2 Corinthians 11:30

30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things that concern my infirmity.

2 Corinthians 11:30 Meaning and Commentary

2 Corinthians 11:30

If I must needs glory
The apostle signifies that glorying was not agreeable to him; he was not fond of it, it was a subject he did not delight to dwell upon; what he had done was by force, and through necessity; he was compelled to it by the boasts of the false apostles: and since he must needs glory in order to stop their mouths;

I will glory,
says he, of things which concern mine infirmities; meaning not his sins, for these cause shame; but his afflictions and sufferings for Christ, under which he was supported, and from which he was delivered by the power of Christ; and that was the reason he chose to glory of them; for though they rendered him mean and despicable in the eyes of the world, yet his bearing them with so much patience, courage, and pleasure, and his many singular deliverances out of them, served greatly to illustrate the power and grace of Christ, and at the same time proved him to be a true and faithful minister of the Gospel; to whom so much honour was vouchsafed, as to suffer shame for the name of Christ, and to be so singularly marked out by him, as the object of his favour, love, and care.

2 Corinthians 11:30 In-Context

28 Besides those things which are without: my daily instance, the solicitude for all the churches.

29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is scandalized, and I am not on fire?

30 If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things that concern my infirmity.

31 The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed for ever, knoweth that I lie not.

32 At Damascus, the governor of the nation under Aretas the king, guarded the city of the Damascenes, to apprehend me.