Charles Ellicott Commentary 2 Corinthians 5:13

"For whether we are beside ourselves, it is unto God; or whether we are of sober mind, it is unto you." — 2 Corinthians 5:13 (ASV)

For whether we be beside ourselves.—The recollection of one sneer leads to another. This also had been said of him, and the intense sensitivity of his nature made him wince under it. Some at Corinth spoke of his visions and revelations, his speaking with tongues as in ecstasy, his prophecies of future judgment, as so many signs of madness. “He was beside himself.” (Compare to Agrippa’s words in Acts 26:24, and Note there.) Others, or perhaps the same persons, pointed to his tact, becoming all things to all men, perhaps even insinuated that he was making money by his work (2 Corinthians 9:12; 2 Corinthians 12:10): “He was shrewd enough when it served his turn.” He answers both taunts accordingly.

What people called his “madness”—the ecstasy of adoration, the speaking with tongues (1 Corinthians 14:18–23)—that lay between himself and God, and a stranger should not meddle with it. What people called his “sober-mindedness”—his shrewd common sense, his sagacity—that he did not practise for himself, but for his disciples, to win them to Christ, remove difficulties, strengthen them in the faith.