What does 2 Corinthians 11:28 mean?

This section began with Paul claiming he would engage—mockingly—in the same foolish boasting practiced by his opponents in Corinth. Those false apostles followed the pattern of the day: declaring their victories, pointing out their strengths, and celebrating their power in order to gain an advantage over those who disagreed with them. They puffed themselves up and tore others down in order to be regarded as worth following.

Paul's "boasting," however, is actually a list of all of the ways he has suffered in his service to Christ. Instead of listing his victories or naming those who have trusted in Christ as a result of his work—including many in Corinth—he demonstrates that his work for Christ has brought him great pain, exhaustion, beatings, imprisonment, and endless danger.

Not all his suffering is external. Paul also suffers inwardly as he worries about all the Christian churches. Paul established many churches around the world, and he felt responsible for them. Many who had come to faith in Christ were experiencing terrible persecution. Others were in danger of compromising their faith, as the Corinthians were, because of false teachers attempting to lure them away from the simple gospel of Jesus.

Paul's internal suffering was like that of a parent hurting for his or her children and rooting for them to make wise and meaningful choices.