2 Corinthians 11:8 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you.

NIV: I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you.

NASB: I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you;

CSB: I robbed other churches by taking pay from them to minister to you.

NLT: I 'robbed' other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost.

KJV: I robbed other churches, taking wages of them, to do you service.

NKJV: I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you.

Paul continues to write with a bit of sarcasm to make his point: accusations made against him by false apostles don't add up. In the previous verse, he asked if he committed a sin by refusing to take money from the Corinthians while presenting the gospel. He described his choice as humbling himself in order to exalt them. That is, he worked with his hands and accepted donations from other churches in order to help them participate in the glory of God through faith in Christ.

Now he describes his willingness to receive donations from other churches to support his work in Corinth as "robbing" those churches. In keeping with the sarcasm of the passage, Paul does not literally mean he stole anything from anyone or that he did anything inappropriate. Instead, he is showing that it was not he alone who suffered and sacrificed for their good. Other churches also contributed to their service by giving what was needed to Paul.

This may have been humbling in a cultural sense. Most travelling speakers and philosophers were supported by the donations of those to whom they gave their presentations. Others may have had a few, wealthy benefactors who funded them. The point of Paul's speaking and teaching, though, was not to make a living for himself. It was to do God's work in leading unbelievers to faith in Christ. Since taking money from those unbelievers may have raised questions about Paul's motives and the truthfulness of his message, he refused to do so.

Second Corinthians 11:1–15 includes Paul's unmasking of the false apostles in Corinth. They are like the serpent in the garden tempting Eve. Or, they resemble a man trying to seduce a betrothed woman away from her promised husband. They disguise themselves as servants of righteousness as Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Paul is a spiritual father who must protect the Corinthians from deceptions like a false Christ and a false spirit. Paul doubles down on his commitment not to take funds from the Corinthians for his own needs, simply to prove how he is different from the false apostles.

Second Corinthians 11 compares the believers in Corinth to a betrothed bride. It also pictures them as Eve facing temptation from the snake in the garden in Genesis 3. Paul's job as their spiritual father is to protect them from the lies of false apostles. These deceivers disguise themselves as servants of righteousness in the same way that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Paul is shocked the Corinthians put up with such harsh treatment from these men. He sarcastically pretends to brag about himself as the false teachers do about themselves. Instead, he boasts mostly about the ways he has endured suffering in his service to Christ.

Chapter 11 follows Paul's warning in the previous chapter. There, he vowed to be as bold as needed when he comes to see them in person. He describes himself as a protective spiritual father trying to save the Corinthians from the deceptions of the false apostles to teach a false gospel about a false Jesus. He is shocked the Corinthians put up with their harsh treatment and says he has decided to foolishly boast in order to compete with the false apostles. His boasting about his service to Christ, though, is mostly a long list of all the ways he has suffered for Christ. That theme continues into chapter 12, where Paul explains just how much his suffering has improved his walk with Christ.

Second Corinthians returns to similar themes as those Paul mentioned in his first letter to this church. Paul is glad to hear that the church in Corinth has heeded his advice. At the same time, it is necessary for Paul to counter criticisms about his personality and legitimacy. Most of this text involves that subject. The fifth chapter, in contrast, contains comforting words which Christians have quoted often in times of hardship. Paul also details his expectations that the church in Corinth will make good on their promise to contribute to the needs of suffering believers in Jerusalem.