2 Corinthians 11

Christ the Bridegroom

Bridegroom — the Husband to whom the covenant people are betrothed

For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:2

Paul pictures the Church as a bride promised in marriage to Christ, the Bridegroom. He wants to present the Saints to Him pure and faithful.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• the same title in Matthew 25:1 — The parable of the ten virgins waiting for the Bridegroom.
• the same title in Ephesians 5:25-27 — Christ loves the Church as a husband and presents it to Himself without spot.

Christ

Christ — the Anointed One

But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:3

Just as the serpent deceived Eve, false teachers can pull minds away from the pure, single-hearted devotion found in Christ.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

• alludes to Genesis 3:13 — Eve: "The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."

Jesus

Jesus — Jehovah saves

For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him. 2 Corinthians 11:4

Paul warns that some teach a false version of Jesus. Knowing the true Jesus, as the apostles taught Him, protects disciples from deception.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

Christ

Christ — the Anointed One

As the truth of Christ is in me, no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia. 2 Corinthians 11:10

Paul makes a solemn affirmation by the truth of Christ that dwells in him. His honesty rests on his relationship with the Savior.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

Christ

Christ — the Anointed One

For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. 2 Corinthians 11:13

False apostles disguise themselves as apostles of Christ. The real authority to speak for Him cannot be counterfeited by appearance.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

The Lord

That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were foolishly, in this confidence of boasting. 2 Corinthians 11:17

Paul admits his boasting is not the way the Lord would speak. He contrasts his own "foolish" tone with the Lord's pattern of humility.

How we know: the chapter heading names Him

Christ

Christ — the Anointed One

Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. 2 Corinthians 11:23

Paul's proof that he is a minister of Christ is not status but suffering: stripes, prisons, shipwrecks, and danger endured for the Savior.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him

Our Lord Jesus Christ

Jesus Christ — Jehovah saves, the Anointed One

The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which is blessed for evermore, knoweth that I lie not. 2 Corinthians 11:31

Paul calls on God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, as his witness. The wording shows the Father and the Son as distinct beings.

How we know: the verse itself names Him · the chapter heading names Him · a Church study aid lists it