Paul’s inspired writings in 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 are somewhat scary on the surface. If Satan and his servants can disguise themselves as apostles of Christ and angels of light, how can we ever know when we have encountered one of them? If their disguise is so good, does it not stand to reason that we are surely going to be led astray? As we look into the subject and the particulars a little further, the situation is not so hopeless, and we are not so helpless as it might appear. Verse 15 records, “whose end shall be according to their deeds.” That sounds very much like Jesus’ words in Matthew 7:21-23 to some people of great reputation for they at least claimed to have cast out demons, prophesied in Jesus’ name and performed many miracles in Jesus’ name. Jesus said they had practiced lawlessness and were shown the way of departure from His presence. This “snapshot” is in context of Matthew 7:15-20 where Jesus warned of false prophets and how their disguises of sheep’s clothing could be unveiled by noticing their works.
We see a very similar scenario in Paul’s second letter to Corinth as he spoke about the brethren being deceived like Eve had been (11:3) and this by “most eminent apostles” of some degree of reputation (11:5 – in the Greek, it is literally “super apostles”). Paul continued in v. 12-15 to refer to them as “false apostles,” “deceitful workers” and “transforming themselves into apostles of righteousness” (NKJV). Second Corinthians l1:20 reveals that they wanted to “bring into bondage,” “devour” and “takes advantage of you.”
Paul dealt with such deceivers in greater detail in his letter to the Galatians. There he called for these “false brethren” (2:2-5) to be accursed (1:6-9) for their actions that led to “hypocrisy” (2:1l-14). Peter and Barnabas were exempt from this because they repented once confronted. Paul characterized false brethren as leaders of a “different gospel” (1:6) “as ones who have bewitched” (3:1) and “troubled” (5:10) the Christians in Galatia.
Since their confidence was in the flesh, Paul went on to liken them to those “born according to the flesh” who persecuted him “born of the Spirit” (4:29-31). The solution was to “cast out the bondwoman and her son.”
If we run into Satan’s servants who are disguising themselves as servants of righteousness, we will see fruits, deeds and evidence. They will seek every opportunity to build their reputations often by quoting Bible passages as instructive in ways that are not obviously apparent to any other reader. Among these servants of Satan there will be an emphasis on physical things rather than on spiritual matters. (Battles will be common over how buildings are used, and the thought of worship ever happening out of the building will be frowned upon.) They will seek to use the Old Testament as a pattern for Christian worship instead of recognizing it as a tutor. Paul said the Old Law of Moses did its job of bringing us to Christ, and we are no longer under it (Galatians3:24-25). They will seek positions of authority more than positions of service, and they will demean those who are doing Christ’s work. They will seek every opportunity to speak evil of others, especially those with whom they have had no conversation and who are not present to give other insights. Paul experienced this.
May we stay true to the Gospel, on guard against all false teachers and their teachings, and active in proclaiming the true Gospel. Let us hold firmly to our first love.
