Now I, Paul, appeal to you by the gentleness and courtesy of the Christ, I who am humble when I am face to face with you, but bold when I am away from you; and what I ask is that I need not be bold when I ^ with you, not with that boldness of confidence in which I believe I can venture against certain people who charge that we live in the way of the flesh. We do live in the flesh, but our campaign is not according to the flesh. For the weapons of our campaign are not of the flesh, but, with God's help, powerful enough to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and everything raised up in pride against the knowledge of God, and lead every thought in captivity to obedience to the Christ, and are ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is made complete. Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is sure in his heart that he belongs to Christ, let him think again and tell himself that, as he belongs to Christ, so do we. Even if I do boast rather too much of our authority, which God gave us, to build you up, not to tear you down, I shall not be put to shame. Let me not be thought to be trying to frighten you by my letters. His letters, says someone, are weighty and powerful; but when he is here he is weak in body and his discourse is insignificant. Let that person realize that we are the same when we are absent and speaking through letters, and when we are present and acting.
We do not dare to rate ourselves or compare ourselves with certain people who put themselves forward; only they do not realize that they are measuring themselves against themselves and comparing themselves with themselves. We shall not go ^finitely far in our pride, but only within the measure of what God gave us as our portion, which reaches as far as to you. We are not overextending our authority, as if it did not reach as far as you, for we were the first to come to you with the gospel of the Christ. We do not spread our proud claims infinitely far, where others have done the work, but rather hope that, as your faith grows, we shall become surpassingly great in our own territory, so that we can bring the gospel to places beyond you, without making proud claims to work already done in someone else's territory. Let him who takes pride take pride in the Lord; for it is not the man who commends himself who is approved, but the man whom the Lord commends.
111 wish you could put up with a little bit of silliness from me. Please do put up with it; for I am jealous over you as God might be jealous, for I have contracted to bring you like a pure virgin to one bridegroom only: to Christ. But I am afraid that, as the serpent in his knavery seduced Eve, your minds may be corrupted from their ^nocence and pure devotion to the Christ. For if someone comes along and preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive another spirit which you had not received before, or another gospel which you had not accepted before, you put up with him cheerfully. But I think we do not in any way fall short of the super- apostles; even if I am an amateur in oratory, I am not one in understanding, as we demonstrated to you in each and every way.
Did I make a mistake in lowering myself so that you should be exalted, because we brought you the gospel of God as a free gift? I robbed other churches by accepting stipends from them in order to serve you; when I was with you, and in need, I was never a burden to any one of you, since the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my needs, and I always kept myself, and shall keep myself, from burdening you. As Christ's truth is in me, I shall not be kept from making this claim in all the region of Achaea. Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do.
This I do, and this I shall do to cut away the pretexts of those who desire a pretext for boasting that they are found to be our equals. Such people are the false apostles, treacherous workers, disguised as apostles of Christ. And no wonder; even Satan disguises himself as the angel of light, so there is nothing startling if his ministers disguise themselves as ministers of righteousness. Their end will be what their acts have deserved.
I say once again, let no one take me for a fool; but if you do, then accept me as a fool, so that I too can do a little boasting. What I say now has nothing to do with the Lord, but in this state of boastfulness I am speaking, as it were, like a madman. Since many boast about matters of the flesh, I shall boast too. You, being sensible people, cheerfully put up with fools; you-put up with anyone who enslaves you, eats you alive, lays hands on you, browbeats you, or hits you in the face. I say to our s^rne, we are too weak for that; but where one can show his daring, I mean, in madness, I too am daring. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Aie they Israelites? So am I. Are they the seed of Abrah^? So am I. Aie they ministers of Christ? In my madness I say it: I am, more than they. With more labors, more imprisonments, many more beatings, often near the point of death; five times I took the thirty-nine lashes from the Jews, three times I was beaten with rods, once stoned, three times shipwrecked, and spent a day and a night in the water; often on the road, with danger from rivers, danger from brigands, danger from my own people, danger from foreigners, danger in the city, danger in the wilds, danger at sea, danger among false brothers; with toil and hardship, often sleepless, in hunger and thirst, often famished, cold, and naked. Aside from externals, there was the day-by-day pressure on me, my anxious concern for all the churches. Who fails, without my failing with him? Who goes astray, without my burning in sympathy? If I must boast, I will boast about those matters which show my weakness. God, the father of the Lord Jesus, blessed forever and ever, knows that I am not lying. In Damascus the local governor for King Aretas had the city of the Damascenes under guard so as to seize me; but I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall, and so escaped his hands.
11 I must make my boast. It does me no good, but I will go on to speak of visions and revelations of the Lord. I know of a Christian man fourteen years ago, who, whether in his body or out of it I do not know, God knows, was caught up into the third heaven. And I know that such a man, whether in his body or out of his body I do not know, God knows, was caught up into paradise and heard secret sayings which it is not lawful for any man to repeat. Of such a man I will boast, but not of myself except in the matter of my weaknesses. If I do choose to boast, I shall not be a fool, because what I say will be true; but I refrain, not wishing anyone to th^k me better than what he sees and hears, judging me by the greatness of the things revealed to me. Because of these, to keep me from self-conceit, a thorn was stuck into my flesh, an angel of Satan, to hurt me and keep me from self-conceit. Concerning this I called three times upon the Lord to remove it from me; but he said to me: My grace is enough for you; your power is fulfilled in your weakness. Therefore I will boast the more gladly in my weaknesses, so that the power of the Christ may reside in me. So I am well pleased with weaknesses, outrages, duress, pursuit, and hardships, for the sake of Christ; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
I have been a fool. But you forced me to it. I should have been recommended by you. For I have in no way come short of the super-apostles, even though I am nothing; for the signs of the apostle have been demonstrated among you with every kind of patience, by signs and portents and miracles. In what have you been treated worse than the other churches except that I have not been a burden upon you? Pardon me for this injustice.