seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
2 Corinthians 11:1 I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
5 I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” 6 I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way. 7 Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8 I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. 9 And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. 10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
12 And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. 13 For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15 It is not surprising, then, if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
This is from the commentary.
If He who comes: An apostle is “one who is sent.” These troublemakers were the exact opposite of apostles. One could say of them, “He who comes.” Of an apostle, one could say “one who is sent” by God. These false apostles had simply come; they were not really sent by God.
You may well put up with it: The problem wasn’t so much that these false teachers had come among the Christians in Corinth. The problem was that the Corinthian Christians put up with them.
The church has the same problem today. It is not surprising that there are false teachers in the church today; the problem is that the church puts up with them and embraces them. Christians of this generation, like Christians of many generations, will have to answer to Jesus for their lack of discernment when it comes to the false teachers and leaders accepted and embraced by the church.
Even though I am untrained in speech: Paul, according to the standards of Greek rhetoric, was untrained in speech. In Paul’s day, the ability to speak in a polished, sophisticated, entertaining way was popular. Others (such as the most eminent apostles the Corinthian Christians loved so much) were able to speak in this manner, but Paul was either unable or unwilling to preach in this way. It didn’t matter to Paul because he wasn’t concerned with meeting people’s standards for a “polished” or “entertaining” speaker; he was concerned with faithfully preaching the gospel.
Did I commit sin in humbling myself… because I preached the gospel of God to you free of charge? In the culture of that day, if a public speaker didn’t take money for his speaking he was often disregarded as a poor speaker, with worthless teaching. Many people thought of someone who charged no speaking fee as strictly an amateur. But Paul didn’t care about the opinion of others when it came to his heart for preaching the gospel without being accused of doing it for money.
I robbed other churches, taking wages from them to minister to you: The word Paul used for robbed is strong. In classical Greek, this word was used for stripping a dead soldier of his armor.
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ: Here Paul becomes even more direct. Without sarcasm, he plainly calls his detractors in Corinth (or at least the leaders among them) false apostles and deceitful workers.
Few modern Christians want to deal with the fact that there are still false apostles and deceitful workers among Christians. Nevertheless, they were clearly there in Paul’s day, and they remain to this day.
False apostles are those who are transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. In fact, no one can transform themselves into a true apostle of Jesus; it is only a calling from God. “They were never apostles of Christ, only they put themselves into such a shape and form, that they might have more advantage to deceive.” (Poole) As Paul will explain in the following sentence, those who transform themselves are more like Satan than they are like God.
Paul and money.... Those shiny Ducketts that Paul called for are shining a greedy light on the man who would be respected as an Apostle.It's been my experience that a good Preacher.... one who truly has Jesus at the root of every thought.... has to turn down dinner invitations because everyone wants to have a talk with the Preacher. Jesus told His Disciples not to take any money when they went to teach. On the other hand, Paul insists on a collection just for him... salary....
Jesus had to sneak away from the crowds.... They were so interested in every word He had to say, they would camp out for days to hear and see Him.
Jesus never asked for one red cent... or silver coin... or gold masterpiece. Jesus never asked for anything accept a drink at the well from a woman who was not even a Jew.
Real Apostles don't worry about worldly objects. If Paul was indeed a true Apostle, would he be begging for money? He claims to be taking a collection to the church in Jerusalem.... but he's always harping about how the Corinthians would refuse to pay their preaching bill.
I've seen so many Westerns portraying the evangelist as a murderer, thief, or a heretic. Paul seems to fit that description to a t.
Paul says there are fakes.
It takes one to know one, Paul.
