Paul rebuts false teachers: (Chap.11)
In this chapter Paul seems to have resolved in speaking sternly against his critics. He was perhaps in dilemma that if he speaks about himself (in fact he deserves), the critics would say that Paul was boasting about himself. If he does not, the Judaizers will discredit Paul’s work and lead the Church into astray.
Paul’s jealousy for the church: (11:1-6):
Paul asked the church to bear with his folly although it seems foolish to some Corinthians. But he thought that he had to do it in order to silence his critics. He did it reluctantly knowing that his time and effort could be spent on far better things elsewhere. Yet he gave his very short biography of how he laboured for the Church. The Corinthian church is founded by Paul and he had treated the members as his children. Paul had the right to be jealous over the church. There is a difference between jealousy and envy. Envy is of the flesh and is selfish, whereas jealousy is based on love and seeks the welfare of others. In fact Paul was filled zealous just as God had zealous over his children Israel. It is right for a husband to be jealous over his wife or for a pastor to be jealous over his church. Just as Satan deceived Eve’s mind in (Gen.3), so false teachers deceive the minds of believers and lead them away from the truth. The only defence against spiritual adultery is faithfulness to the Word of God. How jealous we should be over the church for which Christ died!
Paul compares the local church to a bride, just as in (Eph.5:22-33) he compared the universal church to Christ’s bride. Just as Israel in the OT is compared to the wife of Jehovah (because God had made a covenant with Israel on Sinai), so the church is called the bride of Christ. Paul’s desire was to keep the church pure, free from false doctrine and worldly living. In the OT, going after false gods is compared to adultery and in the NT, worldliness is called adultery (Ja.4:1-4). “God is not jealous of us: He is jealous for us.” (Redpath). Sharing God’s jealousy for His people is a virtue.
The Corinthian believers were very mild and were easily carried away. We should not believe someone simply because of their authoritative talk or pleasing talk. Satan through the false teachers has a brought a counterfeit-gospel (Gal. 1:6-12) that involves a different saviour and a different spirit. Unfortunately, the Corinthians seems to have succumbed to this new gospel, which was a mixture of Law and grace and not a true gospel at all. There is only one Gospel and , therefore, there can be only one Saviour (1 Cor.15:1 ff). When we trust the Saviour, we receive the Holy Spirit of God within, and there is only one Holy Spirit. The false teachers claimed to have divine authority as God’s servants, but their authority was false. They were trying to deceive Corinthians with their clever talks and mesmerized the ignorant believers, while at the same time they pointed out that Paul was not a very gifted speaker (11:6). How tragic it is when unstable believers are swayed away by the fair speech of Satan’s ministers, instead of standing firm on the basic truths of the Gospel taught to them by faithful pastors and teachers.
But Paul warns the Corinthians sternly saying that he is not least inferior to those super apostles which the false teachers were claiming. Their motive is not to glorify God, but to get personal gain by capturing converts. Their methods are deceitful. Instead of being empowered by the Spirit, these ministers are energized by Satan. They disguise as masquerades. There is a change on the outside, but there is no change on the inside. They always wear a disguise and hide behind a mask. (11:13). Here we must learn from the Berean believers. “Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11).
Paul’s service to the Corinthian church: (11:7-12):
Paul had laboured with his own hands as a tentmaker (Acts 18:1-3) and even received gifts from other churches so that he might evangelize Corinth.
- Paul robbed other churches receiving their support in order to evangelize Corinth: (11:7-8): As a loving parent provides for the needs of the family, and Paul sacrificed that he might minister to the church at Corinth. Judaizers took even this point to accuse Paul. Paul had the right to ask for financial support, just faithful servants do today. But he had deliberately given up that right so that nobody could accuse him of using the Gospel simply as a means of making money. He gave up this right for the Gospel’s sake and for the sake of lost sinners.
- Paul made his own living but not through Corinthians: (11:9-12): Paul had received no help from the entire Achaia. Only the Macedonian churches had supplied what Paul wanted. Paul was more interested in the integrity of his message than his needs. I think the main reason for Paul not becoming a burden to Corinth is that he wanted to emulate Christ who became poor even as He enriched others. Another reason is that he wanted to avoid false apostles from claiming the equality with Paul in apostolic ministry. He wanted to prove them that they are wrong. However it was received properly by some of the Corinthians. They may have thought that Paul’s hesitation to accept remuneration from them showed that he did not love them which was quite contrary to what Paul was expressing. In fact Judaizers were guilty of peddling the Gospel. But here Paul gives the Gospel and serves them freely. A loving father does not lay the burden on his children. Instead of appreciating the sacrificial work of Paul, some of the Corinthians joined with false apostles to criticize Paul. Yet Paul says that he would continue to serve them without putting any burden upon so that he would expose fully the false apostle’s intent and selfishness.