Daily Lesson for Wednesday 16th of September 2026
After exposing the false teachers as agents of Satan (2 Corinthians 11:1-15), Paul now “plays” their game by boasting a little as a fool might (2 Corinthians 11:16-21) so that the Corinthians could see how senseless it was to give ears to the false teachers’ speech. If the Corinthians held them in high regard, Paul deserved higher consideration. His sufferings for the gospel show that he was a faithful servant of Christ (2 Corinthians 11:22-23).
Read 2 Corinthians 11:22-28. What point is Paul making here?
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While Paul’s Jewish credentials are identical to those of the false teachers (2 Corinthians 11:22), his service to Christ surpasses theirs (2 Corinthians 11:23). “Are they ministers of Christ?” he asks. The answer is “I am more.” His labors were more abundant; his imprisonments, more frequent; his beatings, more severe.
But this is not all. His list of sufferings also includes five instances of thirty-nine strokes (2 Corinthians 11:24), beatings with rods, stoning, shipwrecks, danger in deep waters (2 Corinthians 11:25), danger at journeys, danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from countrymen, danger from Gentiles, danger in crowded cities, danger in desolate country, danger at sea, danger from false believers (2 Corinthians 11:26), strenuous labors, exhausting toils, sleepless nights, hunger, thirst, food shortage, cold, and nakedness (2 Corinthians 11:27). As if that weren’t enough, he still had to deal with mental anguish because of his deep anxiety for the churches (2 Corinthians 11:28).
Only a true servant of Christ would be willing to suffer like this for the gospel. If Paul were really to boast about his sufferings, he had much to say. However, the next section of the letter shows that the reason for his boast was based not on what he did for Christ but on what Christ had done for him. Paul knew that God’s power is more visibly displayed in human weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). By giving him a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7), God protected Paul from boasting about his accomplishments. This kept him humble, aware of his weakness, dependent on divine power, and in the condition of receiving more of God’s grace and mercy.
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Have you also been suffering for the sake of the gospel? What have you learned from this experience? How can the way Paul dealt with his sufferings help you deal with yours? |
