12 And what I do 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. 13 For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. 14 And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. 15 So it is not strange if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds. 2 Corinthians 11:12-15 [RSV]
Chapter 11 is Paul’s assertion that there are false teachers among the Corinthians draws him to lean on his credentials as an apostle of Christ. Paul even talks about how he did not ask for anything (support for his ministry) while he was with them; that he was supported by the Macedonian church. That is what he is saying here; that he will continue to not be a burden on the Corinthians so that these false teachers cannot claim to be operating with a need of support like Paul and his followers.
The real freakiness here is Paul needing to spend so much time in this chapter describing how cunning and believable these false teachers can be. When I think about all of the churches who have compromised the word of God to fit their purposes and today’s social culture alignment, is really scary and sad. There are a nontrivial number of born-again Christians who are attending these churches. This deceit and disguising of supposed ministers in our day are the exact false teachers Paul was warning the Corinthians about. I find myself having a renewed chastening of my heart around God’s TRUTH in His word as a way to gird up the foundation that allows me to see these false servants of righteousness for who they are.