Commentary - 2 Corinthians 11:16-21

Bird's-eye view

In this section of his letter, the apostle Paul is backed into a corner by the Corinthian church's infatuation with the "super-apostles." These were slick, eloquent, and impressive men who boasted in their fleshly qualifications and looked down on Paul for his lack of worldly polish. The Corinthians, in their spiritual immaturity, were taken in by this. So Paul, with a heavy dose of sanctified sarcasm, decides to meet them on their own foolish terms. He is about to engage in what he calls a "fool's speech," boasting as they do, but his purpose is entirely different. He is not boasting to exalt himself, but to expose the utter foolishness of their criteria for spiritual leadership and to win them back to the simple, unadorned truth of the gospel of Christ.

This passage is a masterful piece of pastoral rhetoric. Paul adopts the methods of his opponents in order to dismantle their entire platform. He shows the Corinthians that if boasting is the name of the game, he can play it too, but in doing so, he will highlight his weaknesses, his sufferings, and his hardships, the very things that, in the world's eyes, disqualify him. This serves as a stark contrast to the self-promoting charlatans they were admiring. He is shaming them, yes, but it is the loving shame a father uses to bring a wayward child to his senses. He is demonstrating that their so-called wisdom in tolerating these abusive leaders is actually profound foolishness, and he does it by ironically embracing the role of the fool himself.

Outline

Context In 2 Corinthians

This passage is the preamble to Paul's famous "boasting in his weaknesses" that runs through the end of chapter 11 and into chapter 12. The Corinthian church was a mess. After Paul planted the church, other teachers had arrived, challenging his authority and preaching a different gospel. These men were impressive by worldly standards. They likely had letters of recommendation, charged a hefty fee for their services, and carried themselves with an air of importance that the Corinthians mistook for spiritual authority. They measured ministry by the metrics of the flesh: eloquence, personal charisma, and worldly success.

Paul's entire ministry stood in stark contrast. He came in weakness, he refused payment from them, and his message was centered on a crucified Messiah, an emblem of shame and weakness to the world. The Corinthians were embarrassed by him. So, in chapters 10-13, Paul launches a robust, and at times scathing, defense of his apostolic ministry. But it is a defense unlike any other. He doesn't defend himself by adopting their worldly standards, but by turning them completely on their head. Here in chapter 11, he prepares the ground for this by announcing his intention to speak as a fool, to boast as they do, in order to show them just how far they have strayed from the wisdom of the cross.

Verse by Verse Commentary

v. 16 Again I say, let no one think me foolish; but if you do, receive me even as foolish, so that I also may boast a little.

Paul is walking a tightrope here. He knows that what he is about to do, boast, is fundamentally contrary to the spirit of the gospel he preaches. He doesn't want them to actually think he has become a fool, seeking self-glorification. But he also knows their current mindset. They are so bewitched by the boasting of the false apostles that the only way to get through to them is to speak their language. So he says, in effect, "Look, I know this is foolish. Don't write me off as having lost my mind. But if you insist on evaluating leaders by this foolish standard, then at least give me a turn. Grant me the temporary status of a fool, so I can make my point on the only terms you seem to understand." It is a pastoral concession, a stooping to conquer. He is willing to look foolish in their eyes for a moment in order to rescue them from their folly.

v. 17 What I am saying, I am not saying according to the Lord, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting.

This is a crucial disclaimer. Paul is making it abundantly clear that this mode of communication, boasting in one's own credentials, is not the Lord's way. The way of Christ is humility, service, and self-effacement. When Paul speaks "according to the Lord," he preaches Christ crucified. But now, he is about to speak "as in foolishness." He is stepping into a persona, adopting a rhetorical strategy for a specific pastoral purpose. He is not claiming a new revelation that contradicts his previous teaching on humility. Rather, he is quarantining this section of his letter, flagging it for the reader: "Warning: I am now speaking in the foolish categories you have forced upon me. This is not the normal Christian dialect." This "confidence of boasting" is the swagger and self-assurance of the world, which he is about to mimic and subvert.

v. 18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I will boast also.

Here is the reason for his strategy. The air in Corinth is thick with fleshly boasting. The "super-apostles" are parading their resumes, their rhetorical skills, their Jewish heritage, their spiritual experiences. They are measuring everything "according to the flesh", that is, by external, worldly, human standards. Since this has become the accepted currency in the Corinthian church, Paul sees that he has no choice but to engage on that field of battle. If he remains silent, his silence will be interpreted as an admission that he has nothing to boast about, that he is indeed inferior. So, he says, "Fine. If that's the game, I'll play." But we know, and he will soon make clear, that he is going to play the game with a completely different set of cards.

v. 19 For you, being so wise, are bearing the foolish gladly.

The sarcasm here is sharp enough to cut glass. Paul turns the Corinthians' self-perception against them. They thought of themselves as sophisticated, discerning, and wise. They had moved beyond the simple gospel Paul had taught them and graduated to more "advanced" teaching. Paul says, "Oh, you are so wise, aren't you? And your great wisdom manifests itself in how happily you put up with fools." The fools, of course, are the false apostles with their self-important boasting. The Corinthians were not just tolerating them; they were gladly, cheerfully bearing with them. They were enjoying the show. Paul's irony is designed to sting them into self-awareness. Their "wisdom" is enabling the very foolishness that is destroying them.

v. 20 For you bear it if anyone enslaves you, anyone devours you, anyone takes advantage of you, anyone exalts himself, anyone hits you in the face.

Now Paul gets specific, and the picture he paints is brutal. The leadership of these "super-apostles" was not benign; it was tyrannical. He lists five forms of abuse that the "wise" Corinthians were gladly enduring. They were being enslaved, likely through legalistic demands or psychological manipulation. They were being devoured, which probably refers to being financially exploited by these teachers who were in it for the money. They were being taken advantage of, caught in the traps of these cunning operators. These leaders exalted themselves, lording their authority over the flock in a way Christ explicitly forbade. And finally, in a shocking climax, he says they tolerate it if someone "hits you in the face." Whether this was literal physical abuse or a metaphor for the highest form of insult and degradation, the point is the same. The Corinthians were submitting to humiliating, abusive treatment from these charlatans, all while considering themselves wise and discerning for doing so.

v. 21 To my shame I must say that we have been weak by comparison.

This is the final, devastating punchline of his ironic argument. He looks at the abusive, domineering behavior of the false apostles and says, with mock shame, "I'm so sorry. I have to admit, by those standards, we were just too weak." Paul never enslaved them. He never devoured their resources; in fact, he worked with his own hands so as not to be a burden. He never lorded it over them or struck them in the face. In all these ways that the Corinthians were now accepting as marks of strong leadership, Paul had been "weak." It is a shameful admission, but the shame is not his; it is theirs. He is holding up a mirror to the church, showing them that the very qualities they despised in him, his gentleness, his refusal to exploit them, his servant-heartedness, were the true marks of Christ-like strength. And the "strength" they admired in their new leaders was nothing more than the brutish thuggery of the world.

Application

The Corinthian sickness is a perennial temptation for the Church. We live in a world that is obsessed with the very things Paul is critiquing: charisma, polish, impressive resumes, self-confidence, and worldly success. It is easy for churches to begin evaluating their leaders, and their own health, by these same fleshly metrics. We want the pastor who is a dynamic CEO, the speaker who is a captivating entertainer, the ministry that has the biggest budget and the slickest presentation.

Paul's "fool's speech" is a bucket of ice water for this kind of thinking. It forces us to ask what we are really looking for in Christian leadership. Are we, in our supposed wisdom, gladly bearing with fools? Are we tolerating ministries that are subtly (or not so subtly) enslaving, devouring, and exalting themselves, simply because they are impressive on the outside? Do we despise the "weakness" of a faithful, humble pastor who simply preaches Christ crucified and loves his people, because he doesn't have the swagger of a celebrity?

This passage calls us back to the foolishness of the cross. True spiritual authority is not found in worldly power and self-promotion, but in self-giving love and humble service. The marks of a true apostle, a true minister of the gospel, are not the marks of success, but the marks of suffering. It is a call to repent of our carnal standards and to once again value the meekness and gentleness of Christ, which is the only true strength.