I shall try to complete chapter 11, wherein Paul explains many of the hardships he and his team suffered to get the gospel of his assignment and it's revelation out. Today we face similar hardships as we are misunderstand as he and his team members were. But we can take heart in this because the Lord Jesus told us ahead of time that like him we also would suffer these things and more to the point of and including our own physical death. Okay, lets see what we shall see in the text, I might point one thing out, herein we fine that some Jewish "Christians" betrayed him.
2Corinthians 11:16-29, 31-12:10 "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. That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also. For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise. For ye suffer, if a man bring you into bondage, if a man devour you, if a man take of you, if a man exalt himself, if a man smite you on the face. I speak as concerning reproach, as though we had been weak. Howbeit whereinsoever any is bold, (I speak foolishly,) I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I. Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep; In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness. Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?
If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed(G2128) for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me: And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands. It is not expedient for me doubtless to glory. I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. And I knew such a man, (whether in the body, or out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth); How that he was caught up into paradise, and heard unspeakable words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. Of such an one will I glory: yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities. For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool; for I will say the truth: but now I forbear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me. And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, 'My grace is sufficient(G714) for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.' Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure(G2106) in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities(G318), in persecutions, in distresses(G4730) for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then I am(G1510) strong. " (KJV)
2Corinthians 11:16-29, 30-12:10 "I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toils and hardships, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant?
If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed(G2182) forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands. I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses— though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth; but I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient(G714) for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am(1510) strong." (ESV)
2Corinthians 11:16-29, 30-12:10 "Let me put it to you plainly, if I am already behaving foolishly in your opinion, would you please bear with me in this foolishness of my boasting! I am not saying, "the LORD says!" but allow me to say a few foolish things in my own defense! Since there are so many who are boasting according to the flesh, I might as well enroll in the competition! Your wisdom certainly equips you to grin and bear with this foolishness of others! The ability to perceive things from an elevated place of divine wisdom already gives you the advantage to bear with their insults. Their intent is obvious: all they wish to achieve is to bring you back into their bondage of their own Jewish legalism. They wish to abuse and devour you; their apparent attempts to raise themselves to your divine level are only to slap you in the face. Since Timothy and I did not take any part in their bravado at the time, it perhaps appeared to you as a weakness on our part. I know this might not make sense to you, but whatever extreme measure they pride themselves in, I can match! Every possible advantage they claim through their natural lineage, whether it be their Hebrew language, their Jewish identity or their connections to the patriarch Abraham himself, I can equal that! If you want to compare notes, I eclipse their claims as ministers of Christ. I speak from personal experience; none of them could compete with me when it comes to the extremities of wearisome labors endured: I was beaten up many times, frequently jailed, often face to face with death. To be more specific, I received the infamous forty lashes less one, five times from the Jews! Three time the Romans beat me up with sticks; once I was stoned and left for dead! Three times on my journeys I have been shipwrecked. I have been adrift at sea for a night and a day. My frequent travels have kept me on the road more than most people I know; I faced flooded rivers, I was attacked by robbers and encountered life threatening dangers from both Jews and Gentiles. Everywhere I turned I was confronted with great dangers, whether in the city, countryside or at sea. It seemed that there was no safe place left for me on the planet! Even amongst fellow Christians I was snared into controversy and betrayed! I was often extremely exhausted with a burdensome workload. The list goes on and on: I had many a sleepless nights; I was frequently forced to fast since I had nothing to eat or drink; I suffered extreme exposures in better cold conditions with nothing warm to wear. Beside the many external challenges I faced daily, I continuously cared for the churches in every place with all my heart. Don't talk to me about weaknesses and scandalous insults! I have been there and bought the T-shirt! The scandal of the cross ignites me with fervor!
My frailties are my claim to fame! GOD, the Father or our Lord Jesus Christ, has the full panorama of my life and testimony. In Jesus the ages concluded in beautiful logic! He is the ultimate reason of the universe! (The word, [1,G2182 from G2127 from a compound of G2095 and G3056] eulogetos is often translated, blessing, is from (G2095) eu, beautiful or well done and (G3056) logos, meaning word, thought or logic. [While "promise" is from G1860 from G1861 from G1909 and the base of G32) epaggelia, to announce, is from (G1909) epi, is a primary preposition properly meaning superimposition, and (G32) aggelos, meaning a messenger And the OT Hebrew of H1697, dâbâr, a matter spoken of, is from H1696, dâbar, meaning to teach.]) Oh yes, and here is another bit of adventure: while in Damascus the governor under King Aretas set up a military guard in the city of Damascus to hunt me down and arrest me. I escaped through a window in the cities wall, having been let down in a basket! (Acts 9:25) It would be inappropriate for me to boast about anything as though I achieved it by my own doing! My confident persuasion in what I have received by revelation of the LORD is not to be confused with arrogance! I know of an encounter in Christ fourteen years ago now, where a person was translated into the third heaven. Only GOD knows whether it was in or out of the body; it does not really matter to me! This person was caught up into paradise! There he heard words that could not be articulated into common language; he understood a conversation that did not [1]originate in human thought! (The word, [1,G1832 exesti, from a third person singular present indicative of a compound of G1537 and G1510] or exousia, has two components, (G1537) ek, a preposition pointing to the origin of something, and (G1510) eimi, I am, in this case Paul refers to who I am as a human being.) Of this encounter I will confidently boast because it has nothing to do with anything that I did to promote myself! I would rather glory in that which emphasizes my failure to get it right by myself! Divine revelation is a gift, not a reward! Even though I have legitimate reasons to boast, I prefer not to. My life speaks for itself and I have nothing to hide! (Look at 1Corinthians 4:10-14 and 2Corinthians 6:4-8) In sharp contrast to these spiritual revelations, the physical pain that I suffered and my severe discomfort momentarily distracted me. It was as if the old mindset of accusation (Satan) persuaded me that this affliction was actually GOD's way of keeping me humble. (Note that it was not a Messenger from GOD, but from the deceiver (Satan)! The word, (G4567 Hebrew origin H7845) satanas, means accuser! By these revelations of extreme proportions and consequence Paul understood that we are indeed co-seated together with Christ in heaven places. In his resurrection he already elevated us beyond any claim of accusation. Look at Hosea 6:2 and Ephesians 2:5-6. We cannot get any more elevated into the bliss of our redeemed innocence than discovering our joint-seatedness with Christ in the Throne room! Colossians 3:1-3.) I almost believed this lie and even implored the LORD three times to remove the thron from my flesh. Finally it dawned on me that grace is GOD's language; he doesn't speak "thorn-language!" He said to me, 'My grace [1]elevates you, to be fully content.' And now, instead of being overwhelmed with a sense of my own weakness, he overwhelms me with an awareness of his strength! Oh what [2]bliss to rejoice in this fact, of truth that in the midst of my frailties I encounter the dynamics the grace of GOD to be my [3]habitation! (The word, [1,G714 from G142] arkeo, content, stems from the word (G142), airo, which means to elevate. The word, [2] hedista, is from hedeos, meaning pleasure. The word, [3] episkenoo has two components: epi, continual influence upon and skenoo, to encamp, to reside in a tent; the noun, skenos reminds of the English word skin! Paul suggests that GOD's grace fits you like a skin! One feels most at home in the consciousness of his grace! [My own limited understanding of Greek kept me from locating the Greek words referenced.]) I now enjoy a [1] delightfully different frame of mind when I encounter things that would normally make me feel frail, whether it be from insults or when I am in situations where [2]I'm forced to do things with my arms twisted behind my back; whether I am persuaded or feel squeezed into [3]claustrophobic spaces. because of Christ, every time that I encounter weakness I escape into the strength of my [4]I am-ness! (The word, [1,G2106 from G2095 and G1380] eudokeo is a compound word from, (G2095) eu, well done, beautiful, and (G1380) dokeo, to form an opinion. The word, [2,G318 from G303 and the base of G43] anagke to bend the arm like when your arm is locked behind your back, where your own efforts to clear or save yourself are completely neutralized. The word, [3,G4730 from a compound of G4728 and G5561] stenochoria , means a narrowness of place. The word, [4,G1510] eimi, is the verb, I am.) (The Mirror)
Now I know that we have covered allot of ground but I think the benefit our shines the moment or two of time required to ready this. Now may the LORD our GOD give you and your his bliss.
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