Paul’s Boast

[전승훈2]

Summary:
Paul asks them again to bear with his “foolish” boasting, explaining that he is speaking this way only because they have tolerated people who boast in worldly credentials and even mistreat them. Then he answers his opponents on their own terms: whatever Jewish pedigree they claim, he shares it—and if they claim to be servants of Christ, he says his ministry has been marked far more by costly service and suffering. He backs this by listing repeated imprisonments, severe beatings, constant danger, and relentless hardship—lashes, beatings, stoning, shipwrecks, exposure, exhausting travel, threats from all sides (including “false brothers”), and ongoing deprivation like sleeplessness, hunger, thirst, fasting, cold, and lack of adequate clothing.
 
Teaching:
The person who possesses the true gospel is the strongest of all. Yet because Paul held the true gospel - and because he carried the heart of Christ - he could appear “weak” when dealing with the Corinthian church. But this weakness is actually a strength that wins people.

Since the Corinthians loved to boast about outward appearances, Paul also includes his “boasting” in verses 22–27. When you look closely at what Paul boasts about, you see that he is boasting in what he suffered while preaching the gospel. Those experiences are also the marks of a true apostle. A genuine pastor and worker of Christ must bear such marks and have such tested experience.

We, too, must live with the true gospel. Just as what Paul endured testified that he was God’s servant, we should not fear such trials. We must discern and drive out every falsehood, accept what must be accepted, reject what must be rejected, and live out God’s story with our lives.

Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, Jan 29, 2026
2 Corinthians 11:16-27