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2 Corinthians 11:15

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also transform themselves into ministers of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
2 Corinthians 11:15 · New King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB It is no great thing therefore if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their works.
  • KJV 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.
  • BSB It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their actions.
  • NASB Therefore it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds.
  • NLT So it is no wonder that his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. In the end they will get the punishment their wicked deeds deserve.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

It is no wonder that Satan's servants pose as ministers of righteousness, but their end will match their deeds. Their judgment is certain.

Overview

Paul concludes that the false apostles' righteous facade is exactly what one would expect from agents of Satan. Yet their final destiny will correspond to their true works, not their disguise. This sober assurance of coming judgment comforts the church while warning against being deceived by appearances.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 28

  • Phil 3:19whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
  • Rev 9:11They have over them as king the angel of the abyss. His name in Hebrew is “Abaddon”, but in Greek, he has the name “Apollyon”.
  • 2 Cor 3:9For if the service of condemnation has glory, the service of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.
  • Acts 13:10and said, “Full of all deceit and all cunning, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord?
  • Matt 7:15–16“Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves.
  • 2 Cor 11:23Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I am more so; in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths often.
  • Jude 1:4For there are certain men who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into indecency, and denying our only Master, God, and Lord, Jesus Christ.
  • Jer 23:14–15In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies. They strengthen the hands of evildoers, so that no one returns from his wickedness. They have all become to me as Sodom, and its inhabitants as Gomorrah.”
  • 2 Pet 2:3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
  • Isa 9:14–15Therefore Yahweh will cut off from Israel head and tail, palm branch and reed, in one day.
  • 2 Pet 2:13–22receiving the wages of unrighteousness; people who count it pleasure to revel in the daytime, spots and defects, reveling in their deceit while they feast with you;
  • 2 Kgs 5:13His servants came near, and spoke to him, and said, “My father, if the prophet had asked you do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? How much rather then, when he says to you, ‘Wash, and be clean?’”
  • Eph 6:12For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.
  • Rev 20:2–3He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years,
  • 1 Cor 9:11If we sowed to you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we reap your fleshly things?
  • Jer 29:32therefore Yahweh says, “Behold, I will punish Shemaiah the Nehelamite, and his offspring. He shall not have a man to dwell among this people, neither shall he see the good that I will do to my people,” says Yahweh, “because he has spoken rebellion against Yahweh.”’”
  • Ezek 13:10–15“‘Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, “Peace;” and there is no peace. When one builds up a wall, behold, they plaster it with whitewash.
  • Ezek 13:22Because with lies you have grieved the heart of the righteous, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, and be saved alive.
  • Jude 1:10–13But these speak evil of whatever things they don’t know. They are destroyed in these things that they understand naturally, like the creatures without reason.
  • Jer 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority; and my people love to have it so. What will you do in the end of it?
  • 2 Th 2:8–12Then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will kill with the breath of his mouth, and destroy by the manifestation of his coming;
  • Gal 1:8–9But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.
  • 2 Cor 11:13For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as Christ’s apostles.
  • Rev 19:19–21I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat on the horse, and against his army.
  • Rev 13:14He deceives my own people who dwell on the earth because of the signs he was granted to do in front of the beast; saying to those who dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast who had the sword wound and lived.
  • Rev 13:2The beast which I saw was like a leopard, and his feet were like those of a bear, and his mouth like the mouth of a lion. The dragon gave him his power, his throne, and great authority.
  • Rev 20:7–10And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison,
  • Jer 28:15–17Then the prophet Jeremiah said to Hananiah the prophet, “Listen, Hananiah! Yahweh has not sent you, but you make this people trust in a lie.

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Christ at the center

In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.

How 2 Corinthians 11:15 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

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