2 Corinthians 11 (1)

Pray Psalm 86.16, 17.
Oh, turn to me, and have mercy on me!
Give Your strength to Your servant,
And save the son of Your maidservant.
Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Sing Psalm 86.16, 17.
(Andrews: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven)
Turn to me, LORD; be gracious to me;
grant me Your strength; save Your servant, LORD!
Let me a sign of something good see;
shame all who hate me beneath Your Word.
LORD, be gracious to me, LORD, be gracious to me,
for You help me, sovereign Lord!

Read and meditate on 2 Corinthians 11.1-4.

Preparation
1. What did Paul fear?

2. What did he fear the Corinthians might do?

Meditation
This phrase, εἰς τὸν Χριστόν (“in Christ”), is arresting. It suggests focus, direction, and destination. We are to live “into” Jesus, and to do this we must have a singular focus and purity in all our ways. That singular focus must be Christ—before us, over us, around and beneath us, behind and beside us. We must see Jesus wherever we turn, as He was during His incarnation, as He is now in His exaltation and His daily “riding out” to conquer by His Word (Rev. 6.2; cf. Ps. 45.3-5), and as He will appear when He comes again and we see Him face to face.

Such a singularity of focus is the work of the mind. We must discipline our mind for such a focus by every possible means. But this also requires purity in our walk, which is to say, a life refined by the Word of God (Ps. 12). Our lives must follow consistently in the direction our mind is thinking, into Jesus, and this throughout the course of our daily life. Strong spiritual powers seek to distract us from this focus and walk by appealing to pride, curiosity, and inward lingering sinfulness. We must be mindful of these, vigilant to detect them, and violent in the Spirit to resist them. They are crafty, but we must learn to see their snares and avoid the paths they occupy (Prov. 1.17).

There will always be those who proclaim another Jesus and another gospel than what Paul taught. Throughout history teachers and theologians have cast Jesus in this or that light and have defined His Gospel in terms other than what the Scriptures indicate. We will put up with this unless our vision of Christ, our focus on Him, and our walk with Him are what Paul describes here.

Today a gospel of “near Christianity” and a Jesus Who is less than Lord of all is the preferred message, and because believers are not clear and constant in their focus on Jesus, they have been led into a version of Him and of the faith that suits their convenience. The only way out of this is to turn to Jesus as He is in the Word, and to expose shallow and errant teaching for what it is.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Don’t let your hearts and minds get corrupted from the simplicity and purity that is in Christ Jesus. So warned Paul in 1 Corinthians 11.3.

The Gospel message is a simple one—God is angry with our sin, but He loved us enough to send His beloved Son, the holy Lamb of God, to cover the penalty for our sin (Jn. 3.16; Rom. 5.8). Living the Christian life is pure and simple—not at all difficult to understand its parameters, but nigh impossible to perform, apart from the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. But it is not a convoluted life nor a confusing message. It is pure and simple.

However, throughout history, beginning with the devil’s first sashay onto the creation scene, he has been trying to make it mind-boggling and impure. “Did God really say that you can’t eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3.1) Huh? First, he questioned God’s authority and then misconstrued what God actually said. And he has been using people to do his dirty work ever sense—to lie about God and His Word—twisting a perfectly beautiful message of hope and deliverance into any and every lie possible.

The devil, as noted, was more cunning than any beast (Gen. 3.1). Don’t fall prey to his evil trickery.

Instead: “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4.6, 7). Thankful obedience and God’s peace guard.

“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Prov. 4.23). Intentionality guards.

Paul’s dear friend Timothy, got the same warning: “O Timothy! Guard what was committed to your trust, avoiding the profane and idle babblings and contradictions of what is falsely called knowledge—by professing it some have strayed concerning the faith. Grace be with you” (1 Tim. 6.20, 21). Diligence of belief guards.

We must not stray from the faith due to being corrupted from the simplicity and purity that is in Christ.

“Such singularity of focus is the work of the mind. We must discipline our mind for such a focus by every possible means.” Focus guards.

“For He shall give His angels charge over you, to keep you in all your ways” (Ps. 91.11). Best of all, God guards us, and our hearts and minds, when we are set on following Him to the end (Ps. 119.112).

Incorruptibly His. Pure and Simple.

For reflection
1. What is your approach to guarding your mind so that it does not wander from Christ?

2. What kinds of things can cause you to lose focus on Jesus?

3. How can believers help one another keep their focus on Jesus?

The apostle desired to preserve the Corinthians from being corrupted by the false apostles…They should not listen to men, who, without cause, would draw them away from those who were the means of their conversion. Matthew Henry (1662-1714), Commentary on 2 Corinthians 11.1-4

Pray Psalm 86.7-15.
Pray that you may keep the Lord always before your mind (Ps. 16.8), so that you may not be pulled away from following him to embrace foolish ideas or ways.

Sing Psalm 86.7-15.
(Andrews: Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven)
When in my trouble, LORD, I call You,
You answer me; there is none like You!
There are no works like Yours, and all whom
You have created shall worship You.
LORD, be gracious to me, LORD, be gracious to me,
all shall glory give to You!

For You are great, You wondrous deeds do;
You are the only and sovereign LORD.
Teach me Your way, let me give heed to,
with all my heart, Savior, all Your Word!
LORD, be gracious to me, LORD, be gracious to me,
praise Your Name forever, LORD!

Great is Your mercy, LORD, toward me;
You have delivered my soul from hell.
Though dreadful foes and threats arrayed be,
You will Your grace and Your mercy tell!
LORD, be gracious to me, LORD, be gracious to me,
slow to anger, loving well!

T. M. and Susie Moore

The Church in Corinth was in need of revival. But there was much to be done before that would happen. The Church today needs revival, and the same is true for us. Our book, Revived!, can help us to discern our need for revival and lead us in getting there. Order your copy by clicking here.

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.