A narrow, empty mountain road clinging to the side of a deep river gorge at dusk, the river pale far below.

The Book of

2 Corinthians 11

Rivals in Corinth boast of their polish and their credentials. Paul answers with a very different list: everything his love for Christ has cost him.

33 verses≈ 6 min1 personBSB

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In this chapter

Where we are

1–2:13ComfortWhy Paul changed his plans
2:14–5:10Treasure in clayThe glory of the new covenant
5:11–7Be reconciledOpen your hearts; joy restored
8–9Generous givingThe gift for the saints
10–13Strong in weaknessPaul's defence of his ministryChapter 11

Paul and the False Apostles

I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness, but you are already doing that.

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I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ

2 Corinthians 11:3

For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it very easily.

I consider myself in no way inferior to those “super-apostles.” Although I am not a polished speaker, I am certainly not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every way possible.

Was it a sin for me to humble myself in order to exalt you, because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by accepting their support in order to serve you. And when I was with you and in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs. I have refrained from being a burden to you in any way, and I will continue to do so.

Because I do not love you? God knows I do!

2 Corinthians 11:10–11

But I will keep on doing what I am doing, in order to undercut those who want an opportunity to be regarded as our equals in the things of which they boast. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.

Stylised map · locations approximate

On the map

Help from Macedonia

When Paul first came to Corinth, he would not take the church’s money. Instead, “the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs.” Macedonia lay to the north, where the young churches of Philippi and Thessalonica had begun, and the help probably came from believers there. Paul says his boast of serving for nothing “will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia.”

Question

Quick question

Paul could have asked the Corinthians to pay him for his preaching. He chose not to.

How does Paul say he preached the gospel to the Corinthians?

Paul’s Suffering and Service

receive me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little

2 Corinthians 11:16

In this confident boasting of mine, I am not speaking as the Lord would, but as a fool. Since many are boasting according to the flesh, I too will boast. For you gladly put up with fools, since you are so wise.

In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face. To my shame I concede that we were too weak for that! Speaking as a fool, however, I can match what anyone else dares to boast about.

So am I

Whiteboard

Paul’s rivals had a list of credentials, so Paul answers them line by line. Hebrew, Israelite, a son of Abraham: “So am I.” But when it comes to being servants of Christ, Paul doesn’t point to his gifts or his successes. He points to his scars: “in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings.” And he says he is “speaking as if I were out of my mind.”

Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I.

Are they servants of Christ? (I am speaking as if I were out of my mind.) I am so much more: in harder labor, in more imprisonments, in worse beatings, in frequent danger of death.

Paul

Seen from behind, a man stands at night at an unglazed window opening, looking out over a sleeping town, a small clay lamp burning on the sill.

Apart from these external trials, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.

0:05

Narrated by Bob Souer · BSB audio, public domain

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is led into sin, and I do not burn with grief?

Pray

For all the churches

Paul carried “the pressure of my concern for all the churches” every day. Pray for your own church today: for anyone who is weak or struggling, for anyone being led into sin, and for those who lead and teach. Then pray for one church far from you, especially believers who suffer for Christ. Ask God to give you a heart that feels what they feel.

2 Corinthians 11:30

The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is forever worthy of praise, knows that I am not lying.

At night, a large rope basket being lowered down the outside of a high stone city wall from a small window, torches far off at the gate.

In Damascus, the governor under King Aretas secured the city of the Damascenes in order to arrest me. But I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his grasp.

Reflect

The things that show my weakness

Paul’s rivals boasted of their strengths. Paul ends his list with an apostle being let down a wall in a basket, running for his life. “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” What weakness, failure or limit would you rather hide? Write it down. Then write how God has carried you through it, or how you are asking Him to.

You’ve experienced

2 Corinthians 11

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A verse to carry with you

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

2 Corinthians 11:30

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