2 Corinthians 11:27 Meaning: The Cost of Carrying the Gospel
in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.
In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
in labouriousness and painfulness, in watchings many times, in hunger and thirst, in fastings many times, in cold and nakedness;
in labour and toil, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.
Meaning in one sentence
Paul lists his sufferings: labor, hunger, cold, and 'fastings often.' Were these voluntary spiritual disciplines or forced deprivation?
Context
Paul is in the middle of a painful defense. False teachers have come to Corinth, boasting about their credentials. Instead of matching their claims with his own, Paul does something strange. He lists his wounds. In the verses just before this one, he mentions beatings, imprisonments, shipwreck, and constant danger. Then he adds the daily grind: sleepless nights, hunger and thirst, cold and inadequate clothing. This is not a resume anyone would want. But Paul is showing what it actually looks like to carry the gospel. He wants the Corinthians to measure a servant of Christ by what that servant has given up, not by what he has gained.
Key Words
Two Greek words for work appear side by side: kopos and mochthos. Both mean labor, but they carry the sense of painful effort, the kind that leaves you exhausted and sore. Paul is not describing a busy schedule. He is describing work that grinds a person down.
The word for “watchings” (agrupnia) literally means sleeplessness. Not a night of tossing and turning, but whole nights without sleep because of travel, danger, or the needs of others. Acts 20:31 shows Paul warning the Ephesian elders “night and day with tears.”
Then comes the debated word: nēsteia, “fastings.” It can mean voluntary religious fasting (as in Acts 13:2-3) or simply going without food because there is none. Paul pairs it with “hunger and thirst,” which are clearly involuntary. Many readers across the centuries have wondered if these fastings were chosen or forced. The word itself does not decide. What matters is that Paul endured both kinds of deprivation, and he counted them as marks of a true apostle.
How Christians Read This Verse
Christians have read this verse with different emphases. Reformers like Calvin saw the fastings as voluntary, spiritual disciplines Paul undertook to keep his body under control, separate from the involuntary hunger he also suffered. Anglicans and Methodists have pointed to the same distinction: Paul lists hunger and thirst first, then fastings, as if he wants his readers to know he experienced both want and discipline. Baptist commentator Gill agrees, noting that Paul’s fastings were not for show but to attend prayer. Others, like Jamieson-Fausset-Brown, suggest the context of hardship alone means even the fastings were likely involuntary, the consequence of being on the road with no provision. Both readings honor the reality of Paul’s suffering. They simply differ on whether he chose any of it.
A common misunderstanding
Some readers assume that Paul’s “fastings often” refers only to a spiritual discipline he chose for devotion. In fact, the context of the passage, a long list of involuntary hardships, strongly suggests these fastings were at least partly forced: times when Paul had no food because of travel, imprisonment, or poverty. The word can mean both, but limiting it to voluntary fasting misses the full weight of what Paul endured.
Living This Out
This verse does not ask you to seek out suffering. But it does ask you to stop measuring faithfulness by comfort. Paul’s life shows that following Jesus often means losing sleep, going without, and being cold. Maybe not in the same ways, but the pattern is real. This week, when you feel stretched thin or deprived of something you need, remember that these things do not disqualify you from God’s service. They may be the very things that qualify you to speak about His grace with honesty and weight.
Main takeaway: Paul’s willingness to endure hunger, cold, and sleeplessness shows that following Christ often means giving up comfort, not gaining it.
For Families
For ages 5, 8
Paul worked hard for Jesus. Sometimes he was hungry and cold. But he kept going because he loved Jesus more than being comfortable.
For ages 9, 12
In this verse, Paul lists all the hard things that happened when he told people about Jesus. He didn’t have enough sleep, enough food, or enough warm clothes. He even said “fastings often,” which probably means he went without meals on purpose sometimes, and other times because there was nothing to eat. Paul wasn’t complaining, he was showing that following Jesus is worth any cost.
Questions People Ask
What does 'fastings often' mean in this verse?
The Greek word for 'fastings' (nēsteia) can mean going without food voluntarily as a spiritual discipline, or it can mean going without food because there is none. In this context, Paul has just mentioned 'hunger and thirst' (clearly forced), so many scholars think these fastings were voluntary acts of devotion. But others point out that the whole list describes hardships, so Paul may simply be repeating the idea of hunger in a different way. Either way, he endured it for the gospel.
Was Paul really cold and naked?
Paul says he endured 'cold and nakedness.' He means he often lacked adequate clothing, especially during cold weather or after shipwrecks. In 1 Corinthians 4:11 he says he is 'naked and buffeted', probably poorly clothed, not literally without any clothes. The word 'nakedness' in the Bible often means 'insufficient clothing.' Paul was a traveling missionary with no guaranteed shelter or provision.
Why does Paul list all his sufferings in 2 Corinthians 11?
Paul is defending his apostleship against false teachers who were boasting about their own credentials. Instead of matching their boasts, Paul lists his weaknesses and sufferings. He wants the Corinthians to see that a true servant of Christ is known by what he sacrifices, not by what he gains. The entire chapter is a 'foolish' boast, he boasts in what the world sees as shameful.
Does this verse mean Christians should seek out suffering?
No. Paul did not seek suffering for its own sake; he endured it because he was faithful to his calling. The passage shows the cost of serving Christ, not a command to look for hardship. Christians across traditions agree that suffering may come as a result of obedience, but we do not need to invent it. Paul’s example encourages us to trust God when suffering finds us, not to pursue it artificially.
For pastors & researchers
Greek interlinear, 8 commentaries & word study