Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 12:19

"Ye think all this time that we are excusing ourselves unto you. In the sight of God speak we in Christ. But all things, beloved, [are] for your edifying." — 2 Corinthians 12:19 (ASV)

Paul repudiates the suggestion, which might readily have occurred to any Corinthian, that he had all along been seeking to defend his conduct and reputation before a panel of Corinthian judges. It was to God, not to them, that Paul felt he was ultimately accountable (cf. Romans 14:10; 1 Corinthians 4:3–5; 2 Corinthians 5:10), so that self-defense before human beings was never his primary concern. He had been speaking as a man “in Christ” whose words and motives were open before God (cf. 2:17; 5:11). His aim in all his relations with the Corinthians was not personal vindication but their spiritual edification.