2 Corinthians 11:1-6 (HCSB)
I wish you would put up with a little foolishness from me. Yes, do put up with me. For I am jealous over you with a godly jealousy, because I have promised you in marriage to one husband—to present a pure virgin to Christ. But I fear that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a complete and pure devotion to Christ. For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you had not received, or a different gospel, which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly!
Now I consider myself in no way inferior to the “super-apostles.” Though untrained in public speaking, I am certainly not untrained in knowledge. Indeed, we have always made that clear to you in everything.
The Corinthians were listening to false teachers, those “super apostles” who came through the area looking to enhance their own credentials by building something of their own on the solid foundation that Paul had spent years laying down. The problem was, they couldn’t make a name for themselves by merely building up what Paul had already taught, merely reinforcing the teachings they already knew so well through Paul’s patient discipleship.
So, in order to accomplish their goals, those teachers had to come up with new stuff, things that they could advertise as more complete, more accurate information about God, about salvation, and about Jesus. But in the process, by adding to the truth which Paul had received directly from the Lord (Galatians 1:11-12), by “tweaking” the clear teachings that Paul had given, they actually ended up not enhancing but distorting the true gospel. In fact, they ended up preaching a different Jesus entirely!
This distressed Paul greatly, because he knew that a different gospel, a different Jesus, no matter how well- presented, no matter how fervently believed, cannot save. And those “super apostles” were even presenting their version of the gospel, their “Jesus”, as intellectually superior, more sophisticated than the simple gospel shared by Paul, and in that way we’re leading astray many that had been brought into the fold by Paul.
This rankled Paul even more than the accusations that were being made against his work and his character by these false teachers. Paul’s intent was to help every one of these men and women of Corinth to end up in heaven. But now these teachers and preachers were leading them astray, turning them away from the one husband to whom they had been promised, and encouraging them to commit spiritual adultery with the pseudo-Jesus they presented.
Father, these days many people are cynical about pastors and evangelists, believing that they do what they do merely to line their own pockets and enhance their reputations. And there are doubtless some out there who are doing that. But the vast majority of those you have called to Churches all across this nation and around the world are more like Paul—serving out of love for the people and a powerful desire to see them saved and safely on their way to heaven. And it tears these men and women of God apart to see their people’s hearts turned away from the truth by those on television or on the Internet who have a flashier, more emotional presentation, a smoother delivery, or who present their version of the gospel as more intellectual, or simply more fulfilling, but who are teaching a different gospel, a different Jesus than what is found in the plain words of the Bible. Lord, help all of us who love You and Your word to stand strong in Your truth, to teach it in Your power and might, and to keep loving and teaching those You have placed under our care all the way to the gates of heaven. Amen.