John Calvin Commentary 2 Corinthians 10:17

"But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord." — 2 Corinthians 10:17 (ASV)

But he that glories—This statement is made by way of correction, as his glorying might be looked upon as having the appearance of empty boasting. Hence he cites himself and others before the judgment seat of God, saying that those glory on good grounds who are approved by God.

To glory in the Lord, however, is used here in a different sense from the one it has in the first chapter of the former Epistle (1 Corinthians 1:31) and in Jeremiah 9:24. For in those passages it means—to recognize God as the author of all blessings, in such a way that every blessing is ascribed to his grace, while people do not exalt themselves, but glorify him alone.

Here, however, it means—to place our glory at the disposal of God alone and reckon everything else as of no value. For while some are dependent on the estimation of people, and weigh themselves in the false balance of public opinion, and others are deceived by their own arrogance, Paul exhorts us to be ambitious for this glory—that we may please the Lord, by whose judgment we all stand or fall.

Even pagans say that true glory consists in an upright conscience. Now, that is a great deal, but it is not all; for, as almost all are blind through excessive self-love, we cannot safely place confidence in the estimate that we form of ourselves. For we must keep in mind what he says elsewhere (1 Corinthians 4:4), that though he is not conscious of anything against himself, yet he is not thereby justified. What then? Let us recognize that to God alone must be reserved the right of passing judgment on us, for we are not competent judges in our own case.

For not he that commends himself is approved. For it is easy to deceive people with a false impression, and this is a matter of everyday occurrence. Let us, therefore, setting aside all other things, aim exclusively at this—that we may be approved by God and be satisfied to have his approval alone, as it justly ought to be regarded by us as more valuable than all the applause of the whole world.

Someone once said that to have Plato’s favorable judgment was worth a thousand to him. The question here is not about human judgment concerning the superiority of one person to another, but about the sentence of God himself, who has the power to overturn all the decisions that people have pronounced.