2 Corinthians 11:16-33

 (2 Corinthians 11:16-33)

 I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.  That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.  Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.  For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.  For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face.  I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.  Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.  Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.  Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?  If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.  The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:  And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.

 

The words of 2 Corinthians 11:16 to 33 correspond to the last part of the book of 2 Corinthians when it is divided into three. In particular, Paul actively asserted his apostolic authority and at the same time responded to false apostles. He warned that he would be firmly disciplined. Paul's tone of voice suddenly began to change in chapter 10. He began to become resolute, and as he writes down verse by verse, his elevating tone and harsh breathing seem to be heard right next to him.

 

It was two groups that Paul consistently talked about in such a hard-and-trumpy tone. One was the members of the Corinthian Church that he loved so much that he had a spiritual heritage, and the other was the false apostles who ruled over the Saints in Corinth, keeping them apart from the true Gospel. Paul's attitude toward these members of the Corinthian church and the false apostles was the beginning of a conversation at their own level.

 

『I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting』 Now, Paul is starting to come up with a story he never wanted to tell. It was to be proud of myself. The reason he was so reluctant to do this was because he knew so well how foolish it was before God to be proud of himself. Therefore, Paul thoroughly tells two things in advance. The first is, "From now on, do not regard Paul himself as a fool," and the other is "That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting."

 

Paul, who was Saul, met Jesus on the road to Damascus. From then on, to him, Jesus was all of him, and for his sake, even his own life was not valued. That Paul is now doing something the Lord does not want. If Paul didn't say that, the Corinthians at the time did not understand Paul's language. Their language was eroded by the false apostles, their thoughts were occupied, and their faith changed into a strange and very different from what they used to be. That is why, with the tears of the through, Paul is speaking at the level of their eyes.

 

『Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. 』 In the end, the peak of foolish boasting was "to boast with the body and with the things of the body". However, only after being deprived of interest in the things of the flesh and encroached on the spirit by the false apostles, the members of the Corinthian church were beyond imagination. 『For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. 』We can know two things. One is that the fools are false apostles. And what the false apostles did in front of the Corinthians is that they boasted about themselves. In the end, they were dazzling the church members with vain pride and ruining the church of the Lord by reigning over them.

 

However, the problem is that the members of the Corinthian church gladly accepted such false apostles. At that time, the Corinthians remained silent, even if they were prosecuted as slaves, were eaten, sacked, looked down upon, or beaten on the cheeks. It was never a normal relationship. Nevertheless, the members of the Corinthian church did not recognize this unusual relationship, but rather attacked the apostle Paul. 『Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 』

 

Finally, Paul began to show off his foolish self. However, this boast was not a boast of following the Lord, but a boast at the level of the Corinthians who now do not understand Paul's language. Paul is describing himself, never being worldly behind them. Here, the Hebrews are from the Palestinian clan, that is, the pedigree aspect, and the Israelis belong to the people of God, the religious aspect, and the descendant of Abraham means circumcision in the legal tradition. , Reveals that he is the heir of the promise. This Paul finally tells about the true pride, not foolishness, starting from the word Christ's worker.

 

『 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?』

 The second boast is 『Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?』 Paul said the second boast of being overwhelmed by anxiety for the church as the body of the Lord. Paul identifies himself with the body of the Lord. This is the third boast.『 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities 』 Finally, the apostle Paul boasted that false apostles could not imitate. In other words, he is proud of his weaknesses. This is because false apostles are people who exalt themselves, people who receive different spirits to make them great, people who preach a different Jesus, a different gospel.

 

The apostle Paul, from a worldly point of view at the time, was by no means a weak man. However, he faced infinitely weak and ugly self before God, and nevertheless, he witnessed the things God revealed through such a weak self, at every moment of the book of Acts. Therefore, he did not fall into the pride of relying on their strength like the false apostles, but he realized that his own shortcomings and weaknesses were a clay vessel that could be filled with God's.