2 Corinthians 12:11 Study Bible: I have become foolish. You compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for in nothing was I inferior to the very best apostles, though I am nothing.

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◄ 2 Corinthians 12:11 ►

I have become a fool, but you drove me to it. In fact, you should have commended me, since I am in no way inferior to those "super-apostles," even though I am nothing.

Study Bible

I have become a fool
In this phrase, Paul acknowledges his own folly in boasting. The Greek word for "fool" is "aphron," which implies a lack of wisdom or understanding. Paul is aware that boasting is not in line with the humility expected of a Christian leader. However, he feels compelled to do so to defend his apostolic authority. This highlights the tension between human weakness and divine strength, a recurring theme in Paul's letters.

by boasting
The act of boasting, or "kauchaomai" in Greek, is generally discouraged in Christian teaching, as it often stems from pride. However, Paul uses it here as a rhetorical device to emphasize his credentials and experiences as an apostle. This paradoxical use of boasting serves to underscore the authenticity of his ministry, as he contrasts his weaknesses with the power of Christ working through him.

You compelled me
Paul points out that the Corinthian church's actions have forced him into this uncomfortable position. The Greek word "anagkazo" means to compel or constrain, indicating that Paul felt pressured by the circumstances. This reflects the challenges faced by early Christian leaders in maintaining authority and credibility within their communities.

I should have been commended by you
Here, Paul expresses disappointment that the Corinthians did not recognize his authority and contributions on their own. The Greek word "sunistemi" means to commend or recommend, suggesting that Paul expected the church to acknowledge his role without needing to defend himself. This highlights the importance of mutual respect and recognition within the body of Christ.

For in no way am I inferior to the “super-apostles”
Paul uses the term "hyperlian apostoloi," often translated as "super-apostles," to refer to those who were challenging his authority. By stating that he is not inferior, Paul asserts his equal standing with these figures. This phrase underscores the theme of true apostolic authority, which is not based on human credentials but on divine calling and empowerment.

even though I am nothing
In this humble admission, Paul acknowledges his own limitations and unworthiness. The Greek word "oudeis" means nothing or nobody, emphasizing Paul's reliance on God's grace rather than his own abilities. This humility is a key aspect of Paul's theology, as he consistently points to Christ as the source of his strength and authority.

Persons / Places / Events

1. Paul the Apostle
The author of 2 Corinthians, Paul is addressing the church in Corinth, defending his apostolic authority and ministry.

2. Corinth
A major city in ancient Greece, known for its wealth and immorality, where Paul established a church during his missionary journeys.

3. Super-Apostles
A term Paul uses sarcastically to describe false apostles who were challenging his authority and leading the Corinthians astray.

Teaching Points

Humility in Leadership
Paul demonstrates humility by acknowledging his own limitations and weaknesses. As Christians, we should lead with humility, recognizing that our strength and authority come from God, not ourselves.

Defending the Faith
Paul defends his apostolic authority not for personal gain but to protect the integrity of the gospel. We should be prepared to defend our faith and the truth of the gospel against false teachings.

Value of Commendation
Paul expresses that he should have been commended by the Corinthians. This highlights the importance of recognizing and affirming the work of faithful leaders in the church.

The Danger of Comparison
Paul contrasts himself with the "super-apostles," warning against the dangers of comparing ourselves to others. Our worth and identity should be rooted in Christ, not in how we measure up to others.

Bible Study Questions

1. How does Paul's approach to defending his authority in 2 Corinthians 12:11 reflect his understanding of humility and strength in Christ?

2. In what ways can we apply Paul's example of humility and self-awareness in our own leadership roles within the church or community?

3. How can we discern and respond to false teachings or "super-apostles" in today's context, as Paul did with the Corinthians?

4. What are some practical ways we can affirm and commend the work of faithful leaders in our church community?

5. How can we guard against the temptation to compare ourselves to others, and instead find our identity and worth in Christ alone?

Connections to Other Scriptures

1 Corinthians 15:9-10
Paul speaks of his unworthiness and the grace of God that enables his ministry, similar to his humility in 2 Corinthians 12:11.

Philippians 3:4-8
Paul discusses his credentials and how he considers them as loss for the sake of Christ, paralleling his statement of being "nothing" in 2 Corinthians 12:11.

Galatians 1:11-12
Paul defends the divine origin of his gospel message, reinforcing his authority as an apostle, akin to his defense in 2 Corinthians.

Sermons

Much, Yet Nothing	E. Hurndall	2 Corinthians 12:11
Affliction an Antidote to Temptation	C. F. Childe, M. A.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
Paul's Thorn in the Flesh	J. A. Beet, D. D.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
Pride and its Antidote	T. Turner.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
Rejoicing At the Misfortunes of Others	A. K. H. Boyd, D. D.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
St. Paul's Thorn in the Flesh	F. W. Robertson, M. A.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
St. Paul's Thorn in the Flesh	J. F. S. Gordon, M. A.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Temptation of St. Paul	C. Bradley, M. A.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Thorn in the Flesh	W. Cardall, B. A.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Thorn in the Flesh	B. D. Johns.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Thorn in the Flesh	Abp. Trench.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Thorn in the Flesh	C. H. Spurgeon.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Thorn in the Flesh	W. Bird.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Thorn in the Flesh	W. Jay.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Thorn in the Flesh	R. Collyer, D. D.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
The Thorn in the Flesh, or Soul Schooling	D. Thomas, D. D.	2 Corinthians 12:7-11
Recurrence to the Former Argument	C. Lipscomb	2 Corinthians 12:11-15
A Sermon Upon One Nothing by Another Nothing	C. H. Spurgeon.	2 Corinthians 12:11-21
Paul's State of Mind Concerning His Connection with the Church At Corinth	D. Thomas, D. D.	2 Corinthians 12:11-21

People

Corinthians, Paul, Titus

Places

Achaia, Corinth, Damascus

Topics

Actually, Apostles, Behind, Best, Boasting, Chief, Chiefest, Commended, Compel, Compelled, Degree, Drove, Eminent, Fool, Foolish, Forced, Glorying, Greatest, Inferior, Least, Less, Myself, Nobody, Nothing, Ought, Praise, Respect, Super-apostles, Superlative, Superlatively, Surpassing, Though, Vindicators, Yourselves

Dictionary of Bible Themes

2 Corinthians 12:11

     5262   commendation
     5888   inferiority
     7707   apostles, designation
     8756   folly, examples

2 Corinthians 12:7-15

5109 Paul, apostle

2 Corinthians 12:11-12

7709 apostles, authority

2 Corinthians 12:11-13

5132 biting

Library

Not Yours but You
'I seek not yours, but you.'--2 COR. xii. 14. Men are usually quick to suspect others of the vices to which they themselves are prone. It is very hard for one who never does anything but with an eye to what he can make out of it, to believe that there are other people actuated by higher motives. So Paul had, over and over again, to meet the hateful charge of making money out of his apostleship. It was one of the favourite stones that his opponents in the Corinthian Church, of whom there were very …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Strength in Weakness
'For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee; for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'--2 COR. xii. 8, 9. This very remarkable page in the autobiography of the Apostle shows us that he, too, belonged to the great army of martyrs who, with hearts bleeding and pierced through and through with a dart, yet did their …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

A Paradox
I. Perhaps I can expound the text best if I first TURN IT THE OTHER WAY UP, and use it as a warning. When I am strong, then am I weak. Perhaps, while thinking of the text thus turned inside out, we shall be getting light upon it to be used when we view it with the right side outwards, and see that when we are weak, then we are strong. I am quite sure that some people think themselves very strong, and are not so. Their proud consciousness of fancied strength is the indication of a terrible weakness. …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 34: 1888

The Collection for St Paul: the Farewell
PHILIPPIANS iv. 10-23 The Philippian alms--His sense of their faithful love--He has received in full--A passage in the Scriptural manner--The letter closes--"Christ is preached"--"Together with them" The work of dictation is nearly done in the Roman lodging. The manuscript will soon be complete, and then soon rolled up and sealed, ready for Epaphroditus; he will place it with reverence and care in his baggage, and see it safe to Philippi. But one topic has to be handled yet before the end. "Now …
Handley C. G. Moule—Philippian Studies

Introductory Note to Chapter iii. By the Editor
BY THE EDITOR THE readers, especially those not well acquainted with Scholastic philosophy, will, perhaps, be glad to find here a short explanation of the various kinds. of Vision and Locution, Corporal, Imaginary, and Intellectual. The senses of Taste, Touch, and Smell are not so often affected by mystical phenomena, but what we are about to say in respect of Sight and Hearing applies, mutatis mutandis, to these also. 1. A CORPORAL VISION is when one sees a bodily object. A Corporal Locution is …
Teresa of Avila—The Interior Castle, or The Mansions

That the Ruler Should be a Near Neighbour to Every one in Compassion, and Exalted Above all in Contemplation.
The ruler should be a near neighbour to every one in sympathy, and exalted above all in contemplation, so that through the bowels of loving-kindness he may transfer the infirmities of others to himself, and by loftiness of speculation transcend even himself in his aspiration after the invisible; lest either in seeking high things he despise the weak things of his neighbours, or in suiting himself to the weak things of his neighbours he relinquish his aspiration after high things. For hence it is …
Leo the Great—Writings of Leo the Great

Abram's Horror of Great Darkness.
"And when the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell upon Abram; and lo, an horror of great darkness fell upon him." If we consider the sketch, given us in scripture, of the life of this patriarch, we shall find that few have had equal manifestations of the divine favor. But the light did not at all times shine on him. He had his dark hours while dwelling in this strange land. Here we find an horror of great darkness to have fallen upon him. The language used to describe his state, on this occasion, …
Andrew Lee et al—Sermons on Various Important Subjects

"That which was from the Beginning, which we have Heard, which we have Seen with Our Eyes, which we have Looked Upon, and Our Hands Have
1 John i. 1.--"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life." It is the great qualification of a disciple, or hearer, to be attentive and docile, to be capable of teaching, and to apply the mind seriously to it. It is much to get the ear of a man. If his ear be gotten, his mind is the more easily gained. Therefore, those who professed eloquence, and studied to persuade men to any …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Answer to Mr. W's Fifth Objection.
5. The consideration that none of these raised persons did or could, after the return to their bodies, tell any tales of their separate existence; otherwise the Evangelists had not been silent in this main point, &c. p. 32. None of these persons, Mr. W. says, told any tales of their separate existence. So I suppose with him. As for the two first: How should they? being only, as Mr. W. says, an insignificant boy and girl, of twelve years of age, or thereabouts. Or if they did, the Evangelists were …
Nathaniel Lardner—A Vindication of Three of Our Blessed Saviour's Miracles

How Christ is to be Made Use of as Our Life, in Case of Heartlessness and Fainting through Discouragements.
There is another evil and distemper which believers are subject to, and that is a case of fainting through manifold discouragements, which make them so heartless that they can do nothing; yea, and to sit up, as if they were dead. The question then is, how such a soul shall make use of Christ as in the end it may be freed from that fit of fainting, and win over those discouragements: for satisfaction to which we shall, 1. Name some of those discouragements which occasion this. 2. Show what Christ …
John Brown (of Wamphray)—Christ The Way, The Truth, and The Life

That Man Hath no Good in Himself, and Nothing Whereof to Glory
Lord, what is man that Thou art mindful of him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him?(1) What hath man deserved, that Thou shouldest bestow thy favour upon him? Lord, what cause can I have of complaint, if Thou forsake me? Or what can I justly allege, if Thou refuse to hear my petition? Of a truth, this I may truly think and say, Lord, I am nothing, I have nothing that is good of myself, but I fall short in all things, and ever tend unto nothing. And unless I am helped by Thee and inwardly …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Extracts No. viii.
"In regard to the story reported among the Jews, respecting the body of Jesus, I admit there is a greater probability of there being such a report, especially if the body could not be found, and the apostles affirmed that he was risen from the dead, than there is that the resurrection, should be actually true: hence, perhaps, I was not so much on my guard in the expression as I ought to have been. What I particularly had in my mind was, that I might find it difficult to prove even the existence of …
Hosea Ballou—A Series of Letters In Defence of Divine Revelation

So Then we must Confess that the Dead Indeed do not Know what Is...
18. So then we must confess that the dead indeed do not know what is doing here, but while it is in doing here: afterwards, however, they hear it from those who from hence go to them at their death; not indeed every thing, but what things those are allowed to make known who are suffered also to remember these things; and which it is meet for those to hear, whom they inform of the same. It may be also, that from the Angels, who are present in the things which are doing here, the dead do hear somewhat, …
St. Augustine—On Care to Be Had for the Dead.

Introductory Note to the Epistle of Barnabas
[a.d. 100.] The writer of this Epistle is supposed to have been an Alexandrian Jew of the times of Trajan and Hadrian. He was a layman; but possibly he bore the name of "Barnabas," and so has been confounded with his holy and apostolic name-sire. It is more probable that the Epistle, being anonymous, was attributed to St. Barnabas, by those who supposed that apostle to be the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and who discovered similarities in the plan and purpose of the two works. It is with …
Barnabas—The Epistle of Barnabas

The Blessings of Noah Upon Shem and Japheth. (Gen. Ix. 18-27. )
Ver. 20. "And Noah began and became an husbandman, and planted vineyards."--This does not imply that Noah was the first who began to till the ground, and, more especially, to cultivate the vine; for Cain, too, was a tiller of the ground, Gen. iv. 2. The sense rather is, that Noah, after the flood, again took up this calling. Moreover, the remark has not an independent import; it serves only to prepare the way for the communication of the subsequent account of Noah's drunkenness. By this remark, …
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Christ Our Life.
Colossians 3:4.--Christ who is our life. One question that rises in every mind is this: "How can I live that life of perfect trust in God?" Many do not know the right answer, or the full answer. It is this: "Christ must live it in me." That is what He became man for; as a man to live a life of trust in God, and so to show to us how we ought to live. When He had done that upon earth, He went to heaven, that He might do more than show us, might give us, and live in us that life of trust. It is as we …
Andrew Murray—The Master's Indwelling

Meditations for the Sick.
Whilst thy sickness remains, use often, for thy comfort, these few meditations, taken from the ends wherefore God sendeth afflictions to his children. Those are ten. 1. That by afflictions God may not only correct our sins past, but also work in us a deeper loathing of our natural corruptions, and so prevent us from falling into many other sins, which otherwise we would commit; like a good father, who suffers his tender babe to scorch his finger in a candle, that he may the rather learn to beware …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Best Things Work for Good to the Godly
WE shall consider, first, what things work for good to the godly; and here we shall show that both the best things and the worst things work for their good. We begin with the best things. 1. God's attributes work for good to the godly. (1). God's power works for good. It is a glorious power (Col. i. 11), and it is engaged for the good of the elect. God's power works for good, in supporting us in trouble. "Underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. xxxiii. 27). What upheld Daniel in the lion's den? …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

Epistle xxv. To Gregoria.
To Gregoria. Gregory to Gregoria, Lady of the Bed-chamber (cubiculariæ) to Augusta. I have received the longed for letters of your Sweetness, in which you have been at pains all through to accuse yourself of a multitude of sins: but I know that you fervently love the Almighty Lord, and I trust in His mercy that the sentence which was pronounced with regard to a certain holy woman proceeds from the mouth of the Truth with regard to you: Her sins, which are many, are forgiven her, for she loved …
Saint Gregory the Great—the Epistles of Saint Gregory the Great

Let us Now Examine the Conditions under which a Revelation May be Expected To...
2. Let us now examine the conditions under which a revelation may be expected to be given to the original recipients. It may be observed in the first place that a revelation must possess some distinctive character. Even, if it should turn out that there is no such thing in reality at all, at least the notion which we form in our minds must possess such points of difference as to distinguish it from all other notions. It appears needful to bear this in mind, obvious though it is, because there …
Samuel John Jerram—Thoughts on a Revelation

Of the Corruption of Nature and the Efficacy of Divine Grace
O Lord my God, who hast created me after thine own image and similitude, grant me this grace, which Thou hast shown to be so great and so necessary for salvation, that I may conquer my wicked nature, which draweth me to sin and to perdition. For I feel in my flesh the law of sin, contradicting the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the obedience of sensuality in many things; nor can I resist its passions, unless Thy most holy grace assist me, fervently poured into my heart. 2. There …
Thomas A Kempis—Imitation of Christ

Meditations of the Blessed State of a Regenerate Man in Heaven.
Here my meditation dazzles, and my pen falls out of my hand; the one being not able to conceive, nor the other to describe, that most excellent bliss, and eternal weight of glory (2 Cor. iv. 17; Rom. viii. 18)--whereof all the afflictions of this present life are not worthy--which all the elect shall with the blessed Trinity enjoy, from that time that they shall be received with Christ, as joint-heirs (Rom. viii. 17) into that everlasting kingdom of joy. Notwithstanding, we may take a scantling thereof. …
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

And Many Monks have Related with the Greatest Agreement and Unanimity that Many Other...
65. And many monks have related with the greatest agreement and unanimity that many other such like things were done by him. But still these do not seem as marvellous as certain other things appear to be. For once, when about to eat, having risen up to pray about the ninth hour, he perceived that he was caught up in the spirit, and, wonderful to tell, he stood and saw himself, as it were, from outside himself, and that he was led in the air by certain ones. Next certain bitter and terrible beings …
Athanasius—Select Works and Letters or Athanasius

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