2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 11 STUDY GUIDE
2 Corinthians Chapter 11
Verses 1-6
“The Wrapping Or the Gift?”
[11-19-17]
Review: “Brag About the Lord! ”
2 Corinthians 10:13-18) [KJV] But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.
See our 2 Corinthians Chapter 10 Study Guide
NOTE: “If we are going to brag then we will keep that bragging within certain parameters. Those parameters are confined to what God has called us to do, and what God has enabled us to do. God called us and enabled us to bring the Good News about Christ to you” [vs. 13 in my words].
James 1:17) [GW] Every good present and every perfect gift comes from above, from the Father who made the sun, moon, and stars. The Father doesn’t change like the shifting shadows produced by the sun and the moon.
*NOTE: If you have anything good to brag about then that good thing was a gift of God to you! So, give God the glory! Brag about Him!
14) For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:
NOTE: These troublemakers in Corinth didn’t arrive first in Corinth with the Gospel message; Paul, and his ministerial team, did!
15) Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,
NOTE: These pompous boasters in Corinth who were endeavoring, through their boasting, to get the Corinthian believers to trust them more than they trusted Paul.
16) (NLT) Then we will be able to go and preach the Good News in other places that are far beyond you, where no one else is working. Then there will be no question about being in someone else’s territory.
17) But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
NOTE: We can’t brag about any success; it is God’s message, not our’s! We are simply God’s ambassadors to those we share the Gospel with. God speaks through us as we beg them to be “reunited with God.” GIVE GOD THE GLORY!!
18) For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth.
NOTE: There is only One Whose commendation is eternally important to us; we want God to say about us, “They belong to me!”
This Week: “The Wrapping Or the Gift? ”
2 Corinthians 11:1-6) [KJV] Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
(GW) I want you to put up with a little foolishness from me. I’m sure that you will.
NOTE: Paul is saying, “Since you’ve allowed some among you to boast, please allow me the same leeway. Please allow me to indulge in the foolishness of boasting for a moment.”
2) For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
(GNB) I am jealous for you, just as God is; you are like a pure virgin whom I have promised in marriage to one man only, Christ himself.
NOTE: Paul was watching over these Corinthian believers the same way a father would watch over his virgin daughter that he had promised to a man in marriage.
3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
(ERV) But I am afraid that your minds will be led away from your true and pure following of Christ. This could happen just as Eve was tricked by that snake with his clever lies.
QUESTION: What was Paul’s concern here?
ANSWER: Paul was worried that the lying devil would deceive these believers through the cunning lies of the false teachers among them in the same way the devil deceived Eve through the cunning lies of the serpent.
4) For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
(GNB) For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; and you accept a spirit and a gospel completely different from the Spirit and the gospel you received from us!
QUESTION: What did Paul say to the Galatians about this very subject?
Galatians 1:6-9) [GNB] I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ, and are accepting another gospel.
7) Actually, there is no “other gospel,” but I say this because there are some people who are upsetting you and trying to change the gospel of Christ.
8) But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell!
9) We have said it before, and now I say it again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel that is different from the one you accepted, may he be condemned to hell!
ANSWER: Paul tells the Galatian believers that there is only one Gospel that saves! The Gospel message that you and I have learned from the Holy Scriptures is the only message that can get someone from here to Heaven!
5) For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
“very chiefest apostles” – “is probably ironical also, “the super apostles” as these Judaizers set themselves up to be” [Robertson].
(GNB) I do not think that I am the least bit inferior to those very special so-called “apostles” of yours!
(GW) I don’t think I’m inferior in any way to your super-apostles.
QUESTION: What’s Paul’s line of reasoning with his readers thus far?
- Please put up with a little foolish boasting from me [vs. 1].
- I am like your father who has betrothed you to your fiancé and am determined to present you to him as a pure virgin [vs. 2].
- However, I am afraid that Satan is using some snakes among you to deceive you the very same way that the snake deceived Eve in the Garden [vs. 3].
- Don’t listen to false teachers who teach a false gospel [vs. 4].
- I am not inferior to those so-called super-apostles [vs. 5].
NOTE: Paul was reminding his Corinthian readers of his authority as a true apostle of God!
6) But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.
(NLT) I may not be a trained speaker, but I know what I am talking about. I think you realize this by now, for we have proved it again and again.
Remember these words from chapter 10:
2 Corinthians 10:10-11) [ERV] Some people say, “Paul’s letters are powerful and sound important, but when he is with us, he is weak and the worst speaker you have ever heard.”
11) Those people should know this: When we are there with you, we will show the same power that we show now in our letters.
QUESTION: What is Paul doing in vs. 6 of today’s lesson?
ANSWER: He’s pointing his readers back to what he previously wrote in the above verses from chapter 10. He’s telling them, “Maybe I’m not the world’s greatest speaker, but I know what I’m talking about! I have knowledge from above; God-given knowledge.” He then tells them, “You know that I have God-given knowledge because it was ‘manifest among you’”
QUESTION: What’s more important, the doctrine you teach or the ability you teach with?
**ANSWER: A preacher’s delivery is nothing more than the wrapping the covers the gift! The gift is the truth of God’s Holy Word! You can settle for the wrapping if you prefer it; I am hungry for the gift!
2 CORINTHIANS Chapter 11
Verses 7-15
“What Is Satan Really Up To?”
[1-7-18]
Review: “The Wrapping Or the Gift? ”
2 Corinthians 11:1-6) [KJV] Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me.
(GW) I want you to put up with a little foolishness from me. I’m sure that you will.
2) For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ.
NOTE: Paul was watching over these Corinthian believers the same way a father would watch over his virgin daughter that he had promised to a man in marriage.
3) But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
NOTE: Paul was worried that the lying devil would deceive these believers through the cunning lies of the false teachers among them in the same way the devil deceived Eve through the cunning lies of the serpent.
4) (GNB) For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached; and you accept a spirit and a gospel completely different from the Spirit and the gospel you received from us!
QUESTION: What did Paul say to the Galatians about this very subject?
Galatians 1:6-9) [GNB] I am surprised at you! In no time at all you are deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ, and are accepting another gospel.
7) Actually, there is no “other gospel,” but I say this because there are some people who are upsetting you and trying to change the gospel of Christ.
8) But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel that is different from the one we preached to you, may he be condemned to hell!
9) We have said it before, and now I say it again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel that is different from the one you accepted, may he be condemned to hell!
ANSWER: Paul tells the Galatian believers that there is only one Gospel that saves! The Gospel message that you and I have learned from the Holy Scriptures is the only message that can get someone from here to Heaven!
5) For I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles.
“very chiefest apostles” – “is probably ironical also, “the super apostles” as these Judaizers set themselves up to be” [Robertson].
(GNB) I do not think that I am the least bit inferior to those very special so-called “apostles” of yours!
(GW) I don’t think I’m inferior in any way to your super-apostles.
QUESTION: What’s Paul’s line of reasoning with his readers thus far?
- Please put up with a little foolish boasting from me [vs. 1].
- I am like your father who has betrothed you to your fiancé and am determined to present you to him as a pure virgin [vs. 2].
- However, I am afraid that Satan is using some snakes among you to deceive you the very same way that the snake deceived Eve in the Garden [vs. 3].
- Don’t listen to false teachers who teach a false gospel [vs. 4].
- I am not inferior to those so-called super-apostles [vs. 5].
NOTE: Paul was reminding his Corinthian readers of his authority as a true apostle of God!
6) But though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been throughly made manifest among you in all things.
(NLT) I may not be a trained speaker, but I know what I am talking about. I think you realize this by now, for we have proved it again and again.
QUESTION: What’s more important, the doctrine you teach or the ability you teach with?
**ANSWER: A preacher’s delivery is nothing more than the wrapping the covers the gift! The gift is the truth of God’s Holy Word! You can settle for the wrapping if you prefer it; I am hungry for the gift!
This Week: “What Is Satan Really Up To? ”
2 Corinthians 11:7-15) [KJV] Have I committed an offence in abasing myself that ye might be exalted, because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
(NIV) 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?
(ERV) I did the work of telling God’s Good News to you without pay. I humbled myself to make you important. Do you think that was wrong?
“In the culture of that day, if a public speaker didn’t take money for his speaking, he was often disregarded as a poor speaker, with worthless teaching. Many people thought of someone who charged no speaking fee as strictly an amateur” [Guzik].
QUESTION: What idiocy evidently got hold of these Corinthians Christians?
ANSWER: They evidently believed the lies of false teachers who claimed that Paul would have charged them for his teachings if he had been any good, or if he truly had anything of value to say.
8) I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.
(NLT) I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost.
9) And when I was present with you, and wanted, I was chargeable to no man: for that which was lacking to me the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied: and in all things I have kept myself from being burdensome unto you, and so will I keep myself.
(NLT) And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not ask you to help me. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me another gift. I have never yet asked you for any support, and I never will.
10) As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
“Achaia signifies in the New Testament a Roman province which included the whole of the Peloponnesus and the greater part of Hellas proper, with the adjacent islands. This province, with that of Macedonia, comprehended the whiles of Greece; and Achaia and Macedonia are frequently mentioned together in the New Testament to indicate all Greece” [Bible History Online].
NOTE: The churches in Macedonia were giving to Paul; the churches in Achaia were not.
QUESTION: Why is that true?
ANSWER: I have no idea! Evidently the Holy Spirit convinced Paul that taking offerings from the churches in Achaia would somehow hinder their reception of the Gospel. Yet, at the time of Paul writing these words false teachers had convinced some of his readers that the very fact that Paul had not taken offerings from them was because he knew he was not worthy of their offerings.
11) Wherefore? because I love you not? God knoweth.
(ERV) And why do I not burden you? Do you think it is because I don’t love you? God knows that I love you.
12) But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.
(GNB) I will go on doing what I am doing now, in order to keep those other “apostles” from having any reason for boasting and saying that they work in the same way that we do.
13) For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
(NLT) These people are false apostles. They have fooled you by disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
QUESTION: What’s the reason Paul gives in verses 11-13 as to why he isn’t taking offerings from them?
ANSWER: He wants to prove that the false teachers would never preach to them free of charge because they care about the money, not the people.
14) And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
(NIV) And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
Genesis 3:4-5) But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die.
5) God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree you will learn about good and evil, and then you will be like God!”
NOTE: Satan appears to be desirous of helping Eve. He appears to be “an angel of light.” He wasn’t!
15) Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
QUESTION: What does Paul want his readers to learn here?
ANSWER: Satan can appear to be giving you sound advice when he only has your destruction in mind.
2 CORINTHIANS Chapter 11
Verses 16-20
“What’s With All the Boasting?”
[1-14-18]
Review: “What Is Satan Really Up To? ”
2 Corinthians 11:7-15) (ERV) I did the work of telling God’s Good News to you without pay. I humbled myself to make you important. Do you think that was wrong?
8) (NLT) I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost.
9) (NLT) And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not ask you to help me. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me another gift. I have never yet asked you for any support, and I never will.
10) As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
“This province, with that of Macedonia, comprehended the whiles of Greece; and Achaia and Macedonia are frequently mentioned together in the New Testament to indicate all Greece” [Bible History Online].
NOTE: The churches in Macedonia were giving to Paul; the churches in Achaia were not. Evidently the Holy Spirit convinced Paul that taking offerings from the churches in Achaia would somehow hinder their reception of the Gospel.
11) (ERV) And why do I not burden you? Do you think it is because I don’t love you? God knows that I love you.
12) (GNB) I will go on doing what I am doing now, in order to keep those other “apostles” from having any reason for boasting and saying that they work in the same way that we do.
13) (NLT) These people are false apostles. They have fooled you by disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.
NOTE: Paul wants to prove that the false teachers would never preach to them free of charge because they care about the money, not the people.
14) (NIV) And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
Genesis 3:4-5) But the snake said to the woman, “You will not die.
5) God knows that if you eat the fruit from that tree you will learn about good and evil, and then you will be like God!”
NOTE: Satan appears to be desirous of helping Eve. He appears to be “an angel of light.” He wasn’t!
15) Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.
NOTE: Two false doctrines permeated the early church; they were the false doctrines of legalism and license! The devil, through his purveyors of these false doctrines, is still disguising himself to appear to be an angel of light in order to deceive those who would follow Christ.
This Week: “What’s With All the Boasting? ”
2 Corinthians 11:16-20) [KJV] 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.
(ERV) I tell you again: No one should think that I am a fool. But if you think I am a fool, then accept me as you would accept a fool. Then I can boast a little too.
17) That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting.
(GW) What I say as I start bragging is foolishness. It’s not something I would say if I were speaking for the Lord.
He “did not then speak as an apostle, or one sent by Christ; he put off this character for the present, and took that of a fool upon him, that he might speak the more freely to the Corinthians, and the more severely against the false apostles” [Gill].
QUESTION: Most of us don’t have much trouble bragging a little. Why was it so hard for Paul to do so?
Romans 3:27) [ERV] So, do we have anything to brag about? Bragging has been eliminated. On what basis was it eliminated? On the basis of our own efforts? No, indeed! Rather, it is eliminated on the basis of faith.
ANSWER: Paul understood that everything God called him to do, everything God equipped him to do, and everything God showed His approval of with signs and wonders, was all because of Paul placing faith in God; none of those things happened because God was rewarding him for his keeping the Law. We believers have nothing to brag about because every good thing we have is a gift from God!
2 Corinthians 4:5) [ERV] We don’t tell people about ourselves. But we tell people that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we tell them that we are your servants for Jesus.
QUESTION: What do we learn about Paul in the above verse?
ANSWER: He wasn’t particularly comfortable talking about himself. He loved talking about Jesus! He didn’t present himself as some great man they needed to impress; but he presented himself as their servant.
Matthew 20:26-28) [ERV] But it should not be that way with you. Whoever wants to be your leader must be your servant.
27) Whoever wants to be first must serve the rest of you like a slave.
28) Do as I did: The Son of Man did not come for people to serve him. He came to serve others and to give his life to save many people.
NOTE: Paul, like Jesus, saw himself as one sent to serve those he was sent to.
18) Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also.
(GNB) But since there are so many who boast for merely human reasons, I will do the same.
(GW) Since it’s common for people to brag, I’ll do it too.
19) For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.
“Paul uses biting sarcasm. If the Corinthian Christians are wise enough to put up with so many fools, surely they can listen to Paul for a while” [Guzik].
QUESTION: What’s Paul’s point here?
ANSWER: He tells his readers, “These false teachers have filled you with so much pride by making you think you are beginning to live holier lives by your new found determination to keep all the rules of the Mosaic Law. Now that you’re so superior in your wisdom that you can suffer fools perhaps you can now suffer me.”
20) 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.
(RSV) For you bear it if a man makes slaves of you, or preys upon you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face.
(GW) When someone makes you slaves, consumes your wealth, seizes your property, orders you around, or slaps your faces, you put up with it.
“Like many of the deceived today, the Corinthians would put up with abuse from ‘super apostles,’ thinking that it is somehow spiritual” [Guzik].
Regarding “bring you into bondage,”
Galatians 2:4) [NLT] Even that question wouldn’t have come up except for some so-called Christians there — false ones, really — who came to spy on us and see our freedom in Christ Jesus. They wanted to force us, like slaves, to follow their Jewish regulations
Galatians 5:1) [NLT] So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
QUESTION: What seems to have been happening in Corinth?
ANSWER: False teachers who were legalistic in their doctrine:
- Wanted to drag the Corinthian Christians into bondage to the Jewish Law;
- Wanted to Lord it over these believers so that they could command large offerings from them;
- Wanted to appear vastly superior to them when it came to spiritual holiness;
- Wanted to make a show of their ignorance by publicly humiliating them by literally slapping them on their faces.
QUESTION: In verse 20 how does Paul enhance the point he made in vs. 19?
ANSWER: He tells them, “The fools you are suffering are the ones you see as your ‘super apostles.’ They are deceiving you! They are leading you away from the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ! They are leading you into spiritual bondage, not liberty! And they are getting rich in the process by separating you from your hard-earned money!”
A CLOSING NOTE: Paul didn’t even like to talk about himself when he was writing from prison. He, in essence, said, in Romans 8:18, “I would rather tell you about what God has in store for you than to complain about how life is treating me!”
2 CORINTHIANS Chapter 11
Verses 21-28
“So, You Think You Have It Rough?”
[1-21-18]
Review: “What’s With All the Boasting? ”
2 Corinthians 11:16-20) [ERV] I tell you again: No one should think that I am a fool. But if you think I am a fool, then accept me as you would accept a fool. Then I can boast a little too.
17) (GW) What I say as I start bragging is foolishness. It’s not something I would say if I were speaking for the Lord.
QUESTION: Most of us don’t have much trouble bragging a little. Why was it so hard for Paul to do so?
Romans 3:27) (ERV) So, do we have anything to brag about? Bragging has been eliminated. On what basis was it eliminated? On the basis of our own efforts? No, indeed! Rather, it is eliminated on the basis of faith.
ANSWER: Paul understood that everything God called him to do, everything God equipped him to do, and everything God showed His approval of with signs and wonders, was all because of Paul placing faith in God; none of those things happened because God was rewarding him for his keeping the Law. We believers have nothing to brag about because every good thing we have is a gift from God!
Matthew 20:26) (ERV) But it should not be that way with you. Whoever wants to be your leader must be your servant.
NOTE: Paul, like Jesus, saw himself as one sent to serve those he was sent to.
18) [GW] Since it’s common for people to brag, I’ll do it too.
19) [KJV] For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise.
NOTE: He tells his readers, “These false teachers have filled you with so much pride by making you think you are beginning to live holier lives by your new found determination to keep all the rules of the Mosaic Law. Now that you’re so superior in your wisdom that you can suffer fools perhaps you can now suffer me.”
20) [RSV] For you bear it if a man makes slaves of you, or preys upon you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face.
Galatians 5:1) (NLT) So Christ has really set us free. Now make sure that you stay free, and don’t get tied up again in slavery to the law.
A CLOSING NOTE: Paul didn’t even like to talk about himself when he was writing from prison. He, in essence, said, in Romans 8:18, “I would rather tell you about what God has in store for you than to complain about how life is treating me!”
This Week: “So, You Think You Have It Rough? ”
2 Corinthians 11:21-28) [KJV] I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also.
[NLT] I’m ashamed to say that we were not strong enough to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about — I’m talking like a fool again — I can boast about it, too
NOTE: Paul sarcastically says that he and Timothy weren’t “strong enough” to take advantage of the Corinthian Christians like the phony apostles did. Then he gets serious, though still declaring that all boasting is foolish, he states that his pedigree that demonstrates he is a true apostle is stronger than theirs!
22) Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
“‘Hebrews,’ referring to the language and nationality; ‘Israelites,’ to the theocracy and descent from Israel, the ‘prince who prevailed with God’ (Rom 9:4); ‘the seed of Abraham,’ to the claim to a share in the Messiah (Rom 11:1; Rom 9:7)” [JFB].
QUESTION: Why does Paul point to the false apostles’ claim of being “Hebrews,” “Israelites,” and “the seed of Abraham”?
ANSWER: Those these phonies were probably all of these things it didn’t put them a leg-up on Paul because he was all of these things as well.
23) 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.
[ERV] Are they serving Christ? I am serving him more. (I am crazy to talk like this.) I have worked much harder than they have. I have been in prison more often. I have been hurt more in beatings. I have been near death many times.
QUESTION: What does Paul do here?
ANSWER: He goes from showing himself in equal in the previous verse to showing his pedigree superior in this verse.
QUESTION: How does he do that?
- He had worked much harder than they had.
- He had been in prison more often than they had.
- He had been beaten more often than they had.
- His preaching the Gospel had put him in jeopardy of death more often.
24) Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
- He had been whipped 5 times by the Jews, each time receiving 39 stripes.
25) 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;
“rods” – “consisted of a number of elm rods, bound with a thong into a bundle” [blogspot.com].
“The rods were usually made of birch wood, and the Roman soldiers would beat their victims mercilessly all over their entire body. The other frequent punishment – beat the bottom of their feet breaking the bones in the feet” [dynamicsofgrowth.com].
- He was beaten with rods 3 times.
- He was stoned one time [Acts 14:19].
- He was shipwrecked 3 times.
- One of those times he spent a night and a day in the water.
26) 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;
(GNB) In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from my own people and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends.
- He was in danger from flash floods.
- He was in danger from robbers.
- He was in danger from unbelieving Jews.
- He was in danger from unbelieving Gentiles.
- He was in danger in the cities, in the great outdoors, and on the high seas.
- He was in danger from “false brethren.”
27) In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
(GW) Because I’ve had to work so hard, I’ve often gone without sleep, been hungry and thirsty, and gone without food and without proper clothes during cold weather.
- He had to work so hard he often went without sleep.
- He sometimes went without food and water.
- He often went on voluntary fasts.
- He often was cold because he didn’t have warm enough clothing.
28) Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
(GW) Besides these external matters, I have the daily pressure of my anxiety about all the churches.
- He daily had the weight of the churches weighing him down.
“The perils Paul mentioned were not everyday occurrences. But his deep concern for all the churches never left him. Paul’s burdens were not only physical, they were also emotional” [Guzik].
QUESTION: What do we learn here?
ANSWER: Paul was not some super-human man! He was flesh and blood like you and me! In a day where there was no 24-7 news, no cell phones, no texts, no instant messaging, and no Facebook or twitter, he had no way of knowing on a daily basis how all the churches he had started were doing. He would get news when they wrote to him, and the letter finally caught up with him, but the rest of the time he could only pray and hope all was well with those Christians. He was a spiritual father worrying about his children!
A CLOSING NOTE: There are 20 dots in this lesson that inform us of all that Paul went through to get the Gospel to the folk of his day; and ultimately, to get the Gospel to you and me!
Acts 14:19) (GW) I have an obligation to those who are civilized and those who aren’t, to those who are wise and those who aren’t.
2 CORINTHIANS Chapter 11
Verses 29-33
“You Brag About What You Want To Brag About!
I’ll Brag About What I Want To Brag About!”
[1-28-18]
Review: “So, You Think You Have It Rough? ”
2 Corinthians 11:21-28) [NLT] I’m ashamed to say that we were not strong enough to do that! But whatever they dare to boast about — I’m talking like a fool again — I can boast about it, too
22) [KJV] Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
23) [ERV] Are they serving Christ? I am serving him more. (I am crazy to talk like this.) I have worked much harder than they have. I have been in prison more often. I have been hurt more in beatings. I have been near death many times.
NOTE: Paul states:
24) [KJV] Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25) [KJV] 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;
26) [GNB] In my many travels I have been in danger from floods and from robbers, in danger from my own people and from Gentiles; there have been dangers in the cities, dangers in the wilds, dangers on the high seas, and dangers from false friends.
27) (GW) Because I’ve had to work so hard, I’ve often gone without sleep, been hungry and thirsty, and gone without food and without proper clothes during cold weather.
- He had worked much harder and been in prison more than they had.
- He had been beaten and been in jeopardy of death more often than they had.
- He had been whipped 5 times by the Jews, and been beaten with rods 3 times by the Romans.
- He was stoned one time and shipwrecked 3 times, once spent a night and day in the water.
- He was in danger from flash floods, from robbers, from the Jews, and the Gentiles.
- He was in danger in the cities, in the great outdoors, on the high seas and from false brethren.
- He had to work so hard he often went without sleep; and sometimes without food and water.
- He often went on voluntary fasts, and was cold because he didn’t have warm enough clothing.
28) [GW] Besides these external matters, I have the daily pressure of my anxiety about all the churches.
NOTE: Paul was not some super-human man! He was flesh and blood like you and me! In a day where there was no 24-7 news, no cell phones, no texts, no instant messaging, and no Facebook or Twitter, he had no way of knowing on a daily basis how all the churches he had started were doing. He would get news when they wrote to him, and the letter finally caught up with him, but the rest of the time he could only pray and hope all was well with those Christians. He was a spiritual father worrying about his children!
This Week: “You Brag About What You Want To Brag About; I’ll Brag About What I Want To Brag About! ”
28) [GW] Besides these external matters, I have the daily pressure of my anxiety about all the churches.
2 Corinthians 11:29-33) [KJV] Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
(NLT) Who is weak without my feeling that weakness? Who is led astray, and I do not burn with anger?
QUESTION: What’s Paul telling his readers here?
ANSWER: “As if all those physical things I suffered aren’t bad enough I face the constant anxiety of not knowing the state of all the churched I have started. Are those believers safe? Are they holding fast to the sound doctrine I’ve given them? I have no way of knowing, and that concerns me deeply!”
QUESTION: What else is he telling them?
ANSWER: “I hurt along with my spiritual children when they are suffering persecution; and when false teachers are sowing the seeds of error among them I burn with anger towards those teachers!”
30) If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
(GNB) If I must boast, I will boast about things that show how weak I am.
(AMP) If I must boast, I will boast of the things that [show] my infirmity [of the things by which I am made weak and contemptible in the eyes of my opponents].
QUESTION: What’s Paul’s point in vs. 30?
ANSWER: He had already stated in vs. 22-23 that his ministerial pedigree was superior to that of the false apostles among them. Now he wants his readers to notice that he’s not bragging about the same things those false apostles are bragging about; he’s bragging about those things that demonstrate how weak he is.
QUESTION: What are things that Paul, who hates to brag, bragged about?
- He bragged about his refusal to take offerings from the Corinthian believers [vs. 7-10].
- He bragged about having the same ties to the Hebrew nation of Israel and to being of the “seed of Abraham” as the false teachers had [vs. 22].
- He bragged about the things he physically suffered in persecutions he faced for his preaching [vs. 23-27].
- He bragged about his anxiety when he thought of the churched he had started [28-29].
NOTE: Paul, in essence, bragged about the very things the false apostles detested him and slandered him for. They were the very things that made Paul look weak to them.
31) The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
(NAS) The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, He who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying.
“Paul was accustomed to make solemn appeals to God for the truth of what he said, especially when it was likely to be called in question; see 2Cor. 11:10; compare Rom. 9:1” [Barnes].
2 Corinthians 11:10) [KJV] As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia.
Romans 9:1) [KJV] I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost,
QUESTION: What is Barnes telling us?
ANSWER: Paul would invoke God as a witness to his readers that he was telling the truth!
NOTE: We have people today who will tell us something and then say, “Swear to God!” Oftentimes those people are lying through their teeth. Paul wasn’t! Paul’s attitude was that if an individual invoked God as a witness they had better be telling the truth. Listen, if we say “Swear to God!” when we’re lying then we are taking the name of the Lord in vain!
Exodus 20:7) [KJV] “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain” [The Third Commandment].
QUESTION: How is that taking “the name of the Lord thy God in vain”?
ANSWER: You’re using God’s Name to swear to me that you’re telling the truth when you know you’re lying! You are using God to lie!
32) In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me:
(GNB) When I was in Damascus, the governor under King Aretas placed guards at the city gates to arrest me.
33) And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands.
(ERV) But some friends put me in a basket. Then they put the basket through a hole in the wall and lowered me down. So I escaped from the governor.
(NLT) But I was lowered in a basket through a window in the city wall, and that’s how I got away!
Acts 9:23-25) [KJV] And after that many days were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him:
24) But their laying await was known of Saul. And they watched the gates day and night to kill him.
25) Then the disciples took him by night, and let him down by the wall in a basket.
QUESTION: What’s Paul doing in vs. 32-33 above?
ANSWER: He returns to his boasting about how weak he was! He was so weak and pathetic, he puts on, that he had to climb into a basket to be let down the outside of the wall in order to escape with his life.
QUESTION: What doesn’t Paul brag about?
- He doesn’t brag about how the Jerusalem apostles took Paul’s side and defended his gospel [Acts 15].
- He doesn’t brag about the miracles God did through him.
- He doesn’t brag about all the churches he started.