2Cor 11 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for 2Cor 11:1-6: 11:1-6 Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2 ) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ. 11:1 Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness . He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me , a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).

Summary for 2Cor 11:1-6: 11:1-6 ^a Paul finds it necessary, if distasteful, to justify his actions because of the close link he claims with the church (11:2 ^b) and because his enemies were enticing the Corinthian believers away from Christ. 11:1 ^c Paul takes on an ironic tone in saying, I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. He again asks with irony, Please bear with me (or But indeed you are putting up with me, a translation that makes the irony even more pointed).
11:2 ^d The church is called to be a pure bride to one husband—Christ. This metaphor goes back to the Old Testament, where Israel is the bride of the Lord (Isa 54:5 ^e; 62:5 ^f). Paul saw himself as the “best man” (the bridegroom’s close friend) who acted for the bridegroom (cp. John 3:29 ^g).
11:3 ^h The false teachers were pulling the Corinthian believers away from pure and undivided devotion to Christ. In this they are doing the work of Satan, just as the serpent did in Eden (11:14 ⁱ; see Gen 3:4 ^j, 13 ^k).
11:4 ^l The false missionaries in Corinth evidently preached a different Jesus, a different kind of Spirit, and a different kind of gospel than the one the Corinthians had believed. It is difficult to know exactly what these false teachers preached; most likely, they promoted a powerful, dominant Christ and sidelined the suffering of the cross. They probably saw themselves as equally powerful preachers, exempt from hardship and trial. Paul’s message, by contrast, centered on Christ crucified (13:4 ^m), and Paul’s own sufferings were a mark of true apostleship (12:1-12 ⁿ). The nature of this difference is the heart of Paul’s defense of his apostleship in chs 10–13 ^o.
Summary for 2Cor 11:5-6: 11:5-6 ^p These false teachers claimed authority as “super apostles,” and they despised Paul’s lack of sophisticated eloquence (10:10 ^q).
11:7 ^r Paul was preaching God’s Good News ... without expecting anything in return. Paul’s policy as a church planter (1 Cor 9:3-14 ^s) was to earn his living by his trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:3 ^t; 20:34 ^u) rather than being supported by the new churches (1 Thes 2:9 ^v; 2 Thes 3:8-9 ^w). His enemies in Corinth criticized him for this. In Greek thought, religious teachers could rightfully claim financial support; Paul’s refusal provided his enemies with an argument that his apostleship was counterfeit.
Summary for 2Cor 11:8-9: 11:8-9 ^x Paul had been accepting . . . contributions ... from Macedonia—i.e., Philippi (Phil 4:15-19 ^y). Paul’s apparent inconsistency made the Corinthians suspicious of his motives or doubtful of his love toward them (2 Cor 11:11 ^z).
11:12 ^aa Paul’s motive in refusing to accept support from the Corinthians (11:7-11 ^ab) was to show them what true Christian service is like in contrast to the ministry of those who were looking for an opportunity to boast.
Summary for 2Cor 11:13-15: 11:13-15 ^ac Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9 ^ad). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12 ^ae), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2 ^af). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their deeds are wicked, and their punishment is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10 ^ag).
Summary for 2Cor 11:16-29: 11:16-29 ^ah Paul plays the part of a boastful fool (see also 12:11-13 ^ai) so that he may present his true credentials as a suffering apostle. The intruders’ arrogant spirit impels Paul to adopt a style of writing that matches their behavior, all in irony.
11:19 ^aj The Corinthians were proud of their capacity to understand deep religious issues, and they valued teachers who made a pretense of learning. Paul came with a different agenda (1 Cor 2:1-16 ^ak).
Summary for 2Cor 11:20-21: 11:20-21a ^al The Corinthian church had welcomed the intruders even when they exploited and insulted them. They even saw Paul’s refusal to exploit them as too “weak.”
Summary for 2Cor 11:21-29: 11:21b-29 ^am Rather than boasting about his strengths and successes like the false teachers did, Paul boasts in weakness and defeat, pointing away from himself and toward God.
11:22 ^an Are they Hebrews? So am I: A Jewish heritage was seen by Paul’s opponents as a qualification for ministry (see Phil 3:5 ^ao).

• Are they Israelites? So am I: An Israelite was a member of the covenant community by circumcision (cp. John 1:47 ^ap; Rom 9:4 ^aq). Paul had this badge also and was in fact a Pharisee, a most devoted follower of Torah (Acts 26:4-5 ^ar; Rom 11:1 ^as; Phil 3:5-6 ^at).

• Are they descendants of Abraham? This is yet another of Paul’s opponents’ claims to God’s favor based on ethnic identity. Elsewhere, Paul clarifies who can truly be called Israelites and descendants of Abraham (see Rom 2:28-29 ^au; Gal 3:16 ^av, 26-29 ^aw). Here, he ironically adopts the erroneous perspective of his opponents to beat them at their own game.
Summary for 2Cor 11:23-27: 11:23-27 ^ax I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.
Summary for 2Cor 11:23-24: 11:23-24 ^ay in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23 ^az. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times.

• thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3 ^ba. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.
11:25 ^bb Three times I was beaten with rods: Paul suffered this Roman punishment at Philippi, though as a Roman citizen he should have been exempted (Acts 16:22-24 ^bc, 37 ^bd).

• Once I was stoned: At Lystra (Acts 14:19 ^be).

• Three times I was shipwrecked: These events are otherwise unknown; Paul’s shipwreck on the voyage to Rome would come later (Acts 27:1-44 ^bf).
Summary for 2Cor 11:26-27: 11:26-27 ^bg Paul’s many long journeys are recorded in Acts 13–28 ^bh. These trips involved facing danger and enduring hardship.
11:28 ^bi In addition to physical difficulties, Paul felt the burden of concern (or anxiety) for all the churches. No church gave Paul more cause for concern than Corinth.
11:30 ^bj the things that show how weak I am: Paul develops this theme in 12:1-10 ^bk.
Summary for 2Cor 11:32-33: 11:32-33 ^bl As a final “boast” of his weakness, Paul tells the story of his escape from Damascus a few years after his conversion (see Acts 9:23-25 ^bm; Gal 1:15-18 ^bn).

• King Aretas IV of Nabataea controlled Damascus only after AD 37, following the death of the emperor Tiberius (see Josephus, Antiquities 18.5.1-3); the mention of Aretas dates Paul’s escape from Damascus between AD 37 and the end of Aretas’s reign in AD 39 or 40.