Commentaries:
Barnes' Notes
It is not expedient - It is not well; it does not become me. This may either mean that he felt and admitted that it did not become him to boast in this manner; that there was an impropriety in his doing it though circumstances had compelled him, and in this sense it is understood by nearly, or quite, all expositors; or it may be taken ironically. "Such a man as I am ought not to boast. So you say, and so it would seem. A man who has done no more than I have; who has suffered nothing; who has been idle and at ease as I have been, ought surely not to boast. And since there is such an evident impropriety in my boasting and speaking about myself, I will turn to another matter, and inquire whether the same thing may not be said about visions and revelations. I will speak, therefore, of a man who had some remarkable revelations, and inquire whether he has any right to boast of the favors imparted to him." This seems to me to be the probable interpretation of this passage.
To glory - To boast; II Corinthians 10:8, II Corinthians 10:13; II Corinthians 11:10. One of the charges which they alleged against him was, that he was given to boasting without any good reason. After the enumeration in the previous chapter of what he had done and suffered, he says that this was doubtless very true. Such a man has nothing to boast of.
I will come - Margin, "For I will." Our translators have omitted the word ( ̀ gar ) for in the text, evidently supposing that it is a mere expletive. Doddridge renders it, "nevertheless." But it seems to me that it contains an important sense, and that it should be rendered by then. "Since it is not fit that I should glory, then I will refer to visions, etc. I will turn away then from that subject, and come to another." Thus, the word ( ̀ gar ) is used in John 7:41. "Shall then ̀ ̀ mē gar Christ come out of Galilee?" Acts 8:31. "How can I then ̀ tō ; ̀ gar except some man should guide me?" see also Acts 19:35; Romans 3:3; Philippians 1:18.
To visions - The word "vision" is used in the Scriptures often to denote the mode in which divine communications were usually made to people. This was done by causing some scene to appear to pass before the mind as in a landscape, so that the individual seemed to see a representation of what was to occur in some future period. It was usually applied to prophecy, and is often used in the Old Testament; see my note on Isaiah 1:1, and also on Acts 9:10. The vision which Paul here refers to was that which he was permitted to have of the heavenly world; II Corinthians 12:4. He was permitted to see what perhaps no other mortal had seen, the glory of heaven.
And revelations of the Lord - Which the Lord had made. Or it may mean manifestations which the Lord had made of himself to him. The word rendered "revelations" means properly an "uncovering" ( ̓́ apokalupsis , from ̓́ apokaluptō , to uncover), and denotes a removal of the veil of ignorance and darkness, so that an object may be clearly seen; and is thus applied to truth revealed, because the obscurity is removed and the truth becomes manifest.
Other Barnes' Notes entries containing 2 Corinthians 12:1:
Exodus 33:19-20
Joel 2:28
Acts 22:17
1 Corinthians 1:1
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
