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Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 11:16-33
Thus far we have covered three aspects of Paul’s vindication of his apostolic authority: his warring according to the Spirit, the measure of God’s rule, and his jealousy for Christ over the believers against the false apostles. In this message we shall consider a fourth aspect, Paul’s compelled boasting. In a rather long section of 2 Corinthians (11:16—12:18) Paul vindicates his authority by a compelled boasting. Although he did not want to boast, it was necessary for him to do so.
In 11:16-33 Paul was not wise in a natural way, and he did not play politics. If he had been wise or political, he would not have boasted. However, Paul was willing to appear foolish by boasting.
We need to learn from Paul that there are times when we should not be so wise or political. Our natural politeness may be a kind of subtle wisdom. Instead, we need to be faithful, honest, and frank. But in so doing, we may appear foolish in the eyes of others.
In these verses Paul begs the Corinthians to bear with him in his foolishness. He asks them for permission to exercise foolishness in boasting. In verse 16 he says, “Again I say, let no one think me to be foolish; but if otherwise, accept me even as foolish, that I also may boast a little.” Here Paul seems to be saying, “Bear with me in my foolishness. Up to this point I have been wise, but now I must speak in a strong way. Before I do this, I ask you to bear with me in my foolishness. I am about to tell you something in a very frank way.” Then Paul proceeds to use certain frank expressions and severe utterances.
A person exercising wisdom would never speak in this way. Instead, he would be polite and try to cause others to appreciate him. In the foregoing chapters Paul was wise, but here he appears to be foolish, boasting and using ironic expressions.
At times, in order to speak the truth, we may need to appear foolish to others. Martin Luther did this when he declared to degraded Christianity that justification is altogether by faith. When he did this, he exercised foolishness. Anyone who wants to maintain a high position in the religious hierarchy will never do this.
As we have indicated, in chapter eleven we see Paul’s foolishness. He has already used terms such as false apostles, deceitful workers, and ministers of Satan. When we read such expressions, we all take sides with Paul. However, when he wrote this Epistle, it was not easy for him to use these terms. If you had been Paul, would you have had the boldness to write such an Epistle? Probably most of us would never write in this way. We may have spoken kindly about the Judaizers. We would not have had the boldness to use terms like false apostles, deceitful workers, or ministers of Satan. But because Paul was willing to appear foolish, he had the boldness to speak in this way.
Would you not say that verse 16 is the writing of a foolish person? First Paul says, “Let no one think me to be foolish.” Then he goes on to say, “If otherwise, accept me even as foolish, that I also may boast a little.” What would you think if a person came to your locality and spoke in this way? Would you not regard him as a very foolish person? A wise man would certainly speak differently.
In verses 17 and 18 Paul continues, “What I speak, I speak not according to the Lord, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. Since many boast according to the flesh, I also will boast.” Would you not say that Paul seems to be beside himself when he declares that he will speak something not according to the Lord? We may think that if Paul is not speaking according to the Lord, he should be silent. How could an apostle speak something that is not according to the Lord? Nevertheless, Paul uttered such a word. If we had been present at the time, we may have advised him not to write in that way.
What does Paul mean by “this confidence” in verse 17? This confidence seems related to Paul’s being foolish, to his being beside himself. If he did not have such a confidence, he certainly could not boast. Otherwise, he would have conducted himself like a very cultured person and would not have boasted at all. A person who has the confidence that he is not beside himself will never boast in the way Paul did in 2 Corinthians 11.
After speaking an ironic word to the Corinthians about bearing gladly with fools (v. 19), Paul says in verse 20, “For you bear it if anyone enslaves you, if anyone devours you, if anyone takes you, if anyone lifts himself up, if anyone beats you in the face.” Here Paul seems to be saying, “If you gladly bear all this, can you not bear with me, one who is foolish and beside himself?”
In verse 21 Paul says, also ironically, “I speak by way of dishonor, as though we have been weak; but in whatever anyone is daring, I speak in foolishness, I also am daring.” Here Paul seems to be saying, “I forget about my standing, my honor, and my glory. I speak by way of dishonor. I don’t care what you think about me. I speak as though I have been weak.” Paul then goes on to compare himself with the Judaizers, saying that he is also a Hebrew, an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, and a minister of Christ.
In these verses we have a comparison between Paul and the Judaizers. In verse 23 Paul speaks of being in labors more abundantly, in imprisonments more abundantly, in stripes excessively, and in deaths often. In verses 24 and 25 Paul says, “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked; a night and day I have spent in the deep.” The stripes in verse 24 were from the Jews, and the rods in verse 25 were used by the Romans (Acts 16:22-23; 22:25). Not including the shipwreck at Melita (universally recognized as Malta), Paul was shipwrecked three times, none of which is related in the Acts. The Judaizers, of course, did not suffer any of these things. There is no comparison between them and Paul in matters such as these.
Verse 26 says, “In journeys often, in dangers of rivers, in dangers of robbers, in dangers from my race, in dangers from the nations, in dangers in the city, in dangers in the desert, in dangers in the sea, in dangers among false brothers.” The rivers here are those which were liable to violent and sudden changes from the sudden swelling of mountain streams or flooding of dry watercourses. The robbers mentioned in this verse were of tribes inhabiting the mountains between the tableland of Asia Minor and the coast, tribes notorious for robbery. The false brothers spoken of in verse 26 refer mainly to the Judaizing Christians.
Verse 27 continues: “In labor and hardship, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.” Since fastings are listed here with hardships, they must refer to involuntary fasting due to lack of food. Hence, they differ from hunger. Hunger may refer to a situation in which there is no way to obtain food; involuntary fasting may refer to a situation of poverty. The cold was due to the weather and insufficient clothing; the nakedness refers to insufficient clothing or nakedness due to scourging or shipwreck.
In verse 28 Paul says, “Apart from the things which are not mentioned, the pressure upon me daily, the anxiety for all the churches.” In this verse the Greek word rendered pressure literally means a crowd. It denotes a crowd of cares pressing on Paul. This refers to the anxious care for all the churches. The things which are not mentioned are things not mentioned in verses 23 through 27.
In verses 23 through 28 nearly thirty matters are covered. In only two is there actually a comparison between Paul and the Judaizers: labors and imprisonments. The Judaizers labored and were sometimes imprisoned. But Paul was in labors more abundantly and in imprisonments more abundantly. Furthermore, the Judaizers did not have any of the other items. It is certain that they did not have any anxiety for the churches. But the apostles, especially Paul, daily had an anxious care for all the churches.
In verse 29 Paul goes on to say, “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is stumbled, and I do not burn?” The word “burn” means to burn in sorrow and indignation over the cause of stumbling.
In verse 30 Paul continues, “If I must boast, I will boast of the things of my weakness.” Here Paul refers to his sufferings and hardships, which made him appear weak, mean, and contemptible in the eyes of his adversaries. He was attested as a true apostle by these things, not by the strength of which his adversaries boasted.
Paul’s sufferings made him appear weak in the eyes of others. A strong man can do many things to eliminate suffering or reduce it. Paul, however, could not do anything about his sufferings. The fact that he could not reduce his sufferings indicates that he was weak. Therefore, in the eyes of the opposers, he was a weak and pitiful person.
In ancient times as well as today, there was the concept that a person who is blessed of God should not have suffering. Paul’s adversaries thought that if Paul were truly of God, God would bless him and he would not suffer. They regarded Paul’s suffering as a sign that he was not of God or was not under God’s blessing. Paul’s concept was different. Here Paul seems to be saying to the Judaizers, “If you were truly of God, God would allow you to suffer a great deal. A genuine minister of Christ is one who suffers.” Many Christians today have the concept that if a person is rich, prosperous, and flourishing, he is a faithful servant of God and is blessed by Him. They also have the concept that those who must endure suffering and hardship are not under the blessing of God.
In verses 31 through 33 Paul concludes, “The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus, the governor under Aretas the king guarded the city of the Damascenes to seize me, and I was lowered in a basket through a window, through the wall, and escaped his hands.” If you had been Paul, would you not have felt ashamed to escape in this way? Some may ask, “Why was it necessary for an ambassador of Christ to escape in a basket? Why did he not claim the victory of Jesus and the headship of the King of kings over this ethnarch? There is no need for you to escape in a basket through a window. This man cannot be God’s chosen one, for God does not bless him.”
We need to understand why Paul wrote these verses in the way he did. Humanly speaking, Paul had no glory or honor. Moreover, his way of speaking in this chapter seems to be foolish. Paul was in a very difficult environment. He suffered a great deal, and he was even short of food. It seems that God was not with him and did not honor him. Where are the miracles promised in Mark 16? It seems that the Lord did not supply Paul. He even allowed him to be shipwrecked and to spend a day and a night afloat at sea. Why did Paul emphasize things that are neither honorable nor glorious? Paul’s way is the divine way. In contrast, the concept of many Christians is versus God’s way. What Paul writes in this chapter certainly corresponds to the life of the Lord Jesus. When He was on earth, the Lord suffered affliction. Even though He was the Son of God, His life was not a life of prosperity or outward blessing. Apparently, the Lord Jesus was not blessed by God. When He was crucified, the Jews mocked Him and said that if He were of God, God would deliver Him from the cross. But instead of sending angels to rescue the Lord Jesus, God allowed Him to die on the cross. In principle, Paul’s experience was the same.
By writing this chapter in the way he did, Paul made it clear not only to the believers at Corinth, but to all believers in Christ throughout the centuries, what God’s way is. God’s way is seen in the genuine apostles, in the genuine ministers of the new covenant, not in the so-called super-apostles. Those false apostles may be prosperous and flourishing, and they may have no need to escape in a basket. But the real apostles experience adversity and suffering because the entire earth is opposed to God’s economy. Moreover, this present age is not the time for us to prosper and flourish. Rather, it is a time for us to suffer for the sake of the Body of Christ. In the words of Colossians 1:24, we are filling up what is lacking of the sufferings of Christ for the sake of His Body, the church.
On the cross the Lord Jesus suffered for our redemption. But during His life on earth, He suffered for the building up of the Body. We cannot participate in the sufferings of Christ for redemption. It would be blasphemy to say that we can participate in such sufferings. However, we must share in Christ’s sufferings for His Body. This means that we must follow His way, the narrow way. We must walk in His footsteps and bear the cross. The Lord Jesus lived a life of suffering, and we must do the same. This is to fill up what is lacking of the sufferings of Christ for the building up of the church, His Body.
The Judaizers did not suffer for the Body of Christ. Therefore, Paul wrote this chapter in such a way as to make clear who are the genuine ministers of the New Testament and who are not. This matter is not determined by the prosperity of any minister; it is determined by his suffering.
In chapter eleven we have two secrets of discerning the genuine from the false: enjoying the Lord as our life supply and suffering in following the Lord. On the one hand, we enjoy the Lord Jesus; on the other hand, we follow Him to live a life of suffering. This enjoyment and suffering are determining factors by which we may discern what is genuine and what is false. Anything that helps us to enjoy the Lord and that strengthens us to follow Him in His suffering is genuine. What does not encourage us in these two matters is false.
At the beginning of chapter eleven Paul speaks of the Lord as our dear Husband. Toward the end of this chapter he refers to the churches. The first secret of discernment is related to the enjoyment of Christ as our Husband; the second is related to the proper concern and care for all the churches, a concern that involves filling up the lack of the sufferings of Christ for the Body. These matters are somewhat hidden in this lengthy chapter. Therefore, we need to read this chapter carefully. Otherwise, these crucial points may be concealed from our understanding. Thank the Lord for showing us that we need to enjoy Him as our Husband, loving Him with a pure and single heart and having a mind that is not corrupted by the deceiver. We also thank Him for showing us that we need to follow in His footsteps and be willing to suffer what He suffered for the building up of the church, His Body.
