Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from 2 Co 11:1, 2 and following. Indeed, false apostles sought to replace Paul in the hearts of the Corinthians. The latter is thus forced to talk about himself and calls it “his madness”. But it is not to claim for his benefit the affection of believers (2 Co 12:14-15). He was jealous of Christ and vehemently claims their love for the only Bridegroom of the Church.
Behind these deceitful workers, the apostle unmasks their master Satan. Once a resplendent cherub (Ez 28:12-15), he still knows how to put on this appearance to tempt men with his cunning as he seduced Eve. And it is more dangerous when it presents itself as the subtle serpent than when it attacks us head-on like the roaring lion of 1 P 5:8-9. But we will always thwart his tricks by remaining attached to the Word of the Lord.
These attacks on Paul’s ministry are an opportunity for the Holy Spirit to give us a clearer picture of his labors and sorrows. Yes, he was a minister of Christ, and can align the proofs of this: a long list of sufferings endured for the gospel. For verses 23 to 28, 31, 32 teach us what the apostle already called his “slight affliction of a moment” consisted of. But what was the divine resource that sustained him to endure “these exceptional things”? For “An eternal weight of glory” was continually before his thought: Christ glorified, his eternal remuneration. Let us remember this secret: The more we are concerned with the Lord, the less time we will have left to think about our little difficulties (and what are they next to the afflictions of the great apostle?)
Yes, the more His eternal love weighs in the balance of our hearts, the less important the circumstances of the moment will become and overwhelm us. For there is one thing, however, that will never “besiege” us too much: “solicitude for all assemblies.” It is manifested in the first place by prayers. May the Lord give us affection for His dear Church and for each of its members.
Thus, we have seen that Paul glorifies himself only in his infirmity, in opposition to the false apostles who sought to destroy his influence to establish theirs. But, when he is forced to speak for himself, he says, “I speak like an irrelevant man.” Call me a fool, if I come to tell you about my merits. I am obliged to speak in this way to oppose those who would like to divert you from the faith by monopolizing your trust. But these false teachers, what did they present to the Corinthians? They introduced themselves. Here we see the difference between ministry according to God and ministry according to man. For human ministry has no other result than to put man first, while the ministry that has its source in God has nothing else to present than Christ.
Considering what is said here about these false apostles, you will be struck by how these men, whose names Paul is deliberately silent here, managed to gain influence over the spirit of the Corinthians. They came to tell them things that were the opposite of what the apostle had preached to them, and the Corinthians who were still carnal, let them do it. You then find out what danger threatened them: “If the one who comes preaches another Jesus that we have not preached, or that you receive a different Spirit that you have not received, or a different Gospel that you have not received you may well bear it.” These three fundamental principles, without which, in fact, there is no Christianity, were in danger: the person of Christ, the Spirit of Christ, the Gospel of Christ. The eyes of these believers, many of whom were sincere, were obscured enough not to see that the work of these men was undermining the very foundations of their faith and gradually preparing them to endure false doctrines. We see the deleterious influence that a false teaching, which is not that of the Holy Spirit, can exert on Christians who are engaged in this path. For he says in verse 20, “If someone enslaves you, if someone devours you, if someone takes your good, if someone rises, if someone punches you in the face, you bear it.”
For Paul possessed god’s authority to come and strike, in the midst of the Corinthians, all those who opposed him; so he has the right to say: If I come back, I may be forced to do so. However, it can be noted that the apostle did not think for a moment of coming to oppose his authority to that of these “deceitful workers”. It is that, as we have said above, in his thought, all the authority that the Lord had put in his hands was for the purpose of building up the Assembly of Christ.
Now, if we enter a little into the character of Paul’s ministry, we see that he has only one thought: to present Christ, as the only way to divert them from evil and attach them to excellent things. He represented him in his person. It is a very beautiful thing that teaching, but an even more beautiful thing, to carry in one’s person: “the meekness and debonairness of Christ”. For souls are often much more drawn to the Lord by the characters they see in Christ’s servants than by anything they can hear from their mouths.
Indeed, Paul was jealous of them “with a jealousy of God”; he had no human jealousy of the Corinthians in seeking to make them his disciples. The false apostles had only that, they who wanted to win them over to their own cause. “For I have betrothed you,” he said, “to one husband, to present you to Christ as a chaste virgin.” For Jesus had done nothing else: he had given himself for the Assembly, so that he would “present himself… glorious, having no spot, no wrinkle, no similar, but that it may be holy and blameless.” This was the Lord’s purpose in giving Himself. The apostle said: I did not want to do anything other than Him; no other purpose than his own animates me; I desire to present you to Him as a chaste virgin. This is how he wants to have you, and how would I have any purpose other than his?
He says a little further: “We have been manifested anyway, in all things, towards you.” It had pleased the Lord to manifest Himself to Saul of Tarsus, when the divine light had shone in the darkness of his heart. But, having received this manifestation from Christ, he has no other thought than to manifest it himself outside. So he can say, “We have been manifested anyway, in all things, to you.” He brought the light of this presence, and by his means men were placed in the full light of Christ. We do not have to act otherwise, either as individuals or as an assembly. As individuals, we can also do the same. Christ must dwell by faith in our hearts, so that everyone may see Him in us and say: I have dealt with Christ; I found the One who is light, in this humble Christian who came to speak to me, and this attached me to Jesus alone.
Then we find another character of Christ, as represented by the apostle: “As the truth of Christ is in me.” The Word teaches us that it is Christ who is the truth. “I am the truth,” says the Lord. He perfectly manifested the truth, that is, the whole thought of God before men, but this same thought of God was manifested now by the apostle, because “the truth of Christ was in him.” He who was the truth could be known in the person of Paul, the beloved servant of God, and the souls who were in relationship with him, could say, “It was through Paul that we received the truth.” Then he said, “Is it because I don’t love you? God knows.” for the supreme character of Christ is love.
For the apostle can say: God knows if this love is in me. I don’t look at men, to see if they realize it, but God knows it. He said before: “The love of Christ embraces us.” The love of Christ. He was therefore the bearer with all men, as with the saints. God knows if I love you, from the love of the One who revealed Himself to me as the God of love, and it is this love that I have brought into your midst. That is why I did not want to be in charge of you, why also you did not see me coming among you, with my authority.
After presenting these things, the apostle responds to the false teachers who came among the saints, disguised as angels of light, for it must not be forgotten that it is to the seductive doctrines that Satan knows how to give the most beautiful appearance. Nowadays, when Christians are told about a false doctor, most of them answer you: “But this man is a true saint in his conduct.” The appearance is that of an angel of light, and yet the character is that of the serpent who seduced Eve with her cunning.
The following verses have been compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Paul, an authentic apostle; Church brides him
Isa 62:5 As a young man unites with a virgin, so your sons will unite with you; And as the bride makes the joy of her fiancé, so thou shady the joy of thy God. 2 Co 11:2 For I am jealous of you with a jealousy of God, because I have betrothed you to one spouse, to present you to Christ as a pure virgin. Rev 19:7 Let us rejoice and be in joy, and give him glory; for the wedding of the lamb has come, and his wife has prepared herself; Rev 21:2 And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, descend from Heaven, from God, prepared like a bride who has adorned herself for her husband. Rev 22:17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him who hears say: Come. And let him who thirst come; that he who wills, take water from life, free of charge.
- Simplicity
Ps 116:6 The Lord keeps the simple; I was unhappy, and he saved me. Ps 119:130 The revelation of your words enlightens, It gives intelligence to the simple. Ps 131:1 Eternal! I have neither a swollen heart nor haughty looks; I don’t deal with things that are too big and too high for me. Mt 11:25 At that time, Jesus spoke, and said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent, and that you have revealed them to the children. Lek 18:17 I tell you in truth, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God as a little child will not enter it. Rom 16:19 For you, your obedience is knownto all; I therefore rejoice in you, and I desire that you be wise with regard to good and pure with regard to evil. 2 Co 1:12 For what makes us famous is this testimony of our conscience, that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and above all towards you, with holiness and purity before God, not with carnal wisdom, butwith the grace of God.
- Rapacity of the bad guys
Lek 11:39 But the Lord said to him, “You Pharisees, cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, and inside you are full of rapine and wickedness. Lk 20:14: 47 But when the winegrowers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, and said: Behold the heir; let us kill him, so that the inheritance may be ours. 47 who devour the homes of widows, and who make for the appearance of long prayers. They will be judged more severely. Jn 10:12 But the mercenary, who is not the shepherd, and to whom the sheep do not belong, sees the wolf coming, abandons the sheep, and flees; and the wolf delights and disperses them. Acts 20:29 I know that he will enter among you, after my departure, cruel wolves who will not spare the flock; Gal 5:15 But if you bite and devour oneanother, beware that you are not destroyed by one another. John 4:2 You covet, and you do not possess; you are murderous and envious, and you cannot get; you have quarrels and struggles, and you do not possess, because you do not ask. 1 P 5.8 Be sober, watch. Your adversary, the devil, prowls like a roaring lion, looking for who he will devour.
- Spiritual slavery (slave to sin)
Pr 5:22 The wicked is caught in his own iniquities, He is seized by the bonds of his sin. Jn 8:34 Truely, in truth, I tell you, Jesus replied to them, whoever engages in sin is a slave to sin. Acts 8:23 for I see that you are in a bitter fiel and in the bonds of iniquity. Rom 6:16 Do you not know that by surrendering to someone as esclaves to obey him, you are slaves to the one to whom you obey, either to the sin that leads to death or to the obedience that leads to righteousness? Rom 7:23 And it is not only her; but we too, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, we too sigh in ourselves, waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our bodies; 2 Tim 2:26 and that, returning to their common sense, they will free themselves from the traps of the devil, who has seized them to submit them to his will. 2 P 2:19 they promise them freedom, when they themselves are slaves to corruption, for each is a slave to what has triumphed over him.
From all the above, we note that the apostle is compelled to speak of what he suffered for Christ: “Since many glorify themselves according to the flesh, I too will glorify myself.” All this description (2 Co 11:23-31) shows us how little the book of Acts lists the circumstances that the apostle Paul went through. But the Lord has not forgotten this, and if the apostle mentions all these tribulations, it is by rejoicing that he was considered worthy to suffer opprobrium for the name of Christ. After mentioning all these tribulations, he adds, “If it is necessary to glorify oneself, I will glorify myself in what is my infirmity,” and he develops this thought. From the beginning of his ministry, persecution had risen against him. He had found himself in Damascus in a position that the world could have ridiculed and he prides himself on it. This is how God brought him down. And this man, descended so low, is lifted into the third heaven to hear the ineffable words. God said: I have lowered you; now I lift you up. But we have to come down again from the third heaven. It seems that he will now live with the glorious memory of having ascended to paradise to hear Christ. No; an angel of Satan blows it, and lowers it to the level of Job, the patriarch. The Lord then said to him: I want you to glorify yourself only in your infirmities; this is where my power develops and I want to make you a vessel of my power. Let us learn ourselves by the example of the apostle not to glorify ourselves in anything except in our infirmities. The Lord uses only broken vessels to do His work in this world, and to bless the assembly of Christ. Our prayers support you all in your efforts in this direction.
PRAYER OF ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS LORD AND PERSONAL SAVIOR
I now invite every person who wants to become a new creation by walking in the truth, to pray with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lusts of the world ignoring your love for humans. I admit to having sinned against you and ask your forgiveness for all my sins, because today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and personal Savior. I recognize that you died on the cross of Calvary and rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Ghost. Lead me every day to the eternal life that you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may be shining in my life right now.
Thank you Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I may also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby watering point to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
All adoration, power and glory are yours, now and forever and ever. Amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you tomorrow”the visions and revelations granted to Paul.”
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Almighty God.