Foolishness For Good Reasons

Transcript

GR 1823
11/29/2015
Foolishness for Good Reasons
2 Corinthians 11:1-6
Gil Rugh

We're going to 2 Corinthians 11. We're in a special section of the Word. Many portions of the Word are special. It's all special. But this is special in that it unfolds something of the personal aspects of the Apostle Paul's life that we don't find anywhere else in Scripture. This closing portion of 2 Corinthians 10-13 Paul opens up, expresses something of his personal feelings, thoughts, concerns that are not revealed in other places. The book of Acts reveals his travels, we see him going from place to place so we learn there something about his travels we wouldn't learn in these passages. But we learn more details and more what's going on with Paul as we look into this section of the Word. As is often the case these things come out about Paul in the context of a difficult situation. And Paul had to grow like we have to grow. And Paul is being used of God in mighty ways, but he is still being matured and growing. He told the Philippians he didn't count himself as having yet arrived, but he was in relentless pursuit of the perfection provided for him in Christ Jesus. So we see something of Paul's heart here.

The Corinthian church had been infiltrated by false teachers. We'll see that as we move further into chapter 11 in future studies, unbelievers that were masquerading as God's servants. And the problem was not just the false teachers but their influence was having an impact upon the believers in the church at Corinth. And part of what was happening is the trustworthiness and confidence of this Corinthian church was being turned away from Paul to these false teachers. And that could only spell disaster for the church and for the believers within the church because the corrupting influence of the doctrinal error would permeate their lives in other areas as well.

So Paul is driven to do something he would prefer not to, and of course this is within the plan of God. But he's going to have to boast. He's going to have to brag about himself. He's going to have to do what he says is foolish. You know how it is, if someone accuses you of being proud and you are not as humble as some other people they know, how do you answer that? As soon as you start to say, no, I'm not proud, I'm really humble. Somehow you know you are standing on sand, it's shifting. There is just no way to convince people how humble I really am. And yet Paul feels like he is driven to that. How do I tell you how wonderful my ministry has been, that my ministry has had a greater impact on lives than other people's ministry, that I have been more faithful to God than other people have been. Paul said this is ridiculous.

Just back up to 2 Corinthians 10, a section we've already been through. “Now I Paul,” the first verse, “myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I am meek when face to face with you but bold toward you when absent.” So there have been attacks on Paul and when he was present his meekness had been cast now in the light of timid cowardice, ineffectiveness. And he reminded them he had the meekness and gentleness of Christ in his ministry. The danger was the Corinthian church was being drawn in to look at things from a human perspective, a physical perspective. And these false teachers had more physical presence, more capability in speaking. They displayed more intellect, and on it goes. And with Paul not there and these false teachers being there, what they said about Paul seemed to begin to make sense. And so the church was in danger of being corrupted.

Down in 2 Corinthians 10:12 he said, “We are not bold to class or compare ourselves with some of those who commend themselves, but when they measure themselves by themselves, compare themselves with themselves, they are without understanding. But we will not boast beyond our measure, but within the measure of the sphere which God has appointed a portion to us as a measure to reach even to you.” I'm not going to compare myself with others, I'm going to tell you what God has done. But I will show that what God has done in my life and ministry far surpasses that of the false teachers who have infiltrated the church at Corinth.

So he comes down to the end of chapter 10 and in verse 17 says “but he who boasts is to boast in the Lord. For it is not he who commends himself that is approved, but he whom the Lord commends.” Then 2 Corinthians 11:1, “I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness.” And he's going to talk about being a fool, being foolish. Not something he likes to do. This is going to be a key word throughout this whole section, different forms of this word foolishness, let me just mention them to you. In verse 1 we just read, “bear with me in a little foolishness;” down in verse 16, “again I say let no one think me foolish, but if you do receive me even as foolish;” verse 17, “what I am saying I'm not saying as the Lord would, but as in foolishness;” down in verse 19, “for you being so wise tolerate the foolish gladly;” verse 21, the second part of that verse, “in whatever respect anyone else is bold I speak in foolishness.” Come down to chapter 12 which is still part of this theme, verse 6, “For if I do wish to boast, I will not be foolish;” down in verse 11, “I have become foolish.” You see that constant emphasis, Paul wants to draw attention as he begins to commend himself, if you will, boast about what God has done in him. This is foolish, but it's a certain kind of foolishness. Paul used a different word for foolishness, for example, when in his first letter in chapter 1 where we have gone several times, the preaching of the Gospel is foolishness to those who are lost, to summarize it. The word foolishness there is a completely different word than he uses here.

The word for foolishness here refers to a deliberate act of foolishness that is done for the benefit of someone else. I am willing to become a fool for your benefit, is what Paul is saying. I am so concerned for you in your spiritual well-being, I am willing to do what I view as foolish. I'm going to boast about myself, I am going to compare myself to these false teachers who claim to be so much superior to me. And he acknowledged they may be superior to me in the physical things—their appearance, their speaking ability, their ability to display intellectual capacities—but they are not superior to me in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. They are not superior to me in the revelations God has given me. So he is going to constantly emphasize the foolishness, but it is necessary, he is doing it because he loves them, because he has a concern for their spiritual well-being.

So he says “I wish,” back in 2 Corinthians 11:1, “I wish that you would bear with me in a little foolishness.” I want you to put up with this foolishness, but it is for your benefit. “Indeed you are bearing with me.” Or you could say you must bear with me. What he is going to do in verses 2-6 is give three reasons why they must bear with him in his foolishness. In our English Bible you have each of these beginning with the preposition for as the first word. Verse 2 is the first, it will cover verses 2-3. “For,” and to summarize it for you, for he is zealous to protect them from harmful influences. That's his first reason why you should bear with me in my foolishness. The first reason is I'm doing this to protect you from the harmful spiritual influences that you are facing. The second reason they should bear with him comes in verse 4, “For if one comes and preaches.” And the summary of that is for you bear with false teachers. If you'll bear with those who are bringing error to you, certainly you should bear with me who brings you truth. If you bear with those who didn't bring you the saving Gospel, you ought to bear with me. So if you bear with false teachers you should bear with me a little while. And the third reason given in verses 5-6, none of these so-called super apostles are superior to Paul. He is not inferior to the most eminent apostles. The eminent apostles, the super apostles, the above and beyond apostles, as they saw themselves.

Back up to 2 Corinthians 5, just put this in the context of what Paul has been talking about again. Not new, but it is essential. He tells them in 2 Corinthians 5:11, “Therefore knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men. But we are made manifest to God and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.” God knows me as I am and I hope you know me truly, too. Know there is nothing false in me is what he is saying. “We are not again commending ourselves to you but giving you an occasion to be proud of us so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance, not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves it is for God, if we are of sound mind it is for you.” My whole life and ministry is for your benefit. That's where we are in chapter 11, just has to keep repeating it.

So come back to chapter 11, verse 2. The first reason why they should bear with him. His zeal, his jealousy is to protect them. It's not a jealousy, this is my church, I founded it, I started it. Let them start their own church, this is my church. No, that's not Paul's approach. My jealousy is the same jealousy God has—it's to protect you from those spiritual influences that will corrupt you, be harmful to you. “For I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy.” This zeal he has is not a selfish zeal, it's the same jealousy God has for His people. He is simply reflecting it. God is jealous for His people, the Old Testament reflects this. He is a jealous God, He looks out for the spiritual well-being of His people. We've sung He is the protector, it is His everlasting arms that keep His people, He is a jealous God that is offended by any who would corrupt them. That's what Paul is talking about, I have a jealous godliness.

Now note, he is going to use an analogy here that is important and foundational. “For I betrothed you to one husband so that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.” A marriage analogy from biblical times. Our marriage wouldn't quite fit, the way we do it. Betrothal is not like our marriage ceremony, there are areas that would be alike, but betrothal was a binding relationship. The only way you could break a betrothal was by a divorce. Remember when Joseph the husband of Mary found out Mary was pregnant with Jesus? He was “minded to put her away,” a word for divorce, to divorce here. Our engagements can be broken, but they don't require a divorce. So there are some differences there. Here is more in the biblical framework. Now Paul's picture here, I betrothed you to one husband. He pictures himself as the father here of the Corinthians.

Come back to 1 Corinthians 4, Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, look at verse 14. “I do not write these things to shame you but to admonish you as my beloved children. For if you were to have countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers. For in Christ Jesus I became your father through the Gospel.” So he has really picked up that analogy there and picture over in 2 Corinthians 11. When he came and preached the Gospel to them, he was the instrument that brought them to salvation. They were born again and he was the human instrument that God used. So he became their spiritual father. Now when they were born again Paul brought the Gospel, they heard it, they believed it, they were born again. As part of that they were betrothed to Christ to be His bride. That happens at the moment of salvation. Each individual is added to the bride and each local church is the manifestation and reflection of the bride of Christ. But Paul did not see his ministry with them complete because they had become part of the bride, betrothed to the bride. He saw now his responsibility as a father in line with biblical times. The father arranged the marriage of his daughter and during that betrothal period she is bound and committed to him. But it won't be until the marriage when the groom comes and takes her to his house that she moves in with him and so is officially the wife. So she is bound to him but she has not yet experienced the fullness of the marriage. Paul says during this time of betrothal the Corinthian church, the betrothed bride of Christ, he sees his responsibility as the father to maintain the purity of this betrothed bride, to protect her from that which would spiritually corrupt her, from spiritual adultery. That's the picture.

Come back to Ephesians 5, here he is talking about the relationship of husbands and wives. Wives are to be submissive to their husbands like the church is submissive to Christ, husbands are to love their wives as Christ loves the church. So verse 23, “As the husband is the head of the wife so also Christ is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. So as the church is subject to Christ, the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church. And He gave Himself up that He might sanctify her, cleanse her.” Verse 27, “That He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but she would be holy and blameless.” Paul sees himself as the human instrument in the work of Christ. Ultimately the bride will be presented by Christ Himself to Himself because it is His work that has provided the cleansing. That was in Ephesians 5, if you read the fullness of the section we were in.

So this section here, Paul is the human instrument, Christ is doing it. But ultimately the goal should be to present her holy, blameless, without spot. He is talking about a spiritual relationship and the purity that is to come in every way. That's what Paul says is his role. Isn't that what we are doing? Aren't we instruments that God is using for the carrying out of His purposes? Human instruments like Paul brought the Gospel that they might be cleansed from their sin, born again and become part of the betrothed bride of Christ, now to maintain the purity of the body. Paul says my work is not done. There are those coming into the church at Corinth that would attempt to defile the bride. This is why you see it is such a serious issue to Paul

While we're talking about marriage, the marriage of the church, come over to Revelation 19. Where we are, we have Christ come, die on the cross. The church begins in Acts 2. We are living in this time when the bride of Christ is being made up, brought to completion. Every new believer becomes part of the bride, betrothed to Christ. At the rapture of the church at the end of the church age, Christ will descend in the air, call for His betrothed bride to take her to His home. Remember John 14? In my Father's house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. That's picturing the oriental pattern of wedding where the groom would come to get his betrothed bride and take her to his house, the place he had prepared for them. She would move in with him, they would set up their own home and so on and the marriage is complete.

So when we come to Revelation 19 the rapture has occurred some seven years earlier. Christ came and took the church. They meet Him in the air, He took them to His Father's house where He had prepared a place for them. Now in Revelation 19 the seven-year tribulation is over, Christ is ready to return to earth and establish His kingdom. So we read in Revelation 19:7, “Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come,” or I think better, has occurred, “and His bride has made herself ready.” The marriage, He took us to His Father's house, that's taken care of. Now they are ready to return, verse 8, “It was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen, bright and clean, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.” You are not saved by righteous acts, doing righteousness, but as a result of being saved the character of God is produced in your life and you do righteous acts. And we are going to be rewarded for that as God's children, pictured as the clothing here.

This is Paul, he wants to have the bride undefiled, protected, ready to be presented as purely as possible to the groom. Verse 9, “Then he said to me, ‘write blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. These are true words of God.’” So now the bride has been taken by the groom to his home, the marriage has been consummated, now we're going to return to the earth and we will have the marriage supper where the friends of the bridegroom will be invited. Remember John the Baptist said I am not part of the bride, I'm a friend of the bridegroom. And the millennium will be the marriage supper, if you will, as Christ establishes His kingdom.

So you have that picture. Over in Revelation 21 and you have the New Jerusalem, verse 2, “coming down out of heaven as a bride adorned for her husband.” Verse 9, the end of the verse, “I'll show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” Then Revelation 22:17, “The Spirit and the bride say come, let the one who hears say come, let the one who is thirsty come, take of the water of life.” That's what is going on in the present time. We, the betrothed bride of Christ, are called others to come, partake of the waters of salvation that we have partaken of. These are days of privilege and grace and opportunity. And the New Jerusalem is the bride's city where we the bride of Christ will dwell on the earth throughout the kingdom through eternity.

Now in the Old Testament, you come back to 2 Corinthians 11, and then we're going to go to the Old Testament, but just so you see here. “I betrothed you to one husband that to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin.” Most of you are familiar with the Old Testament. In the Old Testament Israel is the nation God has chosen for Himself, and Israel is pictured as the bride of God the Father. Now important here, some of those who blur the distinction between Israel and the church take where we are in 2 Corinthians, for example, and talk about the fact that this is further evidence that the church and Israel are one. Because in the Old Testament Israel is the bride of God and in the New Testament the church is the bride of God. But that's to fail to notice the distinction. In the Old Testament Israel is the bride of God the Father, in the New Testament the church is the bride of God the Son. There is one God but they are distinct in person, personhood. One God, three persons. So the Father is not the Son, the Son is not the Father. Israel is portrayed as the bride of God the Father, the church is portrayed as God the Son and that distinction will remain true.

Now in the Old Testament Israel, when they would become spiritually unfaithful to God, is pictured as an adulterous wife. A couple of passages. Ezekiel 16, and I've just limited it to two books and just one passage in Ezekiel because it is long enough for you to read this afternoon. It has 63 verses, and this is all about Israel as the wife of Jehovah, God the Father, and her unfaithfulness. And it starts out when God took Israel to belong to Him. She was nothing, in the opening verses, no one would have wanted her. Verse 8, “I spread My skirt over you.” Remember in the book of Ruth and the situation with Boaz when he committed to take her to be his wife. So he spreads his skirt over you, covered your nakedness, claiming her to be his bride, his wife. Entered into covenant with you, establishing the relationship of marriage, and all He did for them.

But down in verse 15, “You trusted in your beauty, you played the harlot because of your fame, you poured out your harlotries on every passerby.” God honored Israel, blessed Israel, Israel prospered. Then they became enamored with, in their analogy, their own beauty. And so they entered into relationships with other nations and the gods of other nations. And for a while it seemed that just added to their prosperity. So all the blessings that God gave them were now misused. That's the picture.

Verse 22, “All your abominations and harlotries you did not remember the days of your youth when you were nothing and I took you and honored you to become My bride, My wife.” So God talks about, verse 24, “You built yourself a shrine, made yourself a high place in every square, built yourself a high place on every street.” This is all their spiritual adultery. Verse 28, “You played the harlot with the Assyrians, the Babylonians,” whatever. And God goes on to say, “now Israel was divided into two.” Remember under Solomon's son the northern kingdom, ten tribes and the southern kingdom two tribes, Judah and Benjamin. Well God talks about them as sisters, and by the time Ezekiel writes the northern ten tribes were carried away into captivity. And God says to Judah through Ezekiel, you should have learned from your sister the consequences of her spiritual adulteries but you didn't pay any attention, even after God punished the northern kingdom with captivity. The southern kingdom went on with their spiritual unfaithfulness.

So God promises judgment on them. The hope in it all, you come to verse 60 at the end. “Nevertheless I will remember My covenant with you in the days of your youth, I will establish an everlasting covenant with you.” Verse 62, “Thus I will establish My covenant with you and you will know I am the Lord.” So Israel remains to this day under God's judgment, but He is not done with them. They will be restored to their position as the wife of God the Father. We want to note this picture of spiritual adultery Paul carries over and says, the same concern I have for the church, which is the bride of Christ. And then Paul the Pharisee, he's a Jew, he knows this background and the seriousness of spiritual unfaithfulness.

So you come back to 2 Corinthians 11, that's what he is talking about in verse 2. I betrothed you to one husband so as to Christ I might present you as a pure virgin. But these false teachers and their teaching has come in and the danger is it corrupts you and turns you away from faithfulness to Christ. This is so serious I am willing to become a fool in elevating myself in comparison to these false teachers to remind you this is not a game, it is more than what you see physically. This is so important, I will do whatever necessary to protect you and maintain your spiritual purity to Christ.

Hosea 4:12, Hosea 9:1, there is a whole book built around . . . Remember Hosea is told, go love a woman loved of her lovers. And the unfaithfulness of Hosea's wife is a picture of the unfaithfulness of Israel to God, and He condemns them for their spiritual adultery. Serious matter, this is what is at stake here.

So we come to 2 Corinthians 11:3, “I am afraid,” here is his concern, “as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” Remember back in 2 Corinthians 10:3, “Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but divinely powerful for the destruction of forces because we are destroying speculations, every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to obedience to Christ.” This is spiritual war, these are God's people. I will do whatever it takes to defend them. Then he says this is not a new battle, it goes back to the very beginning. “As the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, I am afraid that your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.” That single-minded commitment to Christ and Him alone, devotion to Him, faithfulness to Him. Not lured by the appeal and enticements of these false teachers who seem so attractive, so convincing.

Let's go back to Genesis 3. Any time the New Testament refers to these opening chapters of Genesis, they take them literally. I am really concerned about people who claim to be Bible-believing Christians but rather cavalierly dismiss sometimes with the arguments of science so-called, knowledge so-called. But come to Genesis 3, very familiar account, right? Verse 1, “Now the serpent was more crafty than any beast of the field.” What did Paul say? “I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness. Hence the serpent came to Eve, “he said to the woman, indeed has God said.” Let's get the conversation going, first I have to draw her in. He didn't come and say, let me tell you what God said. Has God said you shall not eat from any tree of the Garden or from every tree? Well Satan knows exactly what God said. Start out, bring them in little by little.

“The woman said, from the fruit of the trees of the Garden we may eat, but from the tree which is in the middle of the Garden God has said you shall not eat from it or touch it or you will die.” Okay, now I have her engaged. Did God say you can't eat from every tree of the Garden? We can't eat from one tree. All right, we're having a conversation now, let's talk further. You've said that God said, don't eat from that tree or you will die. The serpent said, you won't die. No, you won't die. Do you know what the issue is? God doesn't want you to be like Him. Verse 5, “For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Well, I didn't think of it from that perspective. God did say don't eat of it and He said we would die, but now I have the serpent and he says I won't die. In fact I will be much wiser, I will be like God if I eat of it. “So she saw that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, that the tree was desirable to make one wise.” We move now to where Paul talks about these false teachers. We are on the physical. Just look at that tree, there is just something you like about it. I could see eating that fruit would give you greater wisdom. And so she ate, then she gave to her husband and he ate.

“The eyes of both of them were opened.” They have died spiritually, and they have gained wisdom of a certain kind, a knowledge that they didn't have before. Now they know what the reality of sin is. The all-knowing God knows the awfulness of sin. They were in a state of innocence and all the relationship with God is affected. Before they looked forward to His coming in the cool of the evening and walking in the Garden. What an honor, what a privilege. Now what happens when God comes? They run and hide, they try to cover their nakedness. They are ashamed. They are embarrassed. They are uncomfortable. They know something they didn't know before, but it's something they were better off not knowing. And when God questions them, verse 12, “The man said the woman you gave me to be with me gave me this from the tree and I ate. The woman said,” verse 13, “the serpent deceived me and I ate.” So that's what Paul is talking about.

Come over to 1 Timothy 2. Paul uses this same portion, verse 12. 1 Timothy 2:11, “I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man but to remain quiet.” Why? “For it was Adam who was first created, then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived,” that's just the basic word deceived, “but the woman being fully deceived.” That's the same word deceived with a preposition on the front which intensifies it. Adam wasn't deceived at all, but the woman was fully, completely deceived. Fell into the transgression. Same emphasis.

Now the devil is crafty, the devil is a liar. Come back to John 8. This is important because it was the way the devil worked at the beginning, it's the way he worked during the earthly ministry of Christ, it's the way he worked in the days of the early church under Paul's ministry and others. It's the way he works today. Jesus speaking to the religious people of His time, He says in verse 40, “As it is you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God.” Why do you want to kill someone who tells you the truth? Remember Paul asks the Galatians, have I become your enemy because I tell you the truth?

Verse 41, “You are doing the deeds of your father.” Verse 42, “If God were your father, you would love Me.” Verse 43, “Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you cannot hear My word. You are of your father the devil, you want to do the desire of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, he does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him.” You don't get any truth from the devil, the truth he uses has been corrupted and poisoned so it's a misuse of the truth. That doesn't mean the devil can't use Scripture but he never uses it truthfully. It's a distortion like in the temptation of Christ in the opening chapters of Matthew. Note how He goes on, since there is no truth in him “whenever he speaks a lie he speaks from his own nature because there is no truth in him.” All that come out is a lie. “He is a liar, the father of lies.” Nothing has changed.

So Paul is writing to the Corinthians, he is working the same way with you he worked with Eve in the Garden. Come back to 2 Corinthians 11. I am afraid that as the serpent deceived . . . Well, that was a long time ago and I don't know if I take it literally anyway. Another lie of the devil. It's not literal, that's not the way it actually was. It is and he says he is doing the same thing with you, he is using a human instrument, there he used the serpent, and he is coming to you. He is still the same in character, he is the serpent in his craftiness. And he wants to lead you astray from the simplicity, that singleness of focus and purity of devotion to Christ. That's what is happening with these false teachers. They are subtle. He comes in, he disseminates error. But he has to be convincing.

So verse 4, “For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different Gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.” You'll note the three things he talks about here. These who come in preach Jesus, but it's another Jesus; they preach about the Spirit, I take it it's the Holy Spirit, but it's not the same; they have a Gospel but it's not the same. The point of this is they have picked up the very things that Paul preached, but they are corrupted. You know the danger to our church, we haven't had any divisions over Buddhism. We haven't had any conflict over Hinduism. To this date at least we haven't split over Mormonism. Where does the problem come from? It comes from within. The devil is not dumb. Do you think he's going to come in and hold up a placard recruiting devotees to Buddha? We'd say nobody is going to be deceived by that. He has to come in and disseminate his error. That's what is happening at the church at Corinth.

So you realize here it is not only unbelievers who are deceived by the lies. The unbelieving teachers are corrupting the church. So we as believers, the Corinthian believers can be subtle but effectively turned away from that singleness of focus and devotion to Christ and thus become spiritually unfaithful, spiritually impure. That's what Paul is concerned about. He is going to deal with the false teachers, they have to go. He's going to expose them, they are agents of the devil. But his concern is to protect and rescue those at Corinth. But do you know what happens when this error disseminates? Pretty soon it gets confusing, you don't even know for sure who is a believer and who is not.

That's why he says over in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Test yourself to see if you are in the faith.” Something is wrong, something has corrupted you, something has turned you aside. This is serious. This is why Paul is battling for it, it is a spiritual war. The devil's tactics do not change. From the first deception in the Garden with Eve down until the end of time and the establishing of the eternal kingdom the devil works the same. He is a liar, it's his very character. There is no truth in him. But he knows how to utilize the truth for his corrupted purposes.

So what is going on in the church at Corinth? They tolerate error beautifully, these who come in and make alterations in the Gospel. The Galatian church for example, may not be the exact corruption but it's the same kind of idea. The Judaizers, Acts 15, the letter to the Galatians. Believe in Christ, He is the Messiah of Israel, He is the Son of God, He died on the cross, He was raised from the dead. You must believe in Him. But that's not enough. You must also teach they must be circumcised and keep the Law. Paul says that is a lie. If an angel from heaven comes and teaches you that, they are cursed to hell. That's how serious it is. Yet the Galatian churches were confused and that confusion in doctrine leads to confusion in practice. And yet the Corinthians prided themselves, you bear with them beautifully. I mean, we're open, they are very effective, I can see some of what they are saying. And I'm trying to think about it and the more I think about it, the more I can see they may have a point.

That's like, some of you have read Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan. Christian got off the pathway, traveling on his journey. And you know when he started out it was just a little bit of variation and he could see the path that he had turned from. But you know the longer you travel the further out you get. Finally he sat down and said, “I got so far off the path that I couldn't see the correct path anymore. I couldn't remember how to get there.” So he has to take the laborious task of working his way back. That's what Paul has been doing here—working them back, bringing them back. Who led you to Christ? Who taught you the Gospel? Who has built the Word of God into your life? Have you not seen your lives transformed by the message I brought? Why are you bearing beautifully with this other teaching? You know what happens to error, once it gets hold of people, it's hard to pull them back out. It just get entangling. That's what he is talking about.

Look at verses 5-6, just to summarize and we'll pick up here at our next study. “For I consider myself not in the least inferior to the most eminent apostles.” I think he's talking about here these eminent apostles, these super apostles, the ones he describes down in verse 13 as false apostles, deceitful workers. They have elevated themselves, but I am in no way inferior to them. That's why he is doing the foolishness, talking about these matters and in effect showing that he is the one in whom God is working. Not to draw glory to himself or to make this his church. It's the bride of Christ, it's too important. My responsibility is too great. I must maintain your purity and call you back to it.

“For even if I am unskilled in speech yet I am not so in knowledge, in fact in every way we have made this evident to you in all things.” I may not be the most accomplished speaker, I may not have the most powerful presence, I might not display the strongest intellect. But I am second to no one in the knowledge of God. And he's going to get into that in chapter 12, I got it directly from God. You are looking at the physical things. Who brought you the knowledge of God? The salvation found in Christ, the power of the ministry of the Holy Spirit in a life that made you new? I don't come behind anyone in knowledge. That's not a selfish bragging about how smart he is, how much more he knows about anybody. I brought you the truth and you must stand in truth. The line must be drawn and some are going to have to go. And then you are going to have to sort out whether you really are in the faith or not. He's not going to allow the church just to continue to drift. The corruption will spread, the defilement will increase.

Over in 2 Corinthians 12:20, “I am afraid that perhaps when I come, I may find you not to be what I wish, may find you not to be what you wish. There will be strife, jealousy, angry tempers, disputes, slanders, gossip, arrogance, disturbances, mourning over those who have sinned, not repentant of impurity, immorality, sensuality.” This open-minded tolerance. The church is to be pure and that is true of the church at Corinth, it is to be true of our church today.

Let's pray together. Thank You, Lord, for the truth of Your Word, its richness. Lord, may we not lose sight of the fact that in Your Word we have truth. You the God of truth have spoken, Your Word is truth. There can be no variation, there can be no departure. Lord, we must see the seriousness of the spiritual issues, to have the same godly jealousy, to maintain purity in our church to require of all. And how blessed we are to be the betrothed bride of Christ, and some day we will be presented in the glory of Your presence as holy, blameless and without spot. May we be faithful until that time. We pray in Christ's name, amen.