Introduction
Brief setting (MAP). In this passage, Paul communicates an important goal for his upcoming visit to the Corinthian church (read 10:1-6). A superficial, literalistic reading of this passage could lead you to believe that Paul was part of a SWAT team coming to take out terrorists who held the Corinthians hostage. But a closer look reveals that Paul is combating spiritual deception.
"Some" (10:2) refers to certain false teachers who have infiltrated the Corinthian church (read and explain 11:13-15,4). Their "other Jesus" was probably just another prophet or moral example, whereas Paul declared that Jesus is God in human form who was sinless and bore God's condemnation in our place. Their "other gospel" was that salvation had to be earned through moral self-reform and ritual observances, whereas Paul declared that salvation was a free gift received by simple faith in Jesus. These "speculations" are like military fortresses that oppress the Corinthian Christians (11:20) – that must be demolished. These false "thoughts" are like hostile enemy soldiers who must be opposed and arrested.
And what weaponry will Paul bring to do this job? Not physical weapons to kill people, but spiritual weapons that have divine power to defeat this false teaching. Namely, God's Word ("the knowledge of God") – namely, the Bible (and especially the NT, which focuses on salvation through Jesus). Paul is saying: "When I visit, I will refute these false teachers and demolish their false teachings with God's Word. And I hope to persuade you to also reject them and their teaching."
Having understood what Paul intended to do when he re-visited Corinth, let's consider how to apply this passage to our own lives. I see two applications – one primary and one secondary.
Church leaders are responsible to protect members from spiritual deception
The primary application is for church leaders. Paul was a church leader, and he had to take these drastic measures because the Corinthian church leaders had failed (for whatever reason) to protect the church from these false teachers. A key responsibility for church leaders is to protect members from spiritual deception.
The NT says that Christian leaders (e.g., elders, pastors, home group leaders) have many responsibilities. They are to provide spiritual nourishment (by teaching sound doctrine). They are to provide examples of Christ-like love and character. They are to provide direction for the local church to carry out its mission (as our elders did through the pandemic and political polarization). And they are to provide protection from spiritual deception (bomb squad). In a therapeutic and relativistic culture, this responsibility is not popular. But the NT emphasizes this responsibility for leaders:
Read Titus 1:9-11. Elders must be able encourage members with sound doctrine and refute those who contradict. This ability is to refute is essential because there are many false teachers who are destroying (anatrepo) people.
Read Acts 20:28-31a,32. As shepherds, elders must nourish members with the message of God's grace. They must also be alert and ready to protect the flock from false teachers from outside the church, and who arise from within the eldership. They are like savage wolves who rip people apart. This sobering prediction came to pass.
Read Jude 1:3,4. As a Christian leader, Jude preferred to positively instruct and apply the content of our common salvation through Christ. But because false teachers arose, it was necessary for him to refute them and call on his audience to contend earnestly for the content of their faith.
Of course, leaders are responsible not only to protect church members from deception, but also to do it in the right way. They are not to be belligerent, nasty, cruel (1 Tim. 3:3 – "not pugnacious") – but gentle and patient in their attempts to persuade (through scripture and sound reason) those who have been caught up in error (2 Tim. 2:24-26).
But failure to protect the flock from deception – whether because of biblical ignorance, or fear of conflict, laziness, etc. – is a form of spiritual manslaughter (Ezek. 33). I have personally seen this failure ruin whole churches and denominations!
This has been a strength of our church's leadership over the years. I hope you appreciate our present leaders for this vital work that they do out of faithfulness to God and love for you. I also hope that you learn how to combat spiritual deception for yourself . . .
Church members are to grow in their discernment of spiritual deception
Leaders like above will always be needed, in part because church members (especially newer Christians) are vulnerable to deception. But a healthy church has many members who are spiritually mature enough to be able to discern and turn away from falsehood (read Eph. 4:14,15). Other NT passages emphasize this kind of discernment for all Christians:
Read Phil. 1:9-11. This is Paul's prayer for all of the Christians in Philippi – that they will grow in both love and discernment (the ability to distinguish between things which differ). This is essential if they are to be spiritually healthy and represent Jesus accurately to the watching world.
Read Heb. 5:11-14. The author laments his audience's spiritual immaturity because they lack extensive familiarity with and understanding of God's Word. Their senses needed to be trained by God's Word to detect falsehood and evil. This ability requires practice – intentional and repetitive until an intuitive/tacit skill.
Maturing Christians practice discernment on two fronts:
They evaluate the messages that come from without. For example (especially since the smart phone), we live in a media-soaked culture, constantly bombarded with highly sophisticated messages – some of which are true and helpful, some more or less innocuous, and many of which are false and destructive. If I am mentally passive – just taking it all in and mindlessly drifting along with its current – I will be propagandized. But if I get in the habit of evaluating it by what God says (propositions, values, presuppositions, etc.), I can sift through it and profit from the helpful while rejecting the unhelpful (use vs. used by).
It is also important to regulate the amount of time I spend immersed in media (current American average is 7+ hours/day), and to spend at least as much time immersed in what God says (Bible study, meditation, teachings, truth-focused discussions; quality Christian books, etc.). This regulation will result in both spiritual nutrition and further biblical knowledge with which to discern the messages coming at me.
They evaluate the messages that come from within. Humans have a God-giving ability not only to think, but also to be aware of what we are thinking, and to change what we think (neuro-plasticity). We can monitor our thought-lives and argue against mental lies with God's truth.
As D. Martin Lloyd-Jones said concerning Ps. 42: "Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself? Take those thoughts that come to you the moment you wake up in the morning. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Now this man's treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself. 'Why are you cast down, O my soul?' he asks. His soul had been depressing him, crushing him. So he stands up and says: 'Self, listen for moment, I will speak to you.' . . . You have to take yourself in hand, you have to address yourself, preach to yourself, question yourself . . . And then you must go on to remind yourself of God, Who God is, and what God is and what God has done and what God has pledged Himself to do."
For example, when I realize that I am habitually negative (about people, circumstances, etc.), I can ask God to help me as I choose to focus on thanking Him for all my spiritual and temporal blessings. When I realize that I am fatalistic about my difficulties, I can ask God to help me as I choose to focus on His promise to work for good, and on how He has done this in previous difficulties. When I realize that I am focused on how certain people have disappointed me in the past, I can ask God to help me as I choose to focus on how I might serve people in the present. The applications are endless.
God will help us in both of these areas – but we must be engaged, evaluating in light of our present knowledge of scripture, praying for discernment, discussing with Christian friends, etc.
Conclusion
NEXT WEEK: NEW SERIES!
QUESTIONS & COMMENTS
D. M. Lloyd-Jones, Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Cure (Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1982), pp. 20,21.