"Such a person goes into great detail about what he has seen,
and his unspiritual mind puffs him up with idle notions." Col 2:18

vs 1-4 As for the visions and revelations, it is apparent that he also had specific knowledge about the details of Christ's second coming even before John wrote Revelation. For in places he speaks of the Rapture and about the last trumpet. (1Thess 4:16,17; 1Cor 15:51,52) And John also was prevented from revealing certain things said in his vision, as Paul was. Paul's vision of paradise no doubt was a major motivating factor in his ministry. In chapter 5 he revealed that he even preferred to die and be in the Lord's presence. If we all got to spend 5 minutes in paradise with the Lord, imagine what effect it would have on our perspective on our life here! But we walk by faith and not by sight. God gives us what we need and holds us responsible for such. Paul, being an apostle, had special responsibilities which required special treatment. However, I wish that Paul had shared more details of his vision. For we all would like to have a taste of paradise.

vs 5-8 Humility is the most essential characteristic both in coming to know Christ and in carrying out His ministry here on earth. It is rare to find a Christian leader who had such an exalted position in the eyes of God as Paul that he would be made an apostle and given special visions and yet retain the degree of humility that he had. I think Paul realizes that not only does he have to struggle against his own pride, but also he doesn't want the Corinthians to make him their object of faith and take their eyes off of Christ. He is simply giving them a glimpse into who he is in the sight of God so as to validate his ministry to them over that of his enemies who are attempting to draw them away.
 

Just an aside: It is interesting that God had to keep him humble when he was in paradise, by giving him a thorn in the flesh. When we go to paradise after we die, will we also need a thorn in the flesh to keep us humble? Certainly not! For Revelation describes such a place as free of pain. But then what would prevent us from being proud?  Simply that sin is associated with the flesh, but when we die we are transformed in such a way that we are free from such sinful tendencies. For in Christ we are not only forgiven of sin, but our salvation is made complete by the removal of our innate sinfulness. But it is clear from Paul's experience, that such sanctification is not completed in this lifetime.

The objective in the Christian life is not to remove sources of humiliation or to avoid them, but to serve God in the midst of whatever circumstances he places us. And just because the source of humiliation may be from Satan, doesn't mean that God didn't purpose it to be, nor does it mean that God can't use it to further his purposes. The Charismatic philosophy of trying to escape from every source of suffering is simply unBiblical and unChristlike. For the cross awaits those who walk as Jesus did. We must learn to allow God to bring us through humiliating circumstances so as to further ourselves in Christlikeness and to further God's ministry. Consider also godly men in the Bible. Virtually every big name in the Bible went through humiliating circumstances, including Jesus. So if you haven't gone through much humiliation, then you are probably not prepared for God's ministry.

vs 9 God choses the most unlikely people to carry out his great purposes. He choses the despised. Even of Jesus it is written:  "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces" Is 53:3 "God's power is made perfect in weakness" in that our weakness gets the focus off of ourselves and onto God's power. But the temptation is to think that we can influence people most for Christ if we can get people to look up to us because of our strength in a particular area, or ability, position or status. That's how the world thinks and operates. But that is not how God's ministry operates. When God sent his Son into the world, he didn't give him an elite position as a worldly ruler, emperor or king, but made him a poor carpenter's son in a poor country living under the occupation of a foreign government. And God sent his sons into the world, they also lived under humiliating circumstances, as Paul revealed of his own life in chapter 11. Now considering how God treated Jesus and the apostles, what kind of expectations do you have in serving God?

The false philosophy is to say that "people will be turned off to Christ if they think the Christian life is exemplified by the tough lives of Jesus and the Apostles. No, better to lie to them and give them false expectations about what the Christian life is like. Let's tell them that if they become Christians everything will be great! They'll be healthy and wealthy and feel good about themselves. And let's avoid negative subjects like sin, which would make them feel bad."  That's the philosophy of much of modern Evangelicalism. It doesn't represent Biblical Christianity.

vs 10 But the Biblical believers "delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, and in difficulties." These are external weaknesses, just as Paul's thorn in the flesh. There are two kinds of strength that come from these external weaknesses. One is an internal strength. And this is quite easy to understand. If people have difficulties, they end up the stronger for it as a result, being stronger each time they endure through them. This is common knowledge. But also another strength is the effect it has on communicating one's convictions. For this is an important part of the ministry. Not only is the job to communicate information, but to communicate faith. I can imagine it was one thing to see a stranger like Paul come into town and give a message. But it was quite another to see that same man being persecuted, stoned, insulted and yet still speak his message confidently and persistently. We all need to win a hearing. We all need to reveal that we really believe. We all need to communicate conviction.

vs 11  Once again as I mentioned in the previous chapter, Paul is not referring to the 12 apostles of whom he does say he is the least. "For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God." 1Co 15:9 (niv) But rather he is referring to those false apostles of 2Cor 11:13 who were making themselves out to be apostles.

vs 12 And the final proof is miracles. Even Jesus affirmed his own words with miracles.

"Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." John 10:37,38 (niv)

But consider what the phrase "signs of an apostle" implies. For it implies that there are signs unique to apostles. And this makes sense. For if an apostle or prophet claims to be speaking the Word of God, how would people know if there was no affirmation that God was speaking. So God has granted miraculuous signs to those who speak the word of God.

But the Bible is complete now. No one need add on to it. And if anyone should, then let him prove himself to be an apostle by miracles. When Christians speak the Bible message today, we need do no miraculous sign ourselves. For we are simply retelling the same things the apostles said, not adding onto it. And their words were affirmed by miracles.

vs 13-18 Paul is, of course, being sarcastic again. He humiliates them by speaking to them and treating them in a condescending manner as a parent to young children. The principle of parents saving up for children rather than children for parents is not universal in all cultures, but is a Biblical concept. Pr 13:22 "A good man leaves an inheritance for his children's children." But there are those in the world who have lots of children so that they can become financially dependent upon their children. (Which model do institutional churches generally follow?) Paul never exploited the believers, just as it is inappropriate for parents to exploit their own children. And Paul didn't view his ministry as some practice ministry - as if it were an opportunity for personal financial gain by exploiting those who trust him. Nor could the spirit of exploitation be found on his ministry team.

vs 19-21 From all these things it is apparent that Paul isn't trying to win them by making them feel good about themselves. What he says here is essentially, "I don't need to defend myself to you. I'm ministering to you for your benefit. And God has given me authority over you along with that responsibility. But I will be humiliated if the effect of my ministry among you has not produced genuine repentance in you." Children reflect their parents. Parents are humiliated if they don't behave well. For their children are part of the fruits of their life work. The sexual sins Paul speaks of are probably also those of 1Cor chapters 5,6.

"Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." 1Cor 6:9,10