Behind | Workbook: Paul’s Boasting in Greco-Roman Context

Wealthy members of the Corinthian church had begun to follow and financially support other traveling ministers whom Paul refers to sarcastically as “super-apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5). Paul’s comments in 2 Corinthians 11:6-7 make it clear that these “super-apostles” have come to treat him as a rival and engage in some of the less savory kinds of boasting, namely, seeking to shame or diminish him:

I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge?
2 Corinthians 11:6-7 NIV

Paul defends himself in this letter by referencing the boasting of these “false apostles” and saying that he won’t stoop to their level. He’s not interested in the petty rivalries of traveling preachers but in proclaiming the gospel of Jesus. If he boasts, he will boast only in Christ, not in himself or his own talents. He therefore boasts in his weakness which displays Christ’s strength (2 Corinthians 12:8-10). He appeals then to God rather than the fickle Corinthians for vindication.

If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is to be praised forever, knows that I am not lying.
2 Corinthians 11:30-31 NIV

In this way, Paul honors the cultural norm of boasting as a way of defending his name, but places an unusual emphasis on weakness over strength and on the Christian paradox of glory in humiliation. As Dr. Duane Watson puts it:

Even while working within the fabric of social conventions, Paul surprises the Corinthians by boasting with nonconventional values. His emphasis upon weakness in the midst of an honor challenge to his strength and truthfulness would have been surprising if not “foolish.”

Source: J. Paul Sampley, ed., Paul in the Greco-Roman World: A Handbook, 2003, pp. 78, 80, 94.