2 Corinthians 5:12 (LSB)

Passage

We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an opportunity to boast of us, so that you will have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.

Nearby Context

2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.

2 Corinthians 5:11 So then, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we have been made manifest to God; and I hope that we have been made manifest also in your consciences.

2 Corinthians 5:12 We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an opportunity to boast of us, so that you will have an answer for those who boast in appearance and not in heart.

2 Corinthians 5:13 For if we are out of our mind, it is for God, or if we are of right mind, it is for you.

2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "again", "commending", "ourselves", "giving", "opportunity", "boast", and "answer". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "again" and "commending", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 11's "So then knowing the fear of the..." into verse 13's "For if we are out of our...", so "again" and "commending" belong inside that flow. In 2 Corinthians context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "again" and "commending" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.