Photo by Jayel Aheram
“But I am afraid that, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds will be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ. 4 For if one comes and preaches another Jesus whom we have not preached, or you receive a different spirit which you have not received, or a different gospel which you have not accepted, you bear this beautifully.”
These words were penned by the Apostle Paul through the Holy Spirit in approximately 40-47 A.D. I ran across this section of scripture in Mr. Spurgeon’s Devotional Bible. Regarding 2 Corinthians Charles Spurgeon comments:
“The Second Epistle to the Corinthians was written by Paul from Macedonia, after Titus had returned from Corinth, and informed him how the Corinthian church had received his first letter (written fairly recently by some accounts). The news was of a mingled kind, and caused him both joy and sorrow. The Apostle seems at the time of writing it to have been much troubled and perplexed.”
God’s Word continually amazes me with its mysteries. Here we find a possibly troubled man of God communicating through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit that there is a simplicity in our faith. Mankind tends to make everything so difficult. There are some things of God that are, well, uncomplicated. “Without faith it is impossible to please God.” I find this verse straightforward and to the point.
The Gospel is not a difficult message. HERE is a three and 1/2 minute video that explains it well, I think.
I am not, in any way, trying to discourage those who are digging deeply into God’s Word to discover things they do not know. On the contrary, I think every Christian should be doing this as were the Bereans.
There is another part of these verses that stands out. It is the section that states: “For if one comes and preaches another Jesus….” It shouldn’t be a surprise to Christians then, if there are many Jesus’ out there. If Paul was dealing with them, we will have to be able to recognize them. Examples would be the Jesus of the: Muslims; Mormons; Jehovah’s Witnesses; Hindus; etc. Many believe that Jesus was a prophet or a good man and not God in the flesh. I was speaking to a young Jewish man online the other day and had to explain that Mormons believe that they may be gods some day. “As man is, God once was; as God is, man may become..” You may see the origin of this statement HERE.
The purpose of this post is to support Paul’s message in the verse above that our core beliefs are simple. At the same time, there are many mysteries. How can man fully grasp “everlasting” or a “Triune God?” These are things we’ll never understand this side of heaven but we believe them because the Bible teaches them.
If you want to clear away the clutter of all of the confusion out there, meditate on these verses. Then, when you are ready, ask God to give you wisdom as you search His Word for answers.
God’s blessings…
Chris Reimers
Wings of the Wind 
I think we need to be a person orientated. The majority of the Word of God is about a person Jesus Christ. He should always be our focus, His Words, expressions and the affect He had and has on us . Just Jesus, please and His ways. Simple indeed but, profound.
As you have mentioned, Manny: “Simple indeed but, profound.”
I’ve appreciated your blog and comments in 2013 and look forward to another good year of blogging in 2014.
May God bless you and your family in the coming year…