Paul,
A True Apostle
– Second Corinthians Eleven –
The self appointed apostles at
What was happening at
Satan is responsible for every false
doctrine. It was not surprising to Paul that there were false apostles because
"Satan himself is transformed into
an angel of
light." Through the years Satan has taken on many forms in his work
of deception. Paul's concern was that the Corinthians might not be able to
discern the false teachers and their false teachings.
Paul continued his self-defense -- 2 Corinthians 11:1-4: Paul's concern for the
Corinthians was tremendous. Therefore, he desired that they would bear with him
as he explained and defended his apostleship. He asked them to "bear with
me in a little foolishness." Paul was concerned about the church at
Paul had preached the gospel of Christ that
was revealed by the Holy Ghost. Now these same people were ready to receive another spirit
and accept a different message. False teachers can do
an amazing amount of harm. Paul showed them that the church must not tolerate
false teachers nor accept their false teachings.
False apostles and deceitful workers -- 2
Corinthians 11:5-15: There was no way in which Paul was inferior to these false apostles. In fact he was not a whit behind the chiefest
apostles. His speech may not have been as good as these false apostles, but his
knowledge was greater. Did he commit some sin because he humbled himself by
preaching
God's gospel to them free of charge? Paul said,
"I robbed other churches by accepting support from them in order to
serve you." Paul called upon other churches to
support him while he preached the gospel at
Paul was in need at
Boasting done with great reluctance
-- 2
Corinthians 11:16-21: Paul did not want these brethren to think he was a fool.
But even if they did accept him as a fool he needed to boast a little. Paul
used his personal liberty to describe his life and his authority as an apostle.
The false apostles were bragging about what they had done and Paul decided that
he, as a fool, would do a little boasting himself. Many things in Paul's life
were unpleasant but he endured them for the sake of the gospel. Paul described
what the false apostles were doing and what the faithful brethren were doing.
"And since you
are so smart, you will gladly put up with a fool. In fact, you let people make
slaves of you and cheat you and steal from you. Why, you even let them strut
around and slap you in the face."
Paul showed that it was foolish to do so, but that he could boast about anything the false prophets could boast about. Paul admitted boldly weakness but he possessed many qualifications that helped him serve as an apostle. He boasted about enduring many physical hardships for the gospel.
Qualities of the true apostleship -- 2 Corinthians
11:22-33: None of Paul's critics could
boast of any advantage over him in a physical sense. He said, "Are
they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Jews? So am I. Are they from the family of
Abraham? Well, so am I." He also said he served
the Christ better than they ever did. He had worked harder and had been
put in jail more often than they. He had been beaten with whips and had been in
danger of death more often than any of these false prophets.
On
five different occasions the Jews had given Paul 39 lashes.
Deuteronomy 25:3 said that 40 lashes was the maximum. The
Jews always stopped one short just to be safe.
Paul said, "Three times the Romans beat me with a big stick,
and once my enemies stoned me. I have been shipwrecked three times, and I even
had to spend a night and a day in the sea. (Acts
Paul's heart was burdened down daily, as he was
concerned about the spiritual condition of the congregations that he had
labored with. He sympathized with them and was angry
when brethren were tricked into sin. He understood human weakness, but he knew
what would happen to the unfaithful. The Christian life had not been easy for
Paul. Early in his Christian life, the governor of
To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans