“2 Corinthians 11”

Tuesday, April 11, 2017

In challenging those who were questioning his apostolic authority, Paul pulled no punches. He wanted the Corinthians to know that the false teachers were messengers of Satan who would destroy the Lord's church.

Of course, they did not see themselves or present themselves in that way. False teachers do not come with a name tag identifying themselves as such. 

The Judaizers had so bragged about themselves that many of the Corinthian Christians had believed them and begun to follow them and their teaching. It has often been said that if you repeat a lie enough times, people will begin to believe it. That seems to be what was happening to Paul’s reputation in Corinth.

Although Paul considered it to be foolishness, he realized that he needed to do some boasting of his own in order to persuade the Corinthians of his credentials.

And so reluctantly, he warns them against being deceived (verses 3-4) by those who would make false accusations against him, with no proof. He was innocent until proven guilty.

He also reminds them that he was not preaching simply for the money (verses 5-10, he had probably been accused of that by the Judaizers). He had not taken financial support for his work in the gospel at Corinth primarily so such a false claim could not be made against him.

Paul gives them a warning against being deceived, not only by Satan himself, but by those false apostles whom the devil had sent into their midst (verses 12-15).

To assure them of his faithfulness to God and not to money, he then recounts the tremendous suffering he had endured because of his devotion to Christ (verses 22-33). They knew all of these great hardships he had gone through for them and the sake of the gospel.

Surely they would realize the truth when they saw it clearly.

--Roger Hillis

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