A third issue raised in the struggle for authority at Corinth involved the respective credentials of Paul and his opponents (11:16–32). If an inspection were made, charged Paul’s detractors, then his inferiority to them, or if not to them then to those they claimed as sponsors, would be clearly seen. But contrary to his adversaries’ expectations, and perhaps to those of some of the Corinthians, Paul takes up the challenge to compare his background and service with his rivals’, refusing to be written off by anyone as a foolish inferior.

The real foolishness, he charges, belongs to those at Corinth who consider themselves wise enough to make decisions about the possessors of apostolic authority. In putting up with the boasting of Paul’s opponents and evaluating their claim according to “the w…