Become a True Servant

[전승훈2]

Summary:
Paul says he has become “foolish,” but he places the blame on the Corinthians because they compelled him to speak this way - when they should have been the ones commending him. He insists that he was in no way inferior to the “most eminent apostles,” even if he is “nothing.” He points out that the authentic signs of an apostle were plainly demonstrated among them through steadfast endurance, and through signs, wonders, and miracles. He then asks what way they were treated worse than other churches—except for one thing: he himself did not become a burden to them financially. He closes with an ironic plea for them to “forgive” him for that “wrong.”
 
Teaching:
As an apostle of Jesus, Paul adopts the same posture as Jesus: he denies himself and does not boast in himself. This is Paul’s attitude and his self-understanding. Rather than asserting his authority before people as an apostle, he acknowledges his own insufficiency and testifies that God established him as an apostle and granted him this grace.

A servant of God should also display the kinds of signs and power described in this passage. The kingdom of God is not revealed in words, but in power—through signs, wonders, and miracles.
Church workers should have this kind of spiritual power if they are to be worthy of being called God’s workers.

Excerpt from the sermon by Pastor Lee, Feb 4, 2026
2 Corinthians 12:11-13