2 Corinthians 11:15

2Co 11:15. Οὐ μέγα, no great thing) no difficult matter.—αὐτοῦ, his) Satan’s.—δικαιοσύνης, of righteousness) which is in Christ.—τὸ τέλος, the end) Whatever may be the specious appearance, on which they now plume themselves, the form [alluding to their transforming themselves into “ministers of righteousness”] is at last stripped off from them. A most effectual criterion is derived from the future end of things, in the case of good and evil alike, Php 3:19; Php 3:21.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co_11:15. It is not a great matter, therefore, not strange and extraordinary, if, etc. Comp. 1Co_9:11; Plato, Hipp. maj. p. 287 A, Menex. p. 235 D; Herod. vii. 38.

καί] if, as he does himself, his servants also transform themselves, namely, as servants of righteousness, i.e. as people who are appointed for, and active in, furthering the righteousness by faith. Comp. on 2Co_3:9. The δικαιοσύνη, the opposite of ἀνομία, but in a specifically Christian and especially Pauline sense (comp. on 2Co_6:14) as the condition of the kingdom of God, is naturally that which Satan and his servants seek to counteract. When the latter, however, demean themselves as ἀπόστολοι Χριστοῦ, the δικαιοσύνη, which they pretend to serve, must have the semblance of the righteousness of faith, although it is not so in reality. This view is therefore not out of the way (Klöpper, p. 90), but contextual; and the δικαιοσύνη cannot be the righteousness of the law, the preaching of which is not the mark of the ἀπόστολοι Χριστοῦ. As to ὡς (transform themselves and become as), comp. on Rom_9:29.

ὧν τὸ τέλος κ.τ.λ.] of whomthe servants of Satanthe end, final fate, will be in accordance with their works. Comp. Php_3:19; Rom_6:21; 1Pe_4:17. Quacunque specie se nunc efferant, detrahitur tandem schema, Bengel.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2Co 11:15 . οὐ μέγα οὖν κ . τ . λ .: it is no great thing therefore, if his ministers also, sc. , as well as himself, fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness (see on 2Co 3:9 ); whose end , notwithstanding their disguise ( cf. Rom 6:21 , Phi 3:19 ), shall be according to their works (see on 2Co 11:10 ).

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

no great thing--no difficult matter.

if his ministers also--as well as himself.

righteousness--answering to "light" (Co2 11:14); the manifestation wherewith God reveals Himself in Christ (Mat 6:33; Rom 1:17).

end--The test of things is the end which strips off every specious form into which Satan's agents may now "transform" themselves (compare Phi 3:19, Phi 3:21).

according to their works--not according to their pretensions.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 15. Whose end shall be according to their works.] A bad way leads to a bad end. The way of sin is the way to hell.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Whose end shall be. He adds this for the consolation of the pious. For it is the statement of a courageous man, who despises the foolish judgments of men, and patiently waits for the day of the Lord. In the mean time, he shows a singular boldness of conscience, which does not dread the judgment of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(15) If his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness.—The words seem to point to one of the special characteristics of the Apostle’s rivals. They represented themselves as the preachers of a righteousness which was, they asserted, neglected in St. Paul’s teaching. They claimed the authority of one who was known as James the Just, or Righteous, and who had insisted emphatically on the necessity of a righteousness showing itself in act. They presented themselves as a kind of revival of the Chasidim, or righteous ones. (See Note on Act_9:13.) It may be noted that the latter developments of the same school, as seen in the Clementine Homilies and Recognitions, present, in the midst of much that is both false and malignant, an almost ostentatiously high standard of morality.

Whose end shall be according to their works.—What the works were is stated, or implied, in 2Co_11:20. Hero he is content to rest on the eternal law of God’s government, that what a man sows that shall he also reap. The abruptness with which the next verse opens indicates that here again there was a pause in the dictation of the letter. After an interval—during which, led by the last words he had spoken, his thoughts had travelled to the contrast between their works, of which they boasted so loudly, and his own—he begins again, half-indignant at the necessity for self-assertion which they have forced upon him, aware that all that had been said of his “insane” habit of “commending himself” was likely to be said again, and yet feeling that he must once for all remind the Corinthians of what he had done and suffered, and then leave them to judge between the rival claims.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. whose end shall be according to their works] Cf. Pro_24:12; Mat_16:27; Rom_2:6-11; 1Co_3:8; Php_3:19; 2Ti_4:14; Rev_20:12, &c.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore it is no great thing,.... It is no strange and wonderful thing; it may easily be given into; no man need to make any doubt of it, or hesitate concerning it, since the devil himself, who is an angel of darkness, is transformed into an angel of light:

if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; not that they really are transformed into such ministers, but they appear and look like such; they are not really, but "as the ministers of righteousness"; they put on the form and air of faithful upright ministers of the word, and would be thought to be such; they mimic Gospel preachers, who assert the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ, though they most miserably corrupt it, and blend it with something of their own; and which they endeavour to palliate, and cover from the sight of men; and especially they set up themselves as such, by pretending to be great friends to holiness and good works, which they press with much vehemence, and oppose to the doctrines of grace, with all their might and main; in doing which, they greatly serve their master, whose ministers they are; and who well knows that the doctrine of works may do much prejudice to the Gospel interest, and churches of Christ, but will never convert nor save one soul: a dreadful character these men have, for though they would pass for ministers of righteousness, friends to holiness, and men zealous of good works, they are no other than ministers of Satan, doing his work, serving his interest, and propagating his kingdom, which is a kingdom of darkness:

whose end shall be according to their works; for either God will make public examples of them in this world, or if they are not made manifest here, though they may deceive themselves and others, they cannot deceive God; he will take off the mask, their hypocrisy shall be detected, their evil works will be laid open, and they will be judged according to them, and condemned for them to everlasting punishment.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

Ver. 15. As the ministers of righteousness] Cavete a Melampygo. Try before you trust; sects and seducers are very subtle and insinuative; the locusts have faces like women; know them and avoid them. When one commended the pope’s legate at the Council of Basil, Sigismund the emperor answered, Tamen Romanus est, Yet he is a Roman. So, let Satan or his agents come never so much commended to us in his sugared allurements, let us answer, Yet he is a devil. Sin draws the devil’s picture in a man; envy is the devil’s eye, falsehood his tongue, oppression his hand, hypocrisy his cloven foot, &c.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore it is no great thing ... - It is not to be deemed surprising. You are not to wonder if people of the basest, blackest character put on the appearance of the greatest sanctity, and even become eminent as professed preachers of righteousness.

Whose end shall be ... - Whose final destiny. Their doom in eternity shall not be according to their fair professions and plausible pretences, for they cannot deceive God; but shall be according to their real character, and their works. Their work is a work of deception, and they shall be judged according to that. What revelations there will be in the day of judgment, when all impostors shall be unmasked, and when all hypocrites and deceivers shall be seen in their true colors! And how desirable is it that there should be such a day to disclose all beings in their true character, and forever to remove imposture and delusion from the universe!

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

It is no wonder if there be like servants, like masters: and as the devil, in order to the deceiving of souls, pretends to what he is not, viz. a friend to them; so those who seek their own profit, not your good, show themselves to be

his ministers, driving the same design with him, also do the like, and change their shapes, pretending themselves to be ministers of the gospel, and to aim at the good of your souls, by teaching you the way

of righteousness; but God will one day judge of their works, and their reward at last will be

according to their works.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. End—Their final retribution.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Whose end shall be according to their works. Whatever their fashion (schema), they shall be judged, not by what they seem, but by what they are, as shown by their works.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Therefore it is no great, no strange, thing; whose end, notwithstanding all their disguises, shall be according to their works.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

righteousness

(See Scofield "1Jn 3:7").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works . [The apostle says that no one need stand aghast at such awful presumption, for Satan himself sets an example in this respect and his ministers may be expected to follow it. Some think that Satan fashioned himself as an angel of light when he appeared before God as narrated in the Book of Job; others, that he did so when he appeared before Jesus to tempt him. It is not clear to what incident in the life of Satan Paul refers. In this age, as in all ages, these warning words of the apostle should be weighed and considered. As Jesus bade us beware of wolves in sheep's clothing, so Paul bids us beware of the emissaries of Satan, who come claiming to be leaders in religion. The servants of Satan do not hesitate to hold ecclesiastical offices, or occupy pulpits.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

15. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers, etc. It is not strange if persons really doing Satan's work should appear as ministers of righteousness. The sorest wounds of the church are not found from without, but from agents of Satan within.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

15. οὐ μέγα οὖν εἰ. Comp. μέγα εἰ ἠμεῖς ὑμῶν τὰ σαρκικὰ θερίσομεν; (1Co 9:11): μέγα μοί ἐστιν εἴ ἔτι ὁ υἱός μου Ἰωσὴφ ζῇ (Gen 45:28).

εἰ καὶ οἱ διάκονοι αὐτοῦ μετασχηματίζονται ὡς διάκονοι δικαιοσύνης. If his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness. The A.V. again inserts the article. They claimed to be ministers of righteousness as being champions of the Law, and insinuated that Paul was a minister of unrighteousness, whose repudiation of the Law encouraged immorality.

ὦν τὸ τέλος ἔσται κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν. The R.V. is probably right in placing a colon at δικαιοσύνης and making this an independent statement: ὦν τὸ κρὶμα ἔνδικόν ἐστιν (Rom 3:8): ὦν τὸ τέλος ἀπώλεια (Php 3:9): ἀποδώσει αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ (2Ti 4:14). For the doctrine comp. 2Co 5:10; Rom 2:6 ff. Quacunque specie se nunc efferant, detrahitur tandem schema (Bengel).

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15.] οὐ θαῦμα—so Aristoph. Plut. 99, καὶ θαῦμά γʼ οὐδέν, οὐδʼ ἐγὼ γὰρ ὁ βλέπων.

αὐτὸς γὰρ ὁ σ.] If any definite allusion is here intended, it is perhaps to Job 1:6, &c.: but I would rather suppose the practice of Satan in tempting and seducing men to be intended.

15.] εἰ καί, if also, i.e. as well as himself, or perhaps better applying to the whole sentence, if, also …

μετασχ. ὡς, i.e. μετασχ. καὶ γίνονται ὡς:—so Rom 9:29, ὡς Γόμοῤῥα ἂν ὡμοιώθημεν.

αὐτός, the father of falsehood and wrong (Joh 8:44), is directly opposed to δικαιοσύνη θεοῦ, Mat 6:33, that manifestation of God by which He is known to us in the Gospel, Rom 1:17.

ὧν τὸ τέλ.] Of whom (notwithstanding this disguise) the end shall be correspondent to their works (not to their pretensions).

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

15. οὐ μέγα οὖν εἰ. The expression is found nowhere else in N.T. excepting 1Co 9:11.Cf. μέγα μοί ἐστιν εἰ ἔτι ὁ υἱός μου Ἰωσὴφ ζῇ (Gen 45:28). ‘It is no great thing therefore if his ministers (cf. Mat 25:41; Rev 12:7) also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness.’ As in v. 13 before ‘Apostles,’ so here before ‘ministers,’ AV inserts the article. ‘Righteousness’ is probably to be understood in its wider sense, as that on which Satan and his minions are ever making war. It was one of the charges brought against St Paul that his doctrine of Christian freedom was an encouragement to heathen licentiousness: the Judaizers professed to be upholders of ‘righteousness’ against such pestilent teaching. But, in spite of their professions, their real motive was the promotion of their own personal interests and the interests of their own party in the Church; and they were unscrupulous in the means which they employed. We should perhaps place a colon after δικαιοσύνης (RV) and make what follows an independent sentence. Cf. ὧν τὸ κρίμα ἔνδικόν ἐστιν (Rom 3:8): ἀποδώσει αὐτῷ ὁ κύριος κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ (2Ti 4:14). But ὧν τὸ τέλος ἀπώλεια (Php 3:19) tells the other way, and here WH. place only a comma. See on v. 10. At the Judgment it is not what they have looked like or what they have professed to be that will count, but what they have done. Cf. ὃς ἀποδίδωσιν ἐκάστῳ κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτοῦ (Pro 24:12). Whether we regard it as an independent sentence or not, the terse statement comes at the end of the invective with considerable effect, as in Rom 3:8 and 2Ti 4:14. But this statement tells us nothing as to St Paul’s belief respecting the final condition of the wicked.

St Paul has been somewhat severely criticized for the bitter controversial style of this denunciation of his opponents, but we do not know enough about the intensity of the provocation to pronounce judgment. It is hardly more severe than συναγωγὴ τοῦ Σατανᾶ (Rev 2:9, Rev 3:9) and ὐμεῖς ἐκ τοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ διαβόλου ἐστέ (Joh 8:44). Cf. Mat 23:15, Mat 23:33. We must remember not only the venomous personal attacks that had been made upon his character and antecedents, but also the widespread mischief that had been done among the converts at Corinth. Even those who do not believe in the intermediate visit can see that the mischief was great, in the unsettlement of belief and in the weakening of the Apostle’s authority. But those who are convinced that such a visit was paid, and that during it St Paul was grossly insulted to such an extent that he left Corinth a defeated man, will be slow to condemn him for the fierce language which he uses in vv. 3-15, and especially in the concluding sentences. Bousset, who says that Paul’s mode of fighting is not less passionate than that of his assailants, and that he is no saint, any more than Luther, admits that he had reason for his wrath, and that his fierce onset in the heat of the great conflict is only too intelligible. If the intruders had done nothing worse than meanly claim the credit for the crop, which he and Apollos, with the blessing of heaven, had patiently and laboriously raised, St Paul might have let a passing rebuke or sarcasm suffice for such conduct. But these new-comers had done their utmost to ruin the crop altogether, and they had employed methods which would have been hateful in any cause. We need to know more about their motives, their work, and its effects, before deciding that the severe language of the Apostle is unjustifiable.

But it is the Corinthians that he cares about. From this outberst of indignation his thoughts return to them. He must convince them, however unpleasing the work may be, that he is not inferior to these seductive teachers. That means that he must go on glorying about himself, and, like the first six verses of the chapter, the next seven are a declaration of the folly of glorying and an explanation of the reason for it. They introduce a new subject for glorying.

11:16-33. Glorying About His Services and Sufferings

It seems foolish for an Apostle to be glorying, but I have no choice about it; and so I glory about my nationality, my heavy work, and my hardships.

16 I repeat what I said before; let no one think me a fool for uttering what sounds like folly: or, if you must think me one, at any rate listen to me patiently as such, that I may have my little boast as well as other people. 17 In talking to you in this way I do not profess to be the Lord’s mouthpiece; in this proud confidence of glorying I speak as a fool in his folly. 18 Seeing that many glory from their low worldly point of view, I mean to do the like. 19 For you can afford to bear with fools and do so with pleasure: you are so wise yourselves. 20 Why, in your sublime tolerance you bear with any of these impostors, no matter what he does; if he makes slaves of you, if he devours your substance, if he entraps you, if he gives himself airs, if he strikes you in the face. 21 It may be a disgraceful confession to make, but I really have not been equal to acting in that way. Yet, wherever real courage is exhibited (remember, it is in folly that I say this), there I have courage too. 22 Let us look at nationality. Are the Hebrews, Israelites, descendants of Abraham? There we are equal, for so am I. 23 Let us look at service. Are they ministers of Christ? (I am talking like a madman.) Let us grant that they are His ministers. I am more than their equal there, for I have suffered far more in His service;—

with labours far exceeding theirs,

with stripes far exceeding theirs,

with imprisonments beyond comparison,

with risk of life again and again;—

24 from the Jews I five times received the severest scourging that is allowed,

25 three times I was beaten with rods by the Romans,

once I was stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck,

a night and a day I have drifted on the open sea.

26 I have served Him in journeyings again and again;—

in perils of rivers, in perils of robbers,

in perils from my own people, in perils from the Gentiles,

in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness,

in perils on the sea, in perils among false brethren.

27 I have served Him in labour and travail;—

with watchings often, with hunger and thirst,

with fastings often, with cold and nakedness;

28 besides other things which I pass over, there is that which presses on me daily,

my anxiety for all the Churches.

29 What brother is weak in faith or life, and I do not feel his weakness?

What brother is enticed into sin, and I am not in a furnace of distress?

30 If there must be glorying, my principle is to glory of the things which concern my weakness, for they show my likeness to the Lord Jesus Christ. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus Christ, He who is blessed for ever, knows that I am not lying. 32 At Damascus the ethnarch of King Aretas posted guards at the gates of the city to arrest me; 33 but through an opening I was let down in a basket through the city wall, and thus clean escaped his hands.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.