that we're looking at this morning is found in verse 12. Paul says, and what I am doing I will continue to do in order to undermine the claim of those who would like to claim that in their boasted mission they work on the same terms as we do. There are those who claim to have the same apostolic authority that Paul possesses, but they do not. They make this claim, but they preach a different gospel. They preach a different Christ, and they preach in dependence upon a different spirit. They are deceivers. In fact, Paul says that they are servants of Satan. So Paul is working hard in this passage to distinguish himself from them. He wants to unmask them for what they are so that the Corinthians will be able to tell the difference between the deceivers and himself. It appears that Paul is somewhat awkward in his wording in this passage. He's not at home talking like this. But Paul awkwardly but unmistakably characterizes himself in distinction to the false apostles. And so this morning we're going to make our way through this text noting characteristics with regard to which Paul establishes his own identity and unmasks the deceivers. So we're going to look at several, six in fact, characteristics and draw some distinctions here. The first characteristic that we're going to consider is the one that Paul mentions in verse 5 and that is found in this word inferiority. Paul declares that he is not in the least inferior to the false apostles. He's not saying that he is better. He's not even saying that he's equal to them as a man or a human being. Paul regards himself personally, as we read the scriptures, as the chief of sinners. He sees nobody as better than him, but him as worse, as bad or worse off than anybody else in terms of his wickedness, in terms of his sinfulness. And he also sees himself as the least of the apostles. So Paul is not comparing himself with the false apostles in terms of being worthy or adequate in and of himself. It is apparent that the false apostles are the ones who were claiming that Paul was inferior to them. He's not as good. He did not measure up to their standard. But what Paul knows is that he has been called and qualified by God. And by the grace of God, he is what he is, and he is, he's not who he is. He's what God has made him to be. He's got the gifts, the calling, and the blessing of God upon him. It's just like when we looked at a few weeks ago, looking at Mary and then Gideon, at the appearance of the angels to them who proclaimed him to be something that they knew they were not. The angel comes to Gideon, you valiant warrior, and he's going, who are you talking to? Well, Paul knows. that he's not anything great, but he does know that God has greatly blessed him. His strength and his ability come through Christ, as he told the Philippians, I can do all things through Christ. who strengthens me. What I do is not of myself, it is of Him. So what Paul is saying here indicates a resolve on the part of Paul to face the competition, to face these false apostles. Apparently people in Corinth just can't stop talking about how great these super apostles are. He calls them super apostles as they are great showmen and great at getting people's attention and people cannot quit talking about them. They cannot quit marveling at their skillful speaking and how influential they are, how persuasive are their arguments. Everyone is so impressed with them that they are ready to throw Paul under the bus. Paul an apostle called and equipped by Christ himself must assert himself therefore at this point. It is not for his pride or for the sake of his ego, it is for the sake of the truth. It is for the sake of the gospel that he cannot be held back, that he must set himself forth and say what he says, I'm not inferior to these super apostles. What is it that qualifies a man or a woman for usefulness in impacting the lives and hearts of people? At the heart of the matter, it's not talent, it's not charisma, it's not appeal. At the heart of the matter, it's being clothed in the righteousness of Christ and standing on the foundation of the truth. And at some point, each of us who, name the name of Christ, each one of us who are His followers are going to have to take a stand ourselves. We do not have to be rude, in fact we must not be rude. We do not have to be ugly and we must not be ugly. We must not be fueled by pride. We must not be fueled with hostility towards those who do not follow Christ, but we must not be silent. This is not trash talk. It's not mouthing off. It's not what Paul is doing here. It is a confidence in the spirit of God. that is unwilling to back down, unwilling to step back or step away, even from conflict when the truth is what is at stake. Paul had appointed his son in the faith, Timothy, to do the same kind of thing in Ephesus. And he wrote his letter to him, 1 Timothy, to encourage him to be steadfast. And he used these words. He said, Timothy, wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. And that's what Paul is doing here in the face of these people who are trying to get rid of him. He's not going to be quiet. He's not going to act inferior. He's going to stand up and be counted for the gospel. He's going to assert himself here where it's necessary. Enemies of the cross and enemies of Christ are unwilling to step back. They don't take a vacation. They don't go away. And neither should those who follow Jesus. We should be persevering and steadfast. Soldiers of the cross must not step back either. The second characteristic I want you to look at with me this morning is found in verse 6. The key word is knowledge. The super apostles, as Paul says, were skilled in speaking. Paul says he did not share that skill. We're talking about the use of words and philosophy to impress people. I mean, I don't think that Paul, you don't see him holding back when it comes to explaining or articulating truth. Paul is not unskilled, completely unskilled with the use of words. I mean, the words that the Holy Spirit spoke through him in the Scriptures are some of the most profound in the world. But Paul is not using gimmicks, linguistic gymnastics and philosophy to mesmerize people and get their attention. All through the New Testament he is a compelling speaker. He argues his case convincingly. But there were certain techniques and verbal gymnastics that the false apostle used to mesmerize their crowds. That was the nature of the culture in Corinth. They were excited about people using these skills to impress them. And Paul, on this matter, was pretty plain spoken. Straight forward and to the point. He spoke truth for the sake of the truth. And he did so in order to display that the power of the gospel of God was not and is not in the one who speaks. But in the message spoken. In the power of God through preaching. And what matters is not how artfully you say it, but what you say. Is it true? Is this God's gospel? And that comes from what you know. Knowledge is critical. Knowledge is important. What you know is all important. There is a content to the gospel. There are components in the good news. There are things that are comprehensible, though in a certain sense they're incomprehensible. It is beyond our ability to fathom how and why God would do these things, but that, what He has done, He sets forth for us in a pretty simple way. And we must know it in order to respond to it. All humanity must hear this truth. What makes it gospel, what makes it good news, begins with the knowledge of the bad news. That we are sinners. All humanity permeated with the stench and the heart stain of disobedience against God. and all have broken His law and are speechless before the bar of divine judgment. But God, being rich in mercy, has provided His perfect, sinless Son as an offering for our sins. That offering satisfies the demands of holiness for all who will turn from sin and trust in Jesus Christ. This is God's Gospel. It contains facts that must be known It's not by human righteousness, a fact. It is not by human effort, another fact. It is by God's grace and forgiveness that human beings are reconciled to God. And that this gift is received by faith. by believing His promises, by resting upon Him. That's what you need to know and you must know these things. So Paul says, I may not be skilled or I may not use the skills that these guys do to try to get a crown, but I'm not unskilled in knowledge. I know what you need to know and that's what I preach. Next, in verses 7-9, we see this key characteristic of humility in which Paul begins to speak of. Because Paul refused pay from the Corinthians, this may seem kind of odd, but because Paul refused pay from the Corinthians, they were accusing him, or at least perhaps these super apostles were accusing Paul of acting in a way that was hurtful and unloving. Well, it helps us maybe to understand the high class of Corinth and what they wanted in people that they followed. What they wanted in people that they followed was somebody to be proud of. Somebody you'd be willing to pay for what they do. As we've said before, the city of Corinth was somewhat like Las Vegas. There was all kinds of decadence and everything, but people with lots of money and they admired money and they were willing to pay for things. And if you refused, well, that was a negative for them in the sense of paying for what you could do, but also the fact that in refusing money, Paul engaged in labor, common labor. This is not impressive. A tent maker? We follow a tent maker. That would not be something the Corinthians wanted to say to their neighbor. They would rather pay him, make him wealthy, make him look like somebody really big and good and successful. That's the kind of guy they wanted to say they followed. And so there was this claim then that came against Paul that he was unloving because he refused to pay from them. that he got his money from others, more inferior people from Macedonia, and that he depended upon them, and that he lived meagerly was not impressive, but it was humbling Paul declares, however, that he was willing to humble himself in this way in order to serve them. He wanted them to see him as one who was serving. Someone who came to care about them. He refused to burden them in any way. He depended on the churches from Macedonia rather than to depend upon the churches in Corinth. And the point is not that it's wrong for ministers to be supported by those to whom they preach. Well, in the passage we read earlier today out of 1 Corinthians, it's clear that Paul is not suggesting that no one should be paid by the people to whom they speak. But here is Paul entering a place that's never had the gospel before. And as one entering a new field of ministry as a missionary, he was coming from the outside with God's message. He was not willing to be beholden to them or feeling like he had to shape his message to please them since they were paying him. He was not coming to accept their terms for God. He was coming to bring God's terms for them. And he didn't want to be depending upon them or somehow be tempted even to change the message in order not to offend them. The point is, here is what God says. And so he came to serve and humble himself before them. When you're in the grip of the gospel of God, the objective is not to become great. or wealthy by the preaching of the gospel, but to make others eternally wealthy in the riches of Christ. And that is something Paul wanted to reiterate to this group in Corinth. You know, it's not about what you look like to the world in terms of your wealth, but it is about demonstrating a heart of service, a heart that would undertake to minister to others because that's what Jesus did. And that's what it's all about. It's all about, the gospel is all about us ceasing to rest in our own works. And ceasing to rest and trust in what we can do. But allowing Christ to serve us. Remember how, when Jesus was going around to his disciples washing their feet and Peter says, not me. You know? Uh-uh. I'm not going to let you wash my feet. As though that is somehow saying to Jesus, you're too good. Somehow, in Peter's mind, perhaps this is saying to Jesus, you know, I understand you're great and I'm not going to let you wash my feet. But see, Jesus wants to communicate to Peter, true greatness is expressed in service. If you don't let me wash your feet, you have no part with me. So Paul is explaining this to the Corinthians. It's all about giving your heart. It's all about serving the Gospel. Those whose Gospels grip their hearts, that's what they want to do. It's what they're driven to do. And if you receive the Gospel, you're letting someone else serve you. If you can't and won't let someone else serve you, in particular, how you relate to God, then you have no part with Christ. Because it's all about not resting in yourself, but resting in Him and what He has done on the cross. So Paul refused to allow the culture of the Corinthians to shape the package in which the gospel was brought to them. You know, you can appeal to people through the avenue of culture and try to manipulate them in terms of the culture. But potentially you can do all that without having a genuine impact upon their hearts and lives. So we must be careful not ever to hide the gospel message behind the culture or allow the culture to reshape the gospel. But rather the good news of God regarding Christ must be trumpeted into every culture. And so that people out of that culture can be changed. and transformed and come to humility themselves, to lower themselves, so to speak, to let Christ be the one who washes their feet, makes them right in the sight of God. Fourthly, in the text we see Paul referring to love. Here's another one of these distinguishing characteristics in verses 10 to 11. Apparently the antagonists there in Corinth were accusing Paul of not really loving the people. See, he wants to humble himself and he wants to work with his hands, have the meaning, and we don't like that, and so he must not love you. Because he's not coming to you on your terms, he must not love you. And so, but Paul testifies that this willingness to serve them and to humble himself for their benefit is proof positive of his love. Is not self-sacrifice for the well-being of others a universal proof of love? It would seem so. but perhaps not there, but Paul needs for them to understand. It is certainly the proof that Jesus Christ came in love, because He laid down His life for His sheep. He gave Himself for the well-being of His bride. He laid down His life. He proves His own love for us, and that while we were yet sinners, He died for us. The gospel is all about love demonstrated in sacrifice. Sacrifice is when you demonstrate the reality of your love. Think of that gripping event that happened on a mountaintop one day. When God had instructed His humble servant Abraham One whom he had called and said, I'm going to bless you, and I'm going to bless all the nations through you. Now I want you to prove you love me. Take your son, your only son that you love, and offer him to me as a sacrifice. And God allowed Abraham to go all the way to raising the knife, to plunge it into his son. And the Lord says, Abraham, Abraham, now I know. Why? He was willing to sacrifice. Paul is saying to these Corinthians, how can you accuse me of not loving? God's the proof of the love of God. It's his willingness to sacrifice his own son for human beings. And self-sacrifice is how we demonstrate love to the world. It's a distinguishing mark between a true and a false apostle. Love gives, selfishness takes. Jesus told his disciples by this, everyone will know that you're my disciples if you have love for one another. But I ask you this morning, how do we know if we have love for one another? How will that be demonstrated? It will be demonstrated when we lay down our lives for one another. It'll be demonstrated when we're willing to be inconvenienced for the well-being of each other. It'll be demonstrated when we care enough about another to think about them, pray for them, let our hearts and minds be on them and ask God to intervene. And our lives are tied together in a fellowship in such a way that we have this going on between us. And that our lives is not just me, me, me, me. What have I got? My troubles and my situation. You know, we've all got troubles and we've all got our situation. And God puts us together to share those things and selflessly minister to each other in these things. And when we do, our trouble and our circumstances just kind of go by the wayside. It's one thing to say we love, but to truly love is to give yourself. So Paul says, you want to know these people who are there with you and this questioning of love, you know I love you. How? For the very thing that I'm willing to give the gospel to you free of charge. And there is a fifth characteristic here, a fifth matter by which Paul distinguishes between himself and these false teachers, and that is on a On term in terms of honesty versus 13 to 15. Paul calls his competitors in Corinth super apostles. Because they make for a great show. But they are in fact no more than a show. They claim to be on the same level with Paul. However, when you come down to verse 12, Paul disputes their claim. He says it is false. It is a lie. So in verses 13 to 15, Paul points out their dishonesty. He calls them false prophets and deceitful workmen. He says that they are wearing a disguise. He says that the devil disguises himself as an angel of light. It therefore is no surprise that these who are his servants do the same thing. Paul refers to these guys in a number of ways throughout his letter. Chapter 2, verse 17, he calls them peddlers of God's Word. They are the ones throughout the book who are trying to persuade the Corinthians to turn their backs on Paul. They assert that his efforts are not of the spirit, but of the flesh. And in this very chapter in verse 4, Paul is more pointed. He says they preach a different Jesus. They preach a different spirit and a different gospel. In verse 5 of chapter 11, Paul calls them, as we've seen, super apostles. They are trying to come across as better than everybody else. And at last here in verse 13, he leaves no doubt as to their true identity. They are false. What they say needs to be repudiated and they themselves need to be repudiated because what they say is false. They pretend to be followers of Christ, yet they deceive and draw people away from Christ because in fact they are servants of the devil. Not a few are the people who clothe themselves with the appearance of following Christ in our day. but who are Satan's servants. And many are the false gospels that are preached. I'm going to name a couple of them. A couple of the false gospels that abound today. One of the false gospels is the false gospel of good works. This false gospel is in abundance out there. People believe this thing who don't believe anything religious. People that think, I'm a good person. And they think that they can stand before the judgment of the Supreme Being and God is going to look at what they've done and think it's better. The good things that they've done are more in quantity than the quote bad things that they have done. And they are convinced that when they die, on the basis of what they've done, they'll be in a better place. They're on their way to heaven because of their words. It is a false gospel. There are some that are absolutely far from religion who believe in that. And then there are some people who are saturated in religion who believe that. And they do religious things thinking this is going to satisfy God. And so they're checking lists. And they're driven even to be devoted to some religious cause. It's a false gospel. The Bible's clear. Our best works are filthy racks in the sight of God. Pile all your good works up on one side of a scale and pile all your bad works up on the other side. And guess what? All of them are on the bad side. According to scripture, there is none who does good, not even one. It is a false gospel that says somehow by your merit God is going to usher you into heaven. Or usher you into a right relationship with Him based on what you do. A second false gospel that abounds today I want to call the gospel of universalism. And the gospel of universalism is a false teaching. It says everybody is going to heaven. And if God is involved in this universal idea, it's because God is love. All God is, is love. And God is so much love that He doesn't have the capacity to judge. His love overcomes any sense of right and wrong. And therefore everybody is OK. And whatever you're doing, it's OK. God's going to forgive you in the end because he is a great grandfather that just loves people. That does not come from heaven. That gospel comes from the devil. It's not coming from the Bible. It comes from the minds of men, but its root is in hell. If Satan, and this is what he does, we're talking about false apostles that are servants of Satan. Anything other than the truth will do. He's not concerned about things not contradicting. Satan loves this age we live in called post-modernism where anybody's truth is true. And everybody's truth is true. And contradictory things are true. Because whatever you want to be, that's what it is. I mean, that's the kind of thing that went on in the garden. Satan uttering lies. Eve believed those lies, or she wouldn't have eaten fruit. The false gospel of universalism. There's another false gospel that I will call inclusivism. This idea that people have some belief in Jesus, but they believe that Jesus' death takes care of everybody, even those who don't believe in Him. They don't know it, but they're going to be saved by Jesus. Again, this doesn't come from the Bible. It comes from hell. There is the false gospel of pluralism. All religions actually lead to the same destination. God, the one true God, can be found in everyone. So why are you everybody bickering over these details? False Gospels. All these are from Satan. They are lies. Those who peddle these lies are false. The Apostle Paul, in opposition to all these, I'm going to say is an exclusivist. the exclusive gospel. There is only one way to be reconciled with God. And it is not because we hate people that we preach one way. It is because God has revealed himself in this one way and there is no other way. One way to reconciliation with God and that is in the person and the work of Jesus Christ, His holy and only Son. No other, no other name is given under heaven by which people must be saved. Humans must believe on His name and must trust in Him and Him only. in order to be made right with God. And in order to believe on His name, they must hear the gospel of God about His Son. Any so-called gospel which denies these things is no gospel at all. but the lie of the devil. Any gospel which says, you know, in any way posits the idea that somehow your works give you right standing with God is a lie. And so we live in a world that pleads for tolerance and acceptance of every body and every belief Can't we all just get along, they seem to say? Can't we all just accept one another as equally valid even though we differ on these things? Well, I'm going to tell you what the Apostle Paul says without any equivocation whatsoever. No! We cannot! God forbid! Because there is truth and everything else is a lie. He is willing, Paul is, to stand where the Scripture stands and he will stand nowhere else. There are true apostles and false apostles and false teachers. Anybody who denigrates this true gospel is false and is a servant of the devil. When we preach and when we teach the Bible, it's not just because we found this religious book interesting. It is because we have found this book to contain the words of life and they're nowhere else. And so here we must stand. And the last characteristic or issue that we see, Paul, Using to distinguish himself from the false apostles is a word I'm going to call it called destiny. See that in verse 15, the very last phrase in our text. This is a sobering statement indeed. Paul says their end will correspond to their deeds. The destiny of these false apostles, servants of the devil, will be commensurate with the evil that they've done. The Bible is graphic in its depiction of Satan's end. All we have to do is turn over to Revelation chapter 20 and read verse 10. It says this, the devil who had deceived them Goes back to these are false, they're deceiving. The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur and where the beast and the false prophet were. And they will be tormented day and night. Forever and ever. Correspondingly, Revelation 21 verse 8 says, But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, and that includes false teachers, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death. So Proverbs chapter 4 verse 12 says, there is a way that seems right to a man. But its end is the way to death. In no case is this ever more true than the case of those who believe and those who preach a false gospel. It makes all the difference. Paul would exhort the Corinthians and it makes all the difference what you believe. And therefore it makes all the difference who you believe. God is not mocked, Paul says in Galatians 6, 7. Do not be deceived. God is not mocked. For whatsoever a man sows, that shall he reap. You sow a false gospel. You believe a false gospel. You have false hope. And those who preach false gospels stand in opposition to God Himself and cannot think that their opposition to Him is somehow meaningless when it comes to the judgment seat of God. God makes it abundantly clear. Now's the time and opportunity for people to repent. Now's the time and opportunity for people to embrace the truth, to flee from their sins, to flee from their fuzzy little ideas about what they think they would like things to be and embrace the one true God who created all things and who commands all men everywhere to repent and come and trust in His sight. So for this reason, the church must be sober and vigilant when the devil seeks to devour. He does not present himself with red flashing lights as though to come say to everybody that he appears to, here I am, here I am, beware, beware, beware. No, he doesn't do that, Paul says. He comes as an angel of light. He comes in a cloak of something that is endearing to you. Some belief that you would like to have. Some person that you would like to be your friend. Some people that have certain stuff that appeals to you. He comes to you on the basis of the flesh to draw you after Him. That's how the devil comes. He doesn't come saying, I'm a false apostle, but here's what my gospel is. No, he comes saying, here's the truth. God knows, God knows in the day that you eat of that fruit, you'll be like Him. He's just trying to protect His territory. And you come to think like him and you will soon become like him. We must know the truth and we must vigilantly stand for it. There's only one way that is right and many, many, many, many, many ways. all of which are wrong. And when people love the truth, there are characteristics that will help substantiate the gospel that they preach. They do not seek to deceive. They do not use manipulative tactics. They don't try to create shortcuts. They give you the truth and they give it to you the way it is. They do not operate with finesse. They operate without selfish motives, but the motive of making others rich in Christ. It is a humble motive by which we are to be driven. They love not the things of this world, but they love the Christ of heaven. And hence they love people with the love of Christ being willing to serve like he did. And that goes for everyday life and our ordinary things. Are we loving people with the love of Christ? Are we loving our families with the love of Christ? Are we humbling ourselves to serve those closest to us? And are we humbling ourselves to serve those around us who are outside of Christ? Do we care about them? Are we willing? You know, when somebody shows up at your door and says, I want to share this with you, peddling something, or perhaps they're a true apostle of Christ. Tell you one thing, if they don't preach the one true gospel, they don't love you. They're not in it for you. Maybe they're trying to get to heaven by getting somebody else on their little check-off list, increasing their numbers because they believe in their works that that's going to make them acceptable. But when you believe the gospel, you come with the humility that characterizes the gospel, not for self, not for you. When you take it, you're not taking it for you, you're taking it for them in the glory of God. That's what it's all about. And that will be a clear distinction that you will begin to recognize between people who peddle the truth and peddle what's false. Beware, be alert, be vigilant. Let's pray. Lord God, we thank you. We thank you for the warnings that you've given us. We know we have a real enemy. Satan is a real enemy. And he gives us everything but the truth. And help us to be steadfast and immovable, fixated upon the word. and upon the truth, resting not in ourselves or our thoughts or ideas about you, but your revelation of what's true to us about you. And help us to stand even when the enemies raise up and seek to put us down. Oh, Father, help us not to hate them, but perhaps they can be firebrands plucked out of the flames themselves. and brought home to be with all of us by the work that Christ has done on the cross. Lord God, I pray, Lord, those in our midst this morning who are trusting in their own works, thinking somehow they're good enough, Lord, please erase those lies from their minds, silence the devil and the flesh speaking to them in that way. Lord, put before them even now Jesus Christ, the one who alone suffered. Put before them Christ, and I pray that you draw them to him, to find in him the only one who can satisfy the wrath of God that's due to us for our sins. We pray it in Jesus' name, Amen.