2 Corinthians 11
September Memory Verse: Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. 1 Peter 1:3 (ESV)
Read: 2 Corinthians 11
This passage focuses on the main source of the conflict with the Corinthian church: “impressive” leaders that were preaching a false gospel. Paul could tolerate anyone who was hostile to him as long as they preached the true Gospel. The people who taught a false gospel received Paul’s strongest condemnation. Paul was very concerned that the Corinthian church would embrace the false apostles' teaching.
He sarcastically calls the leaders “super-apostles” in verse 5, because of the qualifications they claim to have. And Paul says, “You really want to compare credentials? Bring it on.”
His list of qualifications is long and actually more impressive than that of these false apostles, but more important than his list of qualifications was the life he lived. Paul gave his entire life to the mission of Jesus. He sacrificed comfort, financial stability, even his own safety for the sake of the Gospel over and over again. Meanwhile, the false apostles were asking to be compensated for their work. Paul even says that these “leaders” are the emissaries of Satan.
God does not value what the world values. True Christian leadership is not about status and being impressive. It’s about pointing people to the one who is -- Christ. It is far better to be plain in speech, yet walking openly and consistently with the Gospel, than to be admired by thousands and be lifted up in pride.
So how is your daily life pointing people to God?
What can we do to make sure we are not following false teachers?
By: Kaitlin White
Read: 2 Corinthians 11
This passage focuses on the main source of the conflict with the Corinthian church: “impressive” leaders that were preaching a false gospel. Paul could tolerate anyone who was hostile to him as long as they preached the true Gospel. The people who taught a false gospel received Paul’s strongest condemnation. Paul was very concerned that the Corinthian church would embrace the false apostles' teaching.
He sarcastically calls the leaders “super-apostles” in verse 5, because of the qualifications they claim to have. And Paul says, “You really want to compare credentials? Bring it on.”
His list of qualifications is long and actually more impressive than that of these false apostles, but more important than his list of qualifications was the life he lived. Paul gave his entire life to the mission of Jesus. He sacrificed comfort, financial stability, even his own safety for the sake of the Gospel over and over again. Meanwhile, the false apostles were asking to be compensated for their work. Paul even says that these “leaders” are the emissaries of Satan.
God does not value what the world values. True Christian leadership is not about status and being impressive. It’s about pointing people to the one who is -- Christ. It is far better to be plain in speech, yet walking openly and consistently with the Gospel, than to be admired by thousands and be lifted up in pride.
So how is your daily life pointing people to God?
What can we do to make sure we are not following false teachers?
By: Kaitlin White
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