Pastors Jim and Marie Watt
(From: 2 CORINTHIANS #10 - 11:1-15)
N. 11:1-15 PAUL'S METHOD OF PROTECTING HIS CONVERTS
1. 11:1-6 PAUL'S GOAL: PRESENT CORINTHIANS IN PURITY TO CHRIST
a. 11:1 Would thatyou could bear with me in a little foolishness: but you indeed bear with me.
Ophe-lon [3785] aNEIchesTHE [430] mou miKRON ti a-phroSUnes [877]: alLA kai aNEchesTHE mou.
b. 11:2 PAUL'S GOAL: TO PRESENT A PURE CHURCH TO CHRIST
zeLO[2206]gar huMAS TheOU ZElo; her-moSAmen[718]gar huMAS heNI anDRI,
For I am zealous over you with a zeal of God; for I espoused you to one husband,
parTHEnon [3933]hagNEN pa-raSTEsai [3936]toChrisTO.
that I might present youa pure virgin to the Christ.
c. 11:3 SATAN'S GOAL: TO CORRUPT THE CHURCH AS HE DID EVE
phoBOUmai de, mepos, hos ho Ophis [3789]e-xePAte-sen [1816]HEUan en tepa-nourGIa [3834]auTOU,
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent beguiled Eve in his :craftiness,
phthaRE[5351]ta noEma-ta [3540]huMON aPO tes haPLOte-tos [572]
your :thoughts should be corrupted from the simplicity
kai tes hagNOte-tos [53]tes eis ton ChrisTON.
and the purity that is toward the Christ.
d. 11:4 DANGER: TO ACCEPT ANOTHER GOSPEL THAN PAUL'S
ei men gar ho erCHOme-nos ALlon IeSOUN keRUSsei [2784],
For if he who comes preaches another Jesus,
hon ouk e-keRUxa-men, ePNEUma HEte-ron lamBAne-te,
whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit,
ho ouk eLAbe-te, eeu-agGEli-on [2098]HEte-ron, ho ouk eDExas-the [1209], kaLOS aNEches-the [430].
which you did not receive, or a different gospel, which you did not accept, you bear well with him.
e. 11:5 For I reckon that I am behind the chief apostles in nothing.
loGIzo-mai [3049]gar meDEN hus-te-reKEnai [5302]ton hu-perLIan a-poSTOlon.
f. 11:6 PAUL'S MANIFESTATION: KNOWLEDGEABLE IN ALL THINGS
ei de kai i-diOtes [2399]toLOgo, all' ou teGNOsei [1108];
But though rude in :speech, yet am I not in :knowledge;
all', en panTI pha-neROsan-tes [5319]en PAsin eis huMAS.
no, in every wayhave we made thismanifest unto you in all things.
2. 11:7-11 CONVERTS: PURPOSE FOR MAKING NO CHARGE FOR GOSPEL
a. 11:7 PAUL'S SERVICE TO CORINTH: WITHOUT CHARGE
Eha-marTIan ePOIe-sa e-mauTON ta-peiNON [5013]HIna huMEIS hu-psoTHEte [5312],
Or did I commit a sin in abasing myself that you be exalted,
HOti do-reAN [1432]to tou TheOU eu-agGEli-on eu-eg-ge-liSAmen [2097]huMIN?
because I preached to you the gospel of :God for nothing?
b. 11:8-9 THE MINISTRY TO CORINTH: UNDERWRITTEN BY OTHER CHURCHES
ALlas ek-kleSIas eSUle-sa [4813], laBON oPSOni-on [3800]pros ten huMON di-a-koNIan [1248];
I robbed other churches, taking wage of themfor ministering to you;
kai paRON pros huMAS hus-te-reTHEIS [5302], ou ka-teNARke-sa [2655]ou-theNOS;
9and when present with you and in want, I was a burden to none;
to gar husTEreMA [5303]mou pro-sa-nePLEro-san [4322]hoi a-delPHOI,
for the brethren, when they came from Macedonia,
elTHONtes aPO Ma-ke-doNIas; kai en panTI a-baRE [4] e-mauTON huMIN eTEre-sa [5083], kai teREso.
fully supplied my :want; and in everything I kept myself without burden to you, and will keep.
c. 11:10 PAUL AND GLORYING
EStin aLEthei-a [225] ChrisTOU en eMOI, HOti he KAUche-sis [2746] HAUte
Christ's truth is in me, that this :glorying
ou phraGEse-tai [4972] eis eME en tois KLIma-si [2824] tes A-CHAIas.
in the regions of :Achaia shall not be closed against me.
e. 11:11a Wherefore? because I love you not? diA ti? HOti ouk a-gaPO HUmas?
f. 11:11b God knows. ho TheOS OIden.
3. 11:12-15 PAUL'S FREE GOSPEL UNMASKS FALSE APOSTLES
a. 11:12 PAUL'S STRATEGY
Ho de poiO, kai poiEso, HIna ekKOpso [1581] ten a-phorMEN [874] ton theLONton a-phorMEN
But what I do, I also will do, that I may cut off the occasion of them that desire occasion
HIna en ho kauCHONtai [2744], heu-reTHOsin [2147] kaTHOS kai heMEIS.
that wherein they glory, they be found even as we.
b. 11:13 PAUL'S EVALUATION
hoi gar toiOUtoi pseu-daPOsto-loi [5570], erGAtai [2040] DOli-oi [1386],
For :such are false apostles, deceitful workers,
me-ta-sche-ma-tiZOme-noi [3345] eis a-poSTOlous ChrisTOU.
fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ.
c. 11:14 And no marvel; for the very Satan fashions himself into an angel of light.
kai ou THAUma [2298]; auTOS gar ho Sa-taNAS me-ta-sche-maTIze-tai [3345] eis AGge-lon [32] phoTOS.
d. 11:15 PAUL'S CONCLUSION
ou MEga oun ei kai hoi diAko-noi auTOU me-ta-sche-maTIzon-tai [3345] hos diAko-nos di-kai-oSUnes;
No great thing therefore if his :ministers alsofashion themselves as ministers of righteousness;
hon to TElos[5056] EStai kaTA ta ERga [2041] auTON.
whose :end shall be according to their :works.
ARGUMENTS OR OBEDIENCE?
(From “My Utmost for His Highest” - by Oswald Chambers)
2 Corinthians 11:3 (1-15) “ ... the simplicity that is in Christ”
Simplicity (purity) is the secret of seeing things clearly. A saint does not think clearly until a long time passes, but a saint ought to see clearly without any difficulty. You cannot think through spiritual confusion to make things clear; to make things clear, you must obey. In intellectual matters you will only think yourself into further wandering thoughts and more confusion. If there is something in your life upon which God has put His pressure then obey Him in that matter. Bring all your “arguments and ... every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” regarding the matter, and everything will become as clear as daylight to you (2 Corinthians 10:5). Your reasoning capacity will come later, but reasoning is not how we see. We see like children, and when we try to be wise we see nothing (see Matthew 11:25).
Even the very smallest thing that we allow in our lives that is not under the control of the Holy Spirit is completely sufficient to account for spiritual confusion, and spending all of our time thinking about it will still never make it clear. Spiritual confusion can only be conquered through obedience. As soon as we obey, we have discernment. This is humiliating, because when we are confused we know that the reason lies in the state of our mind. But when our natural power of sight is devoted and submitted in obedience to the Holy Spirit, it becomes the very power by which we perceive God's will, and our entire life is kept in simplicity.
NOTE: I discovered OC's word on 2 Corinthians 11:3, and thought it most appropriate for this passage. Trust it will be as much a challenge and blessing to you as it was to me. J.A.W