8 For though I might take pride in our authority (which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for your destruction), it will not be a cause of shame to me: 9 That I may not seem to have the desire of causing you fear by my letters. 10 For his letters, they say, have weight and are strong; but in body he is feeble, and his way of talking has little force. 11 Let those who say this keep in mind that, what we are in word by letters when we are away, so will we be in act when we are present.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on 2 Corinthians 10:8-11
Commentary on 2 Corinthians 10:7-11
(Read 2 Corinthians 10:7-11)
In outward appearance, Paul was mean and despised in the eyes of some, but this was a false rule to judge by. We must not think that none outward appearance, as if the want of such things proved a man not to be a real Christian, or an able, faithful minister of the lowly Saviour.