Paul's Defense Against False Apostles
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Okay. So, after some ramblings about boasting and not, Paul continues to, as he says, “foolishly” compare himself to the false apostles who were in Corinth attacking him. From his words, we know that they were Jews as he adds at verse 22:
2nd Corinthians 11:22-31
22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. 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; 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; 27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. 28 Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not? 30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. 31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
Understanding Paul's Heritage
Okay, back to verse 22 where speaking of them asks:
22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
When he asks, “Are they Hebrews?” This proves that the persons who had made the difficulty in Corinth were those who were of Hebrew extraction, though it may remain that they were Greek born and therefore educated in the Grecian philosophy and art of rhetoric. But it can be reasonably presumed that they also prided themselves on being Jews. I say this because throughout the Apostolic Record the Jewish converts to Christianity are shown to claim some sort of superiority over the Gentile converts.
And this brings us to a view of what was probably going on there. Paul, a Jew of Jews, was called to establish a church at Corinth (which was made of converted Gentiles and some Jews) and the Jewish converts chose to by some means try to take over him and his apostleship. So, he says:
22 Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.
Are these redundancies:
Hebrews?
Israelites?
And Seed of Abraham?
Yes and no.
Simply put, he could be saying:
Are they Hebrews – meaning do they speak the sacred language, and can they read in the congregation from the Hebrew Scriptures? This language is my language.
Are they Israelites – meaning do they descend from Jacob, and not from Esau? As Jacob had his name changed to Israel and they came from one of the twelve tribes. Paul says, I am also one (from the Tribe of Benjamin, by the way).
And then, Are they the seed of Abraham. Obviously, if they are of Israel, they are the seed of Abraham so in this case perhaps Paul was meaning did they follow in with the Abrahamic covenant? In other words, were they circumcised and in the bond of the covenant? Paul says, “So am I.”
In other words, I am no proselyte, but I am a Hebrew of the Hebrews both by father and mother; and can trace my genealogy, through the tribe of Benjamin, up to the father of the faithful. I have as high claims as any of them in terms of distinction – all the advantages of a Hebrew birth PLUS. (His exposure to Greek culture due to his birthplace.)
Paul's Superior Ministry
Then he adds:
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more;
And then he begins to articulate the ways he is more of a minister, saying:
in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, etc . . .
But let's talk about this first line,
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) . . .
What does he mean here?
Perhaps that as Jews by birth, they claimed to be the ministers of the Messiah. It is very possible that Paul is admitting that
Disputes Among Ministers of Christ
They are in fact, ministers of Christ, and we need to realize that this is just infighting in the church of that day. HOWEVER, if they were ministers of Christ, Paul adds, I more, and then describes how.
Whether the line, I speak as a fool refers to asking whether they are ministers of Christ or to what he will say is up to debate but I am convinced it refers to what he is about to say, not what he has said, which is the way we would read it in English. In other words, when he says, “I speak as a fool,” he is saying "Bear in mind, in what I am now about to say may sound like boasting (which is why he says he is speaking as a fool who boasts) but again it seems to be for a purpose. “Are they ministers, I am more.”
I find it difficult to believe that last week he is calling these sorts false prophets and therefore in the employ of Satan and here asks if they are ministers . . . in the good sense. But because the term minister is benign (without being attached to anything else) all Paul seems to be saying is that Yes, they are ministers – and so is he; but they are ministers of Satan and he is a minister of Christ. As such, of course, he had higher claims to the office than they had. He had been called to it in a more remarkable manner, and he had shown, by the labors and trials described below that he had more of the true spirit of a minister of the Lord Jesus than they had.
Paul's Endurance and Qualifications
To prove this he goes into detail, to show what he had endured as a means to share his ministry for Christ with the world around them. I agree with Paul, it is foolishness to do this; and is better, when possible, to remain silent about the sufferings or trials we experience in the cause of Christ – unless there is a need to defend ourselves – and this was Paul’s purpose – it seems. And he begins with the laundry list which we are fairly familiar with as students of the Bible, saying:
“In labors more abundant.” Generally speaking, Paul is boastfully saying that he had been engaged in the work much longer and therefore quantitatively more, than his accusers.
“In stripes.” More frequently scourged, again, in the cause of Christ. This was the form of public punishment common in that day and he was subjected to it a number of times, exceedingly – above measure.
“In prisons more frequent.” In Acts 16:23, Luke mentions only one imprisonment of Paul before the time when this epistle was written. That was at Philippi, with Silas. But Luke’s record is not exhaustive and we know that an omission is not a contradiction.
“In deaths oft.” This is an interesting line, and it seems to mean that he was exposed to death, or suffered the pains equal to death, but perhaps there is an inference to actually dying here. We know that he was stoned to the point where everyone thought he was dead and they dragged his body out of the city where he revived. We also know that in the next chapter, chapter 12, Paul is going to say that he knew a man caught up in the third heaven – and most think that he is speaking of himself – they may be right, but I think he was talking about John the Revelator – we’ll get to that next week.
Paul's Sufferings
In any case, Paul in the least, FACED death (or deaths) more often than others.
At verse 24, Paul steps back and details the stripes, saying:
24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. In all probability, these took place in their synagogues, and before their courts of justice. They did not have the power of capital punishment, but they had the power of inflicting minor punishments. And though the instances are not specified by Luke in the Acts, yet the statement here by Paul has every degree of probability because we know that he often preached in their synagogues, (mentioned six times in Acts – Ac 9:20; 13:5,14; 14:1; 17:17; 18:4); and nothing is more probable than that they would be enraged against him, and would vent their malice in every way possible. Of course they would regard him as an apostate, and a ringleader of the Nazarenes, and they would not fail.
Paul's Sufferings
Paul’s experiences were filled with hardships and punishments. One of the known punishments, “Forty stripes save one,” refers to a decree in the law of Moses from Deuteronomy 25:3, which limits the number of stripes inflicted to forty.
In order to adhere strictly to the law and avoid exceeding the number accidentally, they limited the strikes to thirty-nine, taken with a scourge that has three thongs, struck thirteen times. This custom is also noted in Josephus, Ant. book iv. chap. viii. & 21.
Various Punishments
Paul details in 2 Corinthians 11:25 his sufferings, mentioning, "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." Beating with rods was a common punishment among ancient nations. Additionally, the “once” that Paul was stoned, as a punishment among Jews for blasphemy, can be found in Acts 14:19.
The accounts of shipwrecks, while not specified in Acts during those times, imply such experiences were frequent for Paul due to his travels from Jerusalem to Tarsus, Antioch, and other locations.
Perils Faced by Paul
Paul went on to face numerous dangers listed in 2 Corinthians 11:26. He specifies:
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;
While travelling extensively and serving as the apostle to the Gentile world, Paul encountered “KINDOONOS” or dangers. These included threats from waters, robbers, his own countrymen who considered him an apostate, heathens without knowledge of the true God, and false brethren posing as allies.
Understanding Human Nature
These deceptions, and attacks, and betrayals are the most unsettling and hurtful and damaging, right?
Jesus' Insight into Human Nature
In John 2:23 we read the following from the Life and Ministry of Jesus:
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did. 24 But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, 25 And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.
I’ve learned over the years this lesson Jesus knew from the start – what is in man, which is what is in all of us – is a weak and often untrustworthy sort; No matter who we are talking about. And when the rubber meets the road most of us will fail in total fidelity toward others. It is just our nature, as illustrated even by Peter who denied knowing the very Lord He witnessed performing many miracles and even visiting with Moses and Elijah!
We are all simply subject to moment of weakness – some more than others. I used to get incensed at traitors, and would seek revenge on those who showed their frailties in the face of fear or temptation.
Embracing Human Weakness
I have learned of the Lord now to expect it – in everyone – this human weakness. This ability to betray and now when it occurs I have more of a heart for the individual, realizing that they are probably no more proud of their failure than I am hurt. And that LOVE and forgiveness and understanding for betrayal really truly goes a long way in addressing such situations.
That said, it's not that I will not trust others, I just realize that, in most cases, people will turn on each other somehow, in someway, along the road of life – and this includes brethren and sisteren.
Paul's Experience of Hardship
Paul adds:
27 In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
The word translated “weariness” is kopos and it means to beat or to cut therefore Paul is describing misery and pain and grief. But the next term (translated painfulness) is even more emphatic as it directly means painful effort combined with sorrow.
What produced such pain? He adds:
“In watchings often,” pain from loss of sleep, watching for approaching danger and attack “In hunger and thirst.”
Travelling among inhospitable strangers and lands, and having to depend on ones own support in hostile countries. Which is what leads Paul to now add:
“In fastings often,” which to me, in this context means, involuntary fastings, because why would he complain about voluntary fastings – that would be the heart of a religious zealot.
The Burden of Caring for the Churches
And he adds:
In cold and nakedness Which, like involuntary fastings, and sleeplessness, would come with the territory of everything he has mentioned.
Then the icing on the cake as he says:
28 Beside those things that are without,(besides all these things which had hit me from the outside, Paul adds) that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.
In addition to all of this I have had the mental and physical trials and anxieties resulting from the necessary care of all the churches.
When Paul adds, And that which cometh upon me daily. There is great force in the original here. The phrase rendered "that which cometh upon me" means, properly, "that which rushes upon me" like a massive crowd and the idea here is, that these cares rushed upon him or pressed in upon him like a mob.
This happens to be one of Paul's most energetic expressions, and describes the incessant anxiety of mind to which he was subject.
And he adds to all of this:
The care of all the churches. . . . and apparently he is speaking of those that he had established, and which needed his constant supervision as they were young and exposed to all sorts of difficulty, especially the intermingling of the Jewish converts with the Gentiles.
The next verses Paul appeals to his heart and love for these believers in these churches, and he says:
29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
Paul seems to be saying, “I feel where others feel, and their sorrows excite deep sympathetic emotions in me. He shows humility here, and in the face of this recent boasting, seems to be saying that he is a
Paul's Perspective on Compassion and Restoration
weak as the next. So he says, “And I am not weak? I share the exact feelings and sympathize with all who are. If he suffers, I suffer. Taking it further he says:
“Who is offended?” With the Greek terms being “skandalizetai,” we know that this best means, “who is or has been scandalized,” which best means, caused to stumble and or fall. Now listen to Paul’s heart toward those who have been caused to stumble or fall:
“who is offended, and I burn not?” The idea seems to be, "Who is liable to be led astray; who has temptations and trials that lead him or her to sin or to cause him to fall, and in response I do not burn with impatience to restore him or perhaps, do I not burn with indignation against the tempter?"
Looking to Christ, we see someone who did everything he could to sage and redeem all who stumble and fall due to sin, temptation and failures in the flesh. The question, the application for us as readers of the Bible is that the heart we bear for the same? It’s an interesting thing because often we are quick to point a finger of accusation, to label them sinful and hell bound, and to immediately seek to separate company from them. But Paul does not suggest this attitude was in him and obviously the attitude was not in the Lord Jesus Christ. He came to Save, to Redeem, to set free, to Liberate.
A Life Lesson on Love and Kindness
Many decades ago I taught early morning seminary in Southern California and the class I had was a mix of all high school grades from two main high schools. The room was abuzz with excitement on a Friday morning as that Saturday was the Sadie Hawkins dance at both schools and all the kids – especially the girls – were awash with excitement. The following Monday morning the kids filed in and there was a certain air in the room. After class, I asked a couple of kids in my ward what the story was and they informed me that one of the girls from the other ward had gotten drunk and the dance and then went out to a car and had sex with her date. The girls were furious and really wanted this girl to pay. They viewed her as a fallen sinner and if my suspicions were correct their mothers held the same view. It gave an opportunity to teach on love and kindness and forgiveness and that in this girl's life (who was absent the next day due to the cold shoulders of the day before) the most good the kids could do was seek to love her back to restoration. The lesson was pretty much rejected. These little virtuous girls believed that they had the right to go on the attack – and attack they did. We never saw much of that girl again in the year. She wore the scarlet letter. But here with Paul, we are reminded that the attitude is to want to help, and comfort, and restore those who fall into sin – it IS the love that helps bring people back – the goodness of God, as it were.
We don’t know how Paul burned here – he doesn’t tell us, but we do know he felt deeply and could not feel indifferently when someone who bore the name of Christ stumbled down or backward.
(verse 30)
30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.
Paul has admitted that it was unpleasant for him to boast, but that the circumstances compelled him. Here he seems to be saying that since he was compelled, he would not boast of my rank, or talents, or accomplishments but of the things he suffered (which he calls, mine infirmities) or “the things of his weakness."
Acknowledging God's Role
Then Paul adds:
31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not.
I actually wanted to finish this chapter today because I am jonesing to finish II Corinthians – almost as much as I jonesed to finish Revelation. But I think we ought to give this passage pause and really think about it.
WHY DOES PAUL WRITE THIS WAY ABOUT GOD and JESUS?
This is not the only place where he speaks of God as the Father of Jesus:
Romans 15:6, "that with one accord you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
2nd Corinthians 1:3 "Blessed be the God and Father of our
The Relationship Between God and Jesus Christ
References to God the Father in Scripture
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort."
Ephesians 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ."
1st Peter 1:3, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead."
Not only this, Paul, in a number of places, plainly describes God the Father as the Only God, like in:
1st Corinthians 15:24 Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1st Corinthians 8:6 But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.
Galatians 4:6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
Ephesians 1:17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:
Ephesians 4:6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.
Ephesians 6:23 Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philippians 4:20 Now unto God and our Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
1st Thessalonians 3:11 Now God himself and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you.
1st Thessalonians 3:13 To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints.
Understanding God's Trinity
There is a work around explanation on these verses like the one we just ended with in chapter 11 of 2nd Corinthians:
I consulted my friend and brother in the faith, Matt Slick on his explanation of these verses and received exactly what I expected as Matt writes:
In order to understand what is meant by the phrase "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, " we have to first understand a few basic biblical principles. First of all, God is a Trinity. This means that the single being who is God is expressed in three distinct, simultaneous persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Jesus is the second person of the Trinity, the Word, who became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:1, 14). Therefore, Jesus has two distinct natures. He is both God and man. As a man, it was necessary that he be born of a woman and therefore born under the Law (Galatians 4:4). Since he was under the Law, he was obligated to love God and worship Him. It says in Deuteronomy 6:5 that we are to love the Lord our God, and in Deuteronomy 6:13 we are told, "You shall fear only the Lord your God; and you shall worship Him, and swear by His name." So, Jesus had to obey the Law, and he had to worship God the Father. Therefore, we see that Jesus was a man who had to fulfill the law, which included worshiping God. But, because he is also the Son then he is the Son by relation to the Father. Now we can understand why the text would say "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ."
So when we see the phrase "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," we can now understand that it's speaking of the Trinity and how Jesus, the word in flesh, who was a man required to keep the Law, would have someone he would call God, according to Deuteronomy 6:13, who would be considered the God and Father of Jesus.
Paul's Explanation
Admittedly, and if you are going to embrace the doctrine of the Trinity, this is the Only way to explain these verses – and so I get it – I used to explain them in the exact same way. But my question is why Paul would have failed to explain this relationship better? And why would God allow these passages to so clearly and directly say that God is the Father and Jesus is His Son, Lord and King?
Last week I was in So. California and had the rare chance to actually sit in an outdoor
Understanding the Nature of the Trinity
I was alone and talking with God. I asked for insights, wisdom, to understand these things, and was subtly given the clarity I sought. In terms of the Trinity, I begged – and this was not the first time and I’m sure it won’t be the last – to understand it, to understand Him and His nature, and the nature of the so-called members.
And I heard a clarifying answer, that seemed to include the following:
“The Spirit is my Spirit and the Son is my Son.”
That’s all I got – but it was enough. Let’s stop there and we will finish this chapter up next week.
