v.6-11
Paul's Defence
v.12-15
Paul & false prophets
v.16-21
Paul's Boasting: 3. Ironically as a fool
v.22-27
Paul's Boasting: 4. His Experiences
v.28-33
Paul's Boasting: 5. His Concern for the Churches
[Chapter
Synopsis: This
is a fascinating chapter where Paul says he will break the habit
of a lifetime (implied) and in order to distinguish himself from
the workers of the enemy, he will boast of the way of life he
has lived, serving without payment, coping with counterfeit ministries,
coping with perils of all sorts.]
v.1-5
Paul's Foolishness
v.1
(I feel rather
silly talking like this but…) I
hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please
put up with me!
v.2
(… I am very
jealous for you having brought you to Christ like his bride-to-be)
I
am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one
husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin
to him.
v.3
(but I worry
that you may have been led astray by the enemy) But
I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning,
your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure
devotion to Christ.
v.4
(and I fear
you might accept different saviours, spirits or gospels)
For
if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus
we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit
you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted,
you put up with it easily enough.
v.5
(so I have to
defend our ministry against other who you might follow) I
do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.”
[Or
to the most eminent apostles]
[Passage
Synopsis: Any
defensive language he might use is because he is jealous for them
and fears they may get led astray by the enemy.]
v.6-11
Paul's Defence
v.6
(I may not be
as eloquent as some but I do have knowledge [from Christ] which
I have shared with you) I
may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge.
We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
v.7
(did I do wrong
by not charging for my services?) Was
it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching
the gospel of God to you free of charge?
v.8
(other churches
supported me so I could serve you) I
robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to
serve you.
v.9
(I asked for
nothing from you for the brothers from Macedonia supplied me)
And
when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to
anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what
I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any
way, and will continue to do so.
v.10
(I will tell
this truth if necessary wherever I go) As
surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions
of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine.
v.11
(…because I
love you”!) Why?
Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
[Passage
Synopsis: he
hadn't come with great eloquence and he hadn't been a burden to
them, allowing others from elsewhere to support him to enable
him to be there.]
v.12-15
Paul & false prophets
v.12
(I will persevere
in our ministry to stand out from other who boast) And
I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground
from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal
with us in the things they boast about.
v.13
(but they are
false deceivers, pretenders) For
such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading
as apostles of Christ.
v.14
(just like Satan
does all these things) And
no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
v.15
(as his servants
they do the same and will get what they deserve) It
is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants
of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
[Passage
Synopsis: Paul
seek to distinguish himself from false workers who imitate their
master, the devil.]
v.16-21
Paul's Boasting: 3. Ironically as a fool
v.16
(he says he's
willing to look a fool to put the record straight) I
repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate
me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting.
v.17
(this is me,
not the Lord) In
this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would,
but as a fool.
v.18
(for a moment
I'll use the same approach as the world to make things clear)
Since
many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast.
v.19
(being the wise
people you are I know you'll understand my apparent foolishness)
You
gladly put up with fools since you are so wise!
v.20
(because I know
you will put up even with the foolishness of the deceivers who
seek to enslave you) In
fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits
you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in
the face.
v.21
(I'm not strong
enough to do that.) To
my shame I admit that we were too weak for that! Whatever anyone
else dares to boast about—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare
to boast about.
[Passage
Synopsis: Almost
using satire Paul says he will dare appear foolish to compete
on equal terms with the world, even challenging those other boasters
he had spoken of before.]
v.22-27
Paul's Boasting: 4. His Experiences
v.22
(check out our
backgrounds; mine is fine) Are
they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they
Abraham's descendants? So am I.
v.23
(I've worked
harder than most and suffered more than most) Are
they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.)
I am more. I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently,
been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and
again.
v.24
(indeed five
times I've been beaten) Five
times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
v.25
(I've been beaten
stoned and shipwrecked, all for the ministry [implied]) Three
times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three
times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open
sea,
v.26
(constantly
on the move it's been a life of constant danger) I
have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers,
in danger from bandits, in danger from my fellow Jews, in danger
from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country,
in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers.
v.27
(sleepless,
hungry, thirsty, cold, and naked, I've kept on) I
have laboured and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I
have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food;
I have been cold and naked.
[Passage
Synopsis: He
throws caution to the wind and tells the sort of life he's lived
since being called by God to be an apostle.]
v.28-33
Paul's Boasting: 5. His Concern for the Churches
v.28
(and on top
of all this I've been constantly anxious for all the churches)
Besides
everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all
the churches.
v.29
(when they feel
weak, I am weak, when they fail, I feel it) Who
is weak, and I do not feel weak? Who is led into sin, and I do
not inwardly burn?
v.30
(if I have to
boast to reveal the truth, I will boast in my weakness) If
I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.
v.31
(the Lord knows
I speak the truth) The
God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever,
knows that I am not lying.
v.32
(on one occasion
I was arrested to save me…) In
Damascus the governor under King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes
guarded in order to arrest me.
v.33
(and on another
I had to escape over the wall in a basket) But
I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall and slipped
through his hands.
[Passage
Synopsis: he
continues to explain the anguish he has experienced on behalf
of the churches sand the weakness he has felt coping with the
things that have happened to him.]
Chapter
Brief Summary/Recap:
Ch.11:
Folly & Boasting
•
Paul distinguish himself from
the workers of the enemy,
•
he does it by boasting of the
way of life he has lived, serving without payment, coping with
counterfeit ministries, coping with perils of all sorts