2 Corinthians 11:1 Commentary and Bible Study

There are many chapters in this epistle that warn against error, but it is in order to preserve the soundness of the church at Corinth; to preserve their joy, their happiness in Christ. Paul now warns about the cunning of Satan and his intentions as he tries to bring down the church of Christ.‘I am going to have to talk about my apostleship’, says Paul. ‘I am going to have to justify my authority as an apostle, much as it goes against the grain with me.’ At the end of the previous chapter he has just denounced the self-commendation of the false teachers. Well, that puts him in a difficult position, because now he is going to be compelled to offer his own credentials, so that they shall be quite clear that he is the one that they should trust and not those false teachers. Like false teachers today, they commended themselves non-stop. It was foolishness and yet, to his great embarrassment and distress, he must remind the Corinthians of his own appointment to apostleship and the inspired word that came through him. So he says in that first verse, ‘Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly.’ He has to stoop to some self-commendation for their good, so that they might see the error of those false teachers.The last phrase could be translated a little differently, rather as an affirmation. The apostle Paul, of course, loves this church and he trusts them and though he is obliged to warn them and use a little shock therapy upon them, yet he knows they will respond and he says, in effect, ‘I know you will bear with me.’ That is really the significance of that phrase on the end, ‘and indeed bear with me,’ but it is positive and it has the character of affirmation.