Sermon Manuscript

2 Corinthians 11:1-3 ~ 20201011 ~ Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org

10/11_2 Corinthians 11:1-3; Betrothed to One Husband; Audio available at: http://www.ephraimbible.org/Sermons/20201011_2cor11_1-3.mp3

Anticipating The Bride

A thirty something year old bachelor and his disciples were invited to a wedding.

John 2:3 When the wine ran out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.” 4 And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.”

Jesus, I imagine, with a somewhat distant look in his eye, replies ‘My hour has not yet come.’ What is on his mind? In his parables, Jesus used the picture of those invited to a wedding feast to encourage us to be ready for his coming (Mt.22, 25). He even pointed us to himself as the bridegroom in Matthew 9. When asked:

Matthew 9:14 ...“Why ...your disciples do not fast?” 15 And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them? The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast. (cf. Mk.2:19-20; Lk.5:34-35)

‘What does this have to do with me? My hour has not yet come.’

Here are some Old Testament promises pointing to a future consummation.

Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, the LORD of hosts is his name; and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer, the God of the whole earth he is called.

Isaiah 62:5 ...as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you.

Hosea 2:16 “And in that day, declares the LORD, you will call me ‘My Husband,’ ...19 And I will betroth you to me forever. I will betroth you to me in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy. 20 I will betroth you to me in faithfulness. And you shall know the LORD.

‘My hour has not yet come.’

Revelation 19:6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; 8 it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”— for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

The marriage celebration of the Lamb. The Lamb of God, at a friend’s wedding, looking off into the distant future, is contemplating his own. The bride will have made herself ready!

But my hour has not yet come. My bride is not yet ready. I too will enjoy a much greater celebration, a much greater feast, but not now, not yet. First I must pay the dowry price, my own blood. ‘I will give myself up for her, I will sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, that she might be mine in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish’ (Eph.5:25-27).

Friend of the Bridegroom/Father of the Bride

Paul says in 2 Corinthians 11

2 Corinthians 11:1 I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! 2 For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. 3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Paul sees himself following the footsteps of John the Baptist, who said:

John 3:29 The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. 30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”

Paul’s joy, like that of John, is to be there at that great wedding celebration, to see the church presented pure, as a virgin to Christ.

Paul serves in the role of father to this church, as he said back in 1 Corinthians 4

1 Corinthians 4:15 For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel.

As their father in the faith, he felt the weight of responsibility to present them in purity to their promised husband. He felt the threat of false lovers competing for their affection, trying to seduce them.

There is a great wedding feast to look forward to, but there is a threat. Just as Mary, betrothed (we would say engaged) to be married to Joseph, when she was found to be with child, Joseph intended to put her away or divorce her, because it seemed she had been unfaithful to him. Paul is jealous not for himself, but with a godly jealousy, because he felt an obligation to protect her purity. The blood bought church is being seduced to turn away from Jesus to entertain other loves.

God’s Jealousy

God demands our exclusive love, like the exclusivity of the marriage covenant.

Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

‘You shall have no other gods before me... For I the LORD your God am a jealous God’ (Ex.20:3,5).

It is right for a husband to have a holy jealousy, to be passionate in the defense of the purity of his bride. A husband who is apathetic is a husband who has no real love. We too must be passionate for the purity of the bride. Our culture likes to tell us to mind our own business and to keep our nose out of the private affairs of others. But love demands that if we see the bride listening to other voices, being seduced by other suitors, we must be passionate for her purity. If we claim to be a friend of the bridegroom, if we claim to love Jesus, we must be passionate about the purity of his bride, the church. We must tolerate no rival affections. Paul is jealous with a godly jealousy for the purity of the church.

The Satanic Threat

Paul’s thoughts go back to the garden, where all creation was corrupted by satanic deception. The serpent deceived Eve by his cunning. He enticed her to add to God’s word, and then to question his word. That first woman ought to have been satisfied in God alone, trusted his provision alone, and listened to his word alone, but instead she listened to a competing voice and was seduced in her thinking to doubt the very goodness of the God who made her for relationship and had given her everything good to enjoy.

2 Corinthians 11:3 But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

Just as the original creation was wrecked by that cunning satanic deception, God’s new creation (2Cor.5:17) is now in danger of being corrupted by that same kind of deception. And it must be revealed for what it is; cunning deception by the serpent. You are being tempted to listen to other voices, even voices that claim to be speaking on his behalf, but they lie. You are being seduced by a rival to question the goodness of God, to doubt his sufficiency. In the same way your thoughts might be seduced away from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

The Battleground of the Mind

Notice, it is your mind that is the battleground. It is your thoughts that are led astray. It matters what you think. It matters what you believe. This is why Paul said back in chapter 10 that he is equipped with weapons to wage war with divine power;

2 Corinthians 10:5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

We are in a battle, and it is a battle for our minds, our thoughts. What is at stake is knowing God, obeying Christ in simplicity, the simple truth of the gospel. The deception is cunning – a subtle and ever so slight shift of affections away from Christ is in truth a proud thought lifted up in direct opposition to the knowledge of God. We might describe ourselves as drifting; but we will be found to be opposing.

Simple Devotion

2 Corinthians 11:3 ...your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

This word ‘sincere’ has shown up already in 2 Corinthians. Back in 1:12 Paul used it to describe his own character in ministry as simple, single-minded, not with divided motives, not duplicitous or double-minded. This word also shows up three times in chapters 8 and 9, usually translated there as ‘generous’ or ‘generosity’, but again pointing to the single minded simplicity of undivided devotion to Christ and Christ alone. Here again it points to undivided affections; ‘You shall have no other gods before me... For I the LORD your God am a jealous God’ (Ex.20:3,5).

Bearing with Foolishness

Paul voices his wish that they bear with his foolishness. He has already said that those who commend themselves and measure and compare themselves with one another are not wise. But later in this chapter he will play the fool and indulge in his fools speech, going toe to toe with the false apostles commending his ministry and comparing and contrasting his credentials with theirs. He is forced into foolish boasting by his godly jealousy for them. They won’t listen to reason, so he will answer a fool according to his folly, if that’s what it takes to reach them. His passion for Christ and for the purity of the church drives him to take extreme measures. He’s willing to play the fool if a fool is all they will listen to.

But there may be more to what he says here. He is asking them to bear with him in a little foolishness. According to 1 Corinthians 1:18, the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. The Corinthians have grown out of the simplicity of their devotion to Christ and have developed a taste for something more sophisticated. They have advanced beyond the basics of the gospel. Paul wishes they would once again return to the foolish message of the cross.

Paul has one message.

1 Corinthians 2:1 ...I ...did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

1 Corinthians 1:21 ...it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. ...23 but we preach Christ crucified...

I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Come back to the simple gospel of Christ crucified. You are in danger of abandoning your first love (Rev.2:4). Return, O return to a simple devotion to Christ.

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Pastor Rodney Zedicher ~ Ephraim Church of the Bible ~ www.ephraimbible.org