Albert Barnes Commentary 2 Corinthians 6:8

"by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and [yet] true;" — 2 Corinthians 6:8 (ASV)

By honour and dishonour. The apostle is still illustrating the proposition that he and his fellow workers endeavored to give no offense (2 Corinthians 6:3) and to commend themselves as the ministers of God (2 Corinthians 6:4). He here (2 Corinthians 6:8–10) introduces another group of particulars in which it was done.

The main idea is that they endeavored to act in a manner so as to commend the ministry and the gospel, whether they were in circumstances of honour or dishonour, whether lauded or despised by the world. The word rendered "by" (dia) does not here denote the means by which they commended the gospel, but the medium.

In the midst of honour and dishonour, whatever might be the esteem in which they were held by the world, they gave no offense. The first is, by honour. They were not everywhere honoured or treated with respect. Yet they were sometimes honoured by people. The churches which they founded would honour them, and as the ministers of religion, they would be treated with respect by them.

Perhaps occasionally they might also be treated with great attention and regard by people of the world on account of their miraculous powers . So now, ministers of the gospel are often treated with great respect and honour. They are beloved and venerated, caressed and flattered, by the people of their charge.

As ministers of God, exercising a holy function, their office is often treated with great respect by the World. If they are eloquent or learned, or if they are eminently successful, they are often highly esteemed and loved. It is difficult in such circumstances to commend themselves as the ministers of God. Few are the people who are not injured by honour; few who are not corrupted by flattery.

Few are the ministers who are proof against this influence, and who in such circumstances can honour the ministry. If it is done, it is by showing that they regard such things as of little moment; by showing that they are influenced by higher considerations than the love of praise; by not allowing this to interfere with their duties or to make them less faithful and laborious; but rather by making this the occasion of increased fidelity and increased zeal in their Master's cause.

Most ministers do more to "give offense" in times when they are greatly honoured by the world than when they are despised. Yet it is possible for a minister who is greatly honoured to make it the occasion of commending himself more and more as a minister of God. And he should do it, as Paul said he did.

The other situation was in dishonour. It is needless to say that the apostles were often in situations where they had the opportunity to commend themselves thus as the ministers of God. If sometimes honoured, they were often dishonoured. If the world sometimes flattered and caressed them, it often despised them and cast out their names as evil (See Barnes' note on 1 Corinthians 4:13).

And perhaps it is so substantially now with those who are faithful. In such circumstances, Paul also sought to commend himself as a minister of God. It was by receiving all expressions of contempt with meekness; by not allowing them to interfere with the faithful discharge of his duties; by rising above them and showing the power of religion to sustain him; and by returning good for evil, prayers for maledictions, blessings for curses, and by seeking to save, not injure and destroy, those who thus sought to overwhelm him with disgrace. It may be difficult to do this, but it can be done; and when done, a person always does good.

By evil report. The word used here (dusfhmia) means, properly, ill-omened language, malediction, reproach, or scorn. It refers to the fact that they were often slandered and calumniated. Their motives were called in question, and their names aspersed. They were represented as deceivers and impostors, etc. The statement here is that in such circumstances, and when thus assailed and reproached, they endeavored to commend themselves as the ministers of God.

Evidently, they endeavored to do this by not slandering or reviling in return; by manifesting a Christian spirit; by living down the slanderous accusation; and by doing good, if possible, even to their calumniators. It is more difficult, says Chrysostom, to bear such reports than it is pain of body; and it is consequently more difficult to evince a Christian spirit then.

To human nature, it is trying to have one's name slandered and cast out as evil when we are conscious only of a desire to do good. But it is sufficient for the disciple to be like his Master; and if they called the Master of the house Beelzebub, we must expect them to say the same of those of his household.

It is a fine field for a Christian minister, or any other Christian, to do good when his name is unjustly slandered. It gives him an opportunity of showing the true excellency of the Christian spirit; and it gives him the inexpressible privilege of being like Christ—like him in his suffering and in the moral excellence of character. A person should be willing to be anything if it will make him like the Redeemer—whether it be in suffering or in glory (1 Peter 4:13).

And good report. This is when people speak well of us; when we are commended, praised, or honoured. To honour the gospel then, and to commend the ministry, is:

1. to show that they are not set on this, and do not seek it;
2. to keep the heart from being puffed up with pride and self-estimation;
3. not to allow it to interfere with our fidelity to others, and with our faithfully presenting to them the truth. Satan often attempts to bribe people with praise and to neutralize the influence of ministers by flattery. It seems hard to go and proclaim painful truths to people who are causing the incense of praise to ascend around us.

And it is commonly much easier for a minister of the gospel to commend himself as a minister of God when he is slandered than when he is praised; when his name is cast out as evil, than when the breezes of popular favour are wafted upon him. Few people can withstand the influence of flattery, but many people can meet persecution with a proper spirit. Few people, comparatively, can always evince Christian fidelity to others when they live always amidst the influence of "good report," but there are many who can be faithful when they are poor, and despised, and reviled. Hence it has happened that God has so ordered it that his faithful servants have had but little of the "good report" which this world can furnish, but that they have been generally subjected to persecution and slander.

As deceivers. That is, we are regarded and treated as if we were deceivers, as if we were practicing an imposition on mankind, and as if we would advance our cause by any trick or fraud that would be possible. We are regarded and treated as deceivers. Perhaps this refers to some charges which had been brought against them by the opposing faction at Corinth (Locke), or perhaps to the opinion which the Jewish priests and heathen philosophers entertained of them.

The idea is that though they were extensively regarded and treated as impostors, yet they endeavored to live as befitted the ministers of God. They bore the imputation with patience and applied themselves diligently to the work of saving souls. Paul seldom turned aside to vindicate himself from such charges but pursued his Master's work and evidently felt that if he had a reputation that was worth anything, or deserved any reputation, God would take care of it.

Compare to Psalm 37:1-4. A person, especially a minister, who is constantly endeavoring to vindicate his own reputation, usually has a reputation that is not worth vindicating. A person who deserves a reputation will ultimately obtain just as much as is good for him and as will advance the cause in which he is embarked.

And yet true. We are not deceivers and impostors. Though we are regarded as such, yet we show ourselves to be true and faithful ministers of Christ.