Read 2 Corinthians 11

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=2%20corinthians%2011&version=NIV

11:1–6 Paul’s “foolishness” (11:1) grows out of 10:12; to commend oneself is to be without understanding, a fool. Because Paul was going to commend himself, he called this foolishness. When compared with 10:8, this forms a startling conclusion. Paul would not be put to shame if he boasted because he would speak the truth. But even though he would speak truth, it would still be foolishness. Paul was saying that what makes boasting foolish is not the truth or falsity of the boast but the self-serving attitude motivating it. The goal of Paul’s “foolishness” was to bring about edification (12:19).

Paul began by expressing his wish that his readers would put up with his foolishness (11:1). He asked that they bear with him (11:1, 4, 19–20) and made it crystal clear that he was acting the fool. The foolishness to which Paul referred was that of boasting. Self-commendation is foolish, but Paul engaged in it briefly to make a point.

Paul continued his argument by exposing and illustrating the problem (11:2–4). In 2 Corinthians 11–12 Paul was waging spiritual warfare according to his definition in 10:5. Paul was seeking to demolish the falsehoods that had taken root in the Corinthian congregation (cf. 2:11; 3:14; 4:4; 10:5; 11:3). For the deception of Eve (11:3), see Genesis 3:4, 13 and 1 Timothy 2:14. Paul gave a reasoned evaluation of himself in 11:5–6. In this case, the message was more important than the medium.

11:7–15 Note the reason why Paul had to be “foolish”: accusations by false apostles and the acceptance of false apostles by the Corinthians. He raised a question relative to his being unskilled in speech (11:7). Paul’s critics rudely implied that the Corinthians got what they paid for. But Paul did not work for free—it had cost someone besides the Corinthians. Paul “robbed” (11:8) other churches in the sense that he received gifts from them in order that he might not be a financial burden on the church at Corinth. Macedonia (11:9) is the northern province of Greece. Paul served the Corinthians freely out of love (11:10–11) in order to cut off opportunity from his enemies (11:12–15). They wanted to be regarded like Paul, but Satan was behind their deception.

11:16–21 Paul continued his attack on his enemies by using sharp sarcasm (11:16–21). He spoke to the wise and unwise (11:16) and recounted his experiences of personal suffering as evidence of his apostolic authority (cf. John 15:18–25). He disassociated his boasting from anything God might do (11:17). He was making it clear that he was acting the fool (cf. 11:16–18, 21, 23, 30, “let me”; 12:1, 6, 11). Boasting according to flesh was well received in Corinth (11:18–21).

11:22–29 Paul’s pedigree (11:22) made it likely that his opponents were Judaizers, probably with a Jewish ethnic background. Paul continued by recounting his past performance (11:23–29). The thirty-nine lashes (11:24) referred to beatings Paul had received at the hands of the Jewish religious leaders. The law called for forty lashes (Deut. 25:1–3), but only thirty-nine were administered to avoid the possibility of exceeding the limit by miscounting. Paul had been shipwrecked (11:25) three times before his shipwreck on the island of Malta en route to Rome (Acts 27:40–44).

11:30–33 Paul’s boasting was in his very weakness (11:30–31). His glory was in earthen vessels (4:7, “perishable containers”) in order to glorify God. He gave another example of his weakness in the account of his escape from Damascus (11:32–33). Paul’s experience in Damascus is recorded in Acts 9:24–25. The term “governor” (11:32), meaning “ruler of a people,” was the title of a leader of a town or country. This ruler was a subordinate of the Arabian king Aretas IV (9 b.c.–a.d. 40), the father-in-law of Herod Antipas. During the years a.d. 37–40 Aretas was given power to appoint an ethnarch by the emperors Caligula and Claudius.

Discussion question

Would Paul be more popular if he had pushed his weight around? How would that have misrepresented the Gospel?

Reflection question

In your life, where are you caught between a rock and a hard place?