2 Corinthians 12:11-18
I have become a fool; you forced it on me. I should have been endorsed by you, since I am not in any way inferior to the “super-apostles,” even though I am nothing. The signs of an apostle were performed with great endurance among you—not only signs but also wonders and miracles. So in what way were you treated worse than the other churches, except that I personally did not burden you? Forgive me this wrong!
Now I am ready to come to you this third time. I will not burden you, for I am not seeking what is yours, but you. For children are not obligated to save up for their parents, but parents for their children. I will most gladly spend and be spent for you. If I love you more, am I to be loved less? Now granted, I have not burdened you; yet sly as I am, I took you in by deceit! Did I take advantage of you by anyone I sent you? I urged Titus to come, and I sent the brother with him. Did Titus take advantage of you? Didn’t we walk in the same spirit and in the same footsteps?
Paul is a bit disgusted that he has had to defend himself and his ministry, especially to the Corinthians who had watched his life for eighteen months, and who had received the words of life from his own lips. Now they were listening to people who were telling them that Paul really wasn’t a very good leader and should not really be allowed to call himself an apostle.
But Paul can easily point back to the things that distinguish an apostle that were done by him while he had been with them: signs, wonders, and miracles that they had not only seen first- hand, but had been the beneficiaries of. It seems that the only “sign” of an apostle that Paul hadn’t done was to change the Corinthians for his services!
But Paul now doubles down on his commitment. Even after the slander he has endured, on his third visit to Corinth Paul is still not going to require support from the Corinthian Christians. This is not because he doesn’t deserve it, but because he is not after their money, but after their hearts.
Paul even points to the men he had sent to Corinth in his absence, whose mission was to convey his love and bring his corrective advice for the struggles they were facing. But Timothy and Titus had not asked for any money from the Corinthians either. Instead, they had acted as faithful emissaries of Paul, acting in his spirit, just as Paul had acted as a faithful emissary of Jesus, acting in His spirit.
Thus, Paul exonerated himself of all the charges that the “super apostles” had levelled against him. If he had taken advantage of the Corinthians, how had he gained, since he took not a single coin from them. If he had deceived them, to what end, since he had gained nothing for himself, but had simply helped them find eternal life, and had poured out God’s blessing on them.
Father, I love the fact that Paul’s defense is so simple and straightforward. He doesn’t point to his beliefs or his theology to defend himself, but to his life and his actions among the Corinthians, a lifestyle and actions that were perfectly in sync with what he had taught. He didn’t have to defend a single act of hypocrisy, because there were none. He didn’t have to justify a single action of his, because they were all righteous and in full accord with the character of Jesus. He had integrity—a single life that was lived out in every facet of who he was and what he did. He was the same person, motivated by the same singular love, no matter what the setting. That was his defense, and it is unassailable. Lord, help me to have that same integrity in my own life, every moment of every day. Amen.