2 Corinthians 11:1-12:13, What’s Your Spiritual Style?

2nd Corinthians chapter 11 be reading from verse 1 to chapter 12. Verse 13. Hear the word of the Lord. I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me. For I feel a divine jealousy for you since I betrothed you to one husband to present you as a pure virgin to Christ.

But I'm afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning Your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed or if you received a different spirit from the one you Received or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted You put up with it readily enough.

Indeed, I consider that I am NOT in the least inferior to these Super Apostles, even if I am unskilled in speaking. I'm not so in knowledge Indeed in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

Or did I commit a sin and humbling myself so that you might be exalted because I preached God's gospel To you free of charge. I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you and when I was with you and was in need I Did not burden anyone for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied by need.

So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way as the truth of Christ is in me this boasting of mine Will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia and why because I do not love you. God knows I do and what I do I will continue to do in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in Their boasted mission they worked on the same terms as we do for such men are false Apostles deceitful workmen disguising themselves as Apostles of Christ and No wonder for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

So it is no surprise if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. I Repeat let no one think me foolish. But even if you do accept me as a fool so that I too may boast a little what I am saying With this boastful confidence.

I say not with the Lord's authority. But as a fool since many boast according to the flesh I too will boast for you gladly bear with fools being wise yourself and for you bear it if someone makes you make slaves of you or devours you or Takes advantage of you or puts on airs or strikes you in the face to my shame I must say we were too weak for that.

But whatever anyone else dares to boast of I'm speaking as a fool. I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites so am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ?

I am a better one. I'm talking like a madman. With far greater labors far more imprisonments with countless beatings and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one three times I was beaten with rods once I was stoned three times.

I was shipwrecked a night in a day. I was adrift at sea on frequent journeys and danger from rivers danger from robbers danger from my own people danger from Gentiles danger in the city danger in the wilderness danger at sea danger from false brothers and toil and hardship through many a sleepless night and hunger and thirst often without food and cold and exposure and apart from other things.

There is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak and I am NOT weak who is made to fall? And I am NOT indignant. If I must boast I will boast of the things that show my weakness.

The God and father of the Lord Jesus who is blessed forever knows that I'm not lying. At Damascus the governor under King Eratos was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me. But I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands.

I must go on boasting though. There is nothing to be gained by it. I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. I know a man in Christ who 14 years ago was caught up in to the third heaven whether in the body or out of the Body, I do not know.

God knows and I know that this man was caught up into paradise whether in the body or out of The body I do not know. God knows and he heard things that cannot be told. Which man may not utter on behalf of this man?

I will boast but on my own behalf. I will not boast except of my weakness though. If I should wish to boast I would not be a fool for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrained from it so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me so to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations a Thorn was given me in the flesh a messenger of Satan to harass me to keep me from becoming conceited.

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should leave me. But he said to me my grace is sufficient for you for my power is made perfect and weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

For the sake of Christ then I am content with weaknesses insults hardships persecutions and calamities for when I am weak. Then I am strong. May the Lord add his blessings to the reading of his Holy Word.

Well, are you spiritual. You have any spiritual people here? Maybe spiritual but not religious. That's a favorite category to be in these days spiritual more concerned than with just material things or just with pleasure.

But not part of any organized religion. A poll found that 72 of those aged 18 to 29. Now like to say quote I'm spiritual but not religious. The phrase is now so commonplace. It's even spawned its own acronym SBN are and a web page SBN are org.

The advantage of being spiritual but not religious is that we get to choose each in our own way. How to be spiritual like going to the store to try on clothes, you know, you can try on a spirituality.

That is right for you that fits you. That's comfortable for you. Not just you know, not something that's that squeezes you anywhere here or there, you know. Like that religion does sometimes it just doesn't fit.

Spirituality though you can get to fit you after all and the assumption then be that Spiritualities are all pretty much morally equal, right? You have a spirituality that's good for you. I have one that's good for me.

We don't judge each other spirituality. You wouldn't condemn someone for wearing perfectly fitting slacks just because you'd like to wear loose-fitting jeans. Would you just that's their style? I got my style that you got yours.

So we each have our comfortable spiritual styles and we should each appreciate each other's Spiritual styles such as the attitude today. Well, what's your spiritual style? You like glory, is that what fits you?

Heaven maybe where you'll go one day so we sing about where we're going not wanting to bitch and where we have to go through to get there and Pretend our faith has no connection at all with earthly matters like money or sex or anything.

That's political. So such a person might tell a black person at the door to the church to go elsewhere and then go back into the church. And sing happily. I'll fly away or maybe you're more feelings oriented more inward subjective may be mystical.

So.

No one has a right to judge me because I'm. I'm being spiritual. I'm in this mystical realm and you don't know nothing about. For them glory is experienced now. It's in the heart. It's usually individualistic.

Spirituality is just about my personal walk with Jesus, you know. Like in the footprints poem many people apparently think is actually in the Bible, but it's just the Lord and me walking together on the beach.

That's spirituality, right? So the church if we need it all should help us by offering us just wonderfully uplifting worship experiences. It's certainly not a body that you are Covenanted to or maybe you recognize.

Okay, you know, that's just all that's all glory. That's all mystical. That's otherworldly, you know, you have to. You have to bear a cross. But it's too hard in this world in this society. To bear that cross.

So we what we do is we flee this world. We go off to used to be monasteries and convents taking vows of poverty chastity and obedience. Which was the ideal of spirituality for a thousand years. Living to prepare to die.

Now, of course, we're Protestants here, right? So we'll we won't do that. We know better than that so maybe we'll just Create a church culture. We've just so insulate ourselves from the rest of the world.

We have nothing to do with it. We're always in church. So now we homeschool our kids and send them to Christian colleges and we just never have anything to do with anything else. Or maybe if we want to be really spiritual will quote surrender to the column.

Call of ministry the way they put that surrender. It's like you're being besieged by a hostile force and you'll surrender. Wave the white flag. I give up or maybe you've got a missions in some poor country and Maybe give up everything or most things to serve the Lord you think the height of spirituality or maybe last of all.

Okay, you understand you got to bear a cross and you got to live in this world. Maybe last of all we see we have to serve the Lord in this world with all its demands with its problems. We have to weep at funerals because death is a curse.

We have to handle its money as God's stewards. We have to stand up against injustices and sometimes bear the brunt of those injustices. We have to cherish the old rugged cross here and now. Those are the spiritualities.

Which is your style? What's most comfortable for you? Probably not the last one. That's kind of like wearing a burlap sack or Sandpaper because the one thing you can be sure of the cross is not comfortable.

There is a true and false spirituality and here in this passage and really throughout 2nd Corinthians. That's basically what 2nd Corinthians about true and false spirituality Paul shows us here particularly in this passage true Spirituality Paul shows us had here in three parts from chapter 11 verses 1 to 15 false apostles.

2nd from chapter 11 verse 16 To 33 foolish boasting and 3rd from chapter 12 verses 1 to 13 fulfilling grace.

The first false apostles.

In the first half of chapter 11 Paul contrast himself With what he will eventually call by verse 13 false apostles. Deceitful workmen disguising themselves as apostles of Christ and he says they're like Satan himself.

Who's disguises himself. Satan disguises himself as a is a Angel of God an angel of light and says his messengers false apostle. They do the same thing. By the way. Some a lot of reform people today when it comes to apostles for their apostles today.

Usually the reform way to approach that it's a very kind of academic debate well first to find what a true apostle is and usually it's Someone in the first century who saw Christ and then therefore the other other people are false.

Okay, maybe that's there's some room for that. But I would rather say you you're claiming to be an apostle. Let's see it in your life. Let's see it in the fruit you bear. Okay, are you planting churches?

Are you spreading the gospel? Really, are you and you're doing it? In a way that brings resistance. Do you bear opposition? Do you have the kind of suffering Paul talks about in this passage? Do you know don't tell me you're an apostle.

You love the title and you want more money for your for the newest private jet you want to buy? Okay, I'm I'm not particularly impressed by that. Maybe you are able to attract large crowds, but that's really not a sign of an apostle.

That's just a sign of somebody can attract large crowds. You understand here false apostles. These men are servants of Satan. But what was wrong with them isn't so much that they teach some overt false doctrine.

If that were the case Paul would correct the false doctrine. Like he does with the Galatians or in first Corinthians as he did with them about the resurrection chapter 15 all about correcting their false doctrine.

Well here what is wrong with these false apostles is something that's much more slippery. Much more difficult to put your finger on to get a hold of there. Is it just some plain statement? And they're like their statement of faith.

You go under the web page of these false apostles. You say, ah, there it is. They say they believe that that's false. It wasn't something like that. Was there some immorality that they were caught in that you could say I've been real apostles would never do that.

What is wrong with them is? Their spirituality not so much what they were preaching. But the heart with which they were preaching it. Now not all preachers had to say preach for the right reasons some are businessmen and.

Some are showmen. People who want to be the big man or the big woman in church. They use the church to get to remember last week swagger. Some want a little extra income. They are what Paul called earlier in chapter 2 verse 17 peddlers of God's Word.

They're businessmen. They're salesmen and. That's what these men were doing that there was a demand in their culture in Corinth for impressive speakers. And that was true with the church. They liked impressive speakers and they would pay for it.

They met the demand these these false apostles. They know they met that demand, but they were preaching for the wrong reason. They're worldly people trying to make their living in the world off the church.

Some don't have ego. So some don't do it for the money. Some people have well, he's not doing it for the money. Because he may be not getting paid that much. But some do it just for the ego because they want to be the center of attention.

They want the approval. Some have spiritualities that tell them that to be really spiritual. They have to be preachers and in each of these cases. They are worldly men with minds.

That.

That have not become captive to obey Christ what we talked about last week who are making Themselves out to be something that they are really not. They are what he calls in verse 13 deceitful workmen.

Deceitful workmen. They look like a skilled workman. But it's a sham. Like the man who says he's a master carpenter says he's had the training. He says he's had the apprenticeship, but he really can't deliver because he's just a smooth talker with a hammer who can't drive a nail straight.

True spirituality, it's about Taking up your cross. If you're following a man who was crucified. Don't be surprised if he shares some crucifixion with you. Understand. If you're following a man who was crucified don't be surprised if he shares some crucifixion with you.

And that's not just a mystical kind of theoretical otherworldly fuzzy idea sort of a Feeling of crucifixion. Emotional words in a song. It finds practical reality in this life you live it.

Here.

So the Christian especially the Christian in ministry will suffer it be deprived and rejected. He'll have to tell people what they hate to hear. Maybe that they're they're sinners. They need to repent sometimes specifically.

You know like the racism that your church lived with for decades is not a minor sin. It's just kind of well, it's understandable given the culture kind of things you hear around here. And yes, I know.

It's true.

A pastor Would get fired if he tried to say that in a white church in the in the past and they're not that not long distant past here. But that's just what he has to bear. That's what he signed up for.

Not just glory. And a paycheck unless of course He's in it for the money or for the glory. Well, then he'll find reasons, you know for whatever to dodge it say. Well My church isn't ready for that yet.

Yeah, they're not ready for that yet because there are a bunch of servants of Satan like you and Paul says here at the end of verse 15 their end will be what their actions deserve. In other words, they will be judged by God.

Why?

Because they had a spirituality that let them talk and sing about glory. While living as comfortably as they pleased. What is bad spirituality look like. That's a bad spirituality. Well in verses 14 and 15 Paul tells us that Satan disguises himself to look like an angel and and so do his followers.

Satan has bad spirituality. You'll agree with me on that, right? I'm not going out on a limb with that right to say you want the example of bad spirituality. It's Satan, but the thing is he looks like he has good spirituality.

He disguises himself as an angel of light. He looks great. Satan's servants are the same way. They're respectable and clean. Maybe they even wear a tie and Sunday morning. So, how can you tell the difference?

That's the question Paul is trying to teach them and starting at verse 1. He says bear with me. I'm gonna do a little. I'm gonna do something a little foolish. Of course, it turns out that they're being asked to bear with the same thing.

Paul is asking them to bear with the same kind of foolishness that they've been bearing from these false Apostles. Understand he's going to boast. Paul is going to boast and they've heard a lot of boasting from the false Apostles.

That's the first way to tell though the false messenger the deceitful worker the man with a perverted spirituality like Satan makes much of.

Himself.

The true makes much of Jesus that's the greatest test right there and Verse 2 Paul tells them that he has betrothed them To Christ that is through Paul's ministry through the preaching of the gospel. The Corinthians were brought into a committed relationship with Jesus like an engagement.

The believer in this world is engaged To Jesus now in their day engagement had had all the weight all the obligations of the marriage itself. Technically you're married just have you just have it had the wedding yet and moved in together and so forth.

That is there. So if you're betrothed you're engaged. You're single kind of free status is over. But then you don't have the benefits of marriage either. So you you don't have the benefits of singleness and you don't have the benefits of marriage when you're betrothed.

And that's the way that's the way Corinthians are here. It's what we are. We are waiting for the wedding for that for the consummation for the finally living together in other words. It requires the losses of being committed.

While not giving you all the privileges yet the cross but not all the glory and. That's the situation we are in right now. But in verse 3 Paul is afraid that they have been led away by he says by cunning.

They've been seduced Gradually by the world flirting with the world. Suddenly being drawn away by another lover one who looks like the one they're engaged to. But is it really him? Our devotion to Christ at the end of verse 3.

He says be Sincere or the word can be translated just simple just simple devotion is what it is be devoted To Jesus, it's not a code word for something else not just fancy pietistic sounding language disguising empty religion.

It is what it is. Like it shouldn't be a disguise for something that it's not like the way some people talk about the Word of God. That they in theory they say they believe every word of it. They will defend its inerrancy.

God said it. I believe it that settles it that kind of slogan, but of course You know not that stuff about church discipline. We don't really believe that. Not that stuff about election. Now, you know, you can't go for that not that stuff about loving your neighbor.

Not really it turns out not really much of anything that cramps their style right, typically they have a spirituality that allows them to make a Disconnect between this life that is how the church actually operates how they how they actually live maybe how they handle their money.

Maybe their sex life. Maybe their politics, whatever it is and what they say they believe. This has no connection with each other their spiritual style allows them to glory in saying one thing, you know, trust God I'm free from the spirit of fear, but then huddle down.

You know because there's a virus out there and and do nothing. And do another I should say one hand the glory on the other hand they do whatever it is. They please it may has no connection with each other and that's being the opposite of verse 3 an insincere muddled Spirituality.

True spirituality is simple. It is what it is. I'm going to love Jesus. He said love my neighbor as myself. I Don't care if he's black and the whole rest of the South says treat them worse. I don't care if I'm a pastor that the Deacons are gonna fire me if I integrate the church.

Or maybe the Lord looks to those who says in Psalm 15 who keep their word to their own hurt. So I'm gonna keep my word. I'm gonna keep my commitments even if everyone else in this culture says and you don't really have to keep your word.

You know only the marriage vows are real commitments. And of course, they don't even really keep those. That's simple devotion there's no clever little loopholes that let us say we say we love Jesus and then Let us get along comfortably with the world.

That doesn't Our Commitment. He also says is to be pure that is unmixed with other motives. Pure water is 100 h2o. Pure devotion to Jesus is pure Commitment to him. It's not mixed with With something else other intentions.

Looking after my bottom line. You know, I if I can if I can be a good religious person I can prosper better. The devil tries to cleverly deceive us away from commitment to Jesus. Not by replacing it all right away.

Because that's hardly ever gonna work. You know here you're gonna. Satan doesn't come say here's Jesus or you can have lots of money and pleasure and wealth. He tried that with Jesus himself, right? He didn't work with him, but he doesn't usually come to us that way but but trying to seduce us away from it.

Gradually gradually to dilute it serve something else. Maybe give a little time to Jesus, but you give a little time to. To serving mammon you can serve God and mammon. He says all the time, right? Gradually gradually just a little bit of something really about ourselves.

Instead of Jesus add in just a 1 pursuing mammon 2 5 and it grows. Diluting our devotion to Christ. False spirituality is about another Jesus in verse 4. Oh, they say they're talking about Jesus.

Like the Mormons who say they are Christians. I'll say just look up the name of our church the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. How could it be any plainer they say but they're obviously talking about another Jesus a Jesus whose status now.

His status now you can acquire. The glory talk about glory. You can acquire Jesus a status if you just follow the steps of their religion. That is just as Jesus rules over this planet. You can have a planet to to rule over.

Well, if you're a man you women Sorry, you got to find a man to attach to the the offer is you could have so much glory. But that's that's easy. I mean as far as detecting false doctrine. Discernment doesn't take a whole lot of discernment to figure out, you know, that's another Jesus.

That's all wrong. These men here weren't talking about.

Anything.

Nearly as doctrinally off base as that. In fact, it's not at all clear that they were saying anything doctrinally false. They were saying something spiritually false. They had the same spirit in the West is the Mormons though, you know, you're gonna have glory now.

The the Jesus they were proclaiming was all about glory glory for them. No need to take up a cross and and that is another Jesus and Paul says in verses 5 and 6 that even if he's not as properly trained in rhetoric as they are.

He's not the lofty orators not as entertaining a speaker as they are he's not inferior to them. Oh. It's foolish to have to say it. He says he's like cringing inside to have to say it because it should be obvious to them.

But he has to say it you want to know the difference between the true and the false. Then compare me with them. He says Sure. I don't have the swagger they do. I Would have points deducted By a professor of homiletics that's preaching for violating some of the academic principles of sound public speaking.

Paul admits. But look at the difference the difference is that they charged and Paul doesn't and Here's a testimony to how really I think you think about it how good and impressive what swagger these false teachers these false Apostles must have had.

I mean think about it. They could charge the Corinthians money and Make them think less of Paul. Because he did not charge them money. I mean imagine that what a great salesman you had to be to pull that off when you can get people to pay you and Then make them think you are doing them a favor by paying you and to resent the one who won't be paid.

Well, if you can do that, you are a champion salesman, that's just amazing sales and they were doing it. Paul knew here that in Corinth. It was a culture of of oratory of showmanship. They love to sit around and and listen to people talk well and that breeds a spirituality.

It's all about showmanship. Not reality and Paul decides that this is too much of a threat to the life of the church. He's not gonna play along with it. He did not take their money and that's interesting because He mirror last year.

We did went through 1st Corinthians. He argued forcefully and 1st Corinthians chapter 9 that he and others have a right to pay. Just by the way, some people try to make this point. Well, Paul didn't believe ministers should be patent.

No, the very opposite is true at 1st Corinthians 90s. It's absolutely clear and repetitive and I'm emphatic about it that the one who preaches the gospel has a right to make his living by the gospel. So he absolutely believe that is a principle and the church that the preaching elders should be paid by the church here.

He would not take it. Why? Because he wanted to show them that he wasn't just another talker for hire that he meant every word. He said, you know, he did not make tense. Because he thought the preacher shouldn't be paid that wasn't what was going on.

He did it here in Corinth. In fact here. He says he robbed other churches and he doesn't mean literally robbed him. He mean he took money from other churches like the Macedonian churches so that he could be Financially supported in Corinth because just like today, you know, he's got bills to pay.

He's got to eat and so he took money from other churches so that he can minister to the Corinthians. So he did take pay even while in Corinth just not from them because he wanted to prove to them a lesson.

He did it to prove to them that he wasn't a rent a preacher and they resented him for it. It challenged their spirituality. They were super Apostles who spoke much about themselves. Who loved to be the big men in church and so they look for ways to woo them away from Paul.

He was a threat to their business after all, you know, they they look at Paul. He's not taking any money and they're taking a lot and they think and they're afraid those the Corinthians will start to think well.

Maybe we can get away with not paying you. So they want to undermine Paul his refusal to be paid showed the Corinthians if they just wake up and think about it. That if that these false Apostles if they wouldn't get paid think about it.

You don't pay them. They won't preach and so Paul and so how much does that show that they really believe what they're saying? And so Paul declares in verse 12 that he's going to continue to refuse to take their money.

So that they can the Corinthians can see the difference. What's the difference? Their spirituality. The difference in between the spirituality of Paul and these false Apostles. The spirit the spirituality is false Apostles the way they talk about themselves.

The way they handle money the way they deal with suffering. Oh. They love to boast. So Paul next plunge is actually finally he's been building up throughout chapter 11 to to boasting he began let bear with me in a little foolishness and then for like the first 15 verses he's still Working to get there and then finally in the second half of the chapter.

He throws himself into what he calls this foolish boasting. These false Apostles foolishly boasts. So to show the Corinthians that he actually had more to boast about Than the false Apostles he decides to join them in the foolish boasting.

Oh, you think you have a lot to talk about about yourself. Let me let me talk about myself some see how we compare. You know last week I told you about how I decided, you know. One track practice to put a teammate with swagger.

You thought he should always be in the lead to put him in his place. Now a rule of track practice is that you don't race and track practice. You don't race each other. It's foolish because you know, you'll wear yourself out you race for one mile.

And then you'll have another mile to run soon after that. So it's just foolish. But I believe that in order to put it into mr. Swaggs foolish. Racing in practice. I had to race him. I was going to show him that he shouldn't race.

By racing him and that's what Paul is doing here. He wants to put an end to this culture of boasting. This culture of the of lifting up oneself, you know all about what I've experienced. I've done I felt I've seen I've heard.

Be careful of preachers who talk a lot about themselves. Now. I know people like entertaining personal stories. Especially about my track career. I mean who doesn't love to hear all about that for hours on end but the preacher the true preacher should have just just so much more to talk about Than himself, but here in order for Paul to to show them the difference.

He has to to do what is normally Foolish, he has to boast about himself. Well sort of. In chapter 11 verses 16 to 33 Paul really has it both ways he manages both to boast and to humble himself. The one he consistently humbles though is the Corinthians.

If if they're not gonna if they're not gonna take up their own cross these Corinthians if they're not gonna take up their cross. Well, he's gonna give them one and he does that with increasing biting.

Severe.

Unapologetic.

Pure.

Stinging.

Sarcasm I.

Mean, there's simply no way to interpret or say some of these verses without admitting that second half of chapter 11 That they are incredibly sarcastic like verse 19. For you gladly bear with fools being wise yourself.

You know, no matter how you say it thing with written word is it's hard to tell the tone. But try to find a tone that that comes through is not sarcastic. You can try. For you gladly bear with fools being wise yourself.

You still can't get away from the sarcasm. For you gladly bear with fools big wise yourself. Or for you gladly bear with fools big wise yourself. You know, no matter how you cut it It's just can't get away from the sarcasm.

The worst one of all I think. Chapter 12 verse 13. For what were you less favored than the rest of the churches except that I myself did not burden you. Forgive me this wrong. In other words Excuse me for not billing you.

Now remember Paul is deeply committed to these people. This is not like a hit-and-run swipe at some people. He hardly knows and will never see face to face and this too is part of what separates the real thing.

Like Paul from these rent-a-preachers who they were so impressed by a preacher for hire. Is it gonna talk to you like this because he's afraid you might not pay him anymore. Only someone who seriously wants you to wake up to grow up to stop fooling yourself.

It's gonna do this. Now you might think well I could never do that.

Fine, I.

Don't think most Christians have to this is this Paul. He's an apostle. He's he's not always, you know. Not everything he does we can do or should do. Most don't have to outboast the boastful. Most don't have to be more overbearing to the overbearing.

Most of my teammates and the track team didn't have to try to outrace. Mr. Swag in practice I did. The true Christians leader simply must be willing to do Unpleasant things to unpleasant people or else those people will make life unpleasant for everyone.

In verses 28 and 29 Paul reveals something of the burden of leadership as the the burning. The word they're translated as indignant who's not fallen. I'm not indignant literally means that I was not burning.

The burning you feel when the sheep are preyed on by some predator some false apostle selling spiritual snake oil. The true Christian leader burns and will do what he has to do to stop it if that's not your thing.

If you don't think you can do that fine. Then take your place with the rest of the pack and support your leaders when they have to do what they have to do. From verses 21 to 33 Paul out boasts the boastful is foolish.

But they forced him to do it. He says later in chapter 12 verse 11. It's foolish to race in practice. But mr. Swag forced me to do it. Most of this is not only self-explanatory. It's between beginning in chapter 12 verse 1 most the end of chapter 11 most of it's not only self-explanatory.

But we wouldn't know many of these things about Paul if not for this brief list of boasts. Many of these things aren't aren't even listed for us in Acts. Which tells us there's a lot more about Paul's life that we really don't know about probably won't know about until You know the resurrection here.