2 Corinthians 11:1

Would to God that you would bear with me a little in my folly, and indeed bear with me, for I am jealous over you with godly jealousy. I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that comes preaches another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit which you have not received, or another gospel which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him.

For I suppose I was not a wit behind the very chiefest apostles, but though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge, we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things.

Father, as we look into your word, we ask again, as we do every single time we come before your word, for wisdom, knowing that you promised to give wisdom to those who ask. So, Lord, teach us, guide us into all truth, and help us to be transformed more and more into the image of your Son, that we would reflect your glory in our workplace, in our neighborhood, and in this world in which we live. We ask this in Jesus' name, and all God's people agreed together, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

It was bittersweet for me last week to not be able to be here. It was sweet in the sense that I was invited to Maranatha in San Marcos. Our friend, Pastor Dan Gordon, pastors the church there, and he asked if I would come over and share on the topic of sanctification—the process of salvation in our lives.

As we were standing together, singing that last song, I was thinking about Hebrews chapter 10, verse 24, where the author of the book of Hebrews says, "Let us consider one another to stir one another up unto love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some." The gathering together of the body of Christ in this way, as we worship together—worship in song, worship in giving, worship in God's word—is essential.

God uses this time to transform us more and more into His image. I am so thankful for the opportunity we have every single week to gather together and be sanctified through the washing of the water of the Word. I was just in the lobby a few minutes ago talking with one of the brothers in the church, and he said, "Don't you just love this church?" I replied, "Yeah, I do." I feel so blessed by the body of Christ here. As I mentioned, it was bitter not to be here with you last week, but I am so blessed to be back.

Now, as we come to 2 Corinthians chapter 11, we see the mind of the Apostle Paul. Boasting of oneself and one's ministry is completely irrelevant and unnecessary to him. The idea of boasting about his ministry or even about himself was absolute foolishness. We saw this a couple of weeks ago in chapter 10. In verse 12, Paul's view is summed up when he says, "For we dare not make ourselves of the number or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves; but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves are not wise." Another translation states, "Those who compare themselves by one another are fools."

It is clear that Paul did not like the position he is now in, as seen in 2 Corinthians chapters 10 through 13. His disdain for self-commendation is also evident earlier in the book. In 2 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 1, he asks, "Do we begin again to commend ourselves? Or do we need, as some others, letters of recommendation to you or letters of commendation from you?" Again, in chapter 5, verse 12, he states, "For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that you may have somewhat to answer them, which glory in appearance and not in heart."

Paul makes it very clear that glorying in one's outward appearance or the way one presents oneself to others is misguided. We all know it is very easy to make a show of ourselves. We are currently in a political season, and every single day we see candidates putting themselves forward and boasting about themselves. It is going to get much worse over the next several months, especially when we start to see signs all over our community for various names.

That's what you have to do in the world to get ahead. But within the body of Christ, it's not to be that way. Paul says that it's absolute folly; it's foolishness. To the Apostle Paul, the very existence of a church in Corinth was a living letter of reference. The fact that the members of that church were thriving in their walk, or were at one point in time before they were led away from the faith by these false teachers, was a commendation to the work that God was doing through the Apostle Paul.

The members of the church at Corinth should have been the ones giving the glorious commendation about the ministry of Paul the Apostle and those who were with him. In 2 Corinthians 3, verse 2, he says, "You are our letter written on our hearts, known and read of all men." In other words, Paul did not need to go anywhere with a letter of reference from them because the very fact that they existed, as the church at Corinth, was proof that God was working in and through that ministry.

In 2 Corinthians 12, verse 11, he states, "I am become a fool in boasting and glorying. You have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you. For in nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing." Paul's view of himself is clear; he did not view himself as anything great. He acknowledged that "not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as being of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God who has made us able ministers" (2 Corinthians 3, verses 5 and 6).

Paul was not one to blow his own horn or go about telling everybody how great he was. Yet, he knew that there were some coming to the churches at Corinth who were doing that and leading the church astray. Ideally, the life of the minister and the work of the ministry ought to have been sufficient commendation. The way an individual lives and the work they put their hands to should be sufficient evidence that they are functioning by the Spirit of God.

Of course, we know, as Paul talks about in Galatians chapter 5, that the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, and self-control. It is God working in us that is evident in the way we live. In 2 Corinthians chapter 4, verse 2, Paul says, "But we have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."

So he says, "Sadly, the reality is often far removed from the ideal." Chapters 10 through 13 of 2 Corinthians is Paul's passage where he is reluctantly reduced to self-promotion. He is having to speak boastfully of himself to the church at Corinth and about the work that God called him to do.

Look with me, if you will, at 2 Corinthians chapter 11, verse 1. Keep in mind that Paul has just said in the verses previous to this, in chapter 10, verses 17 and 18, "He that glories, let him glory in the Lord. He that boasts, let him boast in the Lord. For not him who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends." Our commendation should come from God. If anyone is going to lift us up, it should be the Lord.

As God spoke through the Apostle James and also through the Apostle Paul, the one who humbles himself is going to be exalted by the Lord. Jesus even spoke about this in his parables when he was invited to a party. He gives a story there, saying, "If you're invited to a party, don't seat yourself at the head table. Because if you seat yourself at the head table, you might have the problem of the host of the party coming and saying, 'You're not supposed to be sitting there,' and have to move you down. Instead, sit at the last table so that the host can come and say, 'No, you're not supposed to be sitting here. Come, sit with me at the head table.'"

We see the wisdom in that. It is far better to be called up than to be told to get down. Has anyone ever experienced being told to get down? It's not enjoyable.

Paul doesn't boast about himself, but apparently, those at Corinth who were his critics did. In verse 1, he sets the backdrop: your commendation should come from the Lord. Then he says, "I'm going to play at their game, if you will. Would to God that you'd bear with me in a little foolishness. Indeed, bear with me." His disdain for this kind of boasting, what he calls folly or foolishness, is very clear. He does not like to do what he's doing; he does it apprehensively.

He does it reluctantly over the next two and a half chapters as he boasts about the work that God has done through him. Several times in this passage, as we looked at a few weeks ago, Paul uses biting sarcasm to get back at his critics. He says, "Listen, you've reduced me to foolishness to have to do this."

I'm sure that Paul would have loved to end this letter, 2 Corinthians, at the end of chapter 9. He would have loved to conclude with a great glowing homily, greeting those in Corinth and praising God for the work that He was doing in Corinth, in Galatia, in Asia Minor, and throughout Greece. Yet, he has to come back for four chapters and defend himself to the church. Frankly, I'm thankful that Paul does this. I'm thankful that he had to speak in this way because it gives us great insight on how to determine the genuineness of a worker of God and the integrity of that individual's work.

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this is an open rebuke to the critics in the city of Corinth. We have seen previously that the basis of Paul's censure, the basis of his critique upon these individuals, was the meekness and gentleness of Christ. Look at 2 Corinthians chapter 10, verse 1.

Now, I, Paul, myself, beseech you. I beg you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent and bold among you. Paul says, "I'm basing what I'm about to say upon the meekness and gentleness of Christ." This is not something that I want to say, but I'm exercising apostolic authority here.

While Paul was as human as any other person, he did not want to have to fight or war after carnal methods. He was just like anyone else in this room; he got frustrated with people and upset. There were times when he was in his flesh. Can anyone relate to that? I mean, drive down the 15 freeway, and you can relate to that very quickly.

In fact, I was on my way to Maranatha, San Marcos, last Sunday. I was driving down El Norte Parkway, coming from my house to go to San Marcos, and it's the same way I take every single week from church.

As I was driving along, a car cut me off right in front. I thought it would be so priceless if that person turned into Cross Connection. Thankfully, they didn't; they just kept going and turned into another church. In situations like that, we instantly revert to our old nature and start to formulate plans about what we would like to do if we didn't have the fish symbol on the back of our car. We all go through those moments where we think, "Boy, I'd really like to..." and our minds can run wild with the things we would like to do.

Jesus reveals in the Sermon on the Mount that such fantasizing is itself a sin. That's not helpful, is it? Paul states that he doesn't want to fight, war, or strategize using carnal means. However, he was sufficiently prepared with heavenly armament to cast down the vain imaginations of those who exalted themselves as obstacles to others knowing the truth. These false apostles, whom Paul sarcastically refers to as "super apostles," were hindrances to people coming to know the truth. Paul asserts that he will have no problem casting down their vain imaginations.

Additionally, Paul was ready to punish their disloyal disobedience, as he tells us in chapter 10, verse 6. The remainder of chapter 10 serves as a preface to what we will examine in chapters 11, 12, and the first half of chapter 13. Paul criticizes the Corinthians for only looking at the surface in their estimation of him and in their view of those who came into Corinth as critics of his ministry. Not only does he criticize them, but he also assures the Corinthians that the foolish boasting that will come in chapters 11 through 13 is ultimately for their edification, not for destruction. It is intended to raise them up, not merely to scare them with his letters.

This is one of the things that the critics of Paul were saying in the city of Corinth: "Paul speaks really well, or he doesn't speak very well; he writes really well, and he just writes these hard letters. He's such a taskmaster in his letters."

He's so bold when he has a pen in his hand and hundreds of miles separate him from us. However, when he comes among us, he really doesn't have a lot to add. Paul makes it very clear that if he needs to, he will come to their city just as boldly as he is in his written letters. He explains that self-commendation, like that which he is going to bring, is essentially foolish because ultimately our commendation needs to come from God. If anyone is going to glory, let him glory in the Lord. One should not boast beyond rightful measure, and all glorying should be directed Godward. If God decides, then He can bring a commendation to an individual, and God can determine to do that.

Primarily, we recognize from the New Testament that the reward of those who follow and serve the Lord faithfully is not necessarily going to come here on this earth. It is a reward that is eternal in the heavens and does not fade away. There are plenty of people seeking an earthly reward, but that only lasts as long as that person lives. Far better is it to have an eternal reward that does not fade away.

Paul says, "I hope that you will put up with a little bit of foolishness on my part as I boast. Please bear with me." If personal boasting is foolish, though, why does Paul engage in it? Why even come down to their level? Why not stay above the fray? There's a lot of talk about this in politics today. People say, "Oh, he doesn't get down in the mud and sling it around with others." Why does Paul come down to their level in this situation?

In this passage, there are four reasons that answer that question. Each one of the four reasons begins with the word "for." So, look with me at verse two. Here are the first two reasons: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ."

The first reason Paul gives for engaging in this foolish boastfulness to defend himself and the work is that he is jealous over them. He is jealous over them. Now, we have...

There is an instant negative reaction to the word "jealous." There's a part of us that just says it doesn't seem right that Paul would say, "For I am jealous over you," because covetousness, envy, and jealousy are human vices. Those are things that we teach our children not to do, right? So Paul says to the church, "The reason that I'm going to come down to this level and enter into this folly and boast for a moment is because I am jealous for you."

How can Paul express this jealousy and then even attach God to this jealousy? He says, "I am jealous for you with godly jealousy." Godly jealousy? Is there such a thing as righteous jealousy? This is an important question, and for some, it is a confusing question.

You see, during a web broadcast a few years ago, Oprah Winfrey revealed that she began to be turned away from the traditional evangelical church, a Baptist church, in fact, when she was in her late 20s. She heard a preacher say that "the Lord, your God, is a jealous God." She reflected, "I was thinking, God is all. God is omnipresent. And God is also jealous? God is jealous of me? Something about that didn't feel right in my spirit because I believe that God is love and that God is in all things." This was when the search for something more than doctrine started to stir within her.

Now, it's certain that if God is in heaven and He is jealous of Oprah Winfrey, that's twisted. In one sense, what she says is absolutely right. If God, who created all things, is omnipotent and omnipresent, and He is in heaven, then being jealous of Oprah Winfrey presents a problem. The issue is that she said "jealous of me." The reality is that as you look through the Scriptures and consider the concept of God being a jealous God, the idea is that God is not jealous of us; He is jealous for us. What is meant by that is that we were created...

To love, honor, worship, and serve God as Creator is essential. He deserves all of our affection and all of our devotion. Furthermore, our greatest good is found in Him. If you are to be complete, then your completeness is found in God. It is not cliché or goofy to say of God, "You complete me." When said of another human being, it may seem a bit twisted, but God is the one who completes the equation of our life.

It is not wrong for God to be jealous for us or to desire us. The chief end of humanity is to glorify God, and our greatest good is found in glorifying Him. In being jealous for us, God is desiring the best for us. Yes, God is jealous for us; He is zealous and desirous of our attention and affection because we were created for Him. Colossians chapter 1 and John chapter 1 make it very clear: all of creation was created for Christ. Therefore, if there is anything in rebellion to God, anything stubbornly turning away from Him, then it is not complete. God is jealous for those who are incomplete.

Paul explains that the false apostles in Corinth, by their actions, were inciting the jealous attention of a zealous God. This is serious. They were causing God's jealousy to be aroused. When you read through the Scriptures in the Old Testament, any time God's jealousy is aroused, it does not end well. Paul announces to his critics in Corinth that they have aroused God's jealousy. He states, "I am jealous for you, over you, with godly jealousy." The jealousy that Paul experienced was an indication that God was jealous for the people in the church at Corinth.

By turning away from the true gospel, the Corinthians also aroused the jealousy of God. Ultimately, the Corinthian church was God's church; it was not Paul's church.

It is very clear that this is the Lord's building. This is the Lord's body. This is the Lord's bride, and that's something to take seriously. Paul, in 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 6, says, "Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." It is God's church, His body, His building, His bride. Thus, any would-be suitor who shows up to distract the attention of the church to themselves is arousing the jealous anger of God—the righteous, jealous anger of God.

You see, these critics of the Apostle Paul and the church at Corinth wanted the church to be after them. They wanted disciples of themselves. They essentially wanted their name upon the work in Corinth. Ultimately, Paul would come in, plant a church, and leave after ordaining elders, leaving them to the Lord. It is the Lord's church. He would write back to them to caution them when they were moving in wrong directions and to encourage them in their growth, but ultimately, he recognized this is God's church.

These critics came in seeking to bring a group after themselves, which is not a good place to be. The second point is given to us in verse 2 as well: "For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy, for I have espoused you to one husband that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ." Why would Paul involve himself in this foolish boasting? First, because God was jealous for the Corinthians. As a result of the imposters who had entered that church, they had distracted the attention of the church at Corinth.

Secondly, Paul says God is jealous for you because he has betrothed you to one husband, that he may present you to Him on that day as a pure bride. You are the bride of Christ, Paul says to the church at Corinth and to us 2,000 years later. By the preaching of the gospel and the message that he brought, Paul not only built a church or planted a church in the city of Corinth, but he also connected those who made up that church—because a church is a group of people—to Christ. They had begun to be engaged, if you will.

To Christ, looking forward to the marriage supper of the Lamb. When you put your faith in Christ, you began an engagement period with the Lord. You are the bride of Christ, and we are looking forward to the day when we shall see Him. We are hopeful that on that day, as Ephesians chapter 5 says, we will be a bride without spot or blemish.

During that betrothal period, however long it is, Paul warns that there is a real danger that others might come in and seduce you to commit spiritual adultery, to depart from the Lord. Paul states that God is jealous over you. Why is God jealous over you? Because He connected you to Christ to be betrothed to Him, to be engaged to Him. Now, there are these seducing suitors trying to lead you away, and God is not happy about that. Paul emphasizes that he has espoused you to one husband. Who is that one husband? The Lord is. We are the bride of Christ.

As a result of these apostolic imposters, the Corinthians were in danger of spiritual adultery. Paul took this matter very seriously. In fact, he considered it his responsibility to stand in the way if anyone sought to distract the church from the sincere gospel of Christ, even if it meant that he looked the fool.

It is essential to recognize at the outset that Paul's boastful self-commendation, which we will look at in several verses later, has its solid foundation not on Paul's personal pride or because his name was being dragged through the dirt. The reason he is saying these things is that there were those who were leading the church at Corinth away from God.

Paul expresses his concern in verse 3: "But I fear lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled or seduced Eve through his subtlety, so your mind should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." This is my great concern, Paul says. It was not that the church at Corinth would be out from under his control, as he maintained no control over the church. He had ordained elders over the church and then left. He did not have day-to-day administrative control over the people there in the city of Corinth. However, when they started to stray from the truth and the gospel, he was deeply troubled.

Very serious about coming in and exhorting them, rebuking them, Paul wanted them to step back on the right path and follow after the Lord. Why? Because God is a jealous God, and you, church, have been espoused, betrothed, engaged to one husband, the Lord. You are the bride of Christ.

Paul didn't care about his control of the church. His grave concern was that the church there would be subtly seduced by the serpent, which was now working among them in the form of these false apostles, whom he jokingly calls super apostles. He feared that they, just like Eve before them, would be deceived. This takes us back to Genesis chapter three, which we looked at a few weeks ago.

It is very important to note that Eve and Adam were deceived by the serpent. They didn't knowingly enter the situation, thinking it would ultimately wound God and separate them from Him. They were deceived by the subtlety of the serpent and led away from, as Paul says, the simplicity that is in Christ.

Now, those are just six beautiful words: the simplicity that is in Christ. Quite honestly, we could spend an entire service or several weeks on those words alone. These words give us insight into what these beguilers, these deceivers at Corinth, were doing. They were leading the church at Corinth into a different kind of salvation experience with God that involved their works. It was no longer based upon the simple, single work that Christ had done; they added something to it.

1 Corinthians chapter 15, verses 1 through 4, give us an idea about what the simplicity of the gospel is. Paul says, "I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which you also received, and wherein you stand, by which also you are saved." Here is the essential gospel: "If you keep in memory that which I preached unto you, unless you have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."

This is the essential gospel: Christ died for our sins.

The purpose in the death of Christ is profound. He rose again on the third day, and as you believe in Him and trust in Him, you stand as one who is saved. Why? In 2 Corinthians 5:21, it states, "For He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might be the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus."

Ephesians chapter 2 tells us that we, who were dead in trespasses and sins, have been quickened. He has raised us up to new life. How did He do this? "For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast." We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works.

Does the Christian do good works? Yes, but as a response to the work that Christ has done for them in salvation, not to earn salvation. Any teaching that adds to Christ's finished work on the cross for salvation is a seduction away from the simplicity that is in Christ. Every false teacher adds to the simplicity that is in Christ Jesus.

Look at what Paul says in verse 4. If he who comes preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or if you receive another spirit which you have not received, or another gospel which you have not accepted, you might well bear with him.

There was a departure from God, causing godly jealousy. There was a departure from Christ, the betrothed first love. Thirdly, there was a departure from the gospel. Three steps in this seductive process are given to us in verse 4.

Number one: he preaches another Jesus. Whoever this false teacher was, or whoever these false teachers are, they preach another Jesus. There are those who come in and proclaim another Jesus. What is meant by this? It is not that they come in and proclaim themselves as Christ, although there have been some who have done that. It is so glaringly inconsistent with the gospel that it is easy to point out as heresy. It is not even that someone says that Jesus is not the Messiah, but rather that this other figure is the Messiah.

Messiah, although there have been some that have done that. Of course, that does happen, but again, it is so outside Orthodox Christianity that even a child can tell the difference.

So what does Paul mean when he says these false teachers preach another Jesus? The greater problem comes when someone comes to your house, my house, and they knock on the door. It seems that when you're communicating with them, everything they say seems to be right. It seems like what they're saying is in line with what you believe.

I don't know if you've noticed, but I have sure seen a lot, especially in the last four months, that the Mormon Church has been doing a lot of advertising on TV and on the internet. It might have something to do with the Republican nominee for president, who looks to be a Mormon. They are trying to push forward Mormonism, promoting it as a very mainline Christian denomination, just like the Baptists and just like the Presbyterians.

Yet, when they come to your door, if they come to my door and the 18-year-old elders are standing there, you start to talk with them. You say, "So you love Jesus?" They say, "Yes." You ask, "Do you believe in Jesus as Savior?" They say, "Yes." You inquire, "Do you believe Jesus died on the cross?" They respond, "Yes." You continue, "Do you believe He died to substitute for your sins on the cross?" They say, "Yes." You ask, "Do you believe that salvation comes by faith in the death of Jesus Christ?" They'll say, "Yes."

You start to think, "Wow, it sounds like you believe a lot of the same things I believe." You ask, "Do you believe that grace, God's gracious gift, is Jesus?" They say, "Yes." You follow up, "Do you believe that Jesus bore our sins?" They say, "Yes." Everything seems the same until you ask them, "Who is Jesus?"

They respond, "Well, he's the spirit brother of Lucifer. He's a created being just as we are." Wait a minute. That doesn't quite fit with what we believe.

Another group comes to your door, and they've got a magazine that they want to give to you, and it's not Time magazine. You begin to talk with them, and they seem to use the exact same Bible that you do, the New World Translation. Then you read John chapter one, where the deity of Christ is very clearly seen in every Greek manuscript. There’s just a minor change that they've made in John chapter one: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was a God." That changes a lot.

And they may seem and sound to be just like us and many other things, and they may even call themselves Christians, as the Mormon Church now does. But when you get down to the question, "Who is Jesus?" they change the simplicity of Christ.

Now, this will probably never happen again from this pulpit, but I'm going to quote from the Book of Mormon, specifically Second Nephi, chapter 25, verse 23. Now, listen to this, because it almost sounds good: "For we labor diligently to write, to persuade our children and also our brethren to believe in Christ and to be reconciled to God. For we know that it is by grace that we are saved after all that we can do." It's by grace that we're saved after all that we can do. So get to work.

Look, that's a hefty addition. Everything to that point is right on, taken right out of the King James Bible. In fact, it was written in King James English. It's just perfect. But after "all that we can do," how did these deceivers work? Well, they preached another Jesus. Secondly, they brought another spirit. Paul says you receive another spirit.

Well, the question is, where do such other Jesuses come from? The Scriptures are clear. Let me read to you what Paul says in 1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 1. You can turn there: "Now the Spirit speaks expressly that in the latter days some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils."

Now, it's amazing when you consider the origin of faiths such as Mormonism and Islam, especially in light of this verse in 1 Timothy, chapter 4, verse 1, and in the light of 2 Corinthians, chapter 11, verse 14, which we're going to see momentarily. "And no marvel; for Satan himself transformed into an angel of light."

The angel of light is an interesting concept. Just this last month was the time of Ramadan in Islam, where Muslims celebrate the coming of the Quran. Where did the Quran come from? Their own history states that Muslims believe the Quran was verbally revealed through the angel Gabriel from God to Muhammad, gradually over a period of 23 years. An angel appeared to him.

What's the origin of the Book of Mormon? Again, according to their histories, Joseph Smith Jr. claimed that when he was 17 years of age, an angel of God named Moroni appeared to him. Moroni said that a collection of ancient writings engraved on golden plates by ancient prophets was buried in a nearby hill in Wayne County, New York. So, both of these leaders of their respective religions received their revelations from an angel.

In Second Corinthians 11:14, it is written, "And do not marvel, for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light." If you accept one of these teachings, a different Jesus, it is a totally different spirit. It is not from God's Holy Spirit in any way.

Paul further explains that when you accept another gospel, you are being deceived. How do these deceivers bring in their seditious heresies? First, they preach another Jesus. Second, they bring another spirit. Third, you are accepting a different gospel. False teachers introduce doctrines of demons, seductive heresies, and other teachings. When you accept them, you are accepting a different gospel, not the simplicity that is in Christ. It might sound like good news, but it is not the gospel.

The church at Galatia was confronted with this issue in Galatians chapter one. Just a few pages from Second Corinthians, in Galatians 1:6, Paul says, "I marvel that you are so soon removed from him that called you into this grace, the grace of Christ, unto another gospel, which is not another gospel, but there be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ." Paul expresses his concern that they would so quickly be led away to another gospel. He continues in Galatians 1:8, "But though we, or an angel from heaven..."

Preach any other gospel unto you than that which was preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so now I say again, if any man preach another gospel unto you than that which you have received, let him be accursed.

Paul says this divisive heresy comes in by those who are preaching another Jesus, who are preaching by another spirit, and who are bringing another gospel. Why was Paul concerned? He was concerned because he says you might very well bear with them. The Corinthians had a track record of bearing with all kinds of sinful, out-of-order things in their church. I mean, read the book of First Corinthians. Almost the entire book is a rebuke against the errors that they allowed to remain in their church.

At one point, they counted themselves to be a very loving and tolerant church because they had a man in their church who was having an adulterous affair with his mother-in-law or with his stepmom. The church at Corinth said, "Aren't we such a loving bunch because we keep him here?" Paul responded, "No, a little bit of leaven will leaven the whole lump. Deliver such a one unto Satan for the destruction of his flesh, that his soul might be saved in the day of Christ."

You might say, "But Paul, that sounds so narrow." In verse 5 of 2 Corinthians chapter 11, Paul states, "I suppose I was not a wit behind the very chiefest apostles, but though I be rude in speech, yet not in knowledge; but we have been thoroughly made manifest among you in all things."

This is Paul's final four. The Corinthians were departing from God. They were departing from their first love, Jesus. They were departing from the gospel. Fourthly, they were departing from the apostle Paul. This, of course, was the way in which these false apostles found an audience with the Corinthian church in the first place. They had to soil and tarnish the perception of the apostle Paul among the Corinthian church for them to be able to bring in another gospel, to seduce the people away from their first love, and to draw them away from their faith.

The relationship with God was at stake. The false teachers first had to tarnish the view of the Apostle Paul in the minds of the people in the city of Corinth so that they would reject him and his message. They accomplished this in a few different ways, one of which was by spoiling Paul's reputation before the church at Corinth. In this passage, they claimed he was rude in speech. Literally, the Greek term used is "idiotes," which translates to "he's an idiot." This indicates that he was untrained in Greek rhetoric, a skill highly valued by the Greeks. They honored those who could speak well, and if you could do so, you had a prominent place in Greek politics.

In contrast, Paul did not measure up to the polished abilities of the false teachers who came in. They asserted, "He's rude in speech." However, Paul countered that he was not an idiot when it came to knowledge. He was not a fool regarding what he knew. In chapter 12, he will discuss the revelation he received from God, which we hope to explore next week. I told Richard on Friday that I planned to get through the entire 11th chapter, and he didn't laugh, which was surprising.

The critics in Corinth brought their seditious lies against the Apostle Paul, which led to a departure from him and from his authority as an apostle. In these chapters, Paul seeks to reaffirm his position before them. He contrasts himself with these so-called super apostles, urging them to look closely and consider the differences. By rejecting the teaching of the Apostle Paul, they began to turn toward another gospel, which ultimately bound them up in confusion and error.

All kinds of legalistic things have always been the ploy of the enemy to get man to try and work his way to salvation. That's exactly what happened in Corinth and what happened in Galatia before this. The enemy is always trying to come in with a seditious lie that says, "It's great what Jesus did on Golgotha. You can believe that. That's good. Jesus is a nice guy. You can even call him Messiah if you want to, but if you really want to be saved, you need to be baptized in this church, or you need to give to this church, or you need to worship on the Sabbath, or you need to not eat meats," or whatever it may be. There's always a long list of things that you can add to the simplicity that is in Christ. Even if some angel shows up and says, "Hey, this is the way to do it," and if it's counter to the simple work that Christ did on Calvary's cross 2,000 years ago, then let that angel be accursed.

These critics divided the Corinthians from Paul. They spoke about his rudeness of speech in verses seven through twelve of chapter eleven. They spoke ill of Paul's unwillingness to receive payment as an itinerant teacher. Now, this may seem weird, but look at it with me. In verse seven, Paul asks, "Have I committed an offense in abasing myself that you might be exalted because I have preached unto you the gospel freely?" He continues, "Listen, I robbed other churches, taking wages of them to do you service." While Paul was in the city of Corinth, he was receiving offerings given to him for the work of the ministry from the churches of Macedonia, Thessalonica, and Philippi. He says, "So I took from other churches so that I could serve among you. And when I was present with you and wanted, when I was in need, I was chargeable to none of you, for that which was lacking to me, the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied. In all things, I have kept myself from being a burden to you. And so I will keep myself, as the truth of Christ is in me. No man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia, in the area where Corinth was."

Paul continues, "Wherefore, because I don't love you? God knows." But what I do, I will do that I may cut off the occasion from them which desire an occasion, that wherein they glory, they may be found even as we are. So what is Paul saying? It was the culture of Greece that they would support financially their itinerant teachers.

When Paul came to Corinth, he would not receive any financial support because he wanted to ensure that the people understood that what he was giving them in the gospel was not something they purchased from him. Their salvation was not connected to the money they gave. This principle is very important, especially when we look through Roman Catholic history just before the Reformation. At that time, a similar situation was occurring in Roman Catholicism, where it was believed that for every little piece of money that clinked into the coffer, another soul from purgatory would spring free. Many people were giving large sums of money in an attempt to get their loved ones out of purgatory. In return, they would receive an indulgence from the Pope, who would say that a certain amount of time had been taken off their loved ones' purgatory sentences.

Paul wanted to make sure that when he came to Corinth, as well as when he visited Philippi, Thessalonica, and other cities, he worked for himself to take care of his own needs. He did this so that the people would not perceive that they were buying salvation. This same principle applies to how we support our missionaries when they go out into the field to plant churches and bring the Word of God to people in other lands.

However, false apostles came into Corinth and claimed that Paul was not a true teacher and could not be trusted because he did not take money from them. This became a significant issue for the Corinthians. Paul addressed this in 2 Corinthians 12:13, asking, "For what is it wherein you are inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not a burden to you? Forgive me this wrong." They viewed it as a fault that he would not take money from them, while the false teachers were more than willing to accept their money.

Additionally, these false teachers spoke negatively about Paul's authenticity and heritage. In 2 Corinthians 11:22, Paul responds to their claims by asking, "Are they Hebrews? So am I." They were essentially saying that Paul, being from Tarsus, a Greek city, was not like them, who were from Palestine and spoke the true Hebrew, specifically Aramaic Hebrew. Paul counters their argument by asserting his own identity, stating, "Are they Israelites? So am I."

So am I. They questioned his heritage, asking if he was of the seed of Abraham. They had an issue with his rude speech and a problem that he didn't take money from them. They also took issue with the fact that he wasn't as Hebrew as these apparent super Hebrews who came into town.

Lastly, in verse 23, they questioned Paul's credentials as a minister and were critical of his ministry experience. Look at what Paul says, and we'll end with this. He asks, "Are they ministers of Christ?" (I'm speaking like a fool here.) "I am more so." Paul was so reluctant to say this, but to expose the error of these false teachers, he stated that they were putting themselves forward as ministers of Christ, while he was far more so.

So, what credentials would he give for his "far more so"? Did he plant churches? Yes, he planted churches in Galatia, in the cities of Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe. Where else? He planted churches in Ephesus and all the seven churches of Asia Minor. He also planted churches in Macedonia among the Thessalonians, the Philippians, and the Bereans. Additionally, he planted a church in the hardest city in the known world at that time, Corinth.

However, he doesn't list any of those accomplishments. Instead, look at what he says: "In labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in death often." Of the Jews, he received five times forty stripes, minus one. Three times he was beaten with rods, once he was stoned with rocks, and three times he suffered shipwreck. He spent a night and a day in the deep.

He faced journeyings often, perils of waters, perils of robbers, perils from his own countrymen, perils by the sword, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, and perils among false brethren. He experienced weariness, painfulness, watchings often, hunger, thirst, fastings often, cold, and nakedness. Besides those things that are without, which come upon him daily, he had the care of the church.

Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not? He doesn't give a long list of all the amazing things he had done; instead, he provides a long list of how he suffered for the name of Christ. Why? Because anyone who desires to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.

Jesus said, "If they persecuted me, know they will persecute you." One of the signs of his apostleship was all that he went through to bring the gospel to the Corinthians. This is interesting because it reveals to us that we hardly know the apostle Paul.

What he talks about happening to him in this passage, which was written in the mid-50s AD, right around Acts chapter 20, is significant. The only thing that the book of Acts, the history of the early church, reveals to us is that Paul was stoned with rocks outside the city of Lystra and that he took a beating in Philippi. We don't read anything about him being shipwrecked three times. We don't read anything about him spending a night in the deep waters. We also don't read anything about the five times that he was beaten by the Jews, receiving 40 lashes minus one. This means he was whipped 195 times because of synagogue leaders who did not appreciate what he had to say.

The book of Deuteronomy, chapter 25, gives the instructions on how a synagogue leader is to deal with someone they consider a heretic. Paul was whipped five times and beaten with rods by the Romans three times. We know nothing of these experiences from the book of Acts, other than that he was stoned outside the city of Lystra and beaten in Philippi. He states, "Here are my credentials. I have lived and died for the cause of Christ. If I must indeed glory, I will glory in the things which concern my infirmities, my weaknesses."

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed forever, knows that I do not lie. Then he gives us a glimpse into something that was apparently humbling to the apostle Paul. In Damascus, the governor under Aretas the king kept the city of Damascus with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me. Through a window and in a basket, I was let down by the wall and escaped his hands.

This was the life of the apostle Paul, not the luxury of those who came in and critiqued what he had to say. As we will see when we pick it up in chapter 12 next week, they were also critical of Paul's level of revelation, the revelation that he received from God. Not wanting to come at it with boastfulness, he speaks in the third person and says, "I knew a man 14 years ago, whether in the body or out of the body."

I do not know. He was caught up into the third heaven. What we see in this passage, which is an interesting concept, is the idea of boasting for God. Paul was boasting for God because there were critics who were coming in to devastate the cause of Christ. Know for certain that twenty centuries later, there are far more coming in today than there were then, seeking to lead us away from the simplicity that is in Christ. Therefore, we must be on our guard, because it's so easy to be seduced. It is so easy to be led astray into these things that make us feel superior to other people because we have something greater than they have in Christ.

Listen, if you have Christ, you have all you need. If anyone ever comes and says, "You don't quite understand. You really need to worship on the Sabbath," anathema. If they say, "You won't be right unless you're baptized in this church," let him be accursed. If they claim, "You won't be saved unless you do this or say that," get thee behind me, Satan. You are not mindful of the things of God. Jesus paid it all. All to Him we owe.

Let's stand together and pray. Father, we thank You for the simplicity of Your word. We thank You for the simplicity that we have in Christ, that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. All the old things have passed away; behold, everything has become new. Let us today, as we walk from here, walk in that newness of life, declaring Your praises wherever we may go. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you.