For such [are] false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ.
Paul's rivals in Corinth were passing themselves off as apostles of Christ, and here he names them plainly. His three words — false, deceitful, disguised — raise the question every reader faces: how do you tell a real servant of Christ from a good copy?
Each word lands on a different part of the problem — their sending, their work, and their disguise:
F. B. HoleThey were false apostles, because they had never been sent by the Lord as the true apostles were. They were workers, true enough. But they were deceitful workers, since they turned themselves into what they were not. In this they shared the character of the one they served, and their end will match their deceitful works.
Up to this point Paul has been half-mocking, granting his rivals more than they deserve. Verse 13 changes the tone, and one writer explains why the words are so strong:
A. PridhamHis ironical concessions are now replaced by direct and unsparing denunciation. These grand and all too convincing pretenders are no true shepherds. They are wolves in sheep's clothing. The strength of his language matches the seriousness of the evil he is opposing. Unreal claims are lies by their very nature; and no lie is of the truth — they all have the same parent, the devil. In every attack on the truth there is a power at work below the surface, and it is the office of the Spirit of truth to uncover it and strip off its mask. That Spirit glorifies Jesus.
These men looked impressive. Their claims ran high, and one thing was missing:
Leslie M. GrantComplete wickedness can wear a religious dress. That is no wonder, since Satan himself takes the form of an angel of light, and his servants appear as ministers of righteousness. Notice the claims here: superior light and assumed righteousness. They are high, showy claims, but they leave out the cross of Christ, and so the pure grace of God. The whole thing becomes a hollow and deadly sham.
Paul had already told the Corinthians what these men preached. He could also see where it would end:
Hamilton SmithWith Satan's own cunning, these men twisted the truth. They preached "another Jesus," "a different spirit," and "a different gospel" (v. 4). The Apostle also saw what was coming. If the churches put up with these evil workers, the Christian circle would lose its simple devotion to Christ. Believers' hearts would be pulled away from true loyalty to Christ. They would follow men who drew disciples after themselves to make themselves great (v. 20). So they pretended to be what they were not. They twisted the truth, corrupted the Christian profession, and lifted themselves up at the cost of others.
Paul's verdict was not a private opinion that others had to take on trust. Another assembly did the checking for itself, and the Lord commended it for doing so:
Walter ScottThey tested the claim of some to be equal with the apostles. They tested it so well that every false claim showed up in the light of the signs that marked out the Lord's apostles (1 Cor. 9; 2 Cor. 11; 12). The word "tried" means tested, or put to the proof (2 Cor. 13:5; 1 John 4:1). "Have found them to be false." These men claimed apostolic office and authority on no ground at all. The test overturned that claim and branded the men themselves as liars — or, as Paul puts it, "false apostles."
Commentators trace this beginning forward. One sees in it the seed of an official class claiming authority without any real gift from Christ, and notes how the target shifted once Paul was gone:
William KellyThe evil ways that soon produced a clergy class were already at work. That class did away even with any claim to gift from Christ, and leaned instead on the made-up claim of apostolic succession. Such men then opposed the apostle in person, as now they oppose his doctrine.
Another writer gives the practical test:
A. J. PollockOur only hope of spotting these frauds is to look at what such movements actually do. Do the marks of the Word of God show up in their practice? If not, stay well away from them.
- Counterfeit. They were false, because the Lord never sent them. They were deceitful, because they made themselves into what they were not.
- Costume. The disguise was religious, not shocking: high claims to light and righteousness, with the cross of Christ left out.
- Cost. Left alone, the fake pulls hearts away from simple loyalty to Christ and ties them to men who are building a following of their own.
- Check. Test the claims. One church put men who called themselves apostles to the proof and found them false.
- Consequence. The costume does not decide the end. The end will match the works.
And [it is] not wonderful, for Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.