Paul continues the defense of his ministry and apostolic authority. It's as if some new accusations arrived in the middle of writing the letter. The tone of the letter changed at chapter 10 and will continue through 12. Paul finds the irony of the accusations and uses sarcasm, some subtle and some not so subtle, to make his points.
2 Corinthians 11:1
There may have been another round of accusations against him from the false apostles. This may be the additional information that came to Paul and drove him to shift gears and move into this area at the end of his letter.
Now, Paul says, bear with him in a little folly. This word means 'silliness' or 'foolishness'. The false teachers at Corinth considered Paul's message and methods foolish or silly. Paul dubs these guys the 'super apostles' in verse five.
It wasn't a folly for Paul to defend his apostleship; it was a folly that things had come to that point. It was folly for an apostle to speak in the flesh; but that was the only thing they would understand. Paul hated wasting time talking about himself and focusing on who he was and why he did what he did. He would much rather focus on Christ.
2 Corinthians 11:2
What is a godly jealously? God declared that He was a jealous God. This speaks of a His zeal and devotion; His willingness of going to great lengths on our behalf. When God's people chased after other God's he said his people had played the harlot. They had invited other gods into their presence and then defiled themselves with these gods.
This is exactly what Paul is speaking of. He is zealous, devoted and jealous of them with a godly jealously. Most men would have walked away from the foolishness of Corinth and given them up as a lost cause but Paul is willing to go to great lengths on their behalf.
God alone measures in righteousness and holiness. Neither of which we have on our own. We don't get to define it or measure it in manmade ways. We must know God and His ways. Paul was like the friend of the bridegroom who had a very important job. As the bride was betrothed to the groom, the friend of the bridegroom carried messages between the two. The bride was kept at home and guarded by friends and family as the bridegroom went to prepare a home for them. The friend reported to the bride that the groom was preparing, and he reported to the bridegroom that the bride was pure and waiting for the groom to come. At the wedding, at the coming of the bridegroom, she was presented by the friend and by family as the chaste virgin to the bridegroom.
You see a similar thought from John the Baptist as he answered some of his disciple's questions in John 3: 27.
27 John answered and said, "A man can receive nothing unless it has been given to him from heaven. 28 You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, 'I am not the Christ,' but, 'I have been sent before Him.' 29 He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice.
That's a similar picture. The friend of the bridegroom watched over the bride with a Godly jealousy so that the bride would remain pure for the bridegroom. That's the role John the Baptist played as he prepared the way for the first coming of the Lord. Paul feels much the same way as he prepares the church so she is presentable to the bridegroom when He comes.
2 Corinthians 11:3
Eve was deceived with the words, "Has God indeed said?" and then "You shall not surely die." Satan's lies are crafty and cunning; containing just enough truth to really look authentic. His lies appear wholesome, authentic, shiny, spiritual and religious. His lies mixed with partial truth are like the candy coating on the outside hiding the deception on the inside.
These false apostles were trained and polished orators that charged for their speaking engagements. They were professionals and very good at what they did. Paul saw their craftiness similar to that of the serpent in the Garden, able to lead people away to destruction. The crafty deceptions corrupted their minds from the simplicity of Christ. Corinth followed these super apostles willing, never really understanding the cost, never noticing or challenging the hidden deception.
The simple gospel message was being challenged in the mind of the Corinthians. This is an important point now. Paul called these guys on their craftiness. It appeared that they were attacking Paul and his authenticity; but they were really attacking the gospel message. They took the simple gospel message and polluted it with their legalisms and downplaying the resurrection. Their problem wasn't with Paul as much as it was Jesus Christ. They didn't like the simple gospel message. They acted as though this were Paul's message and not the message of Christ; in affect saying, "did God really say?"
2 Corinthians 11:4
The simplicity of Jesus Christ is seen in an awesome God that humbled Himself and came to earth as a man. Born as a little baby; born to normal people; and laid in a feed trough because there was no room for Him. The simplicity of Christ is seen in a humble life of ministry. He wasn't born into royalty and raised to power on an earthly throne. He was born of the average man and woman whom he would die for. He was born and raised in this world but then raised on a cross. He took the sins of man to the cross. He died for those sins so we don't have to; and then He rose again, His complete and received. He sat down at the right hand of the Father.
We can receive the forgiveness that comes from Him having paid that penalty by identifying with him. Since we were already dead in our sins, we can recognize this spiritual death that has not yet claimed us and willingly die to ourselves that we might live in Christ. That's the simplicity. He paid it all so we wouldn't have to.
There are many out there that teach another Jesus. In Corinth, these men said, yea, we know about Jesus and all that is true. However, you must do this and you must do that in order to be saved. They were putting requirements onto salvation by grace. There is some indication that others were downplaying the crucifixion and resurrection as if it weren't important or as if it were this impolite topic that shouldn't be talked about.
18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (1 Corinthians 1:18)
The Corinthians had granted these false teachers their ear. They opened the door and said 'come right on in.' You dress nice, talk nice and have a nice letter of recommendation. We'll listen to you. The Corinthians judged by appearance and accepted another Jesus from these men. Paul was shocked that they put up with it. They listened to, and received, messages that downplayed the crucifixion and resurrection; they taught you were saved by grace plus you have to keep the feasts and the law and this and that. That's another Jesus; that's not the simple gospel.
There are a lot of Jesus's out there. Where did you learn about the Jesus you follow? If your understanding of Jesus comes from anything but the bible, you are probably in danger. You can listen to teachers but your beliefs should be formed out the bible at the direction of the Holy Spirit. Let teachers challenge you and get the juices flowing. But then be a good Berean and open the bible and let God's word speak truth into your life.
Verse 4 says, for if he who comes preaches another Jesus. It's probably more appropriate for each of us to think in terms of 'when' someone will present you will another Jesus. I don't see this as a warning of some outside chance you could run into this. This will happen to everyone here. You will encounter the teaching of another Jesus. And I'd say for most of us, we've all encountered it whether we recognized it or not.
2 Corinthians 11:5-8
Paul was humble about his calling as an apostle. But there was no way he would say he was inferior in any way to these 'most eminent apostles.' This is some serious sarcasm from Paul. The 'most eminent apostles' is a polite interpretation of the 'over and above, chief apostles.' We might say the super duper apostles. And apparently some in Corinth saw these men that way, the super duper apostles.
Paul said they had nothing on him even though he hadn't been trained in public speaking he was schooled in knowledge. More importantly, Paul had manifest himself among them in all things. Paul had held nothing back, his life was open to them and all he had was given to their success as a church.
Paul brought them the gospel message and now they respond by making a suggestion that Paul might have sinned because he preached the gospel to them free of charge. Doesn't that sound crazy? But public speaking was such a big deal to the Greeks that these men traveled around speaking. They polished the voices and language and their skills of delivery. Every aspect of posture and appearance was perfect. And people were willing to pay for it. When someone came along and spoke for free, they blew them off as if they were a rank amateur. After all, only an amateur would speak for free.
Paul said, in a sense, that he had robbed other churches to bring that free message to them. The other churches had supported him when in fact the Corinthians should have been offering their support to him. These others allowed Paul to bring the message for free and now they disrespect him for it.
2 Corinthians 11:9
In spite of having needs, Paul was never a burden to them. These Corinthians have been ashamed that the brethren of Macedonia supplied Paul's needs while he ministered to them. Especially when we learned how poor the Macedonians were. It seems their eyes were on the world and on themselves and they couldn't even see the need in front of them; even when they had the resources to address that need.
2 Corinthians 11:10-11
Achaia is the region where Corinth was located; Paul was the perfect person to bring the gospel to them. He was perfect because he was short, broken down, had poor eyesight, a hook nose and his eyebrows grew together (this is a description of Paul in early Christian writings). He had no money, he spoke like an average Joe and he brought all this to a group of people that were infected with the worldliness. They thought you had to look pretty, sound pretty and charge lots of money for it. Anything less than that they looked down on.
Paul said, God knows I'm here because I love you. Simple as that. They could be embarrassed by Paul and look at him like the crazy little preacher boy that just won't go away but none of that would stop Paul in his ministry. The gospel message became powerful and prominent in Paul's weakness.
2 Corinthians 11:12
Paul continued on so that these self-appointed super-duper apostles might be recognized as the frauds they were. These false apostles not only made life difficult for the true apostles but they led these churches astray and they shamed the name of Christ. These guys were just seeking opportunity to be regarded as apostles. They wanted the authority and the title and the benefits. Yet, they taught the wrong Jesus. Paul wanted to 'cut off' that opportunity.
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
In the last chapter, we read where the false apostles accused Paul of being bold in his letters and the meek in their presence. This is probably one of those times when it was better that he wasn't in their presence because he couldn't be any more direct. He just flat out refers to these men as false apostles and deceitful workers. They worked to transform themselves into apostles. You don't make yourself an apostle by working at it; all they could do was put on a front. The word 'transform' means to change your appearance without changing the substance. Ture apostles were called; they are sent by God with a message; they aren't men that transformed themselves.
These guys put on the appearance of being something they were not. Paul said, no wonder, because even Satan puts up the appearance of an angel of light. Satan's deception looks very convincing, yet it doesn't change what he is. And, Paul said, if Satan can make this transformation, then it wouldn't be surprising at all if Satan's ministers can also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness. The ministers of Satan could appear to be ministers of righteousness but in fact be ministers of Satan. That should scare each of us a little because, frankly, most of us aren't paying enough attention. Most of us don't give enough thought to the words and the work of those who minister in our presence. Especially to those who you don't associate as ministers, like talk show hosts, Hollywood stars, sports figures, daytime TV icons, school teachers, coaches and maybe even politicians. In our world, anyone with an opinion can seem to get an audience and spout anything they like. When they are speaking about another Jesus, they are ministers of Satan. Paul said these people will come to an end according to their works. They will be judged.
2 Corinthians 11:16
Paul didn't want to boast. He knew his ministry as an apostle had nothing to do with him. It was all about Christ. Talking about yourself, selling yourself, that's what the false apostles did. They were fools in their boasting. Paul didn't want to be lumped into the same category as them because he was boasting but he felt compelled to defend his authority and calling as an apostle. In order to do that, he had to speak about himself.
2 Corinthians 11:17-21
Once again you can feel Paul's biting sarcasm. If they were so wise, how could they not see that they were putting up with these foolish men? All these guys were boasting in the flesh about themselves. Paul said he would boast, reluctantly, and it would be nothing like these guys who boasted in the flesh.
The Corinthian had accepted these men even though they came and put them in bondage. They opened the door to the one who would devour them or steal from them. They humbled themselves before these men who exalted themselves. Paul even went so far as to suggest they might even allow them to strike them in the face. The people of Corinth were enamored with the display of power and authority from these false teachers. They were impressed by the way they looked and the way they spoke and the Corinthians submitted to these false apostles in meekness.
Paul sarcastically said he was too weak for that. He was too weak to exercise the authority and lord it over these men and women of Corinth. He pled guilty of not being like these super apostles. They were lording it over the sheep and abusing them and putting them in bondage. The Corinthians accused Paul of not being like them. Paul pled guilty to that charge. He agreed that he wasn't anything like them. However, if they wanted to speak bold and boast on who led the life of an authentic apostle, if these guys wanted to issue that challenge, Paul said he would be bold, reluctantly.
The super apostles offered; and the Corinthians willingly accepted:
- Enslavement and bondage
- Serving apostles instead of serving Jesus, legalisms and works.
- Being devoured by them
- Religious men feeding on the church
- Being taken and possessed as a prize
- The false teachers claimed themselves winners over these people.
- These men exalted themselves
- They put the Corinthians down and exalted themselves over them.
- They were struck down
- Possibly quite literally, showing disagreement or shame; the thought was they shamed the Corinthians as lesser men & women.
2 Corinthians 11:22-29
There you have it. That's the resume' of an apostle. These people of Corinth were looking at clothes and listening to fancy speeches. These false apostles had not paid any price. There was no indication they had sacrificed anything for the gospel. Paul asked, are they ministers of Christ? The word ministers is the word diakonos. It means a servant who executes the commands of a master, servant of a king. This word is used in other places to describe the office of deacon in a church.
These men saw themselves as ministers. Yet they thought it was a high position of authority. They thought people should serve them. In fact the diakonos were to serve the people, in service to the master. That's what Paul was doing when he said he worked harder than others, was beat more often, imprisoned, stoned and shipwrecked. Those things happened in service to the master while serving the people.
Paul listed all that he had gone through and at the end he adds that he has a daily, deep concern for the churches. We should have a similar deep concern for the church today. This concern has to apply to the church in our time because there are more false teachers and false apostles teaching another Jesus and another Spirit than ever before. There are some strange things going on out there.
This is where you go to the words of 2 Timothy 4:3 ……….
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.
I think we can see this happening right before our eyes. We just have to make sure we aren't the ones with itching ears and we aren't turned aside by fables.
Paul wrote down his resume in this reluctant boast to the Corinthians to show them an apostle's life. What response do you think the false apostles had to this list? I doubt they would have been impressed. To them, this just showed how weak, insignificant and unimportant Paul really was.
In Paul's eyes, in God's eyes, it shows his commitment to Christ because it wasn't about him. It was about Jesus and spreading the gospel. Paul said it best in Galatians 2:20:
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
That's probably a verse we could all memorize. That's how and why Paul endured all the perils and persecution. He knew there was something greater coming and he wanted to spread that hope and assurance he knew to as many people as possible.
2 Corinthians 11: 30-33
Once Paul wrote this list of things he had endured and survived, he had to have looked at it and thought, well, they'll never believe that. He said if had to boast he would boast concerning his infirmity. This infirmity was his scars, his physical, spiritual and emotional weaknesses were just a greater testimony that this had nothing to do with Paul and everything to do with Christ. Paul said, God knows I'm not lying, these things really happened to the glory of God.
Paul finishes this reluctant boast by talking about his first peril, his first close call. You can imagine how that must have made him feel. He was on his way to Damascus to persecute Christians and his life was very much a life full of religion and luxury. As it turned out, he left Damascus being let down in a basket through a wall to escape the arrest of the governor. That escape was Paul's initiation into peril.
And all of those things brought him to that point in his life where he was sitting there writing to the Corinthians. All of what had happened was accumulated in a short list to boast before these men. I wonder how long Paul sat and pondered all those things before he continued writing. We can only imagine the hurt Paul felt at that moment. If he ever wrote that list again, I wonder if he added the pain of being disrespected by those he loved in Corinth because they fell for the Super Duper apostles. They passed on the God ordained, battle scarred, authentic apostle to be duped by these worldly men. That had to hurt.
Our place in the church was established humbly in trusting in the work that Jesus did on the Cross. We are declared a child of God Most High. We can never allow anyone to harm that standing, it is granted to us by God. Our life in Christ must be one of prayer for guidance and guarding of our heart and mind; a Spirit filled life where we walk in the Spirit apart from the works and ways of the enemy; sharing in fellowship and allowing the discernment and teaching of other brothers and sisters to advise and guard. We must have the tools in place to be guarded from these ministers of Satan who are disguised as ministers of righteousness.
©2006, 2010, 2016, 2022 Doug Ford, Calvary Chapel Sweetwater
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