What does 2 Corinthians 12:11 mean?

The Corinthians have apparently been captivated by a group of false apostles that have come among them. These deceptive teachers have been talking Paul down while talking themselves up, and it may have been working. They were likely impressive speakers with fancy-sounding arguments and perhaps colorful stories of supernatural experiences. The problem was they were teaching a false gospel, leading the Corinthian believers away from true devotion to Christ.

Part of Paul's response has been to sarcastically brag about himself, mocking the way his critics boast about themselves. Even so, his boasting has been mostly focused on his weakness and suffering for Christ. Paul now declares that he has been a fool to go even that far. Paul is so committed to maintaining Christlike humility that it pained him to defend himself by calling out his obvious qualifications as an apostle of Jesus.

He also sounds hurt on a personal level. He blames the Corinthians for forcing him to respond this way. They knew him, after all. He had founded the church and led many of them to faith in Christ. They should have praised him to the false apostles. They should have stuck up for him when the deceivers put him down. They should have known the truth: that Paul is not spiritually inferior to these men. He sarcastically refers to his critics as the "super-apostles" because of how impressive they make themselves out to be.

Paul adds that he is nothing, in himself, and yet is still not inferior to these deceptive teachers. This is a backhanded way of saying that, because the lying ones are not in Christ, they are less than nothing.