“For if someone comes to you and
preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a
different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one
you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.” 2 Corinthians 11:4
When raising our son, Peggy and I often prayed that he would learn big lessons
at small costs. Certainly we asked for divine protection from bad decisions,
but, even more, we wanted him to navigate his way by listening and learning –
listening to the wisdom of God and learning from the experiences of others. And
while Matthew made his mistakes along the way, God was merciful to grant us our
request.
Along these lines, we do well to learn from the errors of the Corinthian
church, namely, putting up with a different Jesus, a different spirit and a
different gospel. Paul’s appropriate rebuke for them doubles as a merciful
alert for us. We do well to stop, listen and learn ...
Our Jesus, is he different from – i.e., morally “superior” to – the Old
Testament God, or is he the exact representation of him? Our Jesus, is he the
one who subjugates the authority of his Word to our prerequisites for happiness, or is he
the one who empowers us in love to do what is good and right and pleasing to
him?
Do we follow a spirit that compels us to act religious, or are we inspired by
the Spirit who fills us with the joy of Christ in us? Do we follow a spirit
that panders to self-image, or does the Spirit himself transform us into
the image of Christ?
Our good news, is it that Jesus is one of many ways to God, or is it that
Christ is God himself living in us as “the way” to the Father? Our good news,
is it a bargain ticket to live a selfish life with no consequences, or is it
eternal life for those humbled at the Spirit’s gentle conviction of sin and surrendered
in trusting submission to Christ?
There is one Jesus, one Spirit and one gospel; all other “enlightenment”
actually darkens our soul. The errors of the early church stand as lessons for
us today; we need not repeat them. May we, instead, learn big lessons at small
costs.
Holy Spirit of God, lead us freely in the way of life and truth; lead us on in Christ
alone.
“For such men are false apostles,
deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan
himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his
servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.” 2 Corinthians 11:13-15a
[Click here to see the daily reading in 2 Corinthians 11:1-15.]
Showing posts with label 2 Corinthians 11. Show all posts
Showing posts with label 2 Corinthians 11. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 10, 2016
Wednesday, June 4, 2014
As deceived as Eve
“I am afraid that just
as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led
astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a
Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit
from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you
put up with it easily enough.”
2 Corinthians 11:3-4
“She was deceived by the serpent's cunning.” If Eve had a tombstone, this could well be its epitaph. For this is how she has been remembered; it is her tragic legacy.
I don’t think Satan uses serpents much anymore, other than to scare the bejeebers out of us, perhaps. Oh, he’s still hell-bent on leading us astray, but he's deceived plenty of people by now and he is more than pleased to use them to dupe more dupes! Including you and me if we’re not careful.
So let’s sign the guest register at the First Church of Corinth, settle into a comfortable pew and consider Paul’s warning against three false promises: a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel.
We don’t often hear reports of a “different Jesus,” per se. Our “different Jesus” is the one we create in our image by bending, stretching and twisting the Biblical Son of God like a toy-box Gumby until he looks the way we think he should look. But God intends that we be conformed into the image of his Son (Romans 8:29), not the other way around. And his complete Word is the complete authority on his Son.
Jesus is God, come in the flesh; any assertion to the contrary arises from a “different spirit.” In one of the Bible's great “trinity” passages, Jesus instructed his disciples: “... I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16-17)” And it is so crucial we follow this Holy Spirit of truth, that John warned against “different spirits,” even giving us this litmus test by which to discern among them: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. (1 John 4:2)”
As Paul told the Galatians, “a different gospel ... is really no gospel at all. (Galatians 1:6)” Only Jesus fulfilled the gospel announced in advance to Abraham (Galatians 3:6-9) and to the prophets (Romans 1:1-4). Only God himself in human flesh could fulfill the rigid demands of the Law. Only Jesus’ blood could remove our sin; only God's life could atone for our life. This being true, there is, as Paul said, no other gospel; indeed, perfection needs no other “good news.”
Winding its way throughout eternity is the Word of God. God displayed its authority upon speaking it. Satan acknowledged its authority by twisting it. Eve recognized its authority in misquoting it. Moses and the prophets submitted to its authority when writing it. Jesus attested to its authority by declaring it, living it and fulfilling it – everything “that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. (Luke 24:44)” And when we trust in its authority, it proves to be our rock, our safe place amid the tempest of deception.
As our wacky world turns wackier, let us not be as deceived as Eve. Rather, let us hold onto these unchanging truths: there is no other Jesus; there is no other Holy Spirit of truth; there is no other gospel.
Our God is true to his Word. We have it on good authority. We can trust it with our lives.
[Today’s reading is 2 Corinthians 11:1-15. For NIV, click here. For The Message, click here.]
2 Corinthians 11:3-4
“She was deceived by the serpent's cunning.” If Eve had a tombstone, this could well be its epitaph. For this is how she has been remembered; it is her tragic legacy.
I don’t think Satan uses serpents much anymore, other than to scare the bejeebers out of us, perhaps. Oh, he’s still hell-bent on leading us astray, but he's deceived plenty of people by now and he is more than pleased to use them to dupe more dupes! Including you and me if we’re not careful.
So let’s sign the guest register at the First Church of Corinth, settle into a comfortable pew and consider Paul’s warning against three false promises: a different Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel.
We don’t often hear reports of a “different Jesus,” per se. Our “different Jesus” is the one we create in our image by bending, stretching and twisting the Biblical Son of God like a toy-box Gumby until he looks the way we think he should look. But God intends that we be conformed into the image of his Son (Romans 8:29), not the other way around. And his complete Word is the complete authority on his Son.
Jesus is God, come in the flesh; any assertion to the contrary arises from a “different spirit.” In one of the Bible's great “trinity” passages, Jesus instructed his disciples: “... I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. (John 14:16-17)” And it is so crucial we follow this Holy Spirit of truth, that John warned against “different spirits,” even giving us this litmus test by which to discern among them: “This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. (1 John 4:2)”
As Paul told the Galatians, “a different gospel ... is really no gospel at all. (Galatians 1:6)” Only Jesus fulfilled the gospel announced in advance to Abraham (Galatians 3:6-9) and to the prophets (Romans 1:1-4). Only God himself in human flesh could fulfill the rigid demands of the Law. Only Jesus’ blood could remove our sin; only God's life could atone for our life. This being true, there is, as Paul said, no other gospel; indeed, perfection needs no other “good news.”
Winding its way throughout eternity is the Word of God. God displayed its authority upon speaking it. Satan acknowledged its authority by twisting it. Eve recognized its authority in misquoting it. Moses and the prophets submitted to its authority when writing it. Jesus attested to its authority by declaring it, living it and fulfilling it – everything “that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. (Luke 24:44)” And when we trust in its authority, it proves to be our rock, our safe place amid the tempest of deception.
As our wacky world turns wackier, let us not be as deceived as Eve. Rather, let us hold onto these unchanging truths: there is no other Jesus; there is no other Holy Spirit of truth; there is no other gospel.
Our God is true to his Word. We have it on good authority. We can trust it with our lives.
[Today’s reading is 2 Corinthians 11:1-15. For NIV, click here. For The Message, click here.]
Friday, September 6, 2013
Called and Equipped
2 Corinthians 11:6 (NIV) I may not
be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear
to you in every way.
There are times in ministry when we do not feel as though we have enough training to do the job we have been given. There are times we doubt our effectiveness, as we have no diploma on the topic. This is where Paul finds himself in Chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians. He knows he doesn't have the training, In his mind he feels he isn't a gifted orator, but he does know a few things about the topics he preaches.
There are so many times we feel inadequate to do the work Jesus needs done. We signed up to teach children's Sunday school but struggle with our lack of skills we think we need to work with little ones. But we volunteered because there was this nudge we could not ignore. Paul finds himself in a similar situation. He volunteered to serve Jesus, to tell everyone who will listen, about the amazing life Jesus offers.
Paul's problem is with those who are trying to undermine him, to convince the people to follow them and they will reveal Jesus. False prophets were working to undo everything Paul had done by claiming they knew more and they knew better. False prophets are around today too, they only take on a different form and talk a different talk.
When God calls us into ministry, when we feel his tap on our shoulders, we can respond confidently. We have walked through the field of pain and hardships with Him at our side. We have turned to Jesus for help and comfort and we have learned of His faithfulness. This is the only training we need sometimes; on-the-job-training is the best witness. Remember, God doesn't call the equipped--He equips the called.
2 Corinthians 11
There are times in ministry when we do not feel as though we have enough training to do the job we have been given. There are times we doubt our effectiveness, as we have no diploma on the topic. This is where Paul finds himself in Chapter 11 of 2 Corinthians. He knows he doesn't have the training, In his mind he feels he isn't a gifted orator, but he does know a few things about the topics he preaches.
There are so many times we feel inadequate to do the work Jesus needs done. We signed up to teach children's Sunday school but struggle with our lack of skills we think we need to work with little ones. But we volunteered because there was this nudge we could not ignore. Paul finds himself in a similar situation. He volunteered to serve Jesus, to tell everyone who will listen, about the amazing life Jesus offers.
Paul's problem is with those who are trying to undermine him, to convince the people to follow them and they will reveal Jesus. False prophets were working to undo everything Paul had done by claiming they knew more and they knew better. False prophets are around today too, they only take on a different form and talk a different talk.
When God calls us into ministry, when we feel his tap on our shoulders, we can respond confidently. We have walked through the field of pain and hardships with Him at our side. We have turned to Jesus for help and comfort and we have learned of His faithfulness. This is the only training we need sometimes; on-the-job-training is the best witness. Remember, God doesn't call the equipped--He equips the called.
2 Corinthians 11
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