2 Corinthians 11
2 Corinthians 11 is composed of Paul defending his apostolic authority and the authenticity of his ministry. At that time, “false apostles” had infiltrated the Corinthian church, disparaging Paul’s apostleship and proclaiming a different gospel and a different Jesus to the believers in Corinth. In response, Paul emphasizes his sufferings and weakness, showing what the true minister’s life looks like.
- Verses 1–6: Paul’s caution and zeal, and his tender concern for the Corinthians
- Verses 7–15: Comparison with false apostles and an explanation of Paul’s approach to ministry
- Verses 16–33: Emphasizing the truthfulness of his apostleship through his weakness and suffering
1verseI wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness, but indeed you do bear with me.
2verseFor I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you in marriage to one husband, that I might present you as a pure virgin to Christ.
3verseBut I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve in his craftiness, so your minds might be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
4verseFor if he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we didn’t preach, or if you receive a different spirit which you didn’t receive, or a different “good news” which you didn’t accept, you put up with that well enough.
5verseFor I reckon that I am not at all behind the very best apostles.
6verseBut though I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not unskilled in knowledge. No, in every way we have been revealed to you in all things.
7verseOr did I commit a sin in humbling myself that you might be exalted, because I preached to you God’s Good News free of charge?
8verseI robbed other assemblies, taking wages from them that I might serve you.
9verseWhen I was present with you and was in need, I wasn’t a burden on anyone, for the brothers, when they came from Macedonia, supplied the measure of my need. In everything I kept myself from being burdensome to you, and I will continue to do so.
10verseAs the truth of Christ is in me, no one will stop me from this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
11verseWhy? Because I don’t love you? God knows.
12verseBut what I do, that I will continue to do, that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity, that in which they boast, they may be recognized just like us.
13verseFor such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles.
14verseAnd no wonder, for even Satan masquerades as an angel of light.
15verseIt is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
16verseI say again, let no one think me foolish. But if so, yet receive me as foolish, that I also may boast a little.
17verseThat which I speak, I don’t speak according to the Lord, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting.
18verseSeeing that many boast after the flesh, I will also boast.
19verseFor you bear with the foolish gladly, being wise.
20verseFor you bear with a man if he brings you into bondage, if he devours you, if he takes you captive, if he exalts himself, or if he strikes you on the face.
21verseTo my shame, I speak as though we had been weak. Yet in whatever way anyone is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also.
22verseAre they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the offspring of Abraham? So am I.
23verseAre they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself.) I am more so: in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, and in deaths often.
24verseFive times I received forty stripes minus one from the Jews.
25verseThree times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep.
26verseI have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers;
27versein labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.
28verseBesides those things that are outside, there is that which presses on me daily: anxiety for all the assemblies.
29verseWho is weak, and I am not weak? Who is caused to stumble, and I don’t burn with indignation?
30verseIf I must boast, I will boast of the things that concern my weakness.
31verseThe God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, he who is blessed forever more, knows that I don’t lie.
32verseIn Damascus the governor under King Aretas guarded the Damascenes’ city, desiring to arrest me.
33verseI was let down in a basket through a window by the wall, and escaped his hands.
Explanation of the Main Content
Paul deeply worries that the Corinthians not stray from the gospel he preached. Even his love is expressed to the point of being like “God’s holy jealousy” (verses 1–3).
Continuing on, Paul explains why he preached the gospel to the Corinthian church without charge (verses 7–12). He clarifies that it was not because of selfishness or weakness, but so that he would not give anyone an excuse or a pretext by preaching the gospel for free.
In the following passage (verses 13–15), Paul clearly identifies those who attack him as “false apostles,” warning that they are pretending to be apostles, deceived into it by Satan’s schemes.
In the final section (verses 16–33), Paul lists the various sufferings and trials he went through. He emphasizes that it is not the standards of the world, but rather the grace and power of God revealed in weakness and suffering that marks a true apostle as such.
Points for Reflection
- When thinking about the true nature of ministry and the gospel, we can consider that it is not revealed through the world’s standards or glamour, but rather through weakness and self-sacrifice.
- It becomes an opportunity to check whether the gospel I listen to and follow truly centers on Jesus Christ, or whether I might be following other standards or other people instead.
Applying It to Myself
- I reflect on whether my faith and service are rooted in the fundamental gospel rather than being drawn toward outward things.
- Just as Paul regarded his own confessed weakness and suffering as a boast in sharing, I can trust that the difficulties and humbling I experience in my life are actually opportunities for God’s work to be revealed.
