“You made me do it” is something we probably would never have thought Paul would say, but that certainly seems to be what he was saying in Chapter 12:11

“I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me”.

What pushed Paul to do such a thing? The next line written by Paul gives a hint

“For I ought to have been commended by you; for in nothing was I behind the most eminent apostles…” (verse 11)

As with some of the preceding chapters, Paul’s words reveal that he was trying to affirm his apostleship to the Corinthians, as there were some elements within the Corinthian church that publicly opposed him within the church, and undermined his authority as an apostle. They also cast doubt on Paul’s sincerity in ministering to the Corinthians. Paul responded in two ways:

First, Paul spoke of the signs that accompanied him. He told of the visions that he saw of the third heaven (verse 2 and verse 3) and asked them to recall the “signs of the apostle that were accomplished among you with all perseverance, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds” (see verse 12).

Second Paul appealed to the Corinthians by his past conduct amongst them. He emphasized that he had not profited off the Corinthians, but instead had ensured that neither he nor his co-workers were a burden to the Corinthians when they ministered to the Corinthian church(verses 13, 17 -18). He also declared that when he returned to the Corinthians church, he would continue to provide for himself and would not seek the possessions of the Corinthians, but only their hearts, that he may win it for Christ (14). Paul stressed that all the things that Paul had done was for the edification of the Corinthian church, and that he would willingly be spent for their souls. In doing so, he hoped that the Corinthians would see his sincerity in his ministry, and thereby continue to heed his words.

At the same time you can tell that Paul did not want to emphasise these points because it would appear to be boasting. When speaking about the man who was caught up to the third heaven he spoke as if it was someone else and not himself (although in the context he is most likely speaking about himself). He said things like “Of such a one i will boast; yet of myself i will not boast except in my infirmities” (verse 5), and again “But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me” (verse 6).

Now we come back to the phrase we began with.

“I have become a fool in boasting; you have compelled me”.

As I read this phrase and the rest of Paul’s words in this section, you can really hear the near exasperation with which Paul writes as he is desperate to convince the Corinthians of his authority and sincerity, not for his own sake, but for their own. I think if i were in his shoes, I would have probably misapplied Jesus’s words, dusted my sandals and moved on to another church. But Paul was different. He had the heart of the Father in him. In our own ministry, do we go about it with the heart of the Father? Or are we just the hired servant?