March 25, 2026
I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 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. 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. Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. 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. 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? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. 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 the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 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. For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. 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. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! 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. 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. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 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. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 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; 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; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.
In this chapter Paul begins to establish the credentials of his apostleship and authority over the Corinthian church. It is obvious that he is troubled that this can be seen as boasting, but he is determined to do it.
1) In verses 1 – 21 Paul contrasts his preaching in Corinth with the preaching of the false teachers/super-apostles. How did his preaching differ from theirs?
- in style (verses 1-6)
- in payment (verses 7-12)
- in pastoral care (verses 13-21)
2) In verses 22 – 33 Paul is now comparing his claims of apostleship to theirs. He cites his background (verses 22,23) and his accomplishments (verses 23-33). We would like to focus on the latter.
We would expect Paul to have listed ecclesias he founded, cities he has preached in and how many converts he made. But he does not do that. Why does Paul consider this to be a list of his accomplishments?
Discussion Summary:
Question 1: Paul is unskilled in speaking, whereas the super-apostles are eloquent. Paul wants the brethren to understand that eloquence does not always indicate wisdom. They need discerning ears so they are not deceived.
Paul also did not take a salary from the brethren in Corinth even if that was his right. The super-apostles are supported by the brethren. Paul made this choice so that the brethren would not feel he was a burden or trying to say what they wanted to hear. The super-apostles perceived this as an indication of Paul’s value to the brethren. “You get what you pay for.”
While in Corinth Paul took a fatherly, gentle approach with the brethren. The super-apostles take a much more authoritarian approach. They seem to often command, and rebuke the brethren.
Question 2: The super-apostles accept Paul’s mission to the gentiles to establish new ecclesias, but they claim an authority over these ecclesias once Paul leaves to continue preaching. In their eyes, Paul’s efforts were accompanied by difficulties that indicated his unfitness to stabilize and mature the brethren in Corinth. Paul’s perspective is that these personal difficulties are actually evidence that his work is accomplished by the power of God alone and therefore cannot be hindered. He believes these personal failures are an example to the brethren in Corinth that if rightly understood will be a source of strength to them.
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