Comparison of Himself with His Opponents
C. Lipscomb 2 Corinthians 11:16-20 I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little.… The weapons of his warfare were not carnal, and yet he must use, under protest and with undissembled humiliation, the weapons of his enemies. Boasting was their favourite art. Would they think him a fool? Let him not be so considered. If, however, they would regard him in this light, nevertheless he must "boast a little." Only he would pray to be heard by the Corinthians, but, at the same time, he wished it understood that he was speaking as a man, not as an apostle. "That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting." St. Paul is careful to state when he speaks from his own mind, and he is equally concerned to let his readers know that, if others boasted from mean and selfish motives, he boasted in a very different spirit from theirs. "Many glory after the flesh," referring to his adversaries, and "I will glory also," but not as they do. "After the Lord" and "after the flesh" are contrasted, and yet in doing this (boasting), if he imitated the manner of these "false apostles, deceitful workers," there was nothing false or deceitful in his conduct. What he boasted of was matter of fact; and then he remarks, continuing the ironical vein in which he had been arguing, that the Corinthians were well able to bear with his foolishness, since they suffered fools gladly, seeing that they were wise. "Wise," verily. Then he cites what they had endured from these new teachers. Where was their freedom? They had been brought into "bondage" - moral and ecclesiastical: submission to tyrannical rulers. Where was their self protection against imposition and craftiness, their discernment of men and motives? They had been taken in, captured, devoured, by these designing men. Where was their self-respect? These "fools," whom they suffered "gladly," had exalted themselves and humiliated a Church abounding in special endowments. Where, finally, was their manliness? They had borne insolence, personal ill treatment - had been smitten on the face. Such was his arraignment of these "false apostles," such his indictment of those Corinthians who had allowed themselves to be dominated by these insulting pretenders. Such, too, was the background for a vivid picture now to be sketched. - L. Parallel Verses KJV: I say again, Let no man think me a fool; if otherwise, yet as a fool receive me, that I may boast myself a little. WEB: I say again, let no one think me foolish. But if so, yet receive me as foolish, that I also may boast a little.