What does it mean to be "In Christ?" Pt. 13 Gospel simplicity in Christ
We are blessed with another morning that can be a really good one if we seek the Lord and His kingdom first. We must all keep our hearts open to opportunities that the Lord may give us and be ready to speak to others about the hope that we have in us. Sharing God's truth with other people is a work that satisfies our soul.
Today we move father along in studying the great benefits that we have "in Christ." All the things of God culminate in Christ and when we are born again and placed in Christ, the riches of His work becomes our inheritance.
2 Corinthians 11:1-4 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Paul labored through 2 letters to the Corinthians in an effort to address sin, answer their questions and to renew their minds with right thinking and sound doctrine. The church at Corinth was surrounding by corrupting influences and most of the believers were saved out of the rampant pagan idolatry.
Paul was an apostle called by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. There were many false apostles, false teachers circulating in the region who lured some Corinthian Christians away into wrong beliefs.
Paul's overriding desire was to help them understand how to live a God honoring life so that when they ultimately stood before Jesus Christ they would hear the words "Well done thou good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21; 23)
Satan always opposes Christians who truly want to live in obedience to the God of Glory and he is relentless in doing all that he can to work against us. It is in this context that we find the next time that our phrase "in Christ" being used.
Paul expresses apostolic concern that the Christians in Corinth might be "corrupted" from the simplicity that is in Christ. The word "corrupted" means to be defiled through the neglect of ones duties.
It also means leading a Christian church away from the true knowledge and holiness that it ought to abide in. The false apostles and false teachers sought to lead this church astray and they enjoyed some success because Paul had to address the issues in order to get them back on track.
In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul contrasts Jesus Christ the second Adam to the first Adam. In this text he is going to compare the church with Eve in the garden.
Back to the fall in the book of beginnings.
Paul uses the example of how the serpent beguiled Eve in the garden. The word "beguiled" means to seduce by using deception. The devil attacked what God told Adam and Eve by questioning it. "Yea, hath God said?"
Then the serpent probed Eve's understanding of what God commanded and when he saw that she could not accurately recall God's commandment he knew the door was open for deception. He twisted the truth into a lie by saying "ye shall not surely die."
Then the devil made it seem that God was somehow withholding something good from them ("Ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil").
The serpent lured Eve into looking at that fruit and through the lie, deception and through her eyes, she took the fruit and ate it and gave it to Adam who also ate some.
This is the process of deception that Paul is concerned about for the Corinthian Christians. He worried about those who questioned the absolute authority of Scripture. He had concerns about those who twisted Divine truth into a lie. He was on guard against those who replaced God's truth with something else.
On guard against another Jesus, another spirit and another gospel.
Paul uses the word "another" 3 times in this text. Another Jesus was being preached. Another spirit was promoted that was not the Spirit of God and another gospel was being presented that was powerless to save.
The Greek word "allos" translated "another" means another of a similar kind. If another Christ, another spirit or another gospel were presented that were radically different from Apostolic truth, the people would readily see the error and run away from it. Paul's concern was that the Corinthian Christians might listen to false teaching and be swayed by it.
The beautiful simplicity that is for us in Christ.
Now what did Paul mean when he spoke of the simplicity that is in Christ? The word translated "simplicity" means openness of heart, singleness of mind and free from pretense.
Paul gave the simplest summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15. He says he is declaring the gospel that can lead to salvation and he shares that this precious truth is what was delivered to him as an apostle.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
Today we move father along in studying the great benefits that we have "in Christ." All the things of God culminate in Christ and when we are born again and placed in Christ, the riches of His work becomes our inheritance.
2 Corinthians 11:1-4 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.
Paul labored through 2 letters to the Corinthians in an effort to address sin, answer their questions and to renew their minds with right thinking and sound doctrine. The church at Corinth was surrounding by corrupting influences and most of the believers were saved out of the rampant pagan idolatry.
Paul was an apostle called by Jesus Christ on the road to Damascus. There were many false apostles, false teachers circulating in the region who lured some Corinthian Christians away into wrong beliefs.
Paul's overriding desire was to help them understand how to live a God honoring life so that when they ultimately stood before Jesus Christ they would hear the words "Well done thou good and faithful servant." (Matthew 25:21; 23)
Satan always opposes Christians who truly want to live in obedience to the God of Glory and he is relentless in doing all that he can to work against us. It is in this context that we find the next time that our phrase "in Christ" being used.
Paul expresses apostolic concern that the Christians in Corinth might be "corrupted" from the simplicity that is in Christ. The word "corrupted" means to be defiled through the neglect of ones duties.
It also means leading a Christian church away from the true knowledge and holiness that it ought to abide in. The false apostles and false teachers sought to lead this church astray and they enjoyed some success because Paul had to address the issues in order to get them back on track.
In 1 Corinthians 15 Paul contrasts Jesus Christ the second Adam to the first Adam. In this text he is going to compare the church with Eve in the garden.
Back to the fall in the book of beginnings.
Paul uses the example of how the serpent beguiled Eve in the garden. The word "beguiled" means to seduce by using deception. The devil attacked what God told Adam and Eve by questioning it. "Yea, hath God said?"
Then the serpent probed Eve's understanding of what God commanded and when he saw that she could not accurately recall God's commandment he knew the door was open for deception. He twisted the truth into a lie by saying "ye shall not surely die."
Then the devil made it seem that God was somehow withholding something good from them ("Ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil").
The serpent lured Eve into looking at that fruit and through the lie, deception and through her eyes, she took the fruit and ate it and gave it to Adam who also ate some.
This is the process of deception that Paul is concerned about for the Corinthian Christians. He worried about those who questioned the absolute authority of Scripture. He had concerns about those who twisted Divine truth into a lie. He was on guard against those who replaced God's truth with something else.
On guard against another Jesus, another spirit and another gospel.
Paul uses the word "another" 3 times in this text. Another Jesus was being preached. Another spirit was promoted that was not the Spirit of God and another gospel was being presented that was powerless to save.
The Greek word "allos" translated "another" means another of a similar kind. If another Christ, another spirit or another gospel were presented that were radically different from Apostolic truth, the people would readily see the error and run away from it. Paul's concern was that the Corinthian Christians might listen to false teaching and be swayed by it.
The beautiful simplicity that is for us in Christ.
Now what did Paul mean when he spoke of the simplicity that is in Christ? The word translated "simplicity" means openness of heart, singleness of mind and free from pretense.
Paul gave the simplest summary of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15. He says he is declaring the gospel that can lead to salvation and he shares that this precious truth is what was delivered to him as an apostle.
1 Corinthians 15:1-8 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
- First, Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures.
- Second Christ was buried and rose on the third day according to the scriptures.
- Third, Christ's resurrection was verified by many eyewitnesses including all the apostles and hundreds of believers.
Points to Ponder.....
- An active enemy is always seeking to attack the Word of God.
- An active enemy is always seeking to lead the people of God into error.
- Be on guard against those who promote another Jesus, another spirit or another gospel.
- Fully embrace what God has said in His word and reject error without apology.
- The simplicity of the gospel is that Jesus did everything necessary in order to save us and bring us into a loving relationship with the One, True God of heaven.
Bob
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