True apostles
had been chosen directly as such
by
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
had performed true miracles
(II Corinthians 12:12),
and had seen personally the resurrected Christ
(see on I Corinthians 9:1).
There were at that time (and often since that time) men
who falsely claimed to be apostles, and some of these had come to Corinth,
trying to turn these recent converts of the Apostle Paul against him.
It is important to remember that the
apostolic era ended with the death of John,
the last of the real apostles of Christ.
Since that time, any man who has claimed to be an apostle,
in some line of supposed “apostolic succession” has
been a false apostle, and those who have
followed him have been led astray.
The Lord Jesus warned against “false Christs, and false prophets”
(Matthew 24:24),
and here Paul warns against “false apostles”;
Peter later warned against “false teachers” (II Peter 2:1).
The test is always that of completefidelity to Scripture and only Scripture as determinative for Christian faith and practice. Note also Isaiah 8:20; II Timothy 3:15-17; and II Peter 3:3,15-18.
A true apostle is one who is “sent” by God
as an ambassador of Jesus Christ with a divine message.
A false apostle is a pretender who does
not truly represent Christ and whose message is false.
In 2 Corinthians 11, the apostle Paul addresses the problem of false apostles invading the Corinthian church. He describes the false apostles as
"those who want an opportunity to be
considered equal
with us in the things they boast about”
The book of 2 Corinthians is one of Paul’s more “sarcastic” letters,
as he contends with the church to recognize the error
that had crept into their midst. He contrasts his selfless service
with that of the “super-apostles”
who were seducing the church with their
smooth speech and apparent wisdom. These impostors were
pretending to be true servants of Christ,
but they did not know the Lord.
They were deceivers,
preying on gullible Christians in Corinth to
profit themselves and boost their ego.
Paul chides the church that they
“even put up with anyone
who enslaves you or exploits you
or takes advantage of you
or puts on airs or slaps you in the face”
Paul warned the Ephesian elders about false apostles as well:
“I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them”
(Acts 20:29).
They must have heeded his words, because in Revelation 2:2,
Jesus commends the church at Ephesus for
spotting the false apostles in their midst and rejecting them.
False teachers and false apostles have been plentiful throughout the history of the church. They still infiltrate unsuspecting churches and have even led whole denominations into heresy and apostasy
(see 1 Timothy 4:1–4).
Scripture gives us clear warning if we will pay attention.
First John 4:1 says,
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits
to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets
have gone out into the world.”
The following are some ways we can identify false apostles:
1. False apostles deny any or all truths
about the identity and deity of Jesus Christ.
In 1 John 4:3–4, John warns his readers against Gnostic teaching; the test, he says, is Christological: “By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.” There are many ways a spirit may deny that Jesus is the Christ.
From demonic cults to denominations that have
veered away from the gospel,
evil spirits are always behind the
slander of Jesus.
Any teacher who attempts to take away from or add
to Jesus’ finished work
on the cross for our salvation
is a false prophet
(John 19:30; Acts 4:12).
2. False apostles are motivated by their greed, lust, or power.
Second Timothy 3:1–8
describes such teachers in more detail:
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God—having a form of godliness but denying its power.
Have nothing to do with such people.
“They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth.
They are men of depraved minds, who,
as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.”
Jesus said that an identifying mark of a false apostle/prophet is sinful behavior: “By their fruit you will recognize them”
Fruit here represents their words, pointing to the purity of
their heart and thoughts
(Matthew 7:16, 20; cf. Jude 1:4).
3. False apostles distort or deny the Bible as God’s infallible, inspired Word
(2 Timothy 3:16). In Galatians 1:8–9
Paul counters legalism-with these strong words:
“But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.”
The inspired writings of the apostles are part of
the Word of God,
and no one has a right to change their message.
4. False apostles refuse to make themselves subject to spiritual authorities, but consider themselves the final authority (Hebrews 13:7; 2 Corinthians 10:12). They will often adopt lofty-sounding titles for themselves, such as “Bishop,” “Apostle,” “Reverend,” or “Father.” This does not mean that every person carrying such titles is a false prophet, only that evil impostors love lofty titles and will self-title to gain a hearing.
(A) ‘FOOLISHNESS’ AND ‘JEALOUSY’:
RIGHTLY CONTENDING FOR THE TRUTH
(2 COR 11:1-3)
In 2 Cor 11:1, Paul asks that they bear with him “in a little foolishness”. In this section, especially in 2 Cor 10, Paul has been
defending his ministry against the allegations of some in the church.
Based on what he looked like and also how he spoke,
some alleged that he was not a true apostle.
Such comparisons exalting the individual are of a
worldly nature and are rightly thought of by Paul as foolish
(c.f. 2 Cor 10:12).
It involves him taking time off more edifying pursuits in order to indulge in such comparisons, some form of ‘spiritual one-upmanship’
(as D.A. Carson describes it).
He knows that what he is about to say about his ministry will be perceived as foolish by some of the Corinthian Christians.
And we will see it in the verses that follows.
Paul describes himself as feeling a “divine jealousy” for the people
(2 Cor 11:2).
Paul’s jealousy is in the context of his spiritual fatherhood
over the Corinthian believers
(c.f. 1 Cor 4:14-15).
Paul is engaging in what is “foolishness” because he is jealous.
But his jealousy is put in the context of his spiritual fatherhood.
Paul sees it as his responsibility to protect the integrity of his child
(i.e. the church)
whom he has betrothed to the bridegroom
(i.e. Christ).
The issue is one of purity – of presenting an unblemished bride to the bridegroom. This is the father’s responsibility because the purity and integrity of the bride impacts the honour and integrity of the father.
Paul stresses that his jealousy is a divine and godly jealousy –
which is unlike worldly or sinful jealousy that we are more acquainted with.
Godly jealousy is a righteous desire to
fight for the hearts or affections
of those who rightly belong to God
but are at risk of turning away to idols.
This jealously originates with God himself!
God uses this description of himself. Unlike most human jealousy
which is a sin and a vice,
godly jealousy is concerned with God’s honour and glory
(cf. Exo 20:3-5a).
Paul’s jealousy for the church’s purity is surely a
function of his love for Christ Himself.
Is this the concern you have for those you lead?
And if you're at the receiving end, maybe consider that the words that your leaders have is for your good?
What is at stake is a turning away
from a
“sincere and pure devotion to Christ”
(2 Cor 11:3).
This can come about by means of deception.
The analogy is not made with regards to Eve,
the analogy is made with regards to the perpetrator of the deception.
Paul is warning his readers (that includes us) that
Satan’s lies that deceived Eve can still deceive us today!
We need to understand Satan’s agenda – he just needs to get us to not focus on God by employing deception, distraction and doubt.
(B) THE GOSPELS WE SEEK VS THE GOSPEL WE NEED:
FALSE TEACHING AND THE SIN OF TOLERANCE
(2 COR 11:4-7A)
- Which 3 aspects of false teaching does Paul identify in
- v4? (cf. 1 Cor 15:1-4; Jn 15:26)
Paul identifies 3 aspects of false teaching — another Jesus, a different spirit and a different gospel
(2 Cor 11:4).
- Another Jesus from the Jesus proclaimed by the apostles
A different gospel necessarily involves ‘another Jesus’. Fake Jesuses come in many different forms: prosperity gospel, moral teacher. Or maybe a “lone ranger Jesus”, who did everything, but does not call anyone to following Him in ongoing repentance and discipleship. Adding requirements to the gospel (i.e. a Jesus+ gospel) implies a ‘Jesus-‘, one whose power is insufficient to save, this is not the Jesus of the Bible and not the Jesus whom the apostolic witness tells of - A different gospel that posits other means of salvation apart from Jesus Christ
What is the gospel? 1 Cor 15:1-4 gives us a summary and removing these elements take away from the gospel and present a different gospel altogether. Different gospels may add requirements to this (e.g. maintaining a merit-based salvation, needing to maintain the requirements of the Mosaic Law). It could also look like a Christ with no death and resurrection, no repentance of sin and no faith required. The false teaching in Corinth likely involved some form of Judaizing, not unlike that which was introduced to the churches of Galatia. - A different spirit from the Holy Spirit that was given to believers
In Jn 15:26, we read of how the Holy Spirit bears witness about Christ and leads us to him so that through Christ we may know the Father. The gospel brings new life in Christ that is empowered by the Holy Spirit, who then causes this new life to bear godly fruit and increasingly conforms the believer to the image of Christ – this is the process of growing in godliness and holiness over time.
False spirits do not accomplish any of this. False gospels therefore involve spirits that drive all sorts of other non-sanctified behavior (create distraction and confusion, sow discord, foster disunity, spirit of slavery, spirit of fear, false spirit of freedom).
But how did the Corinthians respond to such teaching?
They were tolerant of it and received it (“you put up with it readily enough”, c.f. 2 Cor 11:4b). They did not need to accept it fully,
but by allowing it to exist among them,
it could put their devotion to Christ at risk
(2 Cor 11:3).
Ancient Greece was pluralistic and also tolerated many different ideas. Perhaps the Corinthians may have also thought of
these alternate gospel as one among many truths.
This is not unlike our circles today. We put up with some of
these other interpretations or versions of the truth.
Tolerance not only assumes that the truth is unknowable,
but denies that the truth was ever delivered.
Paul speaks clearly here telling them and also us that there is no room for tolerance when it comes to our faith.
Compromising will result in us
turning away from a
sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
What inclinations did the Corinthians have that led to this? In 2 Cor 11:5-7, we read of how they were preoccupied with reputation (e.g. ‘super-apostles’). They were taken by outward appearances, (e.g. sophistication, eloquence, stylised rhetoric) and associated these traits with authenticity. They judged a teacher’s standing by his remuneration, for in their time, those who spoke for free were treated as amateurs.
We too (i) have the tendency to place people with big reputations on a pedestal; (ii) gravitate towards polish, eloquence and charisma; (iii) judge a ministry by its material success (e.g. church growth, size of operations, global reach etc). In the economy of Scripture, Christian leadership is instead marked by shepherding and servanthood (cf. 1 Cor 3:5-7). Above all, it is marked by personal example.
False teachers often prey on our superficiality and manmade ideas of leadership and also what a Saviour is like. Israel wrestled and struggled with this when they received Jesus and his teaching during his ministry. He looked different from the Saviour they expected. This calls us to think about our own hearts and our own churches. What kind of a culture do we have in our church? Can we identity false teachings and false gospels?
(C) TRUE GOSPEL MINISTRY: VALIDATED BY EXAMPLE AND NOT MASQUERADING FOR GAIN (2 COR 11: 7B-15)
Paul goes on to respond to his critics and
defend his ministry to the Corinthians in 2 Cor 11:6-12.
- To the charge of being unskilled in speaking (2 Cor 11:6a), he emphasizes his knowledge and apostolic ministry and witness to the gospel (2 Cor 11:6b-c, c.f 1 Cor 1:17; 2:1-5).
- When said that we was an inferior apostle because he was not commanding a fee (2 Cor 11:7), he said that he could have requested a fee but he did not, because he did not want to burden them. He also reminds them of his labor, love and service to them without gain (2 Cor 11:8-9). He did not impose on them and these stand in contrast with what his critics were saying. He laboured so he could bring them the truth (c.f. 1 Cor 4:11-12a; 2 Cor 12:14-15).
- There were the false teachers that also said that they worked like Paul or “work on the same terms” (2 Cor 11:12b). To deal with this, Paul insists on continuing what he does in order to distinguish and preserve the integrity of his gospel ministry (2 Cor 11:12a). By doing so, it'll undermine the claims of the false teachers. Paul was zealous for the integrity of gospel ministry in the church and he has also written about it in his first letter to the Corinthians (c.f. 1 Cor 9:13-18). Association with false teaching affects our witness and we are not to associate with false teaching (c.f. 2 Jn 10).
Paul has strong words for those who carry out these false teachings
(2 Cor 11:13-15).
False apostles that disguise themselves as servants of righteousness carry out this false teaching. This is Satanic, and is the work of Satan. In the church, there are those who profess Christ, those who teach and some of them who do so could even be servants of Satan.
Good stewardship of the gospel that we have received means that we do have to make some judgments as to what or who we should believe and follow.
This is one of the responsibilities of the local church,
to make certain judgments in order
to preserve the pattern of sound teaching and to guard the flock.
In 2 Cor 11:15, we also see that there is judgement for these false teachers. Scripture also speaks clearly about the judgment
that will come at the end against false teachings.
This is a warning for us and a call for us to
pay close attention and
hold fast to the truth even now.
In this section, Paul has helped us to see that false teachers
can be detected by their content,
and also their resultant behaviour from their teaching.
The apostles model the gospel
even in their weakness,
which show their dependence on Christ.
This could look like foolishness in the
eyes of the world
but shows their utter dependence on God.
False apostles are also disguised (appearing like the real thing but actually wrong), deceitful (holding out temporary gain/success but eventually true nature and deeds will be shown) and disciples (imitating Satan their master and suffering his end). Bible teacher D.A. Carson also writes of it in this way:
Christians are especially open to the kind of cunning deceit that combines the language of faith and religion with the content of self-interest and flattery.
We like to be told how special we are, how wise, how blessed, especially if as a consequence others are gently diminished. We like to have our Christianity shaped less by the cross than by triumphalism or rules or charismatic leaders or subjective experience.
And if this shaping can be coated with assurances of orthodoxy, complete with cliché, we may not detect the presence of the archdeceiver, nor see that we are being weaned away
from “sincere and pure devotion to Christ”
to a “different gospel.”
Association with false teaching
affects our witness
and we are not to associate with false teaching
Revelation 22:18-19 contains a warning to anyone who tampers with the biblical text: “For I testify together to everyone who hears the Words of the prophecy of this Book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add on him the plagues that have been written in this Book. And if anyone takes away from the Words of the Book of this prophecy, God will take away his part out of the Book of Life, and out of the holy city, and from the things which have been written in this Book.” The question is whether these verses refer to the whole Bible or just the Book of Revelation.
This warning is given specifically to those who distort the
message of the Book of Revelation.
Jesus Himself is the Author of Revelation and the
giver of the vision to the apostle John
(Revelation 1:1).
As such, He concludes the book with a confirmation of His testimony to the finality of the prophecies contained in Revelation.
These are His words, and He warns against distorting them in any way, whether through additions, subtractions, falsifications, alterations, or intentional misinterpretations. The warning is explicit and dire.
The plagues of Revelation will be visited upon anyone guilty of tampering in any way with the revelations in the book, and those who dare to do so will have no part in eternal life in heaven.
Although the warning in Revelation 22:18-19
is specific to the Book of Revelation,
the principle applies to anyone who seeks to intentionally
distort God’s Word.
Moses gave a similar warning in Deuteronomy 4:1-2, where he cautioned the Israelites that they must listen to and obey the commandments of the Lord, neither adding to nor taking away from
His revealed Word.
Proverbs 30:5-6contains a similar admonition to anyone who would add to God’s words: he will be rebuked and proven to be a liar. Although the warning in Revelation 22:18-19 applies specifically to the Book of Revelation, its principle must be applied to the entire revealed Word of God.
We must be careful to handle the Bible with care and reverence so as to not distort its message.
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