Chapter
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Verse

2 Corinthians 11:12

ESV And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do.
NIV And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.
NASB But what I am doing I will also continue to do, so that I may eliminate the opportunity from those who want an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting.
CSB But I will continue to do what I am doing, in order to deny an opportunity to those who want to be regarded as our equals in what they boast about.
NLT But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours.
KJV But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we.

What does 2 Corinthians 11:12 mean?

Opponents in Corinth are attempting to seduce the Corinthians away from their loyalty to Paul. They have called attention to Paul's unimpressive physical presence and speaking skills (2 Corinthians 10:10). They have questioned whether a true servant of God would really experience so much suffering (2 Corinthians 6:3–10). They have also apparently mocked his commitment not to take any personal funding from the Corinthians, something they are happy to do (2 Corinthians 11:7).

Paul points to this difference between him and fraudulent "apostles" as evidence they are false in their "boasted mission." Their claim is that Paul is a false representative of Christ and that they are the real apostles. Paul shows in this verse, though, that they do not work on the same terms he does. He celebrates in Christ that he was able to preach the gospel free of charge. The deceiving ones cannot boast about that, because they gladly take the Corinthians' money to preach a false gospel to them. In fact, money may be the entire point of their false teaching.

Paul declares that he will continue to preach about Jesus for free—and continue to exult in it—to undermine his opponents' false claims to be like him. If they are truly like him, he implies, they should also refuse the Corinthians' money. He knows they will not do that.
Expand
Expand
Expand
What is the Gospel?
Download the app: