SUMMARY
In an ironic “fool’s speech,” PaulThe Apostle Paul, originally known as Saul of Tarsus, was the author of several New Testament letters and the founder of many Christian communities. More expresses his frustration with the Corinthians for allowing themselves to be deceived by false apostles. After listing his credentials and the hardships he has endured as an apostleDerived from a Greek word meaning "one who is sent," an apostle is a person who embraces and advocates another person's idea or beliefs. At the beginning of his ministry Jesus called twelve apostles to follow and serve him. Paul became an apostle of Jesus... More, and even describing an out-of-body spiritual experience, he concludes by saying that he will boast only of his weaknesses, in view of God’s sufficient graceGrace is the unmerited gift of God's love and acceptance. In Martin Luther's favorite expression from the Apostle Paul, we are saved by grace through faith, which means that God showers grace upon us even though we do not deserve it. More.
ANALYSIS
To address the problems in the Corinthian community created by those he calls super-apostles, Paul gives an ironic “fool’s speech,” playing on his frustration with the Corinthians who, he says, “gladly put up with fools,” thinking they are being “wise” in doing so (2 Corinthians 11:19). The Corinthians have allowed themselves to be deceived by those Paul calls “false apostles,” apostles who engage in forms of interpretation and teaching that deceive, even though they claim to be “servants of righteousness” (2 Corinthians 11:12-15).
Paul’s frustration with the Corinthians is that, just as EveThe name of the first woman, wife of Adam. More was deceived by the serpentA serpent is described as the snake who tricked Eve into disobeying God in the Garden of Eden. Elsewhere a serpent appears in narratives relating to Moses, in the Psalms, and in Isaiah. Jesus invoked the image of serpents and snakes in his preaching; and... More, so they have been deceived by these “super-apostles” who pretend to be “servants of righteousness,” just like Satan disguised himself as an “angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:30; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15). But what frustrates Paul the most is that the Corinthians cannot see through the deception of these false apostles because they put up with what should, in fact, be a sure sign that they are false. These apostles abuse them—making slaves of them, seeking to possess them and consume all their time, energy and wealth, and even physically hurting them—while, at the same time, exalting themselves (2 Corinthians 11:20).
In a parody of speeches in which people boast of their achievements, Paul lists his credentials and accomplishments, which are probably the very same things that his rival apostles have boasted about (2 Corinthians 11:16-33). Not only does Paul share their ethnic and cultural heritage (as a Hebrew and Israelite, respectively), but he even shares in their proclamation of a “righteousness” (by faith), based on the promises given to AbrahamGod promised that Abraham would become the father of a great nation, receive a land, and bring blessing to all nations. More (2 Corinthians 11:22). Moreover, as a “servant of the MessiahThe Messiah was the one who, it was believed, would come to free the people of Israel from bondage and exile. In Jewish thought the Messiah is the anticipated one who will come, as prophesied by Isaiah. In Christian thought Jesus of Nazareth is identified... More,” Paul claims to be a better one. To prove this, he provides a multi-dimensional depiction of the hardships he has experienced as an apostle—including what he has endured physically, the range of journeys he has had, and his day-to-day suffering as he worries about the churches he serves (2 Corinthians 11:23-28). But finally, he says that he will only boast of his weaknesses—making a brief reference to his being let down through a basket in a hole in the wall to escape being captured by an official. This event took place soon after he had his Damascus experience in which, in a vision of the Messiah, he was called to be an apostle (2 Corinthians 11:29-33; cf. Acts 9:23-25).
Paul moves on to boast about his “visions and revelations,” and describes an out-of-body heavenly journey that he has had (2 Corinthians 12:1). Such experiences were often used at the time to claim spiritual authority, and they were probably also used by Paul’s rival apostles. Speaking about himself in the third person, Paul describes being caught up in the third heaven (i.e., Paradise) where he heard things no mortal is permitted to speak (2 Corinthians 12:2-4). He could boast about these accomplishments—in the grammatical third person—since he has actually experienced them, but he refrains from doing so because he prefers that the Corinthians rely solely on their actual face-to-face (first and second person) communication with him—that is, what they actually have seen and heard from him (2 Corinthians 12:5-7).
And so, in spite of his credentials and the hardships he has endured, and even the exceptional spiritual experiences he has had, Paul will boast only of his weaknesses. In fact, he maintains that he was given a “thorn in the flesh” to keep his ego from being too inflated. We do not know what this thorn was—whether, for example, it was a physical or mental illness, or perhaps even the super-apostles themselves—but he says that it was sent by a “messenger of Satan” to torment him, probably an allusion to the way Job’s sufferings were caused by Satan (2 Corinthians 12:7; cf. Job 1:6-2:7). Paul appealed three times to the Lord, that this torment would leave him; here Paul is probably alluding to Moses’ three appeals to the Lord after the golden calf incident (2 Corinthians 12:8; cf. Exodus 32:11-33:23). But similar to the way the Lord told MosesProphet who led Israel out of Egypt to the Promised Land and received the law at Sinai. More, after he asked to see God’s face, that he could only see God’s backside, since he could not see God’s face and live (Exodus 33:18-33), so the Lord tells Paul: “My grace is sufficient for you,” because power is brought to completion in weakness. And, given this response, Paul says that he will boast all the more sweetly in his weaknesses, so that the Messiah’s power might dwell in him and be the source of his strength (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
RELATED PASSAGES
Exodus 33:12-33 — Moses’ Intercession
Job 1:6-2:7 — Satan Given Permission to Torment Job
Acts 9:1-25 — Paul’s Conversion, Preaching, and Escape
Acts 22:6-21 — Paul Describes his Vision to a Jewish Audience
Acts 26:12-18 — Paul Describes his Vision to Agrippa