Paul’s mission proceeds with these expectations, and as they are known to God, so now they have been made known to God’s people at Corinth. In making his hopes and fears known, however, Paul is not “trying to commend” himself, but only sharing with the Corinthians in a way that will allow them to take the measure of his apostleship in truth apart from appearances. For all that Paul has done has been in response to the compulsion of Christ’s love, demonstrated in Christ’s willingness to die for all and include all in his death (5:14; cf. Rom. 6:5–11; 1 Cor. 15:22; Gal. 2:20; Col. 3:3). No longer then can those who belong to Christ live for themselves; they must live instead at the direction of “him who died for them and was raised again” (5:15).

Furthermore, if Christ has died for a…