Galatians 12

Let us never complain against God. Rather, let us praise and thank Him for every difficulty, every trial, every need that He allows to come into our lives (Job 1:21-22).

10 Paul not only endures weaknesses … insults … hardships … persecutions … difficulties; he takes delight in them! Paul delights in them, because when he is weak, then he is strong. Paul delights in all these hardships, because through them the comfort of Christ overflows in his life (2 Corinthians 1:5). Paul delights in them, because through them the life of Jesus is being revealed in his body (see 2 Corinthians 4:8-10).

Paul delights in his weaknesses for Christ’s sake. Paul does not seek such hardships and difficulties for his own spiritual benefit, as the followers of other religions do. Rather, everything Paul seeks is for Christ’s sake alone. God will reward us only for what we do and endure for Christ’s sake (see Matthew 5:11; 19:29).

11 Paul has made a “fool” of himself by boasting. Yet the Corinthians themselves forced Paul to write that way. They are the ones who should have been boasting about Paul! Because they didn’t commend Paul, Paul had to commend himself; he had to “boast” about himself. Otherwise, there would have been no one to refute the statements of those false apostles, those “super-apostles.”

Paul himself is nothing; that is, he is only a weak and frail man. Nevertheless, he is not in the least inferior to those “super-apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5).

12 Paul has proven that he is a true apostle by the signs, wonders and miracles that he has performed, and also by the fruit that has resulted from his preaching (see 1 Corinthians 9:2).

13 Many of these signs and wonders had been done at Corinth. The church at Corinth had been founded by a true apostle of Christ. Therefore, the Corinthian church was not inferior to any other church—except in one thing: they had not given any support to their apostle Paul. In refusing to take any help from them, Paul had deprived the Corinthians of the chance to boast that they had helped him. Because he has deprived them of this chance to boast, Paul sarcastically asks them to forgive him for this wrong.

14 It was on Paul’s first visit to Corinth that he founded the church there (Acts 18:1). Paul’s second visit to Corinth was the painful visit (2 Corinthians 2:1).

Paul does not seek the Corinthians’ possessions. Rather, Paul seeks the Corinthians themselves—that is, their love, their hearts. As their spiritual father, he is coming to Corinth not to receive help from them but rather to give help to them.

15 Any human father desires to be loved by his children. He hopes that just as he has loved his children, his children will return his love. But even if the children do not show any love to their father, he will nevertheless, with tears, keep on loving them all the more. Paul’s love for the Corinthians was like that.

16 Paul did not take any money from the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 11:9). Yet his enemies accused him of being crafty. They said that the collection Paul had been raising for the poor believers in Jerusalem was trickery—that is, Paul was raising the money for himself! In this verse Paul sarcastically repeats their false accusation as if he agreed with it.

17-18 Paul had sent Titus and our brother to Corinth to help the Corinthians complete the collection (2 Corinthians 8:16-18; 9:5). Paul asks the Corinthians: Did Titus or this brother exploit you or in any way take advantage of you? The answer is no.

19 Paul has not been defending himself before the Corinthians in the same way he would defend himself before a judge (see 1 Corinthians 4:3). Paul here has been speaking only in the sight of God. Paul has spoken in this way not for his own sake, but for the strengthening of the Corinthians.

20 Paul is afraid that when he meets the Corinthians he is going to find that they are still worldly (see 1 Corinthians 3:1-3). If this should be the case, then the Corinthians are not going to find Paul the way they like him either! Because Paul will be coming with a whip (1 Corinthians 4:21).

Let us examine the list of sins which Paul writes here. Are any of these sins in our church? (see Mark 7:21-23; Galatians 5:19-21).

21 Paul has taken much pride in the Corinthians (2 Corinthians 7:4). But if they refuse to repent of their sins and harden their hearts against Paul, then Paul will certainly be made humble before them; he will be grieved. Paul fears that just as a human father grieves over a wayward and rebellious son, so he will be made to grieve over his beloved Corinthians.