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Scripture Reading: 2 Cor. 11:1-15
In 11:3 Paul says, “But I fear lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your thoughts should be corrupted from the singleness and the purity which is toward Christ.” Here the Apostle Paul indicates that the teachings of the Judaizers can be compared to the deceitful word spoken by the serpent to Eve in Genesis 3. In other words, Paul likens the activities of the Judaizers to the serpent’s work on Eve. From reading Genesis 3 we know that the serpent distracted Eve from the enjoyment of the tree of life. The way he turned her away from the enjoyment of the tree of life was to point her to another tree, to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which issues in death.
We have pointed out a number of times that the tree of life is simple. With this tree, there is just one element, and that element is life. The tree of life issues in life. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil, on the contrary, is complicated and also complicating. With this tree, we have good, evil, knowledge, and death.
The Bible as a whole is a development of these two trees. The tree of life signifies God in Christ as the Spirit to be life to us. The tree of the knowledge of good and evil signifies Satan as death. Satan is the power of death. The tree of knowledge of good and evil signifying Satan as death includes knowledge, good, and evil. The serpent distracted Eve from the tree of life by the tree of the knowledge of good and evil with its complications. Because Eve was distracted and caught, she lost her singleness and purity toward God. The result was that Eve fell, and death came in through the fall. This is the story of how the serpent distracted Eve from God’s economy.
In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul applies to the Judaizers and the church in Corinth what the serpent did to Eve. I believe that, deep in his spirit, Paul realized that these two matters were actually one and that what was happening in Corinth was a repetition of what took place in the garden of Eden. Eve was a wife, and the church in Corinth was a pure virgin, betrothed to one husband, Christ. For this reason, in 11:2 Paul says, “For I am jealous over you with a jealousy of God; for I betrothed you to one husband, to present a pure virgin to Christ.” Furthermore, the wife in the garden of Eden was distracted by the subtle serpent. In Corinth the virgin was being distracted by Satan through the Judaizers. Elsewhere in this chapter, Paul associates the Judaizers with Satan. “For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transfiguring themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself transfigures himself into an angel of light” (vv. 13-14). Here Paul indicates that the Judaizers, the false apostles, are ministers of Satan. Verse 15 says, “Therefore it is no great thing if also his ministers transfigure themselves as ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works.” For the Judaizers to be ministers of Satan means that they do not minister Christ to others. Instead, what they minister is actually Satan.
Paul could discern that the Judaizers had another Jesus, a different spirit, and a different gospel. In verse 4 Paul says to the Corinthians, “For if indeed he who comes preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit, which you did not receive, or a different gospel, which you did not accept, you bear well with him.” The Judaizers claimed to preach concerning Jesus. However, Paul discerned that they preached another Jesus, not the Lord Jesus preached by Paul. Moreover, they claimed that they had a spirit. Maybe they claimed that this spirit was the Holy Spirit. Paul also discerned that their spirit was not the Holy Spirit; the Judaizers had a different spirit. Furthermore, the Judaizers claimed that what they preached was the gospel. But Paul declared that their gospel was another gospel.
When the serpent came to Eve, he did not openly deny God’s word. Rather, the serpent said to the woman, “Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?” (Gen. 3:1). Here we see that the serpent asked, “Hath God said?” This kind of question seems, on the one hand, to recognize what God has said. On the other hand, it undermines God’s word. By asking this question, the serpent injected poison into Eve to undermine God’s speaking.
It was difficult for the Corinthian believers to discern the difference between the Jesus preached by Paul and the one preached by the Judaizers. The name was the same. But there was still the need of discernment. The same was true concerning the gospel. Paul came to the Corinthians with the gospel. The Judaizers also claimed to preach the gospel. But Paul could discern that the gospel preached by the Judaizers was different from that preached by the apostles. It was not the same gospel preached by Paul.
In principle, our situation today is the same as that of the Corinthians. The terminology, the definitions, and the titles of various matters may be the same. But if we exercise the proper discernment, we shall realize that actually they are not the same.
I would like to point out something important related to the genuine gospel, the sincere spirit, and the real Jesus. Whenever there is the preaching of the genuine gospel and the real Jesus with a sincere spirit, the Lord Jesus will be ministered to others so that they may appreciate Him, love Him, follow Him, and take Him as everything. Throughout the centuries, many have preached from the Bible and taught the Bible, but their preaching and teaching nevertheless distracted the believers from the precious Person of the Lord Jesus Christ. In principle, such ones distract the believers in the same way as that taken by the serpent in Genesis 3.
God’s goal is life. This life, signified by the tree of life, is God Himself in Christ as the Spirit. The way of the enemy, Satan, the serpent, is to distract people from this life. He seeks to turn them to knowledge, good, and evil, the issue of which is death. Death is separation from the enjoyment of God.
The proper understanding of death is that it denotes separation from the enjoyment of God. This means that if we do not have the enjoyment of God, we are in death. Likewise, if we are separated from the enjoyment of God, we shall die. This is revealed in a full way in Romans 8. Romans 8:6 says, “For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.” In this verse death is separation from the enjoyment of God. Life is the opposite, for it is the enjoyment of God. When we have the enjoyment of God, there is no separation between us and God, we are in life, and life operates in us.
In distracting the believers from the tree of life, Satan seeks to separate us from the enjoyment of God as our life. For centuries the subtle serpent has been using teachings to keep God’s chosen people from enjoying Him as their life. For the most part, these teachings are related to knowledge, good, and evil. But such teachings result in separation from God.
From the time of the apostles until today, there have been many teachings related to doctrine, theology, religion, practices, rituals, and the worship of God. Teachings like this are all on the line of the tree of knowledge. They do not bring us into the enjoyment of God. Instead, they separate us from this enjoyment.
When the Judaizers came to the churches in ancient times, these Judaizers made a pretense of being genuine. They could say that they were Hebrews, Israelites, the seed of Abraham. They also claimed to preach Christ and to be ministers of Christ. Furthermore, they had a spirit and said that what they preached was the gospel. If you had been in Corinth when the Judaizers were there, could you have differentiated the genuine Jesus, the pure spirit, and the true gospel from the false ones? If you had been there, as one of the Corinthian believers, you may have been deceived. You should not have the confidence that you can discern what Paul could discern.
In chapter eleven of 2 Corinthians, Paul was strong and bold, saying that the Judaizers were false apostles, deceitful workers, ministers of Satan. Because they were not genuine apostles, Paul called them super-apostles, those that went beyond their measure and placed themselves on a superior level.
Today, by the Lord’s mercy, we can realize that Paul certainly was the foremost apostle and was on the highest level of ministry. Nevertheless, the Judaizers claimed that they were superior to Paul. Their attitude was that Paul was nothing compared to them, that he was far less knowledgeable than they were. There is the suggestion, the hint, in 2 Corinthians that the Judaizers thought that they knew more than Paul. No wonder Paul called them super-apostles. This is, of course, an ironic term. Paul does not use this expression in a positive way. Actually, the Judaizers were not super-apostles, for they were not genuine apostles at all.
Do you not realize that our situation today is the same in principle as that in which Paul, the Judaizers, and the Corinthians were involved? Since our situation is the same, it is important to discern the genuine from the false.
The best way to discern a matter is to discern according to life or death. We need to ask questions like this: Does this teaching help me to enjoy the Lord more and bring me into life, or does it cause the poison of death to be injected into me? You may find that if you accept a certain kind of teaching or preaching, taking it into you, immediately your inward enjoyment of the Lord is cut off. Some things function like insulation that stops the flowing of the divine electricity. Therefore, we must learn to discern, to differentiate, matters by life and death.
Suppose today’s Judaizers come to you preaching another Jesus. Do you have the assurance that you can discern between their Jesus and the real Jesus, the Jesus preached by Paul? I do not have the assurance that you would have the proper discernment. But thank the Lord for the secret of real discernment. This secret is to discern a preaching or teaching by whether or not it helps us to enjoy the Lord and gain more life supply. If anyone’s preaching cuts us off from the enjoyment of the Lord, that preaching must be of the serpent, of Satan. But if someone’s preaching helps us to enjoy the Lord, that preaching is of God. Therefore, according to the way revealed in Romans 8, we need to discern according to death or life. Many of those who have left the Lord’s recovery have neither the life supply nor the enjoyment. This is an indication that they have taken in something that is not of the Lord.
The secret of discernment is to discern according to life or death. Any kind of teaching that causes your enjoyment of the Lord to cease is something of death, no matter how good that teaching seems to be. As long as someone’s teaching or preaching deprives us of the enjoyment of the Lord as our life supply, that teaching is of the serpent. However, the genuine ministry of the Lord always strengthens us in the enjoyment of Him as our life supply.
We should not expect the number of Judaizers to be reduced. On the contrary, their number will probably increase. Whenever you hear them speak or read their books, keep in mind this principle of discerning according to life and death. Anything that cuts you off from the enjoyment of the Lord is of the serpent. But anything that causes your enjoyment of the Lord to increase is of the Spirit and of the New Testament ministry.
Verses 2 and 3 of 2 Corinthians 11 are extremely important. These verses indicate that Paul was clear concerning Satan’s strategy. He realized that Satan’s strategy is to spread a snare of doctrine in order to trap the saints. Paul, therefore, stayed away from this snare. Furthermore, he endeavored to keep the saints away from it by reminding them that he was jealous over them with the jealousy of God, and that he had betrothed them to one Husband to present them a pure virgin to Christ. He told the saints that the Lord does not want them to love anything or anyone in place of Him, but that He wants them to love Him uniquely, singly, wholly. In verse 3 Paul reveals his concern lest the Corinthian believers be deceived and lose their singleness and purity toward the Lord. From this verse we see that we need to be single and pure. Do not be complicated in your mind, in your understanding, by so many teachings and isms. Instead, keep yourself single and pure to enjoy the Lord as your life supply.
In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul speaks of another Jesus, a different spirit, a different gospel, false apostles, deceitful workers, Satan transfiguring himself into an angel of light, and Satan’s ministers transfiguring themselves into ministers of righteousness. If we pray-read all these verses and have fellowship concerning them, we shall receive more light and gain more life supply.
