The Negotiators – 2 Corinthians 11:1-15

The tone of the letter has shifted significantly from previous section. He starts with a brief attempt to be placating, before shifting into a fairly strong defense of himself and his ministry and attack on those leading the Corinthians away.

The bride deceived:
Paul compares himself to the father of a bride, betrothed to Christ, who he himself had introduced to his daughter, the Corinthians. He had responsibilities to ensure that they upheld their own responsibilities. Betrothal was a stronger bond than engagement today, and any philandering would have been considered adultery.

The comparison then moves on to Eve and being deceived by the serpent

The great guys:
The Corinthians, set up by their Greco-Roman culture, long for a traditional patron-client relationship. Paul refuses to play into that and insists the Christianity not become a political system. Then, these “super apostles” come on the scene, ready to tell people what they want to hear, be who they want them to be, and preach about a Jesus who sounds like who our humanity wants Him to be. They were showmen preaching a different gospel.

Self-support:
It appears that these showmen didn’t like that Paul worked as a tentmaker and supported himself during his ministry to the Corinthians. Paul didn’t treat all churches the same way. The church in Philipi supported him financially, while he was preaching in Corinth. More than that, the Macedonian churches like Philipi were poor, and yet funded ministry in the rich city of Corinth. Paul knew that the motivations of the Philippians were both joyful and holy, as opposed to the more worldly, grasping motives of the Corinthians.

Focus shift & false apostles:
Paul turns the tables on his opponents in Corinth, calling them out for their greed and deceit. He had alluded to Satan in the Eve comparison earlier, but now he is overt about it. There is no walking back this set of attacks.

The Corinthians knew the truth of the gospel Paul had preached, but allowed themselves to be swayed by the flowery words and negotiation skills of the “super apostles.”

Like those Corinthians, there are many things pulling us away from the gospel. The truth of Christ puts a mirror up to our sin, and it can seem easier to adjust the mirror than to change our behavior. This is all the more true when there are “deceitful workers” in our midst.

To avoid these issues, we must know God and His word well enough to be able to distinguish the true gospel film the false, and God’s servants from Satan’s.

We must be shrewd as serpents and harmless as doves. Paul demonstrates this, shrewdly avoiding taking any money for himself from the Corinthians, cutting the feet out from under the false apostles there.

We must be careful about who we take advice and counsel from. This is even more true in this digital age with so many different influences from so many different sources, most of them opposed to the gospel.

How do you make time to have the kind of solid relationship with Christ that will defend you from the harmful influences around us?

– Sermon Notes, Aaron James, Seed Church, Lynnwood, WA, June 3, 2018