The opening verses of this chapter contain the Apostle’s apology for going about to commend himself. He is not eager to enter upon this subject of self-commendation. He calls it “folly,” because it is often no better than foolishness. In his case, it was necessary; but since others might think it to be folly in him, he desires them to bear with it. The reason why he seemed to be speaking so much in his own praise was to preserve the Corinthians from being corrupted by the insinuations of the false apostles; he was afraid that their faith would be weakened by listening to the suggestions of these wicked men. Paul had espoused them to one Husband, so to speak; in other words, he converted them to Christianity (and the conversion of a soul is its marriage to the Lord Jesus). And he was desirous to present them to their spiritual Husband as a pure, spotless, and faithful virgin – not having their minds corrupted with false doctrines by false teachers, as Eve was beguiled by the subtlety of the serpent.
In verses 5-15, Paul shows his readers his equality with the false apostles in one particular: the preaching of the Gospel unto them freely, without taking wages. He largely insists upon this, showing that since some of the Corinthians would not acknowledge him to be a minister of Christ, they ought to at least acknowledge that he had been a good friend to them – for he had preached the Gospel to them freely. In his former Epistle, he had proved the lawfulness of ministers’ receiving support from their people, and the duty of their people to provide them with an honorable living. But here he says that he himself had taken wages from other churches, and so he had the right to have asked and received the same from the Corinthians; yet he waived his right, and chose rather to humble himself by working with his hands as a tentmaker so that he might support himself and not be burdensome to them. And he informs them that the reason for this conduct among them was to avoid any cause of offence from those who so eagerly desired to accuse the Apostle and his fellow-laborers as mercenary men, who only preached the Gospel in order to receive worldly gain.
Beginning in verse 16, we have a further excuse that the Apostle makes for speaking in his own vindication. He did not want the Corinthians to think he was guilty of folly in saying what he said to vindicate himself. Ordinarily, it is unbecoming for a wise man to be much and often speaking in his own praise. Boasting about ourselves is usually not only a sign of a proud mind, but also a mark of folly. “However,” says Paul, “yet as a fool receive me” – that is, “If you count it folly in me to boast a little, yet give due regard to what I shall say.”
Having said this, the Apostle gives a large account (verses 22-33) of his own qualifications, labors, and sufferings – not out of pride or vainglory; but to the honor of God, who had enabled him to do and suffer so much for the cause of Christ. And in these things, he far excelled the false teachers who tried to lessen his character and usefulness among the Corinthians.
He begins by mentioning the privileges of his birth, which were equal to any that the false apostles could pretend to. He was a Hebrew of the Hebrews; he was a member of a family among the Jews that had never intermarried with the Gentiles. He was also an Israelite, and could boast of being a descendant from the beloved Jacob as well as they. He also makes mention of his Apostleship, for he was more than an ordinary minister of Christ. But he chiefly insists upon the fact that he had been an extraordinary sufferer for Christ, and this was what he gloried in; or rather, he gloried in the grace of God that had enabled him to be more abundant in labors, and to endure very great sufferings – such as unjust beatings, frequent imprisonments, and the dangers of death. Chains and imprisonments were familiar to him; never was the most notorious criminal more frequently in the hands of public justice than Paul was, for righteousness’ sake. The jail, the whipping-post, and all other hard usages of those who are accounted the worst of men were what he was accustomed to. Once he was stoned in a popular tumult, and was taken up for dead (Acts 14:19). He suffered the dangers of shipwreck three times. Perhaps scarcely a year of his life after his conversion passed without suffering some hardship or another for his faith. But this was not all; for wherever he went, he was exposed to perils of all sorts. If he journeyed by land, or voyaged by sea, he was in perils of robbers or enemies of some sort; the Jews, his own countrymen, sought to kill him and do him mischief; and the heathen, to whom he was sent, were not more kind to him. He was not only in peril among avowed enemies, but also among those who were false brethren. Besides all this, he had great physical weariness and painfulness in his ministerial labors; and as an Apostle, the care of all the churches lay upon him.
In the last two verses, he mentions one particular part of his sufferings out of its place, because the deliverance that the Lord worked for him on that occasion was most remarkable – namely, the danger that he was in at Damascus, soon after he was converted. This is recorded in Acts 9. This was his first great danger and difficulty, and the rest of his life was not much different from this. And we should take notice how the Apostle confirms this narrative with a solemn oath or appeal to the omniscience of God (verse 31). It is a great comfort to a believer that the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ – Who is an omniscient God – knows the truth of all he says, and knows all that he does and suffers for His sake!
Lord, we repent of times when we have done much boasting of ourselves; for this sin is not only a sign of a proud mind, but also a mark of our own folly. Amen.
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