2 Corinthians 11:13
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
Study Note
Study Note
Paul's characterization of his opponents as 'false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ' draws on the language of counterfeit in commercial and legal contexts to describe the danger of superficially credible but ultimately corrupting teaching. The Satan analogy that follows (verse 14) makes the theological stakes explicit: the ability to appear as 'an angel of light' is the characteristic mode of the adversary, and his servants mimic his disguise. The passage (11:13-15) is Paul's most severe indictment of false teachers and provides the theological framework for the warning passages of 2 Timothy 3:1-9, 2 Peter 2, and Jude. It challenges any hermeneutic that evaluates teachers primarily by their apparent success, popularity, or eloquence.
Other Translations
For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, fashioning themselves into apostles of Christ.
for those such <FI>are<Fi> false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ,
For such men are false Apostles, workers of deceit, making themselves seem like Apostles of Christ.
Cross References
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Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.