Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 11:15

"It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works." — 2 Corinthians 11:15 (ASV)

Paul does not contest the right of his adversaries to support but rather lays against them a single all-embracing charge. Those who vainly sought equality with him were in fact “false apostles,” apostolic pretenders who passed themselves off as righteous servants of Christ (cf. 11:23) while in reality they were agents of Satan. Like this archdeceiver , whose habit was to masquerade “as a shining angel,” they relied on disguise and deceit in carrying out their nefarious schemes (cf. vv.3–4). The destiny of these men would accord with the actual deeds they performed (cf. 5:10), not the outward appearance they adopted (cf. 5:12). As preachers of “a different gospel” (v.4), they stood under the anathema of Gal 1:8–9.

When referring to the “super-apostles” (cf. 11:5; 12:11), Paul shows remarkable restraint; he is not their inferior in any respect. But he does not hesitate to attack ruthlessly the “false apostles,” the Judaizing intruders from Jerusalem. Regarding the former Paul is defensive and mildly ironical; regarding the latter he is polemical and intensely serious. The solution to the problem of the Palestinian opponents was outright condemnation, since as minions of Satan they were trying to impose certain elements of Jewish teaching and practice on Gentile Christians as prerequisites for salvation.