False Apostles: Why Were They So Convincing? (2 Corinthians 11)
How can you tell the difference between true spiritual leadership and something that just sounds impressive? What if the most confident, polished, spiritual-sounding teacher you know is actually leading you away from the gospel? In 2 Corinthians 11, Paul pushes back against a group that looks powerful but distorts the truth. He exposes how easily we are drawn to spiritual showmanship and reminds us that real authority in the church comes through weakness, not image. If you have ever felt unsure about who to trust spiritually, this passage offers clarity and wisdom you can hold onto.
Review
In the last four chapters, Paul takes on his opponents in Corinth. Some of them are outsiders who have come in and challenged Paul’s leadership. They say Paul is a fraud, a paper tiger. He writes strong letters, but in person he is meek and unimpressive. They despise the unimpressive way he speaks and urge the church to listen to them, not Paul.
Paul responds with fighting words. In chapter 10, he said (paraphrasing), “My opponents claim I am meek and unimpressive in person, but I warn you not to join them, because next time I visit, the gloves will be off. My weapons are the divine empowerment God has given my ministry. I will fight their errors with truth. I will call people to align their thinking with the truth, and I will deal harshly with those who oppose the truth.”
Paul is willing to boast in what matters, his authority as an apostle of Jesus Christ. But he will not boast the way his opponents do by comparing success, skill, or eloquence, or by taking credit for another man’s work. He will boast using the measure that matters, the calling of God. God sent Paul to the Corinthians, and Paul will boast in what God is doing through him.
“A Little Foolishness” Predicted
Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord. For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me!- 2 Corinthians 10:17-11:1
In chapter 11, Paul seems to violate his own words. He boasts. He does not say yet what this foolishness is. He explains later, but the “foolishness” is that he will boast in the same way his opponents do. Before he does it, he explains why he feels driven to it.
Paul’s Jealousy and the Betrothal Analogy (11:2-4)
Paul is deeply concerned about the situation in Corinth.
For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. – 2 Corinthians 11:2-4
We have a classic love triangle. Paul crafts the analogy carefully. Christ is the bridegroom. The Corinthians are the bride. Paul is like the father of the bride, the one who arranged the betrothal. Paul’s opponents are the rival seducer. Paul taught the Corinthians about Christ and urges them to remain faithful until the wedding day.
Paul hoped the Corinthians had given their hearts to Christ through his preaching, but now they are listening to his opponents. Will they remain faithful, or give their hearts to another?
The stakes are high. This is not just personal dislike of Paul. Paul charges that his rivals are leading the Corinthians astray, like the serpent deceived Eve. He fears the Corinthians will abandon their simple devotion to Christ, and he thinks his fears are justified by their past openness to new teachers. Instead of rejecting a different Jesus, a different spirit, or a different gospel, they put up with it. 2 Corinthians 11:4 is not a compliment. It is sarcasm.
Super Apostles and Speaking Skill (11:5-6)
Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things. – 2 Corinthians 11:5-6
What does “super-apostles” mean? Many think Paul is sarcastically naming his opponents. He will soon call them false apostles. That could be the case.
But given how severely he condemns them, it sounds mild to say he is “not inferior” to them.
Paul is addressing their criticism that he lacks the stature of the most eminent apostles. He is saying he is not inferior to any apostle, even Peter or John, in authority and calling.
What about being “unskilled in speaking”? The term suggests a layman, someone untrained in professional rhetoric. His opponents likely touted the polish of trained orators. Paul grants that he may not have that kind of polish, but he denies that eloquence equals wisdom.
He does not lack knowledge. God entrusted him with the truth of the gospel, and he made that plain to the Corinthians. The issue is truth, not style.
Refusing Payment in Corinth (11:7-12)
Or did I commit a sin in humbling myself so that you might be exalted, because I preached God’s gospel to you free of charge? I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to serve you. And when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone, for the brothers who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way. As the truth of Christ is in me, this boasting of mine will not be silenced in the regions of Achaia. And why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! And what I am doing I will continue to do, in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. – 2 Corinthians 11:7-12
When Paul first came to Corinth, he supported himself as a tent maker or leather worker. When Silas and Timothy arrived, he stopped working and devoted himself to preaching, supported by churches in Macedonia. He never accepted money from the Corinthians.
In 1 Corinthians 9, he explains that it is appropriate for teachers to be supported by those they serve. But he refused support in Corinth to silence any charge that he was peddling the gospel. He wanted no one to say he was preaching for money.
Why did the Corinthians criticize him for not taking money?
- In that culture, if your knowledge was valuable, you were paid. Refusing payment made him look like an amateur.
- There was prejudice against manual labor. Paul worked with his hands, which felt beneath a professional teacher.
- Refusing patronage could be read as an insult. Patronage implied social obligation. By not taking their money, Paul looked unwilling to be beholden to them, which some took as a lack of love, especially since he accepted support from poorer Macedonians.
- Some accused him of duplicity, claiming he secretly benefited from the Jerusalem collection. In chapters 8–9 he insists on financial integrity, with witnesses from other churches.
Paul is not sorry he did not accept their money. He intends to keep it that way, so that those who boast that they work on the same terms will be exposed. If his critics take money while he teaches for free, their claim to be his equal looks foolish.
False Apostles in Disguise (11:13-15)
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. – 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
His opponents claim authority, perhaps as representatives of the Jerusalem community. Paul calls them false apostles and servants of Satan who disguise themselves as righteous. Listening to them will lead the Corinthians astray, like Eve in the garden.
The “Foolish” Boast (11:16-21)
I repeat, let no one think me foolish. But even if you do, accept me as a fool, so that I too may boast a little. What I am saying with this boastful confidence, I say not as the Lord would but as a fool. Since many boast according to the flesh, I too will boast. For you gladly bear with fools, being wise yourselves! For you bear it if someone makes slaves of you, or devours you, or takes advantage of you, or puts on airs, or strikes you in the face. To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that! But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. – 2 Corinthians 11:16-21
This is sharp sarcasm. He says, since you put up with boastful fools, you will surely put up with me when I engage in a little of it. You tolerate those who mistreat you. By comparison, I have been too “weak.”
Paul’s Catalogue of Sufferings (11:22-33)
But whatever anyone else dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? I am a better one—I am talking like a madman—with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, he who is blessed forever, knows that I am not lying. At Damascus, the governor under King Aretas was guarding the city of Damascus in order to seize me, but I was let down in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his hands. – 2 Corinthians 11:22-33
His opponents boast in their Jewish pedigree and sacrificial service. Paul says, if that is the game, I match their pedigree and far exceed their sufferings. He hates talking this way. He says it is like speaking as a madman. But their boasting forces the comparison.
A note on timing: the famous shipwreck on the way to Rome in Acts had not happened when Paul wrote 2 Corinthians. His list here does not include that episode. His sufferings were already extensive.
Paul adds the psychological burden of ministry. When anyone is weak, he feels it. When someone falls, he burns with indignation. If he must boast, he will boast in what shows his weakness, because his life displays God’s power in weakness.
Style versus Substance
Paul is rejected for his style rather than his substance. That is an issue we must wrestle with today.
He is confident that if the Corinthians are honest, they will see he has the true wisdom of an apostle. He asks them to weigh the substance of his teaching, not how he stacks up against professional orators.
A while back, I discussed a blog debate dividing our denomination. My friend and I agreed an unknown blogger had the right solution. He analyzed the problem well and laid out a reasonable resolution.
My friend then pointed out that the blogger would have no influence because he was not widely known and lacked the right degree from the right university. No one would listen, even though he was right, because he did not have the right letters after his name or the right rhetorical flair.
Unfortunately, my friend was right. The blogger was ignored. He was evaluated by pedigree, not by whether his argument was biblical or insightful. His content was ignored because he lacked charisma.
Paul scolds the Corinthian church for this kind of misplaced values. In our social-media age, we should reflect on his warnings. We should look past multimedia production and examine the substance coming from the pulpit. Today, the person who wins the debate is often the one who looks best and delivers the most memorable sound bite. We can fall into the same temptation and seek preachers who entertain and tickle our ears.
Too often today, we would rather listen to Jon Stewart than Jonathan Edwards.
We should take Paul’s warnings seriously and consider whether we reject the message of the gospel because we find the messenger too dull.
Please listen to the podcast for more detail and explanation.
Next: 16 Thorn in the Flesh: How to Embrace Weakness (2 Corinthians 12:1-12)
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Series: 2 Corinthians: When Church Hurts
Resources to help you study: 2 Corinthians
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Podcast season 26, episode 15
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