NOT ALL “MINISTRIES” ARE MINISTRIES
2 CORINTHIANS 11:1-15
NASB
1 I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness; but [a]indeed you are bearing with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy; for I betrothed you to one husband, so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. 3 But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 4 For if [a]one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully. 5 For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the [a]most eminent apostles. 6 But even if I am unskilled in speech, yet I am not so in knowledge; in fact, in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.
7 Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached the gospel of God to you without charge? 8 I robbed other churches by taking wages from them to serve you; 9 and when I was present with you and was in need, I was not a burden to anyone; for when the brethren came from Macedonia they fully supplied my need, and in everything I kept myself from being a burden to you, [a]and will continue to do so. 10 As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be stopped in the regions of Achaia. 11 Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do!
12 But what I am doing I will continue to do, so that I may cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be [a]regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
11:1 [a]Or do indeed bear with me 11:4 [a]Lit the one who comes preaches 11:5 [a]Or super-apostles 11:9 [a]Lit and I will keep 11:12 [a]Lit found
NLT
1 I hope you will put up with a little more of my foolishness. Please bear with me. 2 For I am jealous for you with the jealousy of God himself. I promised you as a pure bride[*] to one husband —Christ. 3 But I fear that somehow your pure and undivided devotion to Christ will be corrupted, just as Eve was deceived by the cunning ways of the serpent. 4 You happily put up with whatever anyone tells you, even if they preach a different Jesus than the one we preach, or a different kind of Spirit than the one you received, or a different kind of gospel than the one you believed.
5 But I don’t consider myself inferior in any way to these “super apostles” who teach such things. 6 I may be unskilled as a speaker, but I’m not lacking in knowledge. We have made this clear to you in every possible way.
7 Was I wrong when I humbled myself and honored you by preaching God’s Good News to you without expecting anything in return? 8 I “robbed” other churches by accepting their contributions so I could serve you at no cost. 9 And when I was with you and didn’t have enough to live on, I did not become a financial burden to anyone. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me all that I needed. I have never been a burden to you, and I never will be. 10 As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, no one in all of Greece[*] will ever stop me from boasting about this. 11 Why? Because I don’t love you? God knows that I do.
12 But I will continue doing what I have always done. This will undercut those who are looking for an opportunity to boast that their work is just like ours. 13 These people are false apostles. They are deceitful workers who disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 But I am not surprised! Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.
[11:2] Greek a virgin. [11:10] Greek Achaia, the southern region of the Greek peninsula.
After just a few minutes of light-handed haggling, you settle on a selling price: five dollars. Not bad for a pile of clothing that doesn’t fit you anyway. After all, this is a yard sale, and the goal is to get rid of as much junk by the end of the day as possible —perhaps you will have a little extra cash in your pocket to boot.
The gentleman snatches the bag of clothes and hands you a piece of yellow construction paper roughly the size of a five-dollar bill. On the front is an attempt at Abraham Lincoln in green crayon, in each corner the number “5.” You turn it over and read “Five Dollars” in big block letters that look like they were written with the fist-grip of a five-year-old.
“Um, what’s this?” you ask.
“It’s five dollars,” the man answers, eager to leave.
I’m not exactly sure where this hypothetical conversation might go from there, but I’m confident you wouldn’t respond, “Oh, okay. If you say so. Thanks. Have a nice day!”
Nobody but a very small child would be tricked by such a shoddy counterfeit. Professional con artists strive to match the real currency paper’s weight and feel. They labor at getting the colors and details as close to perfect as possible. A crayon-marked scrap of yellow paper won’t pass anybody’s test of authenticity.
For as long as there has been truth, falsehood has never been far behind. Satan himself countered God’s simple, straightforward command in Genesis 2:16-17 with a similar-sounding deception in Genesis 3:1. So also, honest ministries always have been surrounded (and sometimes even outnumbered) by fakes: artificial, deceptive, and dangerous. Unfortunately, people often have trouble discerning the difference between the true and the false. On the face of it, they bear a startling resemblance. But start scratching below the surface, and soon you will uncover a dangerous deception.
When the apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, he pulled no punches regarding false, untrustworthy “ministries.” His observations and warnings remain as relevant today as in the days of first-century Christianity. Perhaps more so.
— 11:1-3 —
False teachers abound today. They are organized, well funded, and sometimes well respected. The false teachers that Paul had to contend with came in a couple of main varieties. The first were the Judaizers —those who believed that people could be saved only if they followed the Old Testament Law. In their book, even the Gentiles who accepted Jesus as their Messiah had to be circumcised and accept the old covenant as well as Jesus. The second heresy came from the Docetists —those influenced by Greek philosophy who rejected the full humanity of Jesus, disparaged the physical body and the physical creation, and refused to believe in the bodily resurrection. It is likely that the Corinthians had encountered both heresies —Docetists who rejected the physical resurrection (see 1 Corinthians 15) and Judaizers who desired to contradict Paul’s gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone (see Galatians 1–2).
False teachers from both groups accused Paul of heresy. They suggested he preached a false Christ, a false gospel, and a false hope. So, in 2 Corinthians 11, Paul warns the gullible Corinthians of the trap awaiting them.
Paul first expresses his distaste for what he has to do —“Bear with me in a little foolishness” (11:1). By foolishness he means having to talk about himself, which would appear like boasting about his role as an apostle. In order to put the false apostles and false prophets in their places, however, circumstances forced him to pull out his certificate of authenticity to underscore his credentials as a true apostle. He reminds them that he already had to speak a bit of foolishness, and they already had borne with his folly (11:1). He refers to having to “boast” of his true accomplishments in contrast to his opponents’ exaggerated achievements (10:14-18).
Paul reveals his jealousy for the Corinthians —not stemming from irrational suspicion or unrighteous envy, but godly jealousy (11:2). In the Old Testament, God sometimes described Himself as a “jealous God” when the Israelites worshiped other gods (Exod. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:23-24; 5:9; 32:16, 21). So, when Paul feared that some of the Corinthians were in danger of straying from the “simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:3), to whom Paul had betrothed the church in Corinth as a spiritual bride (11:2), he became justifiably jealous. In short, Paul knew that many in the Corinthian church had been “two-timing” the truth with falsehood, the true Christ with a stand-in, the authentic apostles with apostolic wannabes.
Paul was jealous for their spiritual purity, as a father would be jealous for his daughter’s sexual purity before he presents her to her groom. Paul wanted to offer to Christ a church with an unadulterated loyalty to, and love for, Him. Yet in light of the recent crises and ongoing trials in the church at Corinth, Paul feared that they would be led astray from the truth, just as Eve had been led astray by the serpent (11:3).
When people get caught up in false teaching, simplicity and purity get lost. All sort of debris seeps in to muddy the waters, cloud their thinking, and make it difficult for them to act on the simple biblical truths of the faith. Those caught up in false teaching get argumentative. They become divisive. They think things are far more complicated than they really are. They try to be nuanced or intellectually and socially respected. Ultimately, they become arrogant. The Bible itself gets marginalized, or it becomes something so subject to competing interpretations that they treat it as if it had no meaning at all.
All of that is the opposite of what Paul means by the “simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ” (11:3). The solution? Get back to, and stay with, the basics.
— 11:4-12 —
Paul now contrasts the true and the false teachers (11:4-12), showing the Corinthians three ways to know the difference:
- The false teachers proclaimed another Jesus and a different gospel (11:4).
- The false teachers displayed attractive charisma (11:5-6).
- The false teachers were in it for the money (11:7-12).
First, the false teachers proclaimed another Jesus and a different gospel (11:4). The term translated “another” (allos [243]) means “another of a similar kind.” A false teacher may talk about Jesus, he may sound biblical, but he is fooling you. Heretics have historically been very skillful at using Christian terminology but with drastically different meanings. They refer to “Jesus,” but if you ask questions about the nature and character of their “Jesus,” you will find they have added to or taken away from the biblical portrayal of the Lord Jesus Christ. They talk about “God,” but they don’t mean the triune God —Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. They speak of “resurrection,” but they have redefined the term to refer to a belief that contradicts the biblical teaching and understanding.
The other “Jesus” preached by false teachers is a “Jesus” the apostles didn’t preach (11:4). Consequently, the heretics present a “different” spirit and a “different” (heteros [2087]) gospel. The Greek word heteros means “another of a different kind.” The heretics’ spirit is contrary to the Spirit of God. Instead of unity, it creates division. Instead of peace, it brings turmoil. Instead of truth, it teaches falsehood. To what other spirit could Paul be referring than to the spirit of antichrist? That spirit is a devilish usurper attempting to displace the genuine work of the Spirit of God.
Additionally, the gospel of the false teachers opposes the gospel of salvation by grace through faith in Christ alone. The false teachers, under the influence of Satan, have added conditions to the free grace of the gospel: good works, circumcision, observing the Law, submitting to their leadership. Sadly, the Corinthian congregation had made room for these false teachers’ lies, just as they had once made room in their midst for the adulterer’s sexual immorality (1 Cor. 5:1). Paul said with a tone of sarcasm, “You bear this beautifully,” meaning they tolerated this heresy as if everything were just fine. But things were not fine.
The “Jesus” the heretics preached was not the same Jesus preached by Paul and his fellow apostles (1 Cor. 1:23). The spirit they had received in their midst was an unclean spirit, not the Holy Spirit of God they had received when they believed (1 Cor. 12:13). And the gospel they permitted was not the gospel Paul had preached to them in the beginning, which they had received, and on which they once stood (1 Cor. 15:1-5). How were these false teachers gaining a hearing and establishing a foothold in the Corinthian congregation?
It’s because the false teachers displayed attractive charisma (2 Cor. 11:5-6). The Corinthians were slowly but surely being persuaded to embrace —or at least tolerate —heretical teaching because it came wrapped in appealing charm. Here Paul begins a proper defense of his apostolic authority as he directly squares off against the false apostleship of his opponents. The Judaizing critics were attempting to downplay the authority of Paul’s teachings by pitting it against the apparently superior authority of the “most eminent” apostles.
With the term “most eminent”, some commentators believe Paul referred to his opponents’ false claims of themselves being apostles who surpassed even Paul in grandeur.[153] Others understand this to refer to the “pillars” of the Jerusalem church mentioned in Galatians 2:6-10.[154] In this case, Paul wasn’t pitting himself against other authentic apostles, but against false teachers who had illegitimately claimed those apostles for themselves. Lowery writes, “The false apostles hoped to derive authority by claiming to be associated with the Twelve. Without demeaning the Twelve, Paul affirmed his own status as an apostle of similar rank.”[155]
It would have been easy for the Judaizers to illegitimately hijack the reputation of Jerusalem apostles like Peter and John as well as James, the brother of Jesus. Why? Because Jewish Christians living in Jerusalem had resolved to live according to the customs of their culture: keeping the Sabbath, following the Law, and observing Jewish festivals. The Jerusalem apostles had made it clear at the Jerusalem council, however, that this lifestyle was not to be enforced among Gentile converts (Acts 15:19-29). Nevertheless, Judaizers still interested in forcing the Law on Gentiles had appealed to the practices of the “eminent apostles,” thus denigrating the authority of Paul and discrediting his entire ministry. The actual Jerusalem apostles never would have been involved in such a destructive and deceptive ploy.
Apparently, too, these potent adversaries of Paul possessed great powers of persuasion. Yet keen rhetorical skill without accurate knowledge of the truth had no value. Paul, though not always eloquent in speech or attractive in appearance, excelled in his revelations and knowledge of divine mysteries (2 Cor. 12:1-7). Ultimately, it wasn’t the packaging but the contents that mattered. The fakes had outward appeal; Paul had inward substance —a contrast usually found between false and true leaders.
A third contrast between Paul and his opponents was that the false teachers were in it for the money (11:7-12), while Paul was in it for the ministry. Craig Keener explains: “Paul defended his ‘volunteer’ status in 11:7-9. Just as sophists emphasized rhetorical form over content, they charged fees from their students; Paul is truly an ‘amateur’ rather than a professional (11:6) in this regard.”[156] Eloquent orators trained in the best rhetorical techniques could be hired to represent a certain perspective in public, or they could charge fees to give students the privilege of sitting at their feet and acquiring their knowledge.[157] In other words, those who collected fees were clearly professionals. Paul didn’t charge the Corinthians a dime for his priceless ministry to them (11:7, 9). Therefore, some concluded, Paul must be an amateur compared to the skilled rhetoricians.
Paul had financed his missionary efforts through the support of what we might call “sending churches” (11:8). In fact, even when in financial need while ministering to the Corinthians, Paul refused to take support from them, waiting instead for fresh support from the churches in Macedonia (11:9). What irony! Paul had refused to collect support from the Corinthians in order to demonstrate his sincerity in preaching for the sake of Christ and to remove the possibility that some would accuse him of false motives (1 Cor. 9:5-17). Yet the false teachers had twisted this, making Paul’s “freebie” message inferior to their “pay per view” approach to ministry, likely arguing along the lines of “you get what you pay for.”
Paul had acted admirably. He never wanted it to be said that he came to the Corinthians for the money they could have amply provided. Ministers of the gospel must never make money their motive. Though “the Lord directed those who proclaim the gospel to get their living from the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:14), Peter said that shepherds of God’s church should not engage in ministry “for sordid gain, but with eagerness” (1 Pet. 5:2).
Paul concludes his contrast with the false teachers by providing a personal explanation for his boasting (2 Cor. 11:10-12). We can tell from Paul’s tone that he hated having to defend himself by pointing out his own credentials and accomplishments. He was so driven to conform to the image of Christ that when the situation required him to point out facts about himself in order to defeat those who claimed to be superior to him, he felt genuinely embarrassed to do so. Would that ministers today feel ashamed to point out all of their accomplishments! It seems the opposite is now true. Godly, faithful, humble pastors actually feel ashamed when they don’t have a stunning career with incredible accomplishments like the superstar who delights in grabbing the spotlight.
As much as Paul couldn’t stand “boasting” about himself, he resolved that he would continue to point out the deficiencies of those false teachers to “cut off opportunity from those who desire an opportunity to be regarded just as we are in the matter about which they are boasting” (11:12). In order to rip the sheepskins from those wolves in sheep’s clothing, Paul needed to meet their empty boasts with the facts from his own ministry.
— 11:13-15 —
The popularity of those false preachers didn’t surprise Paul. He recognized Satan —the archenemy of the church —behind it all. Those men were “false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” (11:13). Just as Satan himself deceives the world by masquerading as an “angel of light” (11:14), so his devilish servants also disguise themselves as “servants of righteousness” (11:15). The word “disguise,” used three times in these three verses, is the Greek term metaschēmatizō [3345], which means “to change in appearance.” Though the essence of the thing remains the same, its outward appearance looks different.
The servants of Satan may appear right and good at first. But their “end will be according to their deeds” (11:15). They will fall victim to their own lies and ultimately will perish without Christ. Peter echoes the same warning several years later: “There will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves” (2 Pet. 2:1).
From My Journal
Deceived by Doctored Delicacies
2 CORINTHIANS 11:13
A friend of mine ate dog food one evening. No, he wasn’t at a fraternity initiation, but at an elegant student reception in a physician’s home near Miami. The dog food was served on delicate little crackers with a wedge of imported cheese, bacon chips, an olive, and a sliver of pimento on top. It was hors d’oeuvres à l’Alpo.
The hostess (a good friend) is a first-class nut! You would have to know her to appreciate the story. She had just graduated from a gourmet cooking course, so she decided the time had come to put her skills to the ultimate test. Did she ever! After doctoring up those miserable morsels and putting them on a couple of silver trays, with a sly grin she watched them disappear. My friend couldn’t get enough. He kept coming back for more. I don’t recall how they broke the news to him, but when he found out the truth, he probably felt like barking and biting her on the leg! He certainly must have gagged a little.
Ever since hearing that true story, I’ve thought about how perfectly it illustrates something that transpires daily in another realm: religious fakes. Professional charlatans. Frauds. Counterfeit Christians who market their wares on shiny platters decorated with tasty persuasion and impressive appearance. Being masters of deceit, they serve up delectable dishes of bad food camouflaged by spiritual-sounding lingo.
This fits perfectly with Paul’s description in 2 Corinthians: “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. No wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness” (2 Cor. 11:13-15). A glance at the silver platter and everything looks delicious: apostles, angels, servants. But if you look a little more closely, you’ll see it all for what it really is: poisonous doctrine nobody should ingest, false prophets, demonic forces, and spiritual slave drivers.
Unfortunately, so long as there are hands to pick from the platter of doctored-up dog food, there will be good-looking, sweet-smelling false teachings available. But some day, some dreadful day, the final Judge will determine and separate the truth from error. There will be a lot of gagging and choking, and the false teachings that pleased the undiscerning palate will no longer taste good.
APPLICATION: 2 CORINTHIANS 11:1-15
Don’t Fall for the Fakes!
It does us no good to cluck our tongues and shake our heads when we see somebody led astray by a charlatan. We need to recognize that everybody is susceptible to Satan’s attempts at deception. He tried to deceive Jesus Christ (Matt. 4:1-10), so what makes us think we can escape his temptations? Instead of pretending we’re immune, we need to prepare beforehand for the inevitable deceptions that will come to us through Satan’s servants today: false ministers and fake ministries. To keep from falling for the fakes, let me give a couple of suggestions.
First, probe deeply into the doctrinal statement of the organization and listen carefully to the theology of the individual. If the ministry doesn’t have a doctrinal statement, back off and don’t support them financially. If they produce a doctrinal statement, read it closely with your Bible open and make sure it aligns with the orthodox truths of the Christian faith. Does it proclaim the true, perfect deity and sinless humanity of Christ? Does it acknowledge Christ as the second Person of the Trinity: Father, Son and Holy Spirit? Does it teach the depravity of humanity and the need for a Savior? Does it affirm salvation as a free gift of God, purchased at the cross by Christ alone, and available without works, based on His death and miraculous, bodily resurrection? Usually those areas —the doctrines of God, Christ, and salvation —are the ones that phony ministries tamper with the most.
Second, examine the lives of those in leadership. Jesus says you will know the good from the bad based on their fruit (Matt. 7:20). Are the leaders accountable to anybody beyond themselves? Do they have servants’ hearts or do they run the ministry with absolute, unquestioned authority? Are they accessible, open to questions, and willing to hear constructive criticism? Are they free from sexual and moral impurity? Do you find them free of greed and financial impropriety? We shouldn’t expect our leaders to be perfect, but we should expect them to be authentic, willing to admit their imperfections. And we should expect them to be accountable to a constitution, a plurality of leaders, and also to the congregation or constituency they serve. Beware of spiritual-sounding Lone Rangers! Peter warned the leaders of the churches in Asia Minor not to lord over their church, but to prove “examples to the flock” (1 Pet. 5:3). Servant-hearted models of humility should be the standard of authentic leadership.
Remember, you have a message of hope based on Jesus Christ and the Word of God. When you come into contact with a fake ministry or a false teacher, share that message but stay on the offensive. Know your Bible, stick to the central issues of Jesus Christ and salvation. Don’t entertain their doctrines for one moment. What may look like a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow may really be a coiled rattler waiting to strike.