section, as well as Caron's commentating, make me feel a huge swell of conviction for how often I have bragged about all these things as if my victories, accomplishments, etc. were solely due to my own virtue. It is not so! I only have what I have been given, and I have often not even been a good steward of that.
All in all, this is an excellent book, and I enjoyed reading it. It's something that is best read meditatively and reflectively, with your Bible open to be able to look at the verses as you read and study. Carefully reflecting on the chapters of Corinthians and on Carson's writing will help you to become more mature in your Christian walk.
When I came to the final part of 2 Corinthians, I was surprised to find that there were very few commentaries and books to help with my learning. So, I was thrilled to find that one of my favorite authors had written an exposition of the final four chapters of 2 Corinthians.
D. A. Carson writes this cook as part of an effort to help explain what true Christian maturity looks like. If you're unfamiliar with this section of 2 Corinthians, it is a very harsh section of condemnation for the church. They have allowed some flashy "super-apostles" to come into the church, and the church has begun to question Paul's authority and mission. Paul begins to discuss the "qualifications" of the "super-apostles" and the call of his ministry. Along the way he discusses thorns in the flesh, spiritual strongholds and calls for the church members to give themselves an examination to test the trueness of their faith.
Carson's exposition goes verse by verse and both gently explains the text and applies the passages to the Christian life. I want to spend the rest of this review sharing a few of my favorite quotes from the book to hopefully give you a little of the flavor.
Carson says in his discussion of chapter 10: "Argue a skeptic into a corner, and you will not take his mind captive for Christ, but pray for him, proclaim the gospel to him, live out the gospel of peace, walk righteously by faith until he senses your ultimate allegiance and citizenship are vastly different from his own, and you may discover that the power of truth, the convicting and regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, and the glories of Christ Jesus shatter his reasons and demolish his arguments until you take captive his mind and heart to make them obedient to Christ."
This is Carson's answer for the question of how we actually go about demolishing strongholds. As any of us who have tried to argue someone to faith knows, convincing someone to faith by arguing is almost impossible. In fact, having an actual argument with a skeptic is usually a step backward for our hopes of winning them to Christ.
Carson on tolerance: The appeal to limitless toleration—not just toleration of the other chap’s right to be wrong, but toleration pushed so far one can never say that anything or anyone is wrong—presupposes the greatest evil is to hold a strong conviction that certain things are true and their contraries are false. Worse, this presupposition operates because of an antecedent presupposition: confident knowledge in religious matters is impossible.
This is the problem of our day, isn't it? There was a ton of stuff I highlighted in this section because Carson's argument is that we are more defined by the things we oppose than the things that we tolerate. This is a completely fascinating section, and so relevant to the world we live in.
Carson on the topic of boasting: Christians ought to be greatly ashamed of boasting about strengths, skills, victories, training, successes, and productivity in their lives as if, on the one hand, we either earned those things or deserved them, or as if, on the other, such things make us intrinsically more acceptable to the Lord Jesus Christ. What do we have but what we have received? And if we received it as a gracious gift from God, how dare we boast about it (1 Cor. 4:7)?
Boasting is such a huge theme of this chapters, and Paul even answers a fool as a fool and "boasts" of his "accomplishments" in ministry. This section, as well as Caron's commentating, make me feel a huge swell of conviction for how often I have bragged about all these things as if my victories, accomplishments, etc. were solely due to my own virtue. It is not so! I only have what I have been given, and I have often not even been a good steward of that.
All in all, this is an excellent book, and I enjoyed reading it. It's something that is best read meditatively and reflectively, with your Bible open to be able to look at the verses as you read and study. Carefully reflecting on the chapters of Corinthians and on Carson's writing will help you to become more mature in your Christian walk.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews