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Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 11:1-15
As the book of 1 Corinthians indicates, there were many problems among the Corinthians. But through Paul’s first Epistle to the Corinthians, many of them were brought back to the Lord. They experienced a further reconciliation to God. Some may have even been brought back to God in a full way. But although many problems had been solved, one problem still remained — the matter of Paul’s apostleship. The most subtle thing in a local church is having questions concerning the apostles, concerning those who minister Christ to the churches.
Paul kept this point until the last because the dealing with other matters was a condition necessary for dealing with this matter. If the saints still had many problems and if the situation among them had not been calmed down, it would not have been appropriate for Paul to speak about his apostleship. It would not have been the right time for him to vindicate his apostolic authority. However, since at least most of the Corinthians had become calm and the problems among them had been solved, Paul realized that the time was now right to deal with the last problem, the problem the believers had with respect to his apostleship. The last problem in any local church is always the problem with the ministering ones, with the apostles.
Because it is difficult for anyone to vindicate himself, Paul found it difficult to vindicate his apostolic authority. If he had been vindicating the apostolic authority of Peter, the matter would have been much easier. It is always easier to speak on behalf of someone else than it is to speak directly concerning ourselves.
In chapters ten through thirteen Paul is performing the difficult task of vindicating his apostleship and thereby solving the last problem that existed in the church in Corinth. If this problem were not solved, the church in Corinth would still be sick. Any church that has a problem concerning the apostles is unhealthy. Because the church in Corinth had a problem with Paul, the ministering one, that church was sick. Therefore, the last four chapters of 2 Corinthians were written for the purpose of solving this problem. It would have been much better if someone else, such as Timothy or Peter, could have done this for Paul. However, no one could replace Paul in writing these chapters.
In chapters ten through thirteen Paul is actually dealing with the problem caused by the Judaizers. This means that here he is dealing with the Judaizers themselves, who were a serious problem. In dealing with the Judaizers, Paul first says in chapter ten that the weapons of the apostles’ warfare are not fleshly, but powerful to God to the overthrow of strongholds. Elsewhere in chapter ten Paul goes on to say that whereas he remained within his limit, the Judaizers went beyond their limit.
In chapter ten Paul first indicates to the Corinthians that they had been indoctrinated, that at least they had been influenced by Judaistic teachings. According to Paul’s word in 10:5, those teachings were reasonings and high things rising up against the knowledge of God. Such rebellious thoughts had been injected into the Corinthians and had caused them to be rebellious. Therefore, there was the need of spiritual warfare to tear down the strongholds of the high reasonings and to make every thought captive unto the obedience of Christ.
The source of this rebellion was the Judaizers. The Judaizers had clearly overstepped themselves. God, according to His sovereignty, had not apportioned the territory of Achaia to the Judaizers. Actually, God had apportioned nothing to them. Nevertheless, overstretching themselves, they went out on their own and as a result interfered with the apostle’s jurisdiction.
In vindicating himself against the Judaizers, Paul realized that it was not becoming to mention them openly in writing. This is the reason many Christians have a difficult time understanding chapter ten. When I was young, I read this chapter again and again without understanding what Paul was talking about. At that time, I had no idea of the background of this chapter. One day I came to know the history and the background, and this enabled me to know Paul’s feeling and touch his spirit in this chapter. Then I began to understand 2 Corinthians 10 in the way explained above. Now we can see that Paul wrote this chapter in order to deal with the Judaizers, who had stirred up rebellion among the believers at Corinth. Verses 4 through 6 of 2 Corinthians 10 do not refer to unbelievers, but refer to the believers at Corinth.
The apostles went out to preach the gospel and to teach the truth within God’s measure and according to His rule. Their activity truly was of God. Then the Judaizers overstepped themselves and violated the apostles’ jurisdiction. That kind of overstepping always brings in rebellion. This was the cause of the rebellion within the believers at Corinth, and made it necessary for Paul to fight against the high thoughts and rebellious reasonings. In chapter ten Paul is actually engaging in warfare against this kind of rebellion. In this chapter we see rebellion and also the overstepping of the proper measure.
Although Paul is strong in chapter ten, he is even stronger in chapter eleven. In 11:13-15 he says concerning the Judaizers, “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transfiguring themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself transfigures himself into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if also his ministers transfigure themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” The Greek word rendered “transfiguring” in verse 13 also means fashioning. The false apostles, being deceitful, fashioned themselves into the appearance of the real apostles, who are true in every way.
Verse 14 indicates that Satan is the source of the false apostles. They follow him in his deceitfulness to frustrate God’s economy. God is light, and His angels are of light. On the contrary, Satan is darkness, and all his followers are in darkness. There is no fellowship between light and darkness (6:14).
The ministers of righteousness in verse 15 are the true apostles, those who carry out the ministry of righteousness (3:9). Whatever the ministers of Satan do is altogether unrighteous. Righteousness has no partnership with lawlessness (6:14).
In 11:5 Paul refers to the Judaizers as super-apostles: “For I account that I am inferior in nothing to the super-apostles.” By using the term super-apostles, that is, apostles in surpassing degree, Paul is referring ironically to the false apostles, as mentioned in verse 13 and 12:11. These false apostles surpass the degree of the genuineness of the apostles. These are the Judaizers who came to Corinth to preach another Jesus with a different spirit and a different gospel (v. 4).
The Corinthians thought that the Judaizers were wonderful and that they did an excellent work in helping the Corinthians. Actually, the Judaizers did exactly the same work as Satan. They transfigured themselves as ministers of righteousness, into apostles of Christ. Therefore, Paul uses four terms to describe them: false apostles, deceitful workers, super-apostles, and ministers of Satan.
Paul also refers to the Judaizers in verse 4: “For if indeed he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you did not receive, or a different gospel, which you did not accept, you bear well with him.” Another Jesus means another person; a different spirit means a spirit of a different nature; and a different gospel means a gospel of a different kind.
The Judaizers used many of the same terms the apostles used: Jesus, spirit, and gospel. Claiming that they were apostles of Christ, they preached Jesus and ministered a certain kind of spirit. Furthermore, they claimed that what they taught was the gospel. However, they had another Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel.
No doubt, these Judaizers were eloquent and very appealing. They had much knowledge of the Old Testament, and they also knew the New Testament gospel. But in speaking of them Paul was bold, calling them false apostles, deceitful workers, ministers of Satan. He even gave them the nickname “super-apostles.”
In verse 4 Paul tells the Corinthians that they were bearing well with the Judaizers. The Greek word for “well” also means beautifully, ideally. It is used here ironically. In verse 1 the apostle expresses his desire that the Corinthian believers, who were bearing with him, would bear more with him. Now in this verse he refers them to their bearing beautifully with the false apostles. Paul’s idea is this: “Since you bear with the false apostles so well, so beautifully, so ideally, please bear more with me.” This is why he uses the word “for” at the beginning of this verse.
Do you think that the situation we face today is different from that faced by Paul? Our situation is quite similar. In principle, there are Judaizers today, just as there were at the apostles’ time.
When I was young, I thought that the apostolic age must have been excellent, marvelous, and wonderful. Eventually I learned that the situation at that time was the same in principle as the situation today. If we understand this, we shall not be disappointed when we encounter opposition. Some praise the Lord for the recovery. However, when they consider the opposition, they may be deeply bothered. I would encourage you not to be bothered, for the situation we face today is the same in principle as the one faced by Paul during the apostolic age.
In chapter eleven of 2 Corinthians, Paul had to deal with the situation in a church that had been directly raised up by him. Certain false apostles, deceitful workers, ministers of Satan, visited the church in Corinth and stirred up rebellion against Paul and his teaching. Even though Paul had come to Corinth first and had brought many Corinthians to the Lord through his preaching, the Corinthian believers still accepted the false apostles.
Acts 16 records how Paul came to Macedonia. He was preaching in Asia Minor, in a region God had measured out to him. At a certain time, Paul felt deep within that he should continue his preaching elsewhere. However, he did not know what to do or where to go. He may have thought that he should not go into Europe, but should remain in Asia. Then he had a dream of a Macedonian saying, “Come over into Macedonia, and help us” (Acts 16:9). After considering that dream, Paul concluded that God was calling him to minister in Europe. Thus, he preached the gospel in Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, and Corinth. As a result of this preaching, a church was raised up in Corinth. Sometime afterward, the Judaizers came to Corinth and caused trouble.
It is hard to believe that the saints at Corinth would accept the teaching of the Judaizers. Nevertheless, it is a fact that at least a number of the Corinthians accepted these teachings and were either stirred up or at least influenced by them. Those teachings caused some to doubt Paul’s apostleship and to oppose him and his ministry.
We have seen that Paul had helped the Corinthians to solve a number of problems. But the problem concerning the relationship between the believers at Corinth and the Apostle Paul still needed to be solved. Of course, not all the Corinthians had a problem with Paul. Only some of them had a problem. But even this made it necessary for Paul to devote four chapters to dealing with this problem.
We have seen that Paul is strong in chapter ten and even stronger in chapter eleven, where he speaks of false apostles, deceitful workers, ministers of Satan, and super-apostles. If you were a believer at Corinth who had accepted the teaching of the Judaizers, would you have taken Paul’s word concerning false apostles? It is not very likely. This was the reason Paul was fighting to subdue the rebellious thoughts among the Corinthians.
Let us now go on to see Paul’s way of fighting the battle against Judaistic teachings. In 11:1 he says, “I would that you bear with me in a little foolishness; but indeed, you do bear with me.” The use of the word “foolishness” is an ironic reference to the apostle’s enforced self-vindication and boasting. Here Paul seems to be telling the Corinthians, “Please bear with me in a little foolishness. In all the foregoing, I have been wise. Now I intend to speak in a foolish way. Before I do this, I ask that you bear with me in a little foolishness. I shall not boast or speak foolishly without measure. There will be a limit to what I intend to say.”
In verse 2 Paul continues, “For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband, to present a pure virgin to Christ.” This jealousy can be compared to the jealousy of a husband over his wife. The word “virgin” in this verse means to be the bride for the Bridegroom (John 3:29), the wife of the Lamb (Rev. 19:7).
By the sounding out of the word recorded in verse 2, Satan is defeated, and all the Judaizers are put down. Whether in Paul’s time or in ours, the Judaizers never minister anything to us that causes us to treasure the Lord Jesus as the One who is dear and precious. On the contrary, what is ministered by the Judaizers stirs up our zeal for religion. The Judaizers today may say something like this, “This teaching is heretical and destroys our religion. It is contrary to the tradition we inherited from our fathers.” The Judaizers throughout the generations and the centuries have sought to protect their religion and to hold on to traditional doctrine.
The Judaizers who came to Corinth may have said, “Yes, we should believe in Jesus Christ. But how can we forsake the law given through Moses by God? This man Paul is heretical. He has destroyed the law, and he is against circumcision. This means the end of our religion. Was God wrong in giving the law? Were Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, Elijah, and all the other prophets wrong? Is Paul the only one who is right? Paul, who came to you as an apostle, must be condemned.” This is the way the Judaizers spoke in Paul’s time, and this is the way they talk today. Those who oppose the Lord’s recovery often say something like this: “Do you think that everyone and everything is wrong except you? Are your teachings the only teachings that are correct? We shall rise up against the local church and defeat it. This thing must be terminated.”
Because Paul was wise, he did not argue with the Judaizers concerning doctrine. Instead, he told the Corinthians that he was jealous over them with a jealousy of God. He went on to say that he had betrothed them to one husband in order to present a pure virgin to Christ. What a wonderful way of speaking! Paul’s word in verse 2 is very touching. It touches our heart in a deep way and stirs up our love for the Lord Jesus. Very often the life-study messages touch our hearts in the same way. After reading a few pages of a message, the tender feeling within you for the Lord Jesus is stirred up, and you realize afresh how dear and precious He is. However, sometimes your theological and doctrinal mind may be troubled and raise questions about the Trinity or about Christ being the Spirit. You may wonder about modalism. You may question whether the ministry in the Lord’s recovery is trustworthy. But after reading a portion of a life-study message, you once again begin to feel that as the Bridegroom the Lord Jesus is lovely and precious. Spontaneously you say, “O Lord Jesus, dear Bridegroom, I love You. Lord, thank You for Your word, for Your ministry, and for Your recovery.” But after a while you may begin to wonder about the denominations and ask, “Are all the denominations wrong? Is it really true that there should only be one church in one city? What, then, about all the other Christians?” The Judaizers stir up questions, but the genuine ministry stirs up our love for the Lord Jesus as our Bridegroom.
Today’s Judaizers seek to shake the believers away from simply loving the Lord Jesus. Nevertheless, we should turn from the Mosaic law and from the prophets and focus our attention on the Lord. We need to see from 11:2 that we have been betrothed to one husband in order to be presented as a pure virgin to Christ. Therefore, we should say, “Our dear Lord Jesus is our unique Husband, and I am part of His virgin. I don’t care for doctrine or theology. I care only for the ministry that ministers Christ to me. He is the pleasant and dear One whom I love.”
My burden in this message is to plant deeply into the saints Paul’s word in verse 2: “I betrothed you to one husband, to present a pure virgin to Christ.” We have seen that in chapter eleven Paul has some strong things to say concerning the Judaizers, the false apostles. But before he utters such words, he reminds the believers at Corinth that he has engaged them to one Husband, not to present them as students of theology, but to present them as a pure virgin to Christ.
In verse 3 Paul goes on to say, “But I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your thoughts should be corrupted from the singleness and the purity which is toward Christ.” The Greek word rendered “singleness” can also be translated simplicity. It refers here to the believers’ single-hearted loyalty, single-minded faithfulness, toward Christ. Paul’s concern was that the thoughts of the believers at Corinth would be corrupted. They were a pure virgin to Christ, but as the serpent deceived Eve, so their thoughts might be corrupted from the singleness and purity toward Christ. In fact, some of the Corinthians had already been corrupted in this way. Thus, here Paul seems to be saying, “Dear Corinthians, my concern is that you would keep your singleness and purity toward Christ. You should forget about Judaistic teachings and religion and be single toward Christ. Christ is your dear Bridegroom, and you simply need to love Him.”
It is not the goal of the Lord’s recovery to recover doctrine or theology. It is to recover Christ Himself as the unique Husband for us to love. We should belong only to Him. As long as we have been brought as a pure virgin to this Husband and love Him, appreciate Him, and belong to Him, we shall be preserved. This will keep us, sanctify us saturate us, and transform us. As we shall see, in the last four chapters of this Epistle, there is nothing doctrinal or theological. What we have here is a lovely Person, the unique, universal Husband. We all have been presented as a pure virgin to Him. We are for Him, and we should be attracted to Him, loving Him, appreciating Him, and treasuring Him. This will preserve us and help us to be sanctified and transformed.
The Lord’s recovery is not a matter of theology, tradition, religion, or practices. Rather, it is a matter of a living Person, the Lord Jesus Christ as our Bridegroom. He has attracted us, and we have been presented as a pure virgin to Him. Now we should care only for Him, love Him, and allow no one to replace Him in our hearts. Furthermore, our love for Him should be pure, our mind should be single, and our entire being should be focused on Him. This will preserve, sanctify, saturate, and transform us. Praise the Lord, this is His recovery!
