Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does 2nd Corinthians Chapter 11 mean?

Paul feels protective of the Christians in Corinth. He compares them to a betrothed bride and himself to her father. False apostles in Corinth are trying to seduce the Corinthians away from their commitment to Christ. As their spiritual father, Paul is attempting to keep the Corinthians from sin. The false apostles teach a different Jesus, a different spirit and a different gospel—all false. They are like the serpent in the garden tempting Eve to sin (2 Corinthians 11:1–3).

Paul wonders if one reason why the Corinthians are so easily led astray by the false “super-apostles” is because of his refusal to take money from them for his own needs. He did so to keep anyone from being able to accuse him of having false motives in serving them. They seem to think that his working with his hands and taking money from others is an insult to them and diminishes his status in their eyes (2 Corinthians 11:4–8).

Paul states that his refusal to take money sets him apart from the false apostles, who likely took all the money they could from the Corinthians. Their boast that they work on the same terms he does is clearly false. Paul describes them as liars, pretending to be apostles to deceive the Corinthians. They disguise themselves as servants of righteousness in the same way Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Their end is coming, and it will fit their evil deeds (2 Corinthians 11:9–15).

The so-called “super-apostles” treat the Corinthians horribly, and they seem to gladly put up with being bullied, ordered around as slaves, taken advantage of, and treated as inferior. Perhaps the Corinthians felt this was the way strong apostles should treat people. Paul sarcastically says he is ashamed he was too weak to treat them that way (2 Corinthians 11:16–21).

Next, Paul says that he will, after all, foolishly boast about himself as the false apostles boast about themselves. He calls himself a madman for saying he is a better servant of Christ than they are, since a true servant of Christ would never say such a thing. His reason for doing so, of course, is not really to brag about himself, but to contrast his actions with those of the false teachers. When he actually begins “boasting,” though, he mostly makes a list of all the terrible things he has experienced in his service to Christ. To the Corinthians who valued strength, position, and privilege, this list would sound only like weakness and failure (2 Corinthians 11:21–29).

In the end, Paul agrees that he is boasting about all of the things that show his weakness, including his very first escape from a royal death sentence for declaring that Christ is the Son of God in a Damascus synagogue. As Paul will show in the following chapter, Christ’s power is made perfect in the weakness of his servants (2 Corinthians 11:30–33).

Chapter Context
Chapter 11 follows Paul’s warning in the previous chapter. There, he vowed to be as bold as needed when he comes to see them in person. He describes himself as a protective spiritual father trying to save the Corinthians from the deceptions of the false apostles to teach a false gospel about a false Jesus. He is shocked the Corinthians put up with their harsh treatment and says he has decided to foolishly boast in order to compete with the false apostles. His boasting about his service to Christ, though, is mostly a long list of all the ways he has suffered for Christ. That theme continues into chapter 12, where Paul explains just how much his suffering has improved his walk with Christ.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!

Paul has been defending himself against challenges of false apostles, who have come among the believers in Corinth. Apparently, some of the Corinthians have been persuaded that perhaps Paul is not a legitimate apostle. Why? For one thing, Paul is not as strong or impressive in person as he is in his letters. The culture of the day associated performance and speaking skill with wisdom. If Paul was unimpressive in person, was his teaching to be trusted?

Paul will now begin to defend himself even more vigorously. First, though, he asks the Corinthians to bear with a little foolishness from him. Paul seems to feel uncomfortable in the role of self-defense and words that appear to be self-promotion. Ultimately, though, this “foolishness” is about defending Christ and His reputation from the false teaching of Paul’s opponents in Corinth. Paul makes no attempt to proclaim his intellect, skill, or power. Rather, he points to all the hardships he’s been able to endure on account of the power of Christ.

Context Summary
Second Corinthians 11:1–15 includes Paul’s unmasking of the false apostles in Corinth. They are like the serpent in the garden tempting Eve. Or, they resemble a man trying to seduce a betrothed woman away from her promised husband. They disguise themselves as servants of righteousness as Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Paul is a spiritual father who must protect the Corinthians from deceptions like a false Christ and a false spirit. Paul doubles down on his commitment not to take funds from the Corinthians for his own needs, simply to prove how he is different from the false apostles.

Verse 2. For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

False apostles have made accusations against Paul, which he continues to refute. He has made clear that much more than his own reputation is at stake. The Corinthians are in danger of believing false teaching about God’s grace and faith in Christ.

Paul’s feelings of protectiveness are given a poetic turn here. As the one who founded the church in Corinth and led many of them to Christ, Paul sees himself as a spiritual father. He builds a metaphor to describe his role in their lives as that of a father betrothing his virgin daughter to be married. In their case, they are betrothed to Christ.

In the culture of Paul’s day, the betrothal period was much more binding than the modern concept of an engagement. A father would betroth his daughter to a man to be married months or years in the future. The father’s responsibility, in part, was to protect his daughter’s virginity and well-being until she was safely married to her husband.

Using that background, Paul describes the Corinthians as betrothed to Christ. They belonged to Christ in the same way that a promised bride belonged to her betrothed husband in the ancient world. They were Christians, but they were not yet with Christ. Paul saw it as his duty to protect them from anyone attempting to steal them away from their true faith in Christ before they were safely with Him in eternity. The false apostles, in teaching a different gospel about a different Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:4), were attempting to do exactly that.

Like a father protecting his beloved daughter, Paul felt divinely and appropriately jealous for the Corinthians on behalf of Christ. It was more than his duty to protect them from false teaching; it was personal for him.

Verse 3. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

The previous verse symbolized Paul as the protective father of a betrothed or engaged woman. The Corinthians were betrothed to Christ for eternity. Paul was their “spiritual father,” as the one who introduced them to the gospel. He feels jealous for them on Christ’s behalf when he sees false apostles luring them away from the true Christ with a false gospel.

Paul fears they will be led away from sincere and pure devotion to Christ by the false apostles. He compares their deceit to the serpent’s cunning deception of Eve in Genesis 3. Using that approach, Paul connects the false apostles to Satan. He wrote in the previous chapter that his weapons were not of the flesh, but carried divine power to destroy the strongholds of a spiritual enemy doing battle for the thoughts and minds of believers (2 Corinthians 10:4–6).

Verse 4. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.

Paul has been defending himself against accusations that he is a false apostle driven by false motives. He now begins to properly identify his opponents in Corinth. They apparently speak more fluently and boldly than Paul. Perhaps they promise the Corinthians things from God that Paul does not.

He has written boldly that he is jealous for the Corinthians on behalf of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:1–3). They belong to Christ, as a betrothed woman belongs to her promised husband. These false teachers are trying to seduce them away from true devotion to Christ. In that way, Paul’s attackers are like the serpent tempting Eve to sin (Genesis 3:1–8).

Deceit is part of these false teachers, in that they also teach their warped version of Jesus, the Spirit, and the gospel. Paul makes it clear these are not true versions of any of those things. The false apostles’ views of Jesus, Spirit, and gospel of the false apostles in Corinth were all different from those taught by God. They were false.

Paul is bothered that the Corinthians have accepted this false teaching easily enough. He’s concerned at how they resist his true teaching. He also seems worried that they do not reject teaching about Christ that is so clearly false. They should not accept these false teachers so easily.

Verse 5. Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles.

Second Corinthians has mostly been answering accusations from false apostles against Paul. We can guess at some of those accusations from the context of Paul’s responses. They seem to have suggested that a true apostle, according to their warped approach, would not suffer so much or so often. They have also said that Paul is bold when writing from far away, but that in person “his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account” (2 Corinthians 10:10). The implication is that Paul is either a fraud, or a coward, or both.

By contrast, Paul suggests these false teachers think themselves “super apostles.” They may have been highly skilled in the speaking and presentation skills so valued in Greek society. They may have been better- and stronger-looking than Paul. Culture of that era placed great value in entertaining, clever speech and showmanship. In short, the “super-apostles” were far more likely to be cast in the role of “apostle” in a play than Paul ever would have been.

In the end, though, only Paul was actually an apostle: a representative of Christ sent to bring the gospel to the Corinthians. These others were not. Paul declares here that he is not inferior to these “super-apostles” in any way. Paul does not mean to say they are actually “super-apostles.” His use of that term is sarcastic: mocking their impressive-seeming external qualities.

Verse 6. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

Paul’s legitimacy as a genuine and effective apostle of Christ has been under attack in Corinth. Those criticisms came from false apostles teaching the Corinthians a false gospel. In doing so, they were presenting a fictional version of Christ and the Holy Spirit. Their goal in tearing Paul down was to increase their own influence and power over the Corinthians.

Scripture has mocked them, in the previous verse, using the sarcastic term “super-apostles.” Paul has suggested they may look the part better than he does. These frauds may have been impressive speakers who made bold and convincing presentations. In this verse, Paul seems to agree that he is, in comparison, “unskilled in speaking.”

It’s not clear if Paul really felt this way, or if he is simply willing to yield on that point. Either way, his purpose is to show how unimportant style is when compared to substance. The Corinthians’ Greek culture valued a person’s ability to speak well and forcefully, to hold the attention of a crowd, and to string convincing-sounding arguments together. Paul may not have performed as a speaker in the classic and popular style of a showman.

In any case, Paul insists that knowledge—truth—matters far more than presentation. Paul declares that he is not unskilled in knowledge, meaning that what he gave to the Corinthians was the essential truth of who Christ is and how to trust in Him to be made right with God. Instead of focusing on the flourishes of entertaining speakers, Paul asks the Corinthians to value the fact that he made clear to them the truth about Jesus.

Verse 7. Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God ‘s gospel to you free of charge?

It’s not just sarcastically labelled “super-apostles” that Paul is concerned about (2 Corinthians 11:5). He’s also bothered that the Corinthians themselves seem to be swayed by accusations against Paul. These included complaints that he was not impressive as a speaker and he experienced too much suffering. Focusing on appearances, instead of truth, they assume a divine messenger would be impressive and worldly.

Now Paul seems to answer another charge: He refused to take money from the Corinthians while serving them as a representative of Christ. He asks sarcastically if he sinned when he humbled himself in this. In truth, he did this in order to lift them up as children of God through their faith in Christ.

Paul had the right to ask them to support him financially while he was working with them. However, he never wanted any confusion about his motives to interfere with anyone trusting in Christ. He explained all of this in an earlier letter to them (1 Corinthians 9:4–18). Instead of taking money from them, Paul chose to work with his hands as a tent-maker. Scholars suggest this might be something to which Paul’s opponents pointed as specific evidence that he was not truly an apostle. For ancient philosophers and traveling orators, manual labor was the last possible option for supporting oneself. In fact, it was a sign the speaker was not good enough to attract supporters. Perhaps Paul’s accusers said that a genuine apostle of Jesus would not need to work with his hands as Paul did. These false teachers very likely accepted all the money the Corinthians would give to them.

Paul’s comment shows that his refusal to take money from them continued to be a point of contention, despite his explanation. Some of them may simply have had a hard time respecting a teacher who was also a common laborer.

Verse 8. I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.

Paul continues to write with a bit of sarcasm to make his point: accusations made against him by false apostles don’t add up. In the previous verse, he asked if he committed a sin by refusing to take money from the Corinthians while presenting the gospel. He described his choice as humbling himself in order to exalt them. That is, he worked with his hands and accepted donations from other churches in order to help them participate in the glory of God through faith in Christ.

Now he describes his willingness to receive donations from other churches to support his work in Corinth as “robbing” those churches. In keeping with the sarcasm of the passage, Paul does not literally mean he stole anything from anyone or that he did anything inappropriate. Instead, he is showing that it was not he alone who suffered and sacrificed for their good. Other churches also contributed to their service by giving what was needed to Paul.

This may have been humbling in a cultural sense. Most travelling speakers and philosophers were supported by the donations of those to whom they gave their presentations. Others may have had a few, wealthy benefactors who funded them. The point of Paul’s speaking and teaching, though, was not to make a living for himself. It was to do God’s work in leading unbelievers to faith in Christ. Since taking money from those unbelievers may have raised questions about Paul’s motives and the truthfulness of his message, he refused to do so.

Verse 9. And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.

As a travelling missionary, Paul often refers to the regions in which he works rather than to specific towns. In this verse, he mentions the region of Macedonia, in northern Greece. This would have included the towns of Philippi, Thessalonica, and Berea, where the Christians were quite poor. In order to avoid being a burden to the Corinthians—the region of Achaia—while working with them, Paul humbled himself by receiving contributions from these hurting churches. That’s how committed he was to the principle of never taking money from people he was trying to reach with the gospel of Jesus.

Paul may have been mocked by the false apostles in Corinth for this principle. Or, for doing the manual labor of making tents to support himself when he first came to Corinth. Some of the Corinthians themselves may have resented Paul’s stubborn refusal to take money from them when he was willing to take it from less wealthy churches. His motivation was important, though: to never cloud the message that God’s grace and forgiveness were free gifts to those who trusted in Christ.

Verse 10. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.

The false teachers in Corinth probably accepted any donations they could get, as was the style of popular ancient orators. As part of their arrogance, they apparently mocked Paul for not doing the same. In fact, Paul was committed not to take anything from the Corinthians, though it was his right to receive support (1 Corinthians 9). Echoing the bad attitude of the false apostles, the Corinthians seem to have resented Paul’s refusal to receive donations from them. They misinterpreted this as a sign that he did not love them (2 Corinthians 11:11).

Paul’s refusal was based in not wanting anyone to second guess his motive for preaching the gospel. He would allow churches to support his ministry to other churches, just not their own. So, he received donations from the churches in Macedonia while working with the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:9), and he received money from the Corinthians to help him travel to other places (1 Corinthians 16:6).

Instead of being ashamed of this practice, Paul boasted about preaching the gospel free of charge. It was one more clear difference between him and the deceivers in Corinth who preached a false gospel about a false version of Jesus. Paul declares that, as sure as the truth of Christ is in him, he will continue to boast about this in the region of Achaia, where Corinth was. This is not prideful boasting on Paul’s part, but evidence that he truly represents Christ and that Christ’s gospel is true.

Verse 11. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

In affluent cultures, it’s common for two people to argue over who will pay the bill for dinner. Often, this is about pride. Both may want to pay to show they are successful, or simply to win a social competition. One may feel that a refusal to let the other pay is an unloving act, instead of a generous gift of kindness. Of course, offering to buy a meal for someone else can be done with pure intentions, so not all such cases are instances of pride.

This verse implies the Corinthians may have felt hurt by Paul’s refusal to take any money from them to support his ministry to their city. Paul asks them if he would do such a thing—rejecting their offers to help him—because he does not love them. He declares that God knows he loves them. In the following verse, he shows that his main motive is to put the lie to the false teachers who claimed to work on the same terms as Paul and his associates. Since the false teachers gladly take money from the Corinthians, they clearly do not work for the same reasons Paul and his partners do.

Verse 12. And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.

Opponents in Corinth are attempting to seduce the Corinthians away from their loyalty to Paul. They have called attention to Paul’s unimpressive physical presence and speaking skills (2 Corinthians 10:10). They have questioned whether a true servant of God would really experience so much suffering (2 Corinthians 6:3–10). They have also apparently mocked his commitment not to take any personal funding from the Corinthians, something they are happy to do (2 Corinthians 11:7).

Paul points to this difference between him and fraudulent “apostles” as evidence they are false in their “boasted mission.” Their claim is that Paul is a false representative of Christ and that they are the real apostles. Paul shows in this verse, though, that they do not work on the same terms he does. He celebrates in Christ that he was able to preach the gospel free of charge. The deceiving ones cannot boast about that, because they gladly take the Corinthians’ money to preach a false gospel to them. In fact, money may be the entire point of their false teaching.

Paul declares that he will continue to preach about Jesus for free—and continue to exult in it—to undermine his opponents’ false claims to be like him. If they are truly like him, he implies, they should also refuse the Corinthians’ money. He knows they will not do that.

Verse 13. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

Much of 2 Corinthians is a defense of Paul’s ministry, against accusations from crooked voices claiming he has been false. This section, however, turns the tables to show the believers in Corinth who the men making such accusations really are. Paul very bluntly calls them false apostles—likely a charge they had made against him. Paul, of course, is the one telling the truth. These other men are claiming to be representatives of Christ when they preach a false version of Christ and a false gospel of Christ. That’s why Paul calls them deceitful workmen. They have come to the Corinthians under disguise, pretending to be apostles.

It is not clear from 2 Corinthians exactly who these men were. They may have been part of a group labelled “Judaizers.” This was the label given to Jewish religious leaders who attempted to persuade Gentiles that they must also follow the Law in order to be truly saved. This group did not deny Christ’s message outright but destroyed the gospel of God’s grace through faith in Christ by adding a component of works.

It’s possible the false teachers of Corinth were part of another group, entirely. Perhaps they were pretending to be apostles of Jesus in order to make money. Maybe they wanted the Corinthians to mix the worship of Jesus with the worship of idols. Whatever the case, Paul makes clear in the following verses that they were being used as servants of Satan.

Verse 14. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

Paul has brutally called out his opponents in Corinth for what they were: deceivers pretending to be what Paul truly was: an apostle of Christ. They were attempting to seduce the Corinthians away from true devotion to Jesus, preaching to them a different gospel about a different Jesus and a different spirit. In other words, they were distorting all the true things Paul had taught to the Corinthians in order to gain some advantage for themselves.

Scripture indicates that this tactic should not be surprising. Satan also disguises himself as an angel of light. The Devil’s greatest weapon has always been deception. The most effective deception is to convince people that what is evil is actually good, that what is dark is actually light. By coating lies in a veneer of truth, it’s much easier to fool people into accepting what is false. Paul had already compared the work of these false apostles to Satan’s deception of Eve in the garden (2 Corinthians 11:3; Genesis 3:1–8). He takes that even further in the following verse.

Verse 15. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

Paul is unmasking false teachers that have been working among the Corinthians. These liars are attempting to turn believers against Paul to gain loyalty. Paul has bluntly called them false apostles and deceitful workmen. In the previous verse, he compared them to Satan, who disguises himself as an angel of light.

These false teachers, also, have presented themselves to the Corinthians as workers for good with impressive speaking and presentation skills. Paul now calls them the very servants of Satan. Like the Devil, they pretend to be servants of righteousness. They pretend to preach Christ and His gospel, but instead preach a false version of both.

Clearly, this is not merely a group of Christian teachers disputing with Paul over subtle points of doctrine. This is not even a group of unbelievers with sincere disagreements about what is true. These false teachers are intentional in their deception of the Christians in Corinth. They are deliberately pretending to be something they are not in order to gain something for themselves.

Paul writes, ominously, that their end will fit their deeds. This statement of fact should warn the Corinthians from getting too close to these men. Paul says in brief terms that their judgment is coming. Paul writes often about God’s judgment for those who practice unrighteousness (Romans 2:6; Galatians 6:7–9; Philippians 3:18–19).

Verse 16. I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.

Corinthian culture was competitive. This was true in sports, but also in philosophy and performance. People expected speakers to be entertaining, dramatic showmen. They assumed such men would boast about their accomplishments, their education, and their skillful arguments. They also expected these intellectual competitors to tear down their philosophical opponents. That was a sign of strength and confidence in one’s position.

Paul’s contrasting approach seems to have confused the Corinthians. In person, especially, he may not have been impressive. He also tended not to brag about himself or his own achievements. He nearly always pointed to the power of Christ and the grace of God, while openly acknowledging his own suffering. In the culture of Corinth, this looked like weakness. Perhaps this was why the Corinthians were so captivated by Paul’s impressive-sounding, confident opponents.

Beginning in this verse, Paul, for the sake of argument, agrees to compete on the terms of his opponents and the culture. He asks his readers not to think he is really so foolish as to talk as a boastful fool would talk—his intent is merely to make a valid point. When he does start “boasting,” in the following verses, his boasts continue to be about things beyond his control: his birth, his life before Christ, his suffering, the things God has shown him, and God’s strength through him. Paul makes a mockery of his opponent’s self-glorifying boasting by imitating it to reveal his own weakness and God’s great power.

Context Summary
Second Corinthians 11:16–33 includes Paul’s long list of ways he has suffered in his service to Christ. He describes this as crazy talk, mocking the arrogant style of the false apostles. In truth, the Corinthians probably would have thought of these as signs of failure, weakness, and loss. Paul is shocked that they are so willing to be mistreated by the false apostles. This abuse was something Paul was ”too weak” to do in his Christlike service for them. Paul’s discussion of his weakness will lead to his conclusion in the following chapter that Christ is strongest in him when he is weak.

Verse 17. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool.

Paul is setting his readers up to hear him boast about himself, as his opponents in Corinth were boasting about themselves. This is not actually an instance of arrogance by Paul, but a deliberate tactic to put his critics in their place. Self-promotion was the way of the Greek world, especially in Corinth, when some philosophical opponents competed for the attention of their audiences. But self-glorifying boasting was not the Lord’s way, as Paul says here. He is clear that the boasting he is about to do will be as a fool and not as Christ’s representative.

Still, when he finally begins to “boast,” he will not actually be promoting himself so much as God’s strength in his weakness. Critics who sneered at Paul had never endured what he had, nor accomplished as much for the sake of the gospel. The power of God, shown in Paul’s ability to endure trials and continue to preach, should make the lying critics of Corinth ashamed.

Verse 18. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.

In this passage, Paul is making a show of joining his opponents in the game of boasting. His spiritual opponents brag about themselves in hopes of winning over the hearts and minds of the Corinthians. Paul’s intent, in contrast, is to show how empty that approach is, and how differently his ministry operates.

Of course, this is not a game to Paul. He described it as a war (2 Corinthians 10:3–5) against the servants of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:13–14), men disguising themselves as apostles of Christ in order to seduce the Corinthians away from their true devotion to Jesus.

Paul describes these false teachers as boasting “according to the flesh.” That means their bragging was intended to impress others by bringing glory to themselves. Paul says that he will now “boast,” as well, even though it is foolish and not Christlike (2 Corinthians 11:17). He makes it clear this is an object lesson, not an actual brag session. Rather, Paul will describe his greatness as a servant of Christ in terms of how much he has suffered and Christ’s strength through Him instead of his own achievements or victories.

Verse 19. For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!

Paul has written that he is about to do something foolish. Like his opponents in Corinth, he too will boast “according to the flesh” or in order to bring glory to himself. He’s very clear that this is being done—almost with sarcasm—to prove a point. He has described worldly bragging as something fools do, not something the Lord would expect. To further prove his point, Paul’s “boasting” will mostly focus on God’s power through him in his weakness and not about any achievements of his own.

The Corinthians should tolerate his boasting—they have gladly put up with fools teaching falsehoods about Jesus! The Corinthians do so, Paul adds, because they are so wise. He is being satirical, as he was when he wrote about their great wisdom in 1 Corinthians 4:10. There he said sarcastically that he and his associates were “fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ.”

It is possible the Corinthians thought themselves wise enough to admire Paul’s impressive-sounding opponents and decide for themselves what was true and what was not. Paul wryly says they should be willing to hear his foolishness out, as well.

Verse 20. For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face.

In a gently sarcastic tone, Paul wrote that the Corinthians gladly put up with fools because they are so wise (2 Corinthians 11:19). He is using biting terms to get the Corinthians to see they alone are responsible for giving time and attention to false teachers among them. These men, pretending to be apostles of Jesus, have not even treated the Corinthians well. Instead, the believers have put up with being treated as slaves, being devoured, being taken advantage of, being looked down on, and even being slapped in the face.

Like many in Greco-Roman culture, the people of Corinth would have respected strength above other virtues. Those of higher social standing were expected to be harsh with people they found to be inferior. Mercy and compassion were seen as emotional responses—and weaknesses—not as assets. Scholars suggest the Corinthians may have respected these false teachers as strong and superior, in part, because they were so harsh.

In the same way, the Corinthians may have disrespected Paul for his Christlike humility, servanthood, and suffering. Paul’s approach of humbling himself to lift them up may have seemed weak. His opponents’ approach of lifting themselves up to humble the Corinthians may have seemed vibrant and impressive.

Paul, even in this sarcastic section, seems unable to believe what the Corinthians are willing to bear. These false apostles make slaves of them—likely meant in the sense that the Corinthians have been willingly doing whatever they are told. The false teachers devour them, suggesting the sense of consuming all their food and resources. Paul’s opponents have been taking advantage of the Corinthians in ways Paul worked so hard to avoid. They have been acting superior to their Corinthian students and, apparently, even striking those who get out of line.

In every way, then, they have shown their falseness by behaving exactly the opposite of Christ, the suffering Servant King.

Verse 21. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of — I am speaking as a fool — I also dare to boast of that.

Previous verses described what the Corinthians had been putting up with from Paul’s opponents in Corinth. The false apostles, pretending to represent Christ, had been demonstrating their strength by treating the Corinthians with great disrespect. They had been ordering the Corinthians around, consuming their supplies, taking advantage of them in every way, acting superior, and even striking those who got out of line. Apparently, the Corinthians had received all of this as evidence that the false teachers were strong, superior, and wise.

Paul continues to be sarcastic in this verse, saying that he and his associates were too weak to treat the Corinthians in this way. He mockingly says he is ashamed of this. In truth, Paul had lived among the Corinthians in a Christlike way. He had refused to take any money from them, working to support himself and living off the donations of churches in other towns. He had suffered and sacrificed for their good and lived with them in humility and servanthood. Since Paul represented Christ, he could not live in any other way.

It seems the Corinthians did not respect Paul’s humility and servant leadership, however, preferring instead the strong, abusive leadership more common in their culture.

Paul now implies that he has had enough. He is going to satirize the sinfully boastful attitudes of the false apostles in Corinth to show that he is as good as they are. He can’t quite do it with a straight face, however. He feels the need to keep clarifying that he is speaking as a fool would speak and not as a representative of Christ.

Verse 22. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.

Paul fully begins his satirical mockery of the false apostles in Corinth. He is engaging in “confident” and “foolish” boasting in order to show that he is not inferior to those attempting to lead Corinthians away from faith in Christ. Even in sarcasm, Paul’s boasting will mostly point to God’s grace and strength. He begins with a statement about something completely out of his control: his birth and childhood.

Paul asks if his opponents in Corinth are Hebrews, Israelites, and offspring of Abraham. The context of that question suggests this group of false apostles were “Judaizers.” This was a group who thought that faith in Christ was fine so long as Gentile believers also followed Old Testament Law for their salvation. Likely, these men pointed to their identity as Hebrews and descendants of Abraham to give them credibility with the Corinthians as members of God’s chosen people. Most of the people in Corinth were Gentiles—non-Jews—so they may have been persuaded by this.

This statement counters any argument the Corinthians should think that these men are superior to Paul. He is also a Hebrew, an Israelite, and a descendant of Abraham. While Paul was a Roman citizen raised in the town of Tarsus, he was also from Hebrew-speaking parents and later became a Pharisee. None of his opponents could compete with his Jewish credentials.

Verse 23. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one — I am talking like a madman — with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death.

Using satire and sarcasm, Paul declared he will now engage in the same foolishness as the deceptive false apostles in Corinth. He has promised to boast about his qualifications and experiences, just as they do. He began in the previous verse by pointing out that he, too, is a true Hebrew and member of God’s chosen people, the Israelites. That fact may have given his opponents some credibility with the Corinthians, so he reminded them the same was true of him. That’s not much of a boast in itself, however.

Opponents in Corinth may have presented themselves as servants of Christ, but Paul has already made clear they present a false version of Jesus and certainly do not act like Him. Here, Paul’s claim to spiritual credentials is more specific, describing himself as a “better” servant of Christ than the false apostles. Paul’s use of satire here is explicit. In fact, he says that to make such a declaration would be the words of a madman.

Paul would see such speech—were it not sarcasm—as insane because a true servant of Christ should never brag about being a better servant of Christ than another. His use of that approach, here, is for a particular effect. Beyond that, Paul doesn’t boast the way anyone reading his letter might have expected. Instead of describing all the churches he has established or the great number of people he has led to faith in Christ, he begins to describe the suffering he has experienced as Christ’s representative.

That his labors have been far greater may sound to modern ears like Paul is bragging about his work ethic. However, to those in Corinthian culture, one who did much laborious work was seen as a failure in life, not a success. Next, Paul adds that he has spent time in far more jails, has been beaten countless times, and has often been near death in his ministry. This would have been odd boasting indeed to Corinthian ears. From their perspective, Paul is describing a collection of failures, disasters, and losses that go beyond even the recorded episodes of such experiences in the book of Acts.

The boast is genuine, however. Paul is establishing that he has suffered as Christ Himself suffered during His life on earth. In addition, he is establishing the great weakness and fragility of his life, which will amplify the glory of God’s strength demonstrated through him.

Verse 24. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one.

Paul is describing ways in which he is a “better” servant of Christ than his opponents in Corinth, a group of false apostles. The tone here is that of satire (2 Corinthians 11:21, 23), not a sincere attempt to self-promote. Paul is deliberately mocking the pattern of secular philosophers who would boast about their experiences and knowledge to show superiority to those who challenged them. Paul is twisting the competition around by “boasting” about his own losses and suffering for Christ instead of his victories.

Now he writes that he received the “forty lashes less one” five times from the religious Jews. These 39 lashes would have been administered in the Jewish synagogues as a severe punishment, likely for blasphemy. Jewish religious leaders objected to Paul’s gospel: that Christ was the Son of God and that Gentiles could be saved by believing in Him without following the law of Moses. Jesus warned His disciples that they would receive such floggings (Matthew 10:17).

Deuteronomy 25:1–3 stipulated 40 as the maximum number of lashes that could be given. Perhaps Paul himself had lashed Christians in this way while serving as a Pharisee before his conversion. The fact that he continued to preach the gospel to the Jewish people and submit to the lashes in order not to be excluded from the Jewish community shows his commitment to his people (Romans 9:2–4).

Verse 25. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea;

Responding to deceivers trying to corrupt the believers in Corinth, Paul is sarcastically “boasting” about how his service to Christ is superior to that of the false apostles. Even in jest, Paul’s crowing takes the form of describing how deeply he has suffered for Christ. He’s not listing the victorious triumphs his readers were likely expecting to hear about.

He now adds several more examples: He was beaten with rods three times. This was a Roman punishment administered in public. As a Roman citizen, Paul sometimes avoided being beaten in this way. Citizens were supposed to be given a trial first. Here, though, Paul shows that he did not always escape it.

Paul was also stoned for preaching the gospel of Jesus. Acts 14:19–20 records that he was stoned by a crowd in Lystra that was riled up by Jewish religious leaders from Antioch and Iconium. They dragged Paul’s unconscious body from the city and left him for dead. He soon got up and went back into the city.

Next, Paul writes that he was shipwrecked three times, once spending a night and a day drifting on the open sea before, apparently, being found and rescued. Paul is often described as journeying by sea in his missionary travels, though these three shipwrecks all took place before the one dramatically described in Acts 27.

The shipwrecks were not the result of persecution, of course, but Paul did suffer through them as part of his work for the cause of Christ. Traveling by sea was dangerous, but necessary in order to reach all the territories to which he was called by Christ.

Verse 26. on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers;

To put it mildly, life as a missionary and evangelist in the ancient world was dangerous. Paul is “boasting” about his service to Christ. This is a deliberate and sarcastic tactic meant to shame his critics (2 Corinthians 11:21, 23). Rather than a string of victories, the service so far described includes only a series of terrible attacks, beatings, imprisonments, and disasters at sea. Now he adds to the list.

Paul’s life of near-constant traveling was marked by danger from every imaginable source. Natural threats included crossing rivers and seas. Frequent dangers included being robbed or attacked by criminals in cities and in the wild lands between cities. Paul’s specific mission brought him under threat from his own people, the Jews, as well as from Gentiles, including the Roman Empire. He even faced dangers from other supposed Christians, “false brothers,” who pretended to belong to Christ but in reality served only themselves and saw Paul as a threat to their scams.

Verse 27. in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure.

Paul is presenting a long list of ways in which he has suffered as a servant of Christ. This included punishment by both Jewish and Roman authorities. It involved natural disasters and accidents. He has listed being jailed, shipwrecked, and facing constant danger from every side.

The strange thing about this list is that Paul began it by saying he would “boast” about how he was superior to the false apostles in Corinth as a servant of Christ. His purpose (2 Corinthians 11:21, 23) was to satirize the deceivers and their own bragging. Paul’s boasting so far, though, would have sounded like a list of failures and disasters to everyday Corinthians.

Paul now adds a list of ways in which he has experienced physical discomfort for Christ. This included difficult and strenuous work, sleepless nights, going without food or water, and suffering cold and exposure to the elements. Some of this would have been the result of being underfunded in his work, while other suffering may have come with being jailed or traveling under harsh conditions. In all cases, Paul understood his suffering to have been directly related to his service to Christ.

Verse 28. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

This section began with Paul claiming he would engage—mockingly—in the same foolish boasting practiced by his opponents in Corinth. Those false apostles followed the pattern of the day: declaring their victories, pointing out their strengths, and celebrating their power in order to gain an advantage over those who disagreed with them. They puffed themselves up and tore others down in order to be regarded as worth following.

Paul’s “boasting,” however, is actually a list of all of the ways he has suffered in his service to Christ. Instead of listing his victories or naming those who have trusted in Christ as a result of his work—including many in Corinth—he demonstrates that his work for Christ has brought him great pain, exhaustion, beatings, imprisonment, and endless danger.

Not all his suffering is external. Paul also suffers inwardly as he worries about all the Christian churches. Paul established many churches around the world, and he felt responsible for them. Many who had come to faith in Christ were experiencing terrible persecution. Others were in danger of compromising their faith, as the Corinthians were, because of false teachers attempting to lure them away from the simple gospel of Jesus.

Paul’s internal suffering was like that of a parent hurting for his or her children and rooting for them to make wise and meaningful choices.

Verse 29. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

In the previous verse, Paul added to the list of ways he has suffered: he also experienced great inner turmoil in his concern for all the Christian churches. Some were facing great persecution for their faith in Christ. Others were facing great pressure to compromise their convictions in order to better fit into the culture of the day. Paul feels these pains and pressures with them.

He seems to be referring to these churches he has planted—these souls he has led to faith in Christ—in this verse. He says, in question form, that he is weak when they are weak. This likely means that he experiences their weakness of faith along with them. Then he asks who is made to fall—or who is led into sin—without him burning with emotion for them. The idea seems to be that when believers Paul has led to Christ fall into sinful choices, he feels a potent desire for them to turn back around and go in the right direction.

In other words, Paul’s work does not stop when someone comes to faith in Christ. His involvement only begins there and continues as those believers grow in Christ, suffer for Christ, or stumble in their walk with Christ. Paul continues to feel emotionally burdened for all the churches, another example of the ways in which he suffers as Christ’s servant.

Verse 30. If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

Paul declared earlier in this section that he would “boast” as his opponents, the false apostles in Corinth, would brag to glorify themselves. Paul’s “boasting,” though, has consisted only of listing ways in which he has suffered in his mission to bring the gospel to people around the world. His intent is to sarcastically mock the false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:21, 23), and even then his words are not self-promoting. Since Corinthian culture valued strength and success above all, Paul’s boasting likely came across as very strange or as a mockery of true boasting.

Now he clarifies what he has been doing. If he is going to boast, Paul writes, he will boast only of things that show how weak he really is. This may have been the exact opposite of what the Corinthian believers were hoping to hear. They want an apostle who, like the lying teachers living near them, appears strong and capable and confident in himself. Instead, Paul is describing all the ways he is weak. This is meant to show how strong God is through him.

In Corinthian terms, suffering for any reason was a sign of weakness. In Christian terms, suffering is one of the ways believers identify with Christ and learn to grow in their reliance on him. Paul has said as much at the beginning of his earlier letter to them, “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God” (1 Corinthians 1:27–29).

Verse 31. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.

To counter false teachers, Paul sarcastically “boasts” about his Christian service, a description that mostly entails the hardships he has survived. He may have sensed that the list of ways he has suffered for Christ sounds like a lot. Maybe he wonders if some of his readers will doubt him. He is aware, also, that what he is about to describe in the following chapter may even be more difficult to believe. He finds it necessary here to insist that he is not lying, staking his claim to truthfulness on God Himself.

He writes that the God and Father of Jesus, who is Lord and is blessed forever, knows that Paul is not lying either about what he has said or about what he is about to say. Claiming God as his literal witness is the highest form of assurance Paul can give to his readers that he is telling the truth.

Verse 32. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me,

Paul has said in the previous verses that he would boast only in his weaknesses. He was not claiming to be powerful or impressive, as the false apostles in Corinth likely did. Even his use of the term “boasting,” in this passage, is meant as a sideways criticism of the self-promoting false teachers. Paul is showing that he was weak, that he suffered and faced great danger, in order to give glory to Christ for what He accomplished through Paul. His success as an evangelist was not based in being invincible, lucky, or charismatic.

This verse gives another example of Paul’s personal weakness from the very beginning of his Christian life (Acts 9:8–25). Aretas, a king in the city of Damascus, apparently agreed with the local Jewish religious leaders. He felt Paul’s proclamation in the synagogue that Jesus was the Son of God was worthy of death. The king posted guards at the entrance to the city to catch Paul leaving town. Paul concludes the story in the following verse, but his point is that powerful men are not hunted by kings.

Verse 33. but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

This completes a story Paul began in the previous verse. He is giving another example of his own weakness. The point of these stories is to prove that Paul’s success is based in God’s power, not his own. This incident with Damascus’ King Aretas (2 Corinthians 11:32) is from immediately after Paul had been converted to faith and sent out by Christ to preach. It set the tone for his entire ministry (Acts 9:1–25).

After being confronted by Christ, Paul’s mission changed instantly. He had come to Damascus to hunt down and jail Christians. Soon after becoming a Christian, though, he preached in the Damascus synagogue that Jesus was the Christ, the Son of God. The Jewish religious leaders couldn’t believe what they were hearing and wanted Paul dead. King Aretas agreed with them and posted guards to catch Paul leaving down and kill him.

Paul, then called Saul, learned of the plot, and some of the disciples of Jesus he had been staying with lowered him in a basket through a window to allow him to escape the city at night.

Paul’s point is that a person with worldly wealth, prestige, and power would not have needed to sneak away from Damascus to save his life. Paul was powerful only to the extent that Christ was powerful in him. While false teachers bragged about their own skills (2 Corinthians 11:12), Paul was content to point only to Christ as his strength.

End of Chapter 11.

Please Note:

The material use in this post, video is from BibleRef.com which is from Got Questions Ministries and is posted here to be read by Immersive reader in the Edge Browser. If you copy this material please follow these rules:

•Content from BibleRef.com may not be used for any commercial purposes, or as part of any commercial work, without explicit prior written consent from Got Questions ministries.

•Any use of our material should be properly credited; please make it clear the content is from BibleRef.com.

•BibleRef.com content may not be altered, modified, or otherwise changed unless such changes are specifically noted.