to transfigure or disguise · verb — present middle participle, nominative plural masculine
into
εἰςeis
G1519
to or into (indicating the point reached or entered) · preposition
apostles
ἀποστόλουςapostolous
G652
a delegate · noun — accusative plural masculine
Christ
Χριστοῦ·Christou
G5547
anointed · noun — genitive singular masculine, a title
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Galatians 1:7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
Revelation 2:2 I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they…
Philippians 3:2 Beware of dogs, beware of evil workers, beware of the concision.
1 John 4:1 Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Galatians 2:4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they…
Acts 20:30 Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.
2 Corinthians 11:15 Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their…
Ephesians 4:14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on 2 Corinthians 11:5-15
After the foregoing preface to what he was about to say, the apostle in these verses mentions,
I. His equality with the other apostles - that he was not a whit behind the very chief of the apostles, Co2 11:5. This he expresses very modestly: I suppose so. He might have spoken very positively. The apostleship, as an office, was equal in all the apostles; but the apostles, like other Christians, differed one from another. These stars differed one from another in glory, and Paul was indeed of the first magnitude; yet he speaks modestly of himself, and humbly owns his personal infirmity, that he was rude in speech, had not such a graceful delivery as some others might have. Some think that he wa…
For--reason why he is unwilling they should be thought like him [BENGEL].
such--they and those like them.
false apostles--those "overmuch apostles" (see on Co2 11:5) are no apostles at all.
deceitful workers--pretending to be "workmen" for the Lord, and really seeking their own gain.
Adam Clarke on 2 Corinthians 11:13
For such are false apostles - Persons who pretend to be apostles, but have no mission from Christ.
Deceitful workers - They do preach and labor, but they have nothing but their own emolument in view.
Transforming themselves - Assuming as far as they possibly can, consistently with their sinister views, the habit, manner, and doctrine of the apostles of Christ.
John Gill on 2 Corinthians 11:13
For such are false apostles,.... Such as those he had in view, who sought an occasion to depress him, and exalt themselves, and to get money from the Corinthians; these were "false apostles", or apostles falsely so called; they had the name, but not the thing; they were not called and sent forth by Christ; they had not the grace of apostleship, or gifts qualifying them for that high office; the power and authority they exercised was usurped by them; they could not prove their mission by true and real miracles; nor had they any seals of their apostleship, as those who were sent by Christ had:
deceitful workers; they went by the name of labourers in Christ's vineyard, when they were loiterers…
The Church Fathers
when he designates "false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves" into likenesses of himself, of course by their hypocrisy, he charges them with the guilt of disorderly conversation, rather than of false doctrine. The contrariety, therefore, was one of conduct, not of gods. If "Satan himself, too, is transformed into an angel of light," such an assertion must not be used to the prejudice of the Creator. The Creator is not an angel, but God. Into a god of light, and not an angel of light, must Satan then have been said to be transformed, if he did not mean to call him "the angel," which both we and Marcion know him to be.
I have quoted these remarks to prove in error those Basilidians who do not live purely, supposing either that they have the power even to commit sin because of their perfection, or indeed that they will be saved by nature even if they sin in this life because they possess an innate election. For the original teachers of their doctrines do not allow one to do the same as they are now doing. They ought not, therefore, to take as a covering cloak the name of Christ and, by living lewder lives than the most uncontrolled heathen, bring blasphemy upon his name. "For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers" as far as the words "whose end shall be like their works."
But when we went forth among the Gentiles to preach the word of life, then the devil wrought in the people to send after us false apostles to the corrupting of the word; and they sent forth one Cleobius, and joined him with Simon, and these became disciples to one Dositheus, whom they despising, put him down from the principality. Afterwards also others were the authors of absurd doctrines: Cerinthus, and Marcus, and Menander, and Basilides, and Saturnilus. Of these some own the doctrine of many gods, some only of three, but contrary to each other, without beginning, and ever with one another, and some of an infinite number of them, and those unknown ones also. And some reject marriage; and their doctrine is, that it is not the appointment of God; and others abhor some kinds of food: some are impudent in uncleanness, such as those who are falsely called Nicolaitans...
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Basket — There are five different Hebrew words so rendered in the Authorized Version: (1.) A basket (Heb. sal, a twig or osier) for holding bread (Gen. 40:16; Ex. 29:3, 23; Lev. 8:2, 26, 31; Num. 6:15, 17,…
Deceit · False teachers are workers of — False teachers are workers of
Doctrines, False · Teachers of, are described as: Deceitful — Teachers of, are described as: Deceitful
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
2 Corinthians 11:13-15
13. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ.
13. Saiquidem istiusmodi pseudoapostoli; operarii dolosi sunt, qui transformant se in Apostolos Christi.
14. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.
14. Neque id mirum; quondoquidem ipse Satanas transfiguratur in Angelum lucis.
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.
15. Non magnum igitur, si et ministri illius transformant se, perinde acsi essent ministri iustitiae: quorum finis erit secundum opera ipsorum.
13. For s…
Tyndale Open Study Notes on 2 Corinthians 11:13-15
Paul fiercely condemns the false teachers in Corinth (cp. Gal 1:6-9). Although the false teachers wanted to claim that their work was just like Paul’s (2 Cor 11:12), they were in fact false apostles and deceitful workers (cp. Phil 3:2). Just as Satan changed himself into an angel of light to deceive Eve (as described in the Jewish apocryphal book The Life of Adam and Eve), so his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Satan’s servants claim to be God’s servants, but their deeds are wicked, and their punishment is sure (cp. 2 Cor 5:10).
