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.

It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also fashion themselves as ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.

Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers be transformed as the ministers of justice, whose end shall be according to their works.

It is no great thing therefore if his ministers also transform themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.

It is therefore no great thing for his servants also to disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will be in accordance with their actions.

So it is no great thing if his servants make themselves seem to be servants of righteousness; whose end will be the reward of their works.

Therefore, it is no great thing if his ministers present themselves as if they were ministers of justice, for their end shall be according to their works.

It is not surprising, therefore, if his servants also disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. But their end will be in accordance with their actions.

Whose end shall be. He adds this for the consolation of the pious. For it is the statement of a courageous man, who despises the foolish judgments of men, and patiently waits for the day of the Lord. In the mean time, he shows a singular boldness of conscience, which does not dread the judgment of God.

Therefore it is no great thing - It is not to be deemed surprising. You are not to wonder if people of the basest, blackest character put on the appearance of the greatest sanctity, and even become eminent as professed preachers of righteousness.
Whose end shall be - Whose final destiny. Their doom in eternity shall not be according to their fair professions and plausible pretences, for they cannot deceive God; but shall be according to their real character, and their works. Their work is a work of deception, and they shall be judged according to that. What revelations there will be in the day of judgment, when all impostors shall be unmasked, and when all hypocrites and deceivers shall be seen in their true colors! And how desirable is it that there should be such a day to disclose all beings in their true character, and forever to remove imposture and delusion from the universe!

Whose end shall be according to their works - A bad way leads to a bad end. The way of sin is the way to hell.

Therefore it is no great thing,.... It is no strange and wonderful thing; it may easily be given into; no man need to make any doubt of it, or hesitate concerning it, since the devil himself, who is an angel of darkness, is transformed into an angel of light:
if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; not that they really are transformed into such ministers, but they appear and look like such; they are not really, but "as the ministers of righteousness"; they put on the form and air of faithful upright ministers of the word, and would be thought to be such; they mimic Gospel preachers, who assert the doctrine of justification by the righteousness of Christ, though they most miserably corrupt it, and blend it with something of their own; and which they endeavour to palliate, and cover from the sight of men; and especially they set up themselves as such, by pretending to be great friends to holiness and good works, which they press with much vehemence, and oppose to the doctrines of grace, with all their might and main; in doing which, they greatly serve their master, whose ministers they are; and who well knows that the doctrine of works may do much prejudice to the Gospel interest, and churches of Christ, but will never convert nor save one soul: a dreadful character these men have, for though they would pass for ministers of righteousness, friends to holiness, and men zealous of good works, they are no other than ministers of Satan, doing his work, serving his interest, and propagating his kingdom, which is a kingdom of darkness:
whose end shall be according to their works; for either God will make public examples of them in this world, or if they are not made manifest here, though they may deceive themselves and others, they cannot deceive God; he will take off the mask, their hypocrisy shall be detected, their evil works will be laid open, and they will be judged according to them, and condemned for them to everlasting punishment.

no great thing--no difficult matter.
if his ministers also--as well as himself.
righteousness--answering to "light" (2-Corinthians 11:14); the manifestation wherewith God reveals Himself in Christ (Matthew 6:33; Romans 1:17).
end--The test of things is the end which strips off every specious form into which Satan's agents may now "transform" themselves (compare Philippians 3:19, Philippians 3:21).
according to their works--not according to their pretensions.

Therefore it is no great, no strange, thing; whose end, notwithstanding all their disguises, shall be according to their works.