2 Corinthians 11 - Paul's Boasting

by Katrina

LINK: 2 Corinthians 11

BACKGROUND
Paul continued to justify his authority in the church by "boasting" a bit. His concern is that the believers would be led astray by the Jews who were imposing different teachings on them. He asserted that he was not the least bit inferior to any other apostle. Although he may not have been the most eloquent speaker, his knowledge was not inferior to any either. He brought the pure gospel message to Corinth and he wanted them to stick to that teaching. Any other teaching is false, and those who teach other than the gospel Paul taught were false teachers. Paul had given his all to the gospel message and could not tolerate any tampering with it!

REFLECTION
Paul was concerned that the Corinthian believers' minds would be led astray from "the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ" (verse 3). How easy it is in our world today to do the same thing! There are many false teachers around as well as many distractions.

APPLICATION
How can we seek to be simply and purely devoted to Christ? First we must not let our minds be led astray. The best way to do that is to know scripture very well. Keep reading and studying the Bible! We must also seek God in prayer to reveal to us any way we may have gone astray in our thinking or actions. I have found this to be a challenging but very rewarding practice in my life. Third, try to keep your worship of the Lord simple. We do not need elaborate rituals or priests in order to worship or pray. We can simply come to God through Jesus. And lastly, make sure your devotion is directed toward Christ Himself, not symbols, music, form, or anything else.

PRAYER
Lord, we thank you for your word and for the message of the gospel. Help us to keep our focus on you and not be led astray to the many and various false teachings around us. We want to worship you and devote our lives wholly to you. In the name of Jesus, amen.