2 Corinthians 10–13

Paul Speaks Up for Himself

10Christ is gentle and free of pride. So I make my appeal to you. I, Paul, am the one you call shy when I am face to face with you. But when I am away from you, you call me bold. ²I beg you that when I come I won’t have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people. They think that I live the way the people of this world live.

³I do live in the world. But I don’t fight my battles the way the people of the world do. ⁴The weapons I fight with are not the weapons the world uses. In fact, it is just the opposite. My weapons have the power of God to destroy the camps of the enemy.

⁵I destroy every claim and every reason that keeps people from knowing God. I keep every thought under control in order to make it obey Christ. ⁶Until you have obeyed completely, I will be ready to punish you every time you don’t obey.

⁷You are looking only at what appears on the surface of things. Suppose you are sure you belong to Christ. Then you should consider again that I belong to Christ just as much as you do.

⁸Do I brag too much about the authority the Lord gave me? If I do, it’s because I want to build you up, not pull you down. And I’m not ashamed of that kind of bragging.

⁹Don’t think that I’m trying to scare you with my letters. ¹⁰Some say, “His letters sound important. They are powerful. But in person he doesn’t seem like much. And what he says doesn’t amount to anything.” ¹¹People like that have a lot to learn. What I say in my letters when I’m away from you, I will do in my actions when I’m with you.

¹²I don’t dare to compare myself with those who praise themselves. I’m not that kind of person. They measure themselves by themselves. They compare themselves with themselves. When they do that, they are not wise.

¹³But I won’t brag more than I should. Instead, I will brag only about what I have done in the area God has given me. It is an area that reaches all the way to you. ¹⁴I am not going too far in my bragging. I would be going too far if I hadn’t come to where you live. But I did get there with the good news about Christ.

¹⁵And I won’t brag about work done by others. If I did, I would be bragging more than I should. As your faith continues to grow, I hope that my work among you will greatly increase. ¹⁶Then I will be able to preach the good news in the areas beyond you. I don’t want to brag about work already done in someone else’s territory.

¹⁷But, “The one who brags should brag about what the Lord has done.” ¹⁸Those who praise themselves are not accepted. Those the Lord praises are accepted.

Paul and Those Who Pretend to Be Apostles

11I hope you will put up with a little of my foolish bragging. But you are already doing that.

²My jealousy for you comes from God himself. I promised to give you to only one husband. That husband is Christ. I wanted to be able to give you to him as if you were a pure virgin. ³But Eve was tricked by the snake’s clever lies. And I’m afraid that in the same way your minds will somehow be led down the wrong path. They will be led away from your true and pure love for Christ.

⁴Suppose someone comes to you and preaches about a Jesus different from the Jesus we preached about. Or suppose you receive a spirit different from the one you received before. Or suppose you receive a message of good news different from the one you accepted earlier. You put up with those kinds of things easily enough.

⁵But I don’t think I’m in any way less important than those “super-apostles.” ⁶I may not be a trained speaker. But I do have knowledge. I’ve made that very clear to you in every way.

⁷When I preached God’s good news to you free of charge, I put myself down in order to lift you up. Was that a sin? ⁸Did I rob other churches when I received help from them so that I could serve you? ⁹When I was with you and needed something, I didn’t cause you any expense. The believers who came from Macedonia gave me what I needed. I haven’t caused you any expense at all. And I won’t ever do it.

¹⁰I’m sure that the truth of Christ is in me. And I’m just as sure that nobody in Achaia will keep me from bragging. ¹¹Why? Because I don’t love you? No! God knows I do! ¹²And I will keep on doing what I’m doing. That will stop those who claim they have things to brag about. They think they have a chance to be considered equal with us.

¹³People like that are false apostles. They work hard to trick others. They only pretend to be apostles of Christ.

¹⁴That comes as no surprise. Even Satan himself pretends to be an angel of light. ¹⁵So it doesn’t surprise us that those who serve Satan pretend to be serving God. They will finally get exactly what they should.

Paul Brags About His Sufferings

¹⁶I will say it again. Don’t let anyone think I’m a fool. But if you do, receive me just as you would receive a fool. Then I can do a little bragging.

¹⁷When I brag about myself like this, I’m not talking the way the Lord would. I’m talking like a fool. ¹⁸Many are bragging the way the people of the world do. So I will brag like that too.

¹⁹You are so wise! You gladly put up with fools! ²⁰In fact, you even put up with anyone who makes you a slave or uses you. You put up with those who take advantage of you. You put up with those who claim to be better than you. You put up with those who slap you in the face.

²¹I’m ashamed to have to say that I was too weak for that!

What anyone else dares to brag about, I also dare to brag about. I’m speaking like a fool! ²²Are they Hebrews? So am I. Do they belong to the people of Israel? So do I. Are they Abraham’s children? So am I. ²³Are they serving Christ? I am serving him even more. I’m out of my mind to talk like this!

I have worked much harder. I have been in prison more often. I have suffered terrible beatings. Again and again I almost died. ²⁴Five times the Jews gave me 39 strokes with a whip. ²⁵Three times I was beaten with sticks. Once they tried to kill me by throwing stones at me. Three times I was shipwrecked. I spent a night and a day in the open sea.

²⁶I have had to keep on the move. I have been in danger from rivers. I have been in danger from robbers. I have been in danger from people from my own country. I have been in danger from those who aren’t Jews. I have been in danger in the city, in the country, and at sea. I have been in danger from people who pretended they were believers.

²⁷I have worked very hard. Often I have gone without sleep. I have been hungry and thirsty. Often I have gone without food. I have been cold and naked.

²⁸Besides everything else, every day I am concerned about all the churches. It is a very heavy load. ²⁹If anyone is weak, I feel weak. If anyone is led into sin, I burn on the inside.

³⁰If I have to brag, I will brag about the things that show how weak I am. ³¹I am not lying. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus knows this. May God be praised forever. ³²In Damascus the governor who served under King Aretas had their city guarded. He wanted to arrest me. ³³But I was lowered in a basket from a window in the wall. So I slipped through the governor’s hands.

Paul’s Vision and His Painful Problem

12We can’t gain anything by bragging. But I have to do it anyway. I am going to tell you what I’ve seen. I want to talk about what the Lord has shown me.

²I know a believer in Christ who was taken up to the third heaven 14 years ago. I don’t know if his body was taken up or not. Only God knows. ³I don’t know if that man was in his body or out of it. Only God knows. But I do know that ⁴he was taken up to paradise. He heard things that couldn’t be put into words. They were things that people aren’t allowed to talk about.

⁵I will brag about a man like that. But I won’t brag about myself. I will brag only about how weak I am.

⁶Suppose I decide to brag. That would not make me a fool, because I would be telling the truth. But I don’t do it. Then no one will think more of me than he should because of what I do or say.

⁷I could have become proud of myself because of the amazing and wonderful things God has shown me. So I was given a problem that caused pain in my body. It is a messenger from Satan to make me suffer. ⁸Three times I begged the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is all you need. My power is strongest when you are weak.”

So I am very happy to brag about how weak I am. Then Christ’s power can rest on me. ¹⁰Because of how I suffered for Christ, I’m glad that I am weak. I am glad in hard times. I am glad when people say mean things about me. I am glad when things are difficult. And I am glad when people make me suffer. When I am weak, I am strong.

Paul’s Concern for the People of Corinth

¹¹I have made a fool of myself. But you made me do it. You should have praised me. Even though I am nothing, I am in no way less important than the “super-apostles.” ¹²You can recognize apostles by the signs, wonders and miracles they do. Those things were faithfully done among you no matter what happened.

¹³How were you less important than the other churches? The only difference was that I didn’t cause you any expense. Forgive me for that wrong!

¹⁴Now I am ready to visit you for the third time. I won’t cause you any expense. I don’t want what you have. What I really want is you. After all, children shouldn’t have to save up for their parents. Parents should save up for their children. ¹⁵So I will be very happy to spend everything I have for you. I will even spend myself. If I love you more, will you love me less?

¹⁶In any case, I haven’t caused you any expense. But I’m such a tricky fellow! I have caught you by tricking you!

¹⁷Did I take advantage of you through any of the men I sent to you? ¹⁸I asked Titus to go to you. And I sent our brother with him. Titus didn’t take advantage of you, did he? Didn’t I act in the same spirit? Didn’t I follow the same path?

¹⁹All this time, have you been thinking that I’ve been speaking up for myself? No, I’ve been speaking with God as my witness. I’ve been speaking like a believer in Christ. Dear friends,…