2 Corinthians 11:1-15
Paul and the False Apostles
1I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that. 2I 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. 3But 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. 4For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. 5But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those "super-apostles." 6I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
7Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? 8I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. 9And 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. 10As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. 11Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! 12And 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. 13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. 14And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. 15It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will be what their actions deserve.
St. Paul said he wanted the Church of Corinth to put up with some of his foolishness...He defends himself and his ministering and his way of ministering...He says he is not inferior to the super-apostles...The super-apostles are his adversaries...Paul uses sarcasm to describe them...St. Paul teaches about Jesus Christ...St. Paul preaches about how Jesus lived, died, and was resurrected for us....Jesus died for our sins...In Galatians, Paul went and visited Peter and James, brother of Jesus after Jesus was resurrected (Galatians 1:18-19)...Paul knew of Jesus and the Old Testament Scripture...He knew how Jesus fulfilled the Old Testament prophecies...Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus...Paul was with St. Luke...St. Luke writes about Paul in length in the Acts of the Apostles...Paul knows Jesus...Paul tells us that someone who teaches about a different Jesus or a different gospel than the one he and his ministry preaches, they are false teachers...
Corinth, near Athens, was a crossroad to many people traveling about the world...Many people, traveling through Corinth, offered many different religions and philosophies...One had to distinguish the truth from the false and its false teachers...
St. Paul goes on to say that he has robbed other churches and has received support from them (the other churches)...The other churches Paul started and was associated with, supported him...While he worked with the Church of Corinth he took no money, and preached the gospel free of charge...Paul says he has not been a burden to anyone or any church...No one could accuse him of having selfish motives as he preached the gospel of Jesus...
Satan sometimes masquerades as apostles of Christ...We have to be on guard for these false teachers...The end of these false teachers will be what their actions deserve...
Paul in this chapter writes about his opposition with other false apostles...Some people and teachers put him in a position, where he felt he had to defend himself...He apologizes for talking about himself, when comparing himself with his opposition...He gives us information on his experiences and background and how it might surpass the super-apostles...
Jesus is the truth, the way and the life...There is only one truth, one way, one life...Jesus is the One...He is the One that was to come from the Old Testament Prophecies...He is the Anointed One...