The Subtle Serpent “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve by his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:3). INTRODUCTION Paul may have been a giant of the faith, but he also had colossal concerns. The second letter to the Corinthians reveals that an enormous anxiety had overtaken his heart, namely, the spiritual welfare of the Corinthian church. Certain man-made super apostles had risen up against Paul’s apostolic authority in an attempt to seduce God’s flock into glorying in the flesh. They preached another Gospel which rejected the idea that the Lord’s power was made perfect in weakness (in other words, the theology of the cross). Paul thus wrote this epistle with a much burdened soul and in the passage above he spells out his chief fear for the Corinthians. I FEAR Paul was mature enough to admit that he did get worried. He didn’t try to cover up his unease by positive confession. He let the church of Christ know what was on his heart so as to draw them to repentance. Being a man of God, he was genuinely concerned about the Lord’s people. He didn’t use the church for his own personal benefit as the false prophets did. Paul feared to the saints because he cared earnestly for them. LEST BY ANY MEANS AS THE SERPENT BEGUILED EVE BY HIS SUBTELTY Paul compares the super apostles to the devil himself. The snake deceived Eve in the beginning. How? By questioning the command of the Almighty! Notice how Satan only mentioned the negative part of God’s mandate when he came to speak to Eve (compare Genesis 3:1 with God’s original words in Genesis 2:16). The devil never talked about the wonderful blessings that the Lord had bestowed upon the world’s first couple so that they could enjoy the fullness of Eden. Beelzebub always makes God out to be a wet blanket! He deceived Eve by subtlety. He didn’t appear to Eve saying, “Hey there, Eve! I’m a false prophet! Come on and follow me, girl!” Not a chance! He slithered his way into Eve’s vulnerable heart and seduced her into desiring what God had expressly forbidden. His tongue reasoned the world’s first lady into thinking that going against the Lord’s will would be for her own self benefit. What a horrendous mistake! Eve didn’t think that pretty snake would have done her any harm- but just look at all the cursed consequences around us in today’s broken world! SO YOUR MINDS SHOULD BE CORRUPTED There is disease called the corruption of the mind. This text shows us that our mind is important for God. Today there is such a strong emphasis on action that we forget about the need for a robust theology to back up everything we believe. God never called us to abandon our brains. After all, He was the One who gave us them! Christian’s must be solidly based on the sound doctrine of the Scriptures in order to avoid falling into disorder and confusion. The sword of the Spirit is our only defence against our old arch enemy (Ephesians 6:17). Any addition to or subtraction from the doctrine of Christ is a perilous poison. The reason so many sects prosper in our age is because we live in a generation of biblical ignorance. We no longer know how to discern according to the Scriptures. The only remedy for a corrupt mind is the healthy balm of the Word of God. Without this solid and everlasting foundation, the Christian would fall as soon as he had got back on his feet. Paul knew the safety of the Corinthian church resided in their knowledge of the Word and their subjection to it. FROM THE SIMPLICITY THAT IS IN CHRIST The super apostles of Paul’s day wanted to turn the Gospel into a message of self and human glory (much like our twenty-first century). But the apostle was having none of it because his entire message could be summed up in one little word: Christ. Paul wanted Christ and nothing but Christ. Christ is the glory of a Christian; not an improved self-esteem nor self-promotion nor extra popularity. The New Testament teaching regarding Christ is enough to ward off any viper who wants to infiltrate the church of the living God. The Christ of Paul is the redeemer God-man outside of whom there is no salvation whatsoever. Jesus is sufficient to save; not man-inspired works. He is the only eternal Priest and only by Him do we have access to God (Hebrews 10:14). This is what the false prophets had forgotten. They tried to add onto Jesus by making Him partially sufficient for redemption but not all sufficient. Paul was adamant: only Jesus saves! Nothing and no one else! CONCLUSION If Paul were amongst us today I’m almost sure that he would repeat this warning in more or less the same terms. He would teach us that we don’t need new church structures or novel doctrines or up-to-date methods. All we need has already been given to us: Christ. He would urge us never to move an inch away from Him- not even for a split second. So let’s stick to Paul’s advice and to shun any contemporary devilish movement which tries to bypass the Jesus of the Bible. The New Testament Jesus was enough for Paul; and by the grace of His Spirit, He will be enough for all of us who continue to follow Him joyfully today.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 13:14:56 +0000
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