Scripture Reading : 2 Corinthians 11
Theme : Confronting the False Apostles
After his defense, Paul now turned to address the false apostles.
- Indictment of God’s soldier (11:1-6). Before confronting the false apostles, Paul revealed that his motive for doing so was to call the Corinthians back to loyalty. Here, he issued a series of indictment on the Corinthians’ disloyalty, each one introduced by the Greek conjunction gar (“for”), namely disloyalty to Christ and disloyalty to the truth.
- Confrontation of God’s soldier (11:7-15). As Paul confronted with the false apostles, the specific issue on hand is money, which is always a prime motivation for false teachers (Rom 16:18, 1 Tim 6:5, Tit 1:11, 2 Peter 2:3, Jude 11). Unlike Paul who lovingly and humbly proclaimed the truth without charge, the greedy false teachers deceptively abused the Corinthians and took money from them. Here, Paul listed three marks of a true apostle (humility, truth and love) and three corresponding marks of a false apostle (pride, deception and abuse), which may still be used to distinguish true men of God from false teachers today.
- Boasting of God’s soldier (11:16-33). Because the Corinthians had naively accepted the false apostles’ lies, Paul was forced to boast of his apostolic credentials in order to counter their false claims, though he did so with great reluctance. In this section, Paul presented his apostolic credentials that set him apart from the false apostles: his experience of suffering (v23-27), his deep concern for the church well-being (v28-29) and his embarrassing weakness (v30-33, cf. Acts 9:25).
Praying the Scripture
- God’s jealousy for His holy name and for His people is a major Old Testament theme (Ex. 20:5; Ex. 34:14; Deut. 4:24). Likewise, Paul also displayed godly jealousy which manifested itself in extreme concern and righteous indignation at the possibility of the Corinthians’ defection. Let’s pray that we will also be concerned for our brothers’ and sisters’ spiritual welfare with a godly jealousy.
- To those who lack strong convictions, Paul’s denouncement of the false teachers may be seen as a shocking lack of tolerance. Yet to discern true teachers from false spiritual leaders is vital to the health of the church in order to protect God’s flock. Let’s pray that we will be discerning and firm in standing for the truth, and not to sacrifice truth for the so-called “unity” which is prevalent in many evangelical circles today.
- The first credential listed by Paul was suffering, because that is what Jesus said would characterize His apostles (Matt. 10:16-25). On the other hand, false teachers frequently seek a life of ease and comfort. Let’s pray that we, as children of God and fellow heirs with Christ, will not be afraid of suffering in order that we may also be glorified with Christ (Rom. 8:17).
经文：哥林多后书11
主题：与假使徒对峙
为自己辩护后，保罗把焦点转向假教师。
- 神精兵的控诉（11-6）。在与假使徒对质之前，保罗透露他这么作的动机是要召哥林多人归回对基督的忠诚。这里，他列出了一连串哥林多人不忠的控诉，每一个都与希腊连词gar（“因为”）起头，即对基督与真理的不忠。
- 神精兵的对质（11:7-15）。当保罗与假使徒对质时，所涉及的具体事项是钱，因为这一直都是假教师动机（罗16:18；提前6:5；多1:11‘彼后2:3；犹11）。保罗是在爱心中谦卑，免费地传扬真理，贪婪的假教师则欺哄哥林多人，夺走他们的钱财。保罗也列出了真实使徒的三个标志：谦卑、真理、爱心；同时也列出假使徒的三个标志：骄傲、欺诈、弊端。这些标志也能用于今日，区别真正属神的信徒及假教师。
- 神精兵的夸耀（11:16-33）。由于哥林多人已幼稚地听信假使徒的谎言，所以虽然极度不愿，保罗仍被逼夸耀他作使徒的凭据，好对他们的诬告作出反击。保罗在这段经文列出了自己作使徒的凭据，从而与假使徒分别出来：他遇难的经历（23-27节），他对教会健全的深切关注（28-29节）并他难以启齿的软弱（30-33节；参：徒9:25）。
用经文祷告
- 神对自己的圣名及子民的爱护是旧约的一大主题（出20:5,34:14；申4:24）。同样的，保罗也展现了敬虔的忌邪之心，由此特别关注及为哥林多人的悖逆感到极其愤怒。让我们祷告我们也会以一个敬虔的忌邪之心关注弟兄姐妹们的属灵健康。
- 对于缺乏坚固的信念者而言，保罗对假教师的谴责看似他缺乏度量。可是，辨别真假教师对教会健康至关重要，以便保护神的羊群。让我们祷告我们能分辨真理，并在真理中站立得住，而不为所谓的“合一”牺牲真理，就如今日在福音派圈子里可见的普遍现象。
- 保罗所列出的第一个凭据是受苦，因为主耶稣曾说这就是祂的使徒必有的特征（太10:16-25）。相反的，假教师时常寻求生命舒适安逸。让我们祷告身为神的儿女，并和基督同做后嗣的我们不会害怕受苦，叫我们得以与基督同受荣耀（罗8:17）。
