2 Corinthians 12:11–21
11 I have been a fool! You forced me to it, for I ought to have been commended by you. For I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles, even though I am nothing. 12 The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. 13 For in what were you less favored than the rest of the churches, except that I myself did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!
14 Here for the third time I am ready to come to you. And I will not be a burden, for I seek not what is yours but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. 15 I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? 16 But granting that I myself did not burden you, I was crafty, you say, and got the better of you by deceit. 17 Did I take advantage of you through any of those whom I sent to you? 18 I urged Titus to go, and sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Did we not act in the same spirit? Did we not take the same steps?
19 Have you been thinking all along that we have been defending ourselves to you? It is in the sight of God that we have been speaking in Christ, and all for your upbuilding, beloved. 20 For I fear that perhaps when I come I may find you not as I wish, and that you may find me not as you wish—that perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, hostility, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. 21 I fear that when I come again my God may humble me before you, and I may have to mourn over many of those who sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.
Section Overview: Superiority through Inferiority
This passage falls neatly into three paragraphs—the first regarding Paul’s relationship to the super-apostles, the second his relationship to the Corinthians more broadly, and the third his relationship to God himself. Even this outline reminds us of the nature of faithful ministry. Servants of Christ are acutely mindful of enemies of the gospel, friends of the gospel, and the author of the gospel. God’s servants accordingly reprove, affirm, and worship.
Paul here prepares to conclude this letter that has been so fraught with turbulent emotion, and the second half of chapter 12 is no different. His longing and pathos come through unfiltered. He begins by explaining that his ministry is not inferior to his opponents’, as proven by its supernatural elements and Paul’s sincere favor (2 Cor. 12:11–13). He then announces that he will be revisiting Corinth and asserts his guileless care for the Corinthians once again, as a father to his children (vv. 14–18). Finally, Paul reflects on his ministry as a matter most deeply of serving God, not defending himself, and so he will need to confront any remaining sins when he arrives (vv. 19–21).
Section Outline
IV.D. Concluding Summary Remarks (12:11–13:14)
1. Paul’s Relationship to the Super-apostles (12:11–13)
a. Superior (12:11)
b. Supernatural (12:12)
c. Sincere (12:13)
2. Paul’s Relationship to the Corinthians (12:14–18)
a. Paul’s Own Care for the Corinthians (12:14–16)
b. Paul’s Friends’ Care for the Corinthians (12:17–18)
3. Paul’s Relationship to God (12:19–21)
a. God’s Supreme Reality to Paul (12:19)
b. God’s Humbling of Paul (12:20–21)
Response
How easily Christians misinterpret motives! The Corinthians misinterpret the super-apostles’ motives, thinking them sincere. The Corinthians also misinterpret Paul’s motives, thinking him insincere. Yet it is precisely at the point of deepest misunderstanding that Paul is loving them most.
As we move through life, seeking to love others as God has loved us in Christ, we will be misunderstood. Others will assume we are basically self-serving. If they are right, we need to repent, restore broken relationships, and happily move on. If they are wrong and unpersuadable, we must absorb their misunderstanding, acknowledging it as one part of what it means to share in the fellowship of the sufferings of Christ, the most misinterpreted person ever to walk the face of the earth.
12:11 Paul again refutes any notion that he has enjoyed parading his experiences before the Corinthians. For their sake he has conducted himself like a “fool” (Gk. aphrōn; also 11:16, 19; 12:6). That is, he has temporarily adopted the off-putting strategy of the super-apostles in order to beat them at their own game. Even here he does so by boasting mainly of his weaknesses rather than of his strengths. But they “forced” him to do it. Paul uses the verb form (anankazō) of the noun “hardship” (anankē) used in the previous verse, perhaps making the subtle and ironic point that the Corinthians had themselves proved to be one of Paul’s many “hardships.” They ought to have seen through the outwardly unimpressive veneer to the sincerity of heart and divine power of Paul’s ministry and thus “commended” him (note the earlier uses of this verb in 3:1; 4:2; 5:12; 6:4; 7:11; 10:12, 18, as Paul insists he is not trying to commend himself).
The second half of 12:11 summarizes all that Paul has been laboring to get the Corinthians to see since 10:1. The first part of the sentence—“I was not at all inferior to these super-apostles”—explains his boasting. The second part—“even though I am nothing”—explains his boasting in his weaknesses. It is those who vaunt the flesh by putting themselves forward who truly amount to nothing. Paul, “nothing” in himself, weak and frail and insipid, yet yielding to the Lord and his sufficient grace, is far more than nothing. He is the most important man in the history of the church after the Lord Jesus himself.
12:12 However silly Paul may look through the world’s eyes, the marks of apostolic power are unmistakable. Paul brings the Corinthians back to what they themselves have seen—even more, what they themselves have experienced (“among you” could equally be rendered “in you”).
Paul’s legitimacy as an apostle was proven and settled when he founded the church in Corinth. Have they so easily forgotten, swept away by the slick impressiveness of the present leadership offered by Paul’s opponents? Paul is truly an apostle. Yet note the way Paul always maintains divine governance through his ministry—the signs of a true apostle “were performed” (divine passive) among them. After all, Paul himself is “nothing” (v. 11).
What, then, of these “signs and wonders and mighty works”? A vital element of apostolic authenticity—and especially important for Paul, the one apostle not part of the original Twelve—is supernatural demonstration of the Spirit’s power to restore humans as witness to the inauguration of the new age in fulfillment of OT prophecy (Acts 2:19). Throughout Acts we see “signs and wonders” (less often do we see the word here translated “mighty works”) that testify to the reality of the kingdom Christ has launched (e.g., Acts 4:30; 5:12; 14:3; 15:12). Importantly, signs and wonders, dazzling as they are, do not by themselves prove anything (see Acts 8:9–13; 16:16; 19:13). The gospel goes forth in Acts under the tandem realities of word and deed, preaching and miracles, what the ear hears and what the eye sees. Not only are the Corinthians beginning to think less of Paul’s words (2 Cor. 10:10), they are forgetting the miracles done in their midst (12:12).
12:13 How easily suspicions sneak into our relationships and cause undue hurt and an artificial sense of woundedness. By explicitly denying to the Corinthians that they are any “less favored” (Gk. hēssaomai; rendered “overcomes” in its only other NT use, 2 Pet. 2:19–20) than other churches he has planted, Paul is likely answering a critique that has gotten back to him. The Corinthians, perhaps fueled by well-placed remarks from the super-apostles, suspect Paul of giving Corinth his second best. Yet not only in the manifestations of the supernatural (2 Cor. 12:12) but in his entire ministry Paul has simply given himself to the Corinthians. He makes this clear in the next paragraph. In verse 11 Paul denies that he himself is inferior; in verse 13 he denies that his treatment of the Corinthians has been inferior.
Well, there is one way in which Paul has treated the Corinthians differently. He chose not to “burden” them materially (the other two NT uses of this verb [katanarkaō] are 2 Cor. 11:9; 12:14). He provided for himself. His one mistake was to be kind and generous toward the Corinthians. The healthy sarcasm comes through loud and clear. “Forgive me this wrong!” Paul mockingly requests. They are the ones needing to seek forgiveness, not Paul. Somehow they have come to view Paul’s magnanimity darkly. What was true for Paul then is true for servants of Christ today: our most sincere efforts are often viewed with the greatest suspicion. In this we follow in the suffering of our Master (Luke 11:14–15).
12:14–15 Paul now drills more deeply into his sincere care for the Corinthians. Despite the present misfires in their relationship, he has not given up, even after two visits already in a Mediterranean world in which a journey from Palestine to Corinth requires great cost in money, time, and physical well-being (11:25–27!). As easily wounded as the Corinthians’ sentiments are, so resilient are Paul’s. Driven by a passion to bring Christ where he has not been named, his largeheartedness absorbs relational strife rather than nursing wounds. Paul is not impervious to interpersonal pain. His pain and grief come through clearly throughout this letter (e.g., 7:2–4). But he is driven on by a deeper passion, an all-consuming motivation: he is God’s ambassador (5:20).
Once again, therefore, he determines he will not “burden” (cf. 12:13) the Corinthians. The super-apostles do not care for the well-being of the Corinthians themselves but wish simply to use the Corinthians and their resources to prop up their own vaunted self-importance project (11:20). Paul is the precise opposite. He refused to receive anything material from them because he was after not their wallets but their hearts. He is their father in Christ (1 Cor. 4:15). Like a father, therefore, he would pour himself out for them. He would “spend and be spent” for them (2 Cor. 12:15). What would a parent say to a child who came to him, having scraped together a little money, offering it in exchange for permission to live any way they want? The parent would respond: I do not want your money. I want you.
Yet this very posture has caused the Corinthians to hold Paul at arm’s length instead of pulling him in ever closer to their hearts. He is “loved less” by them despite his abundant love for them.
12:16 We need not conjecture at this point as to what the Corinthians might be saying. As he occasionally does throughout the letter (e.g., 10:10), Paul comes close to giving us an actual quotation of what is being said about him (“you say” is supplied by the translators but captures what Paul is communicating). Apparently the word on the street among some of the Corinthians is that Paul’s refusal to accept financial support from them was duplicitous, designed with an ulterior motive to deceive the Corinthians in some underhanded way. A heart operating out of the world’s fallen instincts is quick to be suspicious, to question motives, to assume the worst. A heart operating out of new-age instincts is slow to be suspicious and to question motives, and assumes the best. There is a bent toward darkness in a dark soul; there is a bent toward light in an enlightened soul (cf. Titus 1:15). The Corinthians, though redeemed, are slinking back toward the dark through the slippery influences of the super-apostles.
12:17–18 Paul broadens out to include his colleagues. He spoke in 8:16–24 of sending emissaries ahead of him as he prepared to visit Corinth. Here again he mentions Titus by name (12:18; cf. 8:16, 23) and “the [unnamed] brother” (either the brother “famous . . . for his preaching” [8:18] or the brother “found earnest in many matters” [8:22]). Paul denies that Titus acted out of accord with Paul’s own guilelessness. The language of the “same spirit” and the “same steps” refers to consistency of ongoing comportment and healthy ministry ambitions in Paul and his colleagues.
One verb occurs twice in these two verses: “take advantage of” (Gk. pleonekteō; cf. comment on 2:11). Paul asks rhetorically whether either he (12:17) or Titus (v. 18) took advantage of the Corinthians. What Paul denies is the charge that he and Titus exploited the Corinthians, feigning sincerity of ministry when all the while dark motives of self-concern were the true driving concern. For Paul, such “ministry” is anti-gospel activity. In the gospel, Christ comes to us and does not use us for his good but loves us for our good. To exploit others is to lay down their lives for our benefit. But Christ laid down his life for our benefit. All true gospel ministers serve accordingly. The super-apostles are not simply theologically questionable or regrettably selfish. Their whole mode of ministry denies the self-giving love of the gospel.
12:19 Paul had his relationship to the super-apostles in sight in verses 11–13 and his relationship to the Corinthians in sight in verses 14–18. Now in verses 19–21, as he continues to consider his upcoming visit to Corinth, he introduces the most important relationship of all: his relationship with God.
The deepest and truest audience before whom this drama between Paul and the Corinthians unfolds is God himself. Picture a courtroom. The Corinthian church, led by the super-apostles, is the plaintiff. Paul is the defendant. Here in verse 19 Paul reminds the Corinthians that ultimately he has been defending himself not to the plaintiff but to the judge looming above them. Paul does indeed want to win the plaintiff over. He loves them. In fact, “all” that he has done, the comforting and rebuking, what feels good and what feels bad, has been “for your upbuilding.” But they are not the final arbiter of his worth or validity. The judge determines that. And that judge is God.
And Paul is confident in the judge’s approbation of him because he has a special attorney, an advocate, Christ himself. The middle part of verse 19 literally reads, “before God, in Christ, we speak.” Paul is in Christ as he defends himself before the Judge to the Corinthians.
12:20 Even though all that Paul has done toward the Corinthians has been for their edification and growth in grace, they do not feel that way. Such is often the case in Christian relationships. What is most impelled by love is most received with suspicion. Paul is quite open about this here, as he continues to pave the way for his visit. He is trying to get them to see that his and their perceptions of spiritual vitality are different, at least to the degree that they listen to the super-apostles. The Corinthians tend to seek stimulating, awe-inducing, glorious leadership. Paul has learned the folly of adopting such worldly standards and instead offers self-effacing meekness and simplicity. What the Corinthians long for makes Paul cringe. What Paul longs for makes the Corinthians cringe.
And, of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. If flesh-fueled criteria are nurtured, the result will be the same dysfunctional culture Paul warned about in 1 Corinthians 3. The eight vices listed here in 2 Corinthians 12:20 are all interpersonal, painting a picture in which prickly snippiness and touchiness set the tone. It is not only the world that turns on each other; professing believers operating in gospel deficit can turn even “ministry” into one more means of gratifying self and spreading misery.
12:21 Paul fears that the Corinthians have stalled out spiritually. Has Paul spent so much of himself for their sake—numerous visits, numerous letters, numerous tears—for naught? Have they really gotten zero traction in moving forward in Christ?
Paul expresses two fears here. The first is that God may have to “humble” Paul, perhaps as in previous visits. If the Corinthians have still not learned that a gospel-shaped life goes down instead of up, that our weakness is our strength, then Paul will once again need to provide a living demonstration of this before their very eyes—as he obviously has done previously (e.g., 10:1, 10). Part of this humbling would probably include financial independence (see 11:7). The second fear is that Paul will find the same sins of sensuality among those who supposedly have repented. Whereas the eight sins of 12:20 are sins of the tongue, these are sins of the body. Clearly, for Paul, repentance without life change is not real repentance.