11:1 How does one get the attention of professing believers who are viewing gospel ministry through the world’s eyes and seeing only silliness? Not by shouting them down or defying them outright but by opening with an acknowledgement that what they are about to hear will sound strange. Without conceding any ground, one drills all the way in to wrongheaded assumptions in order to gain a hearing before detonating those assumptions by helping the believers to see their folly.

Paul asks the Corinthians to “bear with” him—when of course it is Paul who is bearing with them. He asks them to put up with a “little foolishness”—when of course they are the fools. With this blend of self-effacement and sarcasm Paul breaks the spell of ministerial impressiveness his opponents have placed on the Corinthians. He will now go on to remind the Corinthians of his singular love for them.

11:2 This is the love of a husband for his bride. Elsewhere Paul reserves this analogy for the love of Christ for his bride, the church (Eph. 5:22–33). Here he dares to use it of his own love for the Corinthians, claiming the very jealousy of God toward them—calling to mind the passionate jealousy ascribed to God for his covenant people throughout the OT (e.g., Ex. 20:5; 34:14; Deut. 4:24; 5:9; Josh. 24:19; Ezek. 39:25; Nah. 1:2; Zech. 1:14; 8:2).

Yet Paul then reverts to Christ himself as the true husband of his people, describing himself as the facilitator between groom and bride. The notion here is that the Corinthians have been betrothed or engaged to Christ now, with a future consummation coming on the great wedding day, when Christ will return and the marriage will be completed. Paul’s concern in the meantime is to protect the bride’s purity, or spiritual virginity. Imagine an engaged virgin, in love with her fiancé, suddenly finding herself tempted by the seducing words of a more outwardly attractive man with cruel intentions. Paul, the concerned lover, leaps into the fray to warn the bride of the folly of giving herself to this intruder. Consider what you are doing! he cries. Do not give away your virginity when your true Lover awaits you in due time with the open arms of true love!

11:3 This is not the first time Paul has mentioned Satan in this letter. In 2:11 he spoke of the church as “outwitted by Satan” if they do not forgive and restore the penitent offender. In 4:4 he spoke of “the god of this world” (Satan) blinding unbelievers. In 11:14 he will speak of the way Satan, like the false apostles, disguises himself “as an angel of light.” And in 12:7 Paul speaks of Satan as actively involved in Paul’s thorn in the flesh. More than any other Pauline letter, 2 Corinthians reflects a pervasive awareness of the invisible spiritual battle in which all believers are engaged and in which false ministry is often presented as true.

What is similar between Eve’s deception and the feared deception of the Corinthians? In both cases, Satan dazzles with what is flashy and immediately attractive in a way that complicates and compromises a guileless and childlike trust in God. What the forbidden fruit was to Eve, the outwardly impressive ministry of the super-apostles is to the Corinthians. Eve failed. How will the Corinthians fare? We must see also that 11:3 follows the betrothal language of verse 2. Eve’s betrayal of God was the betrayal of her truest husband; likewise, the Corinthians, in being tempted to yield their loyalties to the super-apostles, are being tempted to betray their truest husband and loving Lord, Christ himself.

11:4 Paul drills into the exact nature of the “fruit” that is tantalizing the Corinthians. He describes the temptation in three ways (table 3.7).

TABLE 3.7: Three Descriptions of the Corinthians’ Temptation

These are the three basic elements of apostolic ministry: as Jesus and his work and lordship is proclaimed, those who accept this gospel receive the Spirit.80 The super-apostles turn true ministry inside out at every point, offering a different Jesus, a different Spirit, and thus a different gospel. How so? The context of chapter 11 and of the Corinthian correspondence as a whole makes clear: by offering a nonoffensive and impressive Christ, a Spirit that drives supernatural gifts out ahead of supernatural graces, and a gospel that offers life without death and comfort without affliction.

The irony is evident in Paul’s use of the language of “put up with” at the end of the verse—the same Greek verb (anechomai) used twice in verse 1 as Paul beseeches the Corinthians to “bear with” him. They are slow to endure Paul but quick to endure false teaching.

11:5 For the first time Paul comes out and calls the infiltrators by the sarcastic name “super-apostles” (also 12:11). The phrase he uses is simply the word “apostle” (Gk. apostolos) preceded by the adjective hyperlian, which denotes “to a great degree” or “exceedingly.” A related term (lian) is used to speak of Jesus’ clothes as “intensely” white (Mark 9:3) or of Pilate as marveling “greatly” at Jesus’ silence (Matt. 27:14). Paul uses the descriptor to expose the way in which these fraudulent teachers exalt themselves but in so doing merely disclose how empty and powerless is their gospel. They are “super”-apostles.

In the broader flow of thought it is clear that Paul cringes at the need to defend himself. But he must. The true gospel, the gospel that divests us of all self-promotion and appearance-grooming and platform-building, is at stake. The Corinthians’ souls are dependent on Paul’s clearing the air.

11:6 Knowledge is invisible. Speech is visible. One can therefore lack knowledge but be quick with the tongue and win over others. Paul is just the opposite. He is not verbally fluid or witty or magnetic in his speech, but he does have sound knowledge. Of this he now reminds the Corinthians, though he ought not need to—“in every way” Paul and his colleagues have already made this plain to them “in all things.” It has been crystal clear, manifestly obvious, that Paul’s lack of natural rhetorical power does not cancel out his knowledge. Truth can be mediated through unimpressive speakers just as the treasure of the gospel can be contained in jars of clay (4:7). The apparent outside reality does not correspond to the value of the inside reality. On the contrary, an unimpressive outside reality is safe ground. The hearers of the gospel will not be starstruck at the preacher instead of at what is preached.

11:7–8 Verses 7–9 recall the extended discussion of Paul’s collection of money in chapters 8–9. But while there Paul was speaking of the Corinthians’ (and Macedonians’) handling of money, here, as in 1 Corinthians 9:1–18, he speaks of his own. Paul required no compensation for his ministry among the Corinthians. Apparently, this approach, while fueled by Paul’s integrity and desire for a publicly guileless and uncomplicated ministry in Corinth, has been underappreciated or perhaps has even backfired. He humbled himself in order to exalt the Corinthians (the two verbs used here for “humble” and “exalt” literally denote lowering and being lifted up, respectively). That is, he charged nothing as a way of freeing up and loving the Corinthians and giving them every opportunity of receiving his ministry fully and responsively. But the Corinthians were so complicated that even this created a problem for Paul. The apostle is accordingly lancing the boil of their ineradicable obtuseness with a statement of piercing irony. His question exposes the folly of any objection to Paul’s free-of-charge ministry.

In referring to “God’s gospel” and his preaching of it “free of charge,” Paul may be reminding the Corinthians subtly that his ministry is simply in accord with the gospel itself, a gospel in which God comes to us and offers us his ministry of grace without charging a thing. Indeed, the adverb here rendered “free of charge” (Gk. dōrean) is used in Romans 3:24 to speak of being “justified by his grace as a gift [dōrean].”

The irony continues into 2 Corinthians 11:8. By definition, to “accept support” from another church is not to “rob” them, since “robbing” is taking what someone does not want to relinquish, whereas other churches have willingly offered “support” to Paul. By this oxymoron, then, Paul clearly continues to expose the silliness of any Corinthian objection to Paul’s financial modus operandi among them. They have nothing to complain about.

11:9 Paul continues to remind the Corinthians of his guileless financial posture. In verse 8 he speaks of his preparation in coming to Corinth and in verse 9 of his conduct there among the Corinthians. Even in dire need, he did not ask for relief from the Corinthians, lest they themselves be “burdened.” Mercifully, God sent some fellow Christians from Macedonia to support Paul’s material needs. The phrase “supplied my need” uses almost identical language to that of Philippians 2:30, where Paul says that Epaphroditus risked his life “to complete what was lacking” in the Philippians’ ministry to Paul.

Throughout this passage what must be seen is that Paul is not parading his financial magnanimity as an end in itself but using this reality to insist to the Corinthians that the way he has conducted himself has been for their sake. Note the final purpose embedded in each verse in this paragraph (table 3.8).

TABLE 3.8: Paul’s Statements of Purpose in 2 Corinthians 11:7–11

In short, as he will say explicitly in verse 11, all Paul’s conduct has been out of love.

11:10–11 Paul has just mentioned Macedonia, the northern part of Greece, and now he speaks of Achaia, the southern region of Greece in which Corinth was the major city. When Paul says that throughout the whole region in which Corinth is located his boasting “will not be silenced,” he is making the point to the Corinthians that his refusal to receive support from the Corinthians is not something he is bashful or embarrassed about. He is not worried that “word might get around” that Paul does not receive funds from the churches. On the contrary, he is perfectly content with the surrounding area’s awareness of his ministry approach.

Of course, if other Christians in the area hear that believers in the affluent city of Corinth are not supporting this needy apostle, it could reflect poorly on the Corinthian church. The Corinthians might wonder, then, whether Paul is really looking out for their best interest. Hence the question of verse 11: “And why? Because I do not love you?” Yet it is precisely Paul’s love for the Corinthians that makes him willing for other Christians to know of his self-resourced ministry, for it exposes the Corinthians and renders public their relative stinginess. And this can have a salutary effect, embarrassing them in a healthy way, revealing the silliness of their reluctance to support the apostle—just as a loving father allows a law-breaking son’s crimes to be known to the community in order to humble his son into repentance through the sting of public exposure.

11:12 Paul has no intention of changing his strategy. This is no temporary MO. “What I am doing I will continue to do.” Namely, what? Boast of the validity of his ministry methods. This is a healthy kind of boasting because it is done for the sake of the Corinthians’ welfare. In that sense it is a boasting “in the cross of . . . Christ,” the only kind of boasting Paul says he will ever do (Gal. 6:14).

And he will keep boasting in the validity of his ministry in order to “undermine” (lit., “cut off”) the false claim of his opponents that they function out of the same gospel-fueled magnanimity that Paul does. Paul knows they present themselves as guileless but in fact are self-serving, seeking to win over fans of themselves more than followers of Christ.

11:13 Paul now pulls the veil all the way back, revealing his opponents for what they are, however contrary to initial appearances this may seem. Those who claim the same integrity of ministry as Paul are in fact

“false apostles”—one compound word (Gk. pseudapostoloi), occurring only here in the NT, denoting the fraudulent parading of oneself as an authentic emissary of Christ;

“deceitful workmen”—“workmen” (ergatai) is a neutral word meaning workers or laborers; the adjective “deceitful” (dolioi), occurring only here in the NT while its noun form dolos occurs eleven times, refers to deliberate cunning with a view toward deceiving;

“disguising themselves as apostles of Christ”—the word translated “disguising themselves” (metaschēmatizō) is used five times in the NT, though three of them are here in 2 Corinthians 11:13–15; the other two are positive usages, in 1 Corinthians 4:6 (where Paul “applied” his own instructions to himself and Apollos) and Philippians 3:21 (which speaks of the way Jesus “will transform” believers’ bodies to be like his when he comes again). This third descriptor repeats the first one (“false apostles”) with the added element of intent to deceive.

What must be appreciated is that while the descriptors of “false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ” conjures up images of foreboding sneakiness and dark, evil leadership that is immediately off-putting to followers of Christ, things were clearly not nearly so straightforward in actuality. Throughout the letter it has been clear that the Corinthians are on the verge of yielding all of their loyalties to the opposition. And yet Paul has repeatedly affirmed his great confidence in and love for the Corinthians. The only way to understand all of these realities is to see how alluring, how enticing, the opposition must have been. It must have seemed obvious, at first glance, to follow these strong, eloquent, attractive leaders.

11:14–15 In deliberately seeking to deceive the Corinthians, the opposition is simply doing what their own master does. They are Satan’s “servants” (v. 15). Once again Satan comes up, then, this time aligned explicitly with Paul’s opponents. Paul says Satan “disguises himself [metaschēmatizō again] as an angel of light.” The allure of a false gospel is that it looks true. To the natural mind, it makes so much sense. To commend oneself (10:18), to measure oneself against others (10:12), to impress with rhetorical flourish, to sway the movers and the shakers of the community according to their own values—who could have a problem with that?

The trouble is that this was not how the Lord Jesus himself conducted his ministry. He took the road of ignominy and rejection and shame and, ultimately, death. His followers do likewise, as Paul has been arguing throughout the letter. This is God’s wise way of sifting true from false believers. False believers find such a gospel threatening. True believers, knowing their sin and their need of a Savior who has suffered on their behalf, find such a gospel liberating. The only way for false believers to glom onto the church is subtly to invert the true gospel into a self-exalting message of human impressiveness, presenting themselves as “servants of righteousness” (11:15).

But “their end will correspond to their deeds” (v. 15; “deeds” is related to “workmen” in v. 13). The delay of justice does not mean the absence of justice. “God is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7). One day all will be rectified, vindicated, brought out into the open. Accounts will be called. For believers this is deep consolation. For false leaders in the church it is unavoidable inevitability.