The claim that miracles are “signs of an apostle” or even the exclusive signs of an apostle would backfire against Paul. We know that many believers other than the apostles worked miracles. Some of the most spectacular visions and miracles recorded in the Bible happened to other disciples such as Stephen (Acts 6:15, 7:55-56) and Philip (Acts 8:39-40). The claim is then made that even if miracles were performed by others, they were done by those who were associated with the apostles and approved by the apostles. The Bible contradicts this (Mark 9:38-39); moreover, once this is added to the original claim, 2 Corinthians 12:12 would become irrelevant as an assertion of Paul’s apostleship, because it would mean that he could be nothing more than an associate of an apostle. In fact, it seems that he sometimes had to refute precisely this charge, and when he did, he did not focus on his miracles as if they were signs of an apostle, but he related the history of his calling, appealed to God as his witness (Galatians 1:11-2:10), and as he does in this letter to the Corinthians, referred to the manner and the fruit of his ministry (Matthew 7:15-23; Galatians 2:7-8; 2 Corinthians 1:12-14, 3:1-3, 4:1-2, 5:11-20, 6:3-13, 7:2-7, 10:1-12:10).