2 Corinthians 11:16-33 - Boasting as a Fool

Please remain standing. Our sermon text this morning is 2 Corinthians 11:16-33. Please turn there. It is on page 1152.

In this passage, the apostle Paul comes back to the theme of boasting. He introduced it in chapter 10. Remember, our boasting should be in the Lord and his work, not ourselves and our work. That was in contrast to the super apostles, who boasted in themselves.

That is why, at the beginning of chapter 11, Paul had the most pointed critique of them yet. They taught a different Gospel and were actually messengers of Satan.

That brings us to our text this morning. As you will hear, Paul hates their boasting. But to counter the super apostles, he first sarcastically boasts in his credentials and then surprisingly he boasts in something very different.

Listen for those things as I read.

Reading of 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

Prayer

On the world stage, there is no shortage of bragging and arrogance. I’m talking mainly about world leaders. I think there’s been an increase over the last couple of decades. We certainly saw it back in the late1990s with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela. Vladimir Putin in Russia has certainly displayed a confident arrogance in his 25 years of power. And no matter your political opinions, I think everyone here would agree: our current president is quite the self-promoter, and I’m being kind.

Now, don’t be distracted by that comment. Stay with me.

Let me say that none of this is new. If we go back to the first century in the Roman Empire, boasting was at a similar high. In fact, I read in a commentary this week that Ceasar Augustus, one of the great Roman Emperors, raised the bar of self-promotion. Near the end of his life, Augustus wrote a short treatise about himself. Listen to the title - “The Deeds of the Divine Augustus.” It was released in the year of his death, AD 14. In it, Augustus highlighted all of his successes – his military accomplishments, his public works, his diplomacy, and his reforms in the empire. You can find it online.

In it, you will read over and over. “I did this, I did that.” I triumphed over such and such nations. I built the senate house and the capital building. Four times, I helped the senatorial treasury with my own money. I restored peace to the sea from pirates. I gave shows of gladiators under my name. I extended the borders of the empire… etc. etc.

This kind of self-absorbed boasting permeated the culture of the Roman Empire.

And to give a little historical context, it was published about 60 years after Corinth was re-settled as a Roman city; 20 years before Jesus’ crucifixion, and about 40 years before Paul wrote 2 Corinthians.

So, it is no surprise that the false apostles in Corinth praised themselves. That is what you did if you were to be known and honored. We’ve seen it over and over, these “super apostles” did not live by the Spirit with a humble and contrite heart. No, rather they lived by the world’s standards and beliefs and lifestyle. And part of that was to elevate themselves and their own self-defined credentials.

As we just read, the apostle Paul hated it. In verses 16 to 21 he calls it all foolishness. In fact, look at verse 19. He writes to the church, “for you gladly bear with fools.” So, not only was their boasting foolish, but the false apostles themselves were fools.

That word fool or foolish, if you remember from our Proverbs study, can be understood either as passively ignorant, you know, not really knowing any better… or being foolish can be understood in a more active way, someone being unwise with a senseless arrogance. That second understanding best fits the context. Paul even sarcastically calls the Corinthians “wise.” You see that in the second half of 19. “For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves!” It wasn’t wisdom at all, but rather foolishness.

So, that was part of the problem in Corinth. The arrogant boasting of the culture had come to the church through the super-apostles.

So, what does Paul do?

Well, for a brief moment, he enters into their boasting. It is like he is saying, since you are foolishly boasting, let me show you what this foolish boasting is like. He doesn’t want to toot his own horn, but he feels like he has to in order answer the super apostles. That why he says in verse 16, “…let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little.”

He goes on in 17, “What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast.”

Can you sense it? Paul can’t stand boasting. Nonetheless, he is compelled to do it. The false apostles were enslaving the Corinthians with their lies and deceit. To use some of the other words in verse 20. They were “devouring” them and “taking advantage” of them. The false apostles had “air” of superiority. In all of it, they were in essence “striking [the church] in the face.”

But really, they had nothing on Paul. Paul’s fleshly credentials were greater than theirs. He says in verse 22, “Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I.” He could have gone on with his worldly credentials. In other places in Scripture he mentions that he is from the tribe of Benjamin. He was among the few. Furthermore, he had been an esteemed Pharisee. But he says in his letter to the Philippians chapter 3 that he “counts it all loss for the sake of Christ.” There is something far greater, and that is his identity in Christ.

“Corinthian church, you have bought into this ungodly boasting. It is all foolishness. And even if you go by the super apostles foolish criteria, they still do not measure up.”

Any and all boasting in human strength and ability is self-centered and not Christ-centered. It is foolishness because (1) it does not recognize God and his Glory and his gifts, (2) it does not recognize our sin and our unworthiness apart from Christ, and (3) boasting in human strength does not acknowledge that all good gifts come from him alone.

Now, we covered some of that a couple of weeks ago.

But we learn something very interesting here in the middle of chapter 11. We learn, there is something that we can boast about in our lives. We can boast in our weakness. Jump down to verse 30. “If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

Verses 23 to really the middle of chapter 12 are specifically about that. Boasting in weakness.

Now, boasting in our weakness does not mean glorifying failure or seeking pity. It is not drawing attention to ourselves as a victim. Nor is it seeking our identity in suffering. The apostle Paul is not doing any of that, here.

So then, what is boasting in weakness? It is giving glory to God who sustains us in our weakness. And it is recognizing that the Lord has gone before us in our suffering. Just as he endured the weakness of the flesh and affliction from the world, so too, in him, God will sustain and use us in our weakness.

I just want to make that clear. As we look at this, there are two things that the apostle focuses on.

First, here in chapter 11 he focuses on the affliction that he received as a result of his ministry. You know, all the things that he suffered as an apostle. Second, when we get to the beginning of chapter 12, he focuses on the weakness of the flesh. Paul will write about his thorn in the flesh. We’ll get to that next week.

But today, let’s consider this unbelievable list of Paul’s suffering and God’s protection.

Go back up to verse 23. Paul begins, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one”

Now, put yourself in the shoes of the Corinthians. What do you think they expected Paul to say, next? Perhaps they expected him to give a Caesar Augustus type list:

I, Paul, planted 13 churches; I saw the risen Lord, himself, on the road to Damascus; I raised Eutychus from the dead; I cast out demons in Jesus name; I healed the sick; I confounded the Greek philosophers in Athens. Etc. etc.

But he doesn’t do that. No, instead, he rattles off a most surprising list. All the things that he suffered (so far!) as an apostle.

And it is overwhelming. God sustained him over and over and over to bring the Gospel all throughout the northern Mediterranean. Only a portion of this list is included in the book of Acts. Acts is the history of the early church.

· Paul was imprisoned multiple times. In Phillipi, which we read about earlier, he was beaten and then imprisoned with his feet in stocks.

· He mentions, here, multiple beating with rods. In Lystra he was stoned outside the city and left for dead.

· The most severe thing on this list is the forty lashes minus 1. It was a Jewish punishment for breaking the law. The guilty party would be severely whipped. Each lash would score the skin of the recipient. It would create what was called a stripe. A bloodied line across the back that would eventually scar. 39 lashes was one short of 40. More than 40 would have broken the Jewish law, so 39 was just in case someone didn’t miscount. Paul bore on his body the marks of his sacrifice for the Gospel.

· He mentions being shipwrecked three times. However, the most famous shipwreck had not even happened yet. That one is recorded in Acts 27. That would be a couple of years later.

· He furthermore endured multiple dangers. He endured danger from the elements… from cold and heat. Sometimes he went without food. But also, he experienced danger from others. Danger not just from the Jews, but also from the Gentiles and from robbers. Notice at the end of verse 26 he includes danger from false brothers. He uses the word “brothers” because there were men in the church who threatened him. They were wolves in sheep’s clothing, just like the false apostles in Corinth.

This kind of persecution happens all over the world today. We have so many freedoms in our country, that it’s hard to imagine the suffering that our brothers and sister in Christ experience throughout the world.

Some of you know or have met Pastor Zaki. He pastors the Orthodox Presbyterian Church over on Chamblee Tucker. It’s just down the road from here. He is a dear brother and a friend.

Zaki is from Eretria. He’s been in the US for about 15 years.

A couple of years ago, at a conference here in the area, he spoke about persecution. As part of that, Pastor Zaki shared a little about the persecution that he endured. In 2002, the government of Eritrea shut down many of the churches. Some believers were imprisoned, especially pastors, and the church had to go underground.

Well, Zaki was arrested. He was not even allowed to tell his family, when it happened. He was brought to the prison. They put him in a metal shipping container. There was just one small vent in it so he could breathe. Literally, nothing else was in it. Zaki described how he, at first, struggled to rejoice.

He remembered the words of Jesus, blessed are those who are persecuted for my name sake. And he remembered the words of the apostle Peter that we’re to rejoice in suffering. He thought, “had I led my people astray telling them that they should rejoice even if they suffered persecution for their faith.” Those first few hours weighed heavily on him, and he prayed. Then it happened. The Holy Spirit opened his heart, and he began rejoicing in the Lord.

Something even more amazing happened that first night. About midnight, he said, he began hearing other believers all throughout the prison singing. They were suffering, but they were rejoicing. And he joined in their joyful praise.

Brother Zaki was release but arrested 4 more time over the next 9 years. As I understand it, he was beaten. At one point he almost died, but the Lord preserved him. In 2011, he was able to flee to the United States. He moved to Greenville to study. And then the Lord then brought him here to the Tucker area to pastor.

The kind of suffering and affliction that Paul endured is experienced by many today who love and serve Christ.

And I want you to notice, it’s not just external suffering that Paul endured. Look at verse 28. “Apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.”

Paul loved the Corinthians. Really, he loved every single church that he participated in planting. He prayed for them. He communicated with them. He longed to see them be faithful and true. And it all weighed on his soul.

And look what he says in verse 29. He asks, “who is weak, and I am not weak?” In other words, when someone in one of his churches suffered, Paul suffered alongside of them. His heart suffered.

The next question in verse 29 is even stronger, “Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?” In other words, when a fellow believer in Christ was led into sin by one of these false brothers, Paul was indignant. He had a righteous anger at these false apostles for all the ways in which the church was being led astray.

That internal turmoil was part of the suffering that he endured.

Ok, now, jump down to verses 32 and 33. Paul mentions one final experience. Many, many years earlier, when he was in Damascus, in order to escape persecution, he had to be lowered in a basket out of a window. By the way, if someone tried to lower me in a basket, I think it wold probably go very poorly. I wouldn’t even fit in a basket. But Paul escaped.

Now, when you hear this last trial, doesn’t it feel like an addendum to his list? But let me ask, do you remember the significance of Damascus?

Paul was on the road to Damascus when the Lord blinded him and called him to faith. Damascus was the very city that he first stayed in as a believer in Jesus. Do you see what Paul is saying? His suffering as an apostle began at the very beginning of his ministry.

All the suffering that he has endured is not new. It goes back to the very beginning of labors for Christ. Despite what the false apostles were saying, his suffering did not disqualify him as an apostle. No, rather, it testified to his true apostleship.

Do you see now why Paul could boast in this affliction and weakness? It showed and demonstrated that God had called him to suffer and God sustained him through it all.

This was not the theology of the super apostles. Part of their false prosperity Gospel, which we’ve considered multiple times in weeks past, was to reject sickness and suffering as part of the Christian life.

Like many counterfeit pastors today, they taught that suffering was not part of God’s purpose and will for your life. They rejected Paul because he suffered.

But God is saying through Paul that suffering is part and parcel of the Christian life. He’s been saying that all throughout 2 Corinthians. Remember, in our affliction, we share in the affliction of Christ, so that we may share in his comfort. And also, these light momentary afflictions are preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.

And so, we can boast in our weakness. It’s a humble boasting. Yes, that’s a little paradoxical, but I think you know what I mean. It’s a humble boasting that gives glory to God.

Isn’t that the upside-down world of the Gospel? Strength comes through weakness. Exaltation comes through humility. Life comes through death.

Go back up to verse 23. We’ve already considered it. Paul asks, “Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one.” Did you notice that it is the only question where Paul raises the bar. He doesn’t say, “so am I” like how he answers the other questions. Rather he says, “I am better.” Literally translated, it would say I am a degree beyond. His service to Christ is far better because of his suffering, not despite it. That question and Paul’s answer prefaces the entire list of his suffering.

To put it another way, Paul suffered in this life, we suffer in this life, just as our Savior suffered in this life.

Jesus endured many trials in this life. False accusations; rejection from his people; temptations from Satan; Jesus disciples abandoned him at his hour of need; he was spit on and mocked and whipped… not with regular whips, like 40 lashes minus one, but wips with metal or bone fragments in it, which tore into his skin.

Isaiah wrote in his prophecy that our Savior was oppressed and afflicted, yet did not open his mouth. “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Other translations say, “with his stripes we are healed.”

Paul boasted in his suffering because his Savior suffered and died for him.

Jesus suffered and died so that in eternity his people would be freed from suffering and affliction. In other words, Jesus did not suffer and die so that we would not suffer in this life. No. Rather, Jesus suffered and died to forgive and redeem us, and in heaven we will be freed from our suffering forever. And that gives us great hope in our suffering in this life. And we can therefore boast in it. If we must, as Paul says.

So, to recap – Paul’s boasting in his earthly credentials, was simply to put the super apostles in their place.

All boasting in human strength and wisdom is foolishness and it dishonors God. If we must boast about ourselves, we should boast in our weakness. For Paul, his suffering was a testimony of his true ministry as an apostle. And when we boast in our suffering we ought testify to Christ’s suffering for our salvation.

Truly, in all of history, there was only one man who could rightfully boast in his accomplishments. It was not Caesar Augustus. It was not any world leader today or in the past. No. The only one who could rightfully boast was and is our Lord. As God the son, Jesus is the king of kings; the agent through which God created the heavens and the earth; He is the very word of God; and redeemer of God’s people.

Yet, on earth, he boasted not of those things. Instead, he humbled himself. He did not respond when mocked, he suffered and died, but was raised.

As we sang earlier, “I will not boast in anything; No gifts, no power, no wisdom; But I will boast in Jesus Christ; His death and resurrection”

So, let us boast in him… and when we suffer, let us boast because we suffer in him. Amen