II Cor. 11:14-15 ... [Since] "even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light ... it is not surprising if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness, whose end will be according to their deeds."
We read in Acts 18 that Paul brought the gospel to Corinth, a very heathen city with an especially debased culture devoted to idolatry. Against great obstacles, which induced within him "fear and much trembling" (I Cor. 2:3), he was nevertheless able to plant a church there and begin to build it up. For the next year and a half, an unusual stay for Paul in one place, he labored to strengthen the new Christians and enable them to continue faithful service to the Lord when he had to leave. Once he had moved on to other fields of work, there came to Corinth men who preached "another Jesus," were motivated by a "different spirit," and proclaimed a "different gospel" (v.4). They belittled Paul's claim to apostleship (v.5), cast contempt upon his speaking ability (v.6), and suggested he preached for wages he received (vs. 8-9). In this epistle Paul refuted all these charges, urged the brethren to hold to the view of Jesus he had shown them, let themselves be led by the same Spirit who directed him, and remain faithful to the gospel he had taught them.
Then Paul turned upon these adversaries and declared them to be "false apostles" and "deceitful workers," but most of all ministers of Satan who "disguise themselves as "apostles of Christ" (v.13) and "servants of righeousness" (v.15). These men had come to the church in Corinth presenting themselves as authentic apostles, teachers of the real gospel, and inspired by the true Spirit. They were probably more capable in oratory than Paul and possessed the type of personality and physical appearance that appealed to people. It often seems that people are more attracted to and captivated by a speaker who is handsome, physically energetic, and projects his personality with a magnetic force that draws people to him, and who is able to fulfil the desire of an audience "to have their ears tickled," (II Tim.4:3) and to dazzle their minds with dynamic speaking. The truth of a message and the power of God that truth delivers are usurped by the speaker's appearance, personality and aggressive method of presentation. Paul was willing to concede that his physical appearance was not appealing and that his speaking ability was not impressive (10:10), but he insisted that his knowledge of truth was superior (v.6), that his motives were directed by God's will (vs. 7-8), and that his labors were entirely sacrificial (vs. 23-33). Others might attract crowds and generate enthusiasm by their superficial methods, but he with knowledge, humility, and self-sacrifice would build souls for eternity.
The basic issue involved in the text is that evil can counterfeit goodness. Satan transforms himself into an "angel of light" in order to hide his true appearance and deceive the innocent, even as he first "deceived Eve" (v.3). No one knows if Paul is speaking metaphorically or rather in fact about some actual event, for Scripture does not explicitly reveal it. We do recall of "a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord (Yahweh), and Satan also came among them" (Job 2:1). The phrase "sons of God' in the New Testament refers to Christians. And today we can believe that Satan's ministers indeed come into the midst of the "sons of God" and, teaching a gospel perverted by human opinion and worldly philosophy, present a distorted image of Christ. They disguise themselves as "ministers of righteousness" by their personal charisma, zeal, appearance of piety, and use of Biblical terminology and images. We must take notice, however, that their "end will be according to their deeds" (v.15) and not let ourselves be swept away by their flair and dynamic enthusiam. We must always look beyond the external appearance for the truth and attribute results to God's power. We must not permit ourselves to be deceived by the outward peformance of what is really theatrics, the pleasing facade that conceals the presence and power of Satan.
