2 Corinthians 12:15 - Printer Friendly

ESV: I will most gladly spend and be spent for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

NIV: So I will very gladly spend for you everything I have and expend myself as well. If I love you more, will you love me less?

NASB: I will most gladly spend and be expended for your souls. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

CSB: I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less?

NLT: I will gladly spend myself and all I have for you, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me.

KJV: And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved.

NKJV: And I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls; though the more abundantly I love you, the less I am loved.

This is a beautiful statement about what Paul saw as his purpose in life. He planted the church in Corinth and led many of them to faith in Christ. As a result, he thought of himself as a "spiritual father" to them. He wrote that he would not take money from them for his personal needs (2 Corinthians 12:14), because parents ought to provide for their small children, not the other way around.

Paul would gladly "spend and be spent for [their] souls." Paul saw his life as a resource belonging to God, available to be used up or distributed in order to save and nourish the souls of others. It was more than a mission, though. Paul gladly did so because he loved the Corinthians. He had genuine affection for them.

He acknowledges this is a sticking point between them. Perhaps the false apostles accused Paul of not being a legitimate apostle because he refused payment from the people he served, as they surely did. Paul asks the Corinthians if they love him less because he expresses his love by refusing to take money. He may also be wondering if their failure to stick up for him to the false apostles meant that they loved him less (2 Corinthians 12:11).

Second Corinthians 12:11–21 describes Paul's disappointment that the Corinthians did not defend him against attacks from false apostles. The believers of Corinth saw the signs and wonders God performed through him. Paul declares once again that he will not receive payment from them. A father provides for his children, not the other way around. He rejects an accusation that he or Titus plan to swindle them and expresses his concern that when he arrives in Corinth, he will find some still unrepentant of specific sins.

With as much humility as possible, Paul describes an astounding experience. He was caught up to the ''third heaven'' and received a revelation from God that he cannot reveal on earth. He refuses to brag about it, but mentions it in order to introduce the consequences of that experience. To keep Paul humble, God gave him a ''thorn in the flesh,'' some malady which the Bible does not explicitly explain. Paul has learned to be content in his suffering since God's power is made perfect in his weakness. He chastises the Corinthians for not commending him since they know him. He defends himself against a charge of crafty swindling, and he expresses concern that he will find some still living in sin when he arrives in Corinth.

Second Corinthians 12 follows Paul's sarcastic ''boasting'' about his suffering for Christ. The chapter continues with Paul refusing to take credit for an astounding revelation from God. Given a ''thorn in the flesh'' to keep him humble, Paul learned to be content with his suffering since God's power was made perfect in his weakness. Still, the Corinthians should have defended him to the false apostles and not believed lies about him swindling money from them with no evidence. He is concerned that when he comes to visit them, he will find some still unrepentant of specific sins. This leads Paul to his final warnings and the close of his letter, in chapter 13.

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.