The Truth comes to Corinth Part 2 Volume 37

Paul shows his concern for the Corinthians to remain true to Christ

2 Corinthians 11:1-4 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 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. 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. 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. KJV

Paul abhorred boasting or speaking of himself in a positive manner because he knew that such boasting usually springs forth from a man or woman’s pride. However, in this delicate matter of the faithfulness, fruitfulness, and firm commitment of the Corinthian believers to our Lord Jesus Christ and His Gospel of Grace, Paul considered that telling them of his commitment and work for Christ was completely necessary. At stake was the eternal destiny of the souls of men and women and so Paul implores them to bear with or to put up with him speaking of himself in this way. Paul, having spent a year and half teaching them the Word of God and being the human instrument God the Holy Spirit spoke through in proclaiming the gospel to them, thought that it was only right for them to hear him out in his deep concern for their spiritual well-being. Apparently they had given these false apostles room to declare their errant presentation of salvation or faith in God and these men were not around at the time of the Corinthian believer’s conversion as we documented in the previous study with these words, “It was through Paul’s declaration of the Gospel of Grace that God the Holy Spirit used in regenerating these believing Corinthians and establishing their Church.”

Paul declares to them that he is jealous over them and this English phrase “I am jealous” is translated from the Greek word zeloo which means that Paul had a strong affection and love for these believers and had a strong desire for them to remain steadfast in the “true Gospel of Christ”. Why do you bear with these false apostles (who had no part in your salvation) and not with me God’s Instrument of bringing the gospel to you? This is why he was jealous. Paul feared they would be led into spiritual adultery by the false apostles as Satan had deceived Eve in the Garden of Eden and also as Satan deceived the children of Israel as declared by the Prophet Jeremiah with these words, “Then the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, ‘Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. ‘I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. ‘And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. ^‘Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. ‘Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,’ declares the LORD.” (Jeremiah 3:6-10).

Paul knew this history of Israel and feared that this would happen to the Church at Corinth if they continued to give credence or accept what was being spoken by these false apostles. It was not the only Church that Paul was “jealous over” and feared they would be led astray as we can hear in these words he wrote to the Galatian believers, “I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel; which is really not another; only there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed! For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:6-10).

Paul felt a huge weight of responsibility for the purity of the faith of the Corinthian believers (as well as those in Galatia) because he considered himself their spiritual father. This caused Paul the same kind of concern an earthly father had over the sexual purity of his daughter until her betrothal or engagement to her future husband was completed with the marriage ceremony. Paul did not want to see them led off by the enemy to worship false gods. These men were persuasive and therefore, Paul needed to remind them of the time when they came to Christ and received the Holy Spirit through his preaching and not any of these men. Paul wanted them to be sure of their conversion to Christ and that they needed not add anything to what he had already preached or declared to them as he likewise said to the Ephesians with these words, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all” (Ephesians 4:4-6).

My own Personal Note: There is nothing outside of complete faith and trust in our Lord Jesus Christ that is truth and that is satisfying. We believers must constantly fight against the enemies (who can do nothing to steal our salvation) tactics to draw us away from sincere, simple, and single minded devotion and love for our Lord, Master, and Savior Jesus Christ.

 “This godly jealousy in the Apostle was a mixture of love and fear; and faithful ministers cannot but be afraid and concerned for their people, lest they should lose that which they have received, and turn from what they have embraced, especially when deceivers have gone abroad, or have crept in among them.” Matthew Henry

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...


Sincerely in Christ,


Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reade, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…