5:11
"knowing the fear of the Lord". This must be the basis for all we do. Proverbs tells us that it is the beginning of wisdom, it must indeed motivate all that we do. The mission we are on is not our mission, it is not us trying to do something good and looking for the Lord to put His seal of approval on it. Rather, it is God's mission and He involves us in the work of that mission. So Paul sought to persuade others in the light of this. He used godly methods, not human methods. Note also that he did try to "persuade", using persuasion, or apologetics, is not wrong. It is part of the methodology we use, but is only part, and we must never think that people will be saved because of our "clever" arguments. Some in Corinth were attacking Paul, accusing him of various things, some of which we will encounter later in the letter. God knew what Paul was doing, and he hopes that in their heart of hearts the Corinthians also knew that Paul was genuine.
5:12
Paul now draws a sharp distinction between himself and his co-workers, and his opponents. The opponents judged everything by outward appearances, using worldly measures. Paul has been telling the Corinthians to judge by Godly standards, to look at the heart of a man. His "boasting" has been done not to say how wonderful he was, but so that the Corinthians could respond to those who boast about outward appearance, so that they would understand what was truly important and truly of God.
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