2 Corinthians 11:16-33 † Boasting in God's Strength (Part 1)

2 Corinthians 11:16–33 ESV

16 I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. 17 What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. 18 Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. 19 For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! 20 For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? 30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, 33 but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

EXPOSITIONAL SUMMARY

Paul continues this section of “self-defense.” The Apostle sees it as necessary to the Corinthians understanding of the gospel that they see the contrast between his ministry and the false “super-apostles” who are attacking him. He has said that he will not stop undermining these false apostles (11:12). In this section, Paul challenges the Corinthians to see the foolishness of worldly boasting and the slavery they are being subjected to (11:16-21). He begins to “boast” in his sufferings and the humbling experiences of his ministry (11:21-29). He then reaches the climactic statement in 11:30: “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” This theme of boasting not in worldly success but God’s power displayed in human weakness will continue into 2 Corinthians 12.

INTRODUCTION

Have you ever heard of a “humble-brag?” A humble-brag is when someone says or tweets something that on the surface may seem humble or self-deprecating, but at the same time brings attention to how great a person is. I want to read you a few examples from the internet:

“My ‘cheat day’ consisted of a cauliflower pizza. Lol. I hate myself someone teach me to be unhealthy.”

“No makeup on. Hair’s not done. Toothpaste on my shirt. I still get hit on! *Sigh*”

“Geniuses at Amazon just recommended my own book to me. Already read this one! Thanks guys.”

“Just been asked to give a talk at Oxford. I’m more surprised than you are.”

Over the next couple of weeks, we’re going to see Paul begin to “brag” about his life and ministry. We have been comparing the godly path and the worldly path in this sermon series and part of our comparison comes against the backdrop of Paul having to point out to the Corinthians how false teachers have come in and boasted about how amazing they are and how not amazing Paul is. Last week we saw how Paul uses the “foolishness” of the kinds of arguments that the Corinthians are buying to re-focus them on the truth of the gospel.

As we walk through this passage today I want to ask you to consider with me what gospel success should look like. Paul’s opponents pointed to their worldly significance, their eloquence, and their own abilities as proof that they were the real deal. In contrast, Paul will begin to brag about the humility and sacrifice of his ministry career. I hope that today we will see that when the gospel is growing in our hearts we learn to boast not in how great we are, but in how strong God is. Let’s open up God’s word together.

WHAT THE CORINTHIANS DON’T SEE

I believe that 2 Corinthians 11-12 are some of the more difficult passages in Paul’s letters to wrestle with, because it seems like Paul is almost stepping out of what he thinks the right way to talk about the situation is and gives into the way the false teachers are talking about him. How do we view Paul’s own words in 11:17: “I say not as the Lord would but as a fool?” I think that what Paul is doing is actually quite creative. He begins to “boast” but not the way the Corinthians would have been used to. By engaging in this kind of argument he is exposing the foolishness of the Corinthians and giving them the truth they desperately need at the same time. Some of you may remember the Proverb that Paul would have been familiar with:

Proverbs 26:4–5 ESV

4 Answer not a fool according to his folly, lest you be like him yourself. 5 Answer a fool according to his folly, lest he be wise in his own eyes.

Paul recognizes the foolishness of human boasting, but to get his point across he answers the foolishness head on.

The foolishness of worldly boasting.

The Corinthians seem to be blind to the foolishness of boasting in worldly ways. Though they have heard the good news of the gospel of Jesus, they’ve defaulted back into seeing success and importance from a worldly perspective rather than from a godly one. In 2 Corinthians 11:19, Paul charges the Corinthians: “For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!” Here, Paul uses sarcasm to get a point across. The Corinthians claim to be wise—even wiser than Paul—yet they can’t see through the foolishness and emptiness of worldly boasting. In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul claimed that, “God made foolish the wisdom of the world.” (See 1 Cor. 1:20.)

Why is worldly boasting so foolish? Because to boast in worldly strength, power, and success is to boast in what is temporary, empty, and ultimately out of your control.

The slavery of worldly leaders.

Paul continues to point out the foolishness of the Corinthians for bearing with the false teachers by pointing to the reality that the believers can’t seem to see that the aim of the false teachers isn’t God’s glory, but their own self-promotion and power. Look with me at 2 Corinthians 11:20-21

2 Corinthians 11:20–21 ESV

20 For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. 21 To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that.

Paul says that these false teachers are enslaving, draining, taking advantage of, exploiting, and even embarrassing the Corinthians Christians. Paul sarcastically apologizes for being “too weak” to treat the Corinthians in such a harmful way.

By buying into the worldly boasting of these false-teachers, the Corinthians Christians are being led to pursue worldly success rather than God’s glory.

WHAT PAUL EXPOSES

Paul wants the Corinthians to see the truth and to be freed from the worldly ways of the false teachers. To continue to expose the difference between the way God sees success and the way that the false teachers see success, Paul beings to “boast” in his own experience. Again, we have to see that Paul is being creative in how he approaches the topic at hand. He tells us he finds this kind of approach foolish, but to make an impact on his audience, he walks down the path of talking about himself. What I want us to see, though, is that even in “boasting” about his own ministry and experience, Paul is actually undermining worldly ways. He doesn’t boast about his own ability, power, strength, or success. Rather, he talks about all his painful and humiliating experiences as an Apostle. Let’s look at the text and see how Paul’s words bring light to the darkness of the Corinthian’s thought patterns.

Godly ministry is marked by humility & sacrifice.

Let’s read from 2 Corinthians 11:22-29

2 Corinthians 11:22–29 ESV

22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?

Paul’s boast could be summarized like this: life has been tough since I started following Jesus and preaching the gospel. One of the major themes of 2 Corinthians is that the godly path looks like sacrifice and humility. Paul puts this theme on full display here. Rather than talking about how many people subscribe to his podcast, how much money he’s raised for the poor, or how many new campuses his church will open this year, Paul says, “I’m going to boast in all the humiliating, painful, and troubling experiences that I’ve walked through.” Where the false teachers enslave and exploit the Corinthians for personal gain, Paul boasts in the fact that he’s been emptied of personal pride so that others can hear about the good news of Jesus.

Godly boasting points away from personal strength.

This leads us to Paul’s climactic statement in 2 Corinthians 11:30 “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.” In verses 31-33, Paul gives yet another example of the humility of his ministry in having to be lowered down from a city gate. In the Roman army culture, the greatest prize and accolades went to the first soldier to ascend an enemies gates. In contrast, Paul says, “I had to be lowered off a wall to escape my enemies.

Why does Paul make it a point to boast in his weaknesses rather than strengths? Because when he boasts in his strength, he gets the attention. But, when he boasts in his weaknesses, God is the one who gets the attention and praise. Paul’s testimony is that despite all the pains, set-backs, and trials God has been faithful and powerful! The gospel has spread! Churches have been started. People have met Jesus despite danger and opposition to the gospel.

I want us to see that Paul understands godly boasting not because he is smarter or better than anyone else, but that Paul can confidently boast in his weaknesses because he sees all of his life in light of the gospel and the work of Jesus. The person who walks closely with Jesus and remembers the cross isn’t surprised that true victory doesn’t come by self-promotion but by self-emptying because Jesus’ victory didn’t come by boasting according to the world’s standards, but by a display of seeming weakness that displayed the ultimate and infinite power of God.

The gospel tells us that Jesus took on worldly humiliation in the cross to display God’s infinite wisdom and power. God took a display of what the world would describe as weakness and used it to rescue his people and restore perfection.

If you understand Paul’s passion and boasting in light of his theology of the cross, you’ll see why he is so worked up. When the Corinthians boast in the worldly way, they’re missing the essence of the gospel.

CONCLUSION

It may be easy for us to shake our heads at the Corinthians and say “how could you be so blind!” I’m afraid, though, that we face similar temptations in our faith and life today to miss the foolishness of worldly boasting and embrace the godly path of pointing to God’s strength. I want to ask a question this morning that I hope will help us evaluate our souls and apply God’s truth to our lives.

Will we measure life success by how strong we look or by how strong God is?

The world tempts us to operate like the Corinthians. We want to chase after the success and comfort that everyone around us says will make us whole. We’ll even submit ourselves to the control and manipulation of influences that look like they are winning and can show us how to win.

Let’s consider how we measure the success of our lives. In our circumstances, choices, and actions are we operating in such a way to make ourselves and others aware of how “strong” we are? Are we projecting a worldly self-confidence and self-sufficiency so that we look like we have it all together? Or, has the gospel taken root in our hearts in such a way that we can boast in God’s strength despite our real weaknesses? Do we see the foolishness of trying to “win” in a world that has already been conquered by Christ Jesus? Who looks strong in your story today?

My challenge to you this week is this: embrace the path of the cross so that you can boast in the power of God no matter what is happening to you. For Paul, adversity or prosperity were both opportunities for God’s glory to be on display in Christ Jesus. My prayer is that we will grow in embracing and delighting in God’s strength in our weaknesses. Amen.

SMALL GROUP QUESTIONS:

1. Why is it foolish to boast about our own strength or “according to the flesh?” (See verse 18)

2. How does this passage help us evaluate leaders or ideas that influence our lives?

3. How does Paul’s resume of humility and sacrifice compare to the way most people brag about themselves?

4. What are ways that we can “boast in our weaknesses” in our modern context?