II Corinthians 11
Paul warns of deceptionverses 1-4
Would to God you 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 subtlety
so your minds should be corrupted
from the simplicity that is in Christ
FOR if he that comes preaches another Jesus
whom we have not preached or if you receive another spirit
which you have not received or another gospel
which you have not accepted
you might well bear with him
Paul gives his qualifications for helping churchverses 5-11
FOR I suppose I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles
but though I be rude in speech – yet not in knowledge
but we have been thoroughly made manifest
among you in all things
Have I committed an offense in abasing myself that you might be exalted
because I have preached to you the gospel of God freely?
I robbed other churches – taking wages of them
to do you service
AND when I was present with you – and wanted
I was chargeable to no man for that which was lacking to me
the brethren which came from Macedonia supplied
and in all things I have kept myself from
being burdensome to you
and so will I keep myself
As the truth of Christ is in me
no man shall stop me of this boasting in the regions of Achaia
WHEREFORE? BECAUSE I love you not? God knows
Paul describes false prophetsverses 12-15
BUT what I do – that I will do
that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion
that wherein they glory – they may be found even as we
FOR such are false apostles – deceitful workers
transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ
and no marvel – for Satan himself is transformed
into an angel of light
THEREFORE it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed
as the ministers of righteousness
whose end shall be according to their works
Paul identifies false boastingverses 16-21
I say again – Let no man think me a fool
if otherwise – yet as a fool receive me
that I may boast myself a little
That which I speak – I speak it not after the Lord
BUT as it were foolishly in this confidence of boasting
SEEING that many glory after the flesh – I will glory also
for you suffer fools gladly – SEEING ye yourselves are wise
FOR ye suffer – if a man bring you into bondage – if a man devour you
if a man take of you – if a man exalt himself
if a man smite you on the face
I speak as concerning reproach – as though we had been weak
how be it – wherein soever any is bold
(I speak foolishly) I am bold also
Paul explains all the trials he has facedverses 22-29
Are they Hebrews? so am I Are they Israelites? so am I
Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more
in labors more abundant – stripes above measure
prisons more frequent death oft
of the Jews five times received
I forty stripes save one
thrice was I beaten with rods – once was I stoned
thrice I suffered shipwreck
a night and a day I have been in the deep
in journeyings often – in perils of waters – in perils of robbers
in perils by mine own countrymen – in perils by the heathen
in perils in the city – in perils in the wilderness
in perils in the sea
in perils among false brethren
in weariness and painfulness – in watchings often
in hunger and thirst – in fastings often – cold and nakedness
BESIDES those things that are without – that which comes upon me daily
the care of all the churches
who is weak – and I am not weak?
who is offended – and I burn not?
Paul praises LORD for past deliverancesverses 30-33
IF I must needs glory – I will glory of the things
which concern mine infirmities
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
which is blessed for evermore
KNOWS that I lie not
In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king kept the
city of the Damascenes with a garrison
desirous to apprehend me
and through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall
and escaped his hands
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. (1818 “beguiled” [exapatao] means deceive, cheat, to deceive in an exhaustive or pervasive manner, to mislead, lead astray, seduce, or of self-deception)
DEVOTION: One of the many Godly fears that we can have as parents and grandparents is that our children/grandchildren will be led away from the LORD by someone they trust.
Paul had taught these individuals how to serve the LORD properly. He had spent a great deal of time warning them about those who would lead them away from serving the LORD.
Most of the time children don’t know that they are being led away from proper service to the LORD. They have been told that they need to read the Bible, pray, give to the LORD of their money and service and attend church. These are four basic things every Christian should do.
However, family and friends can give them reasons for not doing some of these things. They can plan family outings on Sunday instead of going to church. They can teach them that giving of a portion of their money to the LORD is not necessary when they are young. They do not daily instruct them to pray over their meals or other events that need prayer.
Parents/Grandparents/ Sunday School teachers/etc can be held accountable to the LORD for improper instruction of their children/students. All of us answer to the LORD for how we help those who are young in the faith.
CHALLENGE: The old serpent the devil enjoys watching children being taught to not honor the LORD when they are young.
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional Believers
: 14 And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light.(3345 “transformed” [metaschyematizo] means to transfigure or disguise, transfer, to change, or masquerade)
DEVOTION: Paul is still defending himself to the church at Corinth. They think that others are better than him. There was a group of “super-apostles” that visited the church. They were super apostles because they traveled more than Paul and they had more revelation than Paul.
He was not happy that they were so soon turned by these individuals. He wanted the church to be a chaste virgin to Christ. He wanted only the best for them but they were following false teachers. He admitted that he didn’t come to them with excellence of speech as these other came. He came with advanced knowledge of Christ given to him by Christ. He didn’t want them deceived by these false teachers. He said that they were being beguiled like Eve was in the garden by the fancy speech of Satan.
The people in the church were disturbed with Paul because he didn’t take a pay check from them. They were used to great people coming to them and giving speeches and then taking an offering or gift from them. Paul came and worked for a living which made him look little in their eyes. He also told them that he took some money from other churches to serve them. He didn’t want to be a burden to them. He didn’t want them thinking that the only reason he came was for money like other speakers. He called these individuals false apostles. He called them deceitful workers. He said that they have the ability to disguise themselves as servants of Christ.
This is an interesting concept regarding the abilities of Satan or evil angels. They masquerade as God’s servants to deceive the people of the world. Satan and his angels convey enough truth to get them heard but only give part of the truth. Today we have individuals who are preaching a false gospel.
Many people are religious – they believe there is a god and they believe in god – but it is not the God of the Bible. Today we have many fads in the church. We have groups who think that God doesn’t know the future saying that they are evangelicals. We have groups who think that the substitutionary atonement is not important. We have groups who say that the Bible is cultural and doesn’t apply today and claim that they believe the Bible. There are groups who think that it is all right to have those who misrepresent God’s plan for marriage by saying that God accepts same sex marriages and claim to be evangelical.
There in many in our churches in America those who give messages that itch the ears of the hearers but don’t give them the Word of God as inerrant and relevant today. There are many churches today that will have messages that have very little content and no invitation to follow Christ. The true transformation takes place when someone “presents their bodies as living sacrifices.”
Our responsibility is to convey the truth of the Word of God daily. We are to make disciples for Christ. We are to preach the gospel of Christ. Do we believe in the god of this age or the God of the Bible? False apostles or deceitful workers do not honor God. Disciples who edify believers and present the gospel honor God. There is a BIG difference. Remember that the gospel is the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
CHALLENGE: Check out what individuals on the radio, television and in churches teach regarding the Bible. The best defense against false teachers is to know the TRUTH of the Word of God. Study, study, study!!!
: 23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths often. (1249 “ministers” [diakonos] means one who executes the commands of another, a servant, attendant, someone who waits on or attends to the needs of another, assistant, deacon, disciple, or personal attendant)
DEVOTION: Paul gives illustrations of all he has gone through serving the LORD. Most of us have never suffered too much for the LORD.
In high school I was on the wrestling team and some of them at the beginning would make fun of me because I would pray. Toward the end of my time on the team some of the players would come to me and ask me to pray for them. So the suffering was not great.
That is not true in all countries. Many are suffering for their beliefs. They have their houses burned. They have their churches burned. They have family members killed or put in prison. They are forced to flee to another country with nothing but the clothes on their backs.
Paul gives a little description of what he went through from the Jewish leaders and Gentile politicians. He was given many beatings for his service to Jesus. He was put in prison many times because of his preaching of the Word of God. He was even stoned and left for dead. The list is long but he is not boasting just to boast about what has happened to him.
False teachers have come in to take away those who were trying to follow the LORD by their false teachings. They were saying things just the opposite way from Paul’s genuine teachings. People were following the teachings and following them.
CHALLENGE: Suffering for Jesus is part of what is going to happen to those who faithfully follow the LORD.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 28 Beside those things that are without, that which comes upon me daily, the care of all the churches. (3308 “care” [merimna] means concern, anxiety, thoughts, solicitude, or worry)
DEVOTION: Paul had started many churches through his preaching. The church at Corinth was one of those churches. When he gave birth to the church he had a concern for their future growth. He wanted them to develop into a group that was working together to see God’s name glorified in their city.
There were problems in the church and this caused Paul great concern. He was anxious in a good way for them. This word can mean “worry” which the Bible condemns in a believer. We are not to worry. We do but we are not supposed to worry over our past, present or future.
We are supposed to turn all those issue that cause us to be anxious or worried to the LORD. Paul was doing this and also writing them about his concerns.
We can wait on the LORD regarding something that has come to our attention. We need to pray for those who are under our direction. We are supposed to be spiritual guides to those who the LORD puts in our life. If the issues are too big for us we should have resources we can send people to to get the help they need.
This is not always easy because some people really don’t want help. They think they can handle the problem themselves but we watch as they are not handling it properly. This is what Paul had noticed in the church at Corinth.
Churches are failing because they will not listen to Biblical counsel regarding issues that are getting out of hand. None of the apostles in the first century wanted their ministries to fail. We have the same desire today. Continue to pray for the leadership in the church where you are attending. No church is without problems.
CHALLENGE: We need to be like Paul regarding getting churches the help they need to be productive for the glory of God. Evaluation is important for every church.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Paul fasted oftenverse 27
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
Eveverse 3
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
Godverses 1, 7, 11, 31
Gospel of Godverse 7
Fatherverse 31
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christverse 31
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead –God/man, Messiah)
Husbandverse 2
Christverses 2, 3, 10, 13, 23, 31
Jesusverses 4, 31
Truth of Christverse 10
Apostles of Christverse 13
Lord verses 17, 31
Ministers of Christverse 23
Lord Jesus Christverse 31
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Serpentverse 3
Another spirit (Satan)verse 4
Satanverse 14
Angel of light (Satan)verse 14
His (Satan) ministersverse 15
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Eveverse 3
Macedoniaverse 9
Regions of Achaiaverse 10
Damascusverse 32
Aretas the kingverse 32
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Beguiledverse 3
Subtletyverse 3
Corruptedverse 3
Another Jesusverse 4
Another spiritverse 4
Another gospelverse 4
False apostlesverses 13, 23
Deceitful workersverse 13
Transforming themselves into apostlesverse 13
Transforming false teachers into angels of lightverse 14
Satan’s ministersverse 15
Transforming false teachers into ministers of righteousnessverse 15
Foolverses 16-19
Glory after the fleshverse 18
False wisdomverse 19
Heathenverse 26
False brethrenverse 26
Lieverse 31
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Godly jealousyverse 2
Simplicityverse 3
Wages for preachingverse 8
Serviceverse 8
Brethrenverse 9
Truthverse 10
Boasting in Christverse 10
Love for brethrenverse 11
Righteousnessverse 15
Boldverse 21
Laborsverse 23
Stripesverses 23-25
Prisonverse 23
Deathverse 23
Perilsverse 26
Wearinessverse 27
Painfulnessverse 27
Hungerverse 27
Fasting oftenverse 27
Not lieverse 31
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Hebrewsverse 22
Israelitesverse 22
Seed of Abrahamverse 22
Jewsverse 24
Church (New Testament people of God)
Espoused to Jesusverse 2
Chaste virgin to Christverse 2
Preach the simplicity in Christverse 3
Preachverses 4, 7
Apostleverse 5
Paul rude in speechverse 6
Preach the gospel of Godverse 7
Robbed other churchesverse 8
Macedonia church supported Paulverse 9
Not burdensomeverse 9
Preach truth of Christverse 10
Sufferings of Paulverses 21-31
Ministers of Christverse 23
Care of all the churchesverse 28
Last Things (Future Events)
Endverse 15
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QUOTES regarding passage
28, 29 None of the afflictions mentioned in vv. 23–27 was a continuous experience. Paul’s crowning trial and privilege was, however, incessant—the daily pressure of his anxious concern (merimna) for all the churches (cf. Acts 20:18–21, 28–31). If his trials at Corinth were any indication, the total burden he always bore must have been well-nigh oppressive.
Yet Paul did not violate the teaching of Jesus about anxiety (cf. Matt 6:25–34, where the verbal form of merimna occurs frequently). His concern arose from seeking first the kingdom of God; he was grappling realistically with present, not future problems; and he had no anxiety about the relatively trivial matters of food and clothing (as v. 27 shows). But as a faithful “under-shepherd,” he shared the constant burden of the chief shepherd with regard to all the sheep.
This total identification of shepherd with sheep, or of spiritual father with children in the faith, is now illustrated (v. 29). Paul was at one with all his converts (cf. 1 Cor 12:26), sympathizing with their weakness in faith, conduct or conscience (cf. 1 Cor 8:7–13; 9:22). It is difficult to know what Paul means when he says, “I inwardly burn” (29b). The following suggestions have been made: He was fired with indignation at the person who caused another to sin (cf. Matt 18:6; 1 Cor 8:10–13; Gal 5:12, and the present situation with the false apostles); his heart burned with shame when a Christian brother fell or when someone dishonored the name of Christ; or he was so ablaze with compassion for the person who was “led into sin” that he shared his remorse. Perhaps all three were involved, though the last view best suits the context. (Harris, M. J. (1976). 2 Corinthians. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, p. 392). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing House.)
28. Those things that are without (τῶν παρεκτὸς). Some explain, external calamities; others, the things which are left out in the enumeration, as Matt. 5:32; Acts 26:29. Better, the latter, so that the literal meaning is, apart from the things which are beside and outside my enumeration: or, as Alford, not to mention those which are beside these. The word does not occur in classical Greek, and no instance of its usage in the former sense occurs in the New Testament or in the Septuagint. See Rev., margin.
That which cometh upon me (ἐπισύστασις). Lit., a gathering together against. Both here and Acts 24:12, the best texts read ἐπίστασις onset. Rev., that which presseth upon me. “The crowd of cares.”
Ferrer remarks upon vv. 23–28, that it is “the most marvellous record ever written of any biography; a fragment beside which the most imperilled lives of the most suffering saints shrink into insignificance, and which shows us how fractional at the best is our knowledge of the details of St. Paul’s life.” Eleven of the occurrences mentioned here are not alluded to in Acts. (Vincent, M. R. (1887). Word studies in the New Testament (Vol. 3, p. 352). New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.)
Besides those things that are without (χωρις των παρεκτος [chōris tōn parektos]). Probably, “apart from those things beside these just mentioned.” Surely no man ever found glory in such a peck of troubles as Paul has here recounted. His list should shame us all today who are disposed to find fault with our lot. That which presseth upon me daily (ἡ ἐπιστασις μοι ἡ καθʼ ἡμεραν [hē epistasis moi hē kath’ hēmeran]). For this vivid word ἐπιστασις [epistasis] see Acts 24:12, the only other place in the N. T. where it occurs. It is like the rush of a mob upon Paul. Anxiety for all the churches (ἡ μεριμνα πασων των ἐκκλησιων [hē merimna pasōn tōn ekklēsiōn]). Objective genitive after μεριμνα [merimna] (distractions in different directions, from μεριζω [merizō]) for which word see on Matt. 13:22. Paul had the shepherd heart. As apostle to the Gentiles he had founded most of these churches. (Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (2 Co 11:28). Nashville, TN: Broadman Press.)
11:28–29. It is difficult to comprehend the pain Paul must have felt from these physical afflictions and deprivations. But the spiritual struggles of his ministry were an even greater burden.
These verses climax the catalog of his ministerial suffering. Concern for others, not for himself, weighed heavily on him. In 1 Corinthians (12:25) Paul had written at length about the church as a body composed of various members knit together by a mutual concern for each other. Here he revealed the daily burden of the concern he experienced not just for the well-being of the Corinthian church, which would have taxed the noblest spirit, but concern for the well-being of all the churches established through his ministry.
In 1 Corinthians 12 he noted that in a spiritual body “if one part suffers every part suffers with it” (1 Cor. 12:26). Here he revealed how that sentiment found expression in his own life. He identified with the weak whether physically (cf. Phil. 2:26) or, more likely, spiritually (1 Cor. 9:22), in their pitiable state (cf. 1 Cor. 8:12; Rom. 14:15). Who is weak, and I do not feel weak? If anyone was led into sin, Paul so identified with the sinner that he too felt the consequences of the act. Who is led into sin, and I do not inwardly burn? David compared his state of sin under God’s hand to “the heat of summer” (Ps. 32:4), a likely inspiration for the equally vivid inner “burning” Paul felt at the knowledge of a brother led astray. (Lowery, D. K. (1985). 2 Corinthians. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, pp. 581–582). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
Natural hardships (vv. 25b–33). Almost any traveler in that day could have experienced some of these hardships; yet we cannot help but believe that they were caused by the enemy in an attempt to hinder the work of the Lord. Acts 27 records one of the three shipwrecks; we know nothing about the other two. We wonder how many of his precious personal possessions Paul lost in this way.
Because he was constantly on the move, Paul was exposed to the perils of travel. The Judaizers visited the safe places; Paul journeyed to the difficult places. But Paul was no ordinary traveler: he was a marked man. He had enemies among both the Jews and the Gentiles, and some would like to have killed him.
Second Corinthians 11:27 describes the personal consequences of all this difficult travel. In my own limited itinerant ministry, I have had the convenience of automobiles and planes, and yet I must confess that travel wears me out. How much more difficult it was for Paul! No wonder he was filled with weariness and pain. He often had to go without food, drink, and sleep; and sometimes he lacked sufficient clothing to keep himself warm.
While any other traveler could have suffered these things, Paul endured them because of his love for Christ and the church. His greatest burden was not around him, but within him: the care of all the churches. Why did he care so much? Because he identified with the believers (2 Cor. 11:29). Whatever happened to “his children” touched his own heart and he could not abandon them.
Paul climaxed this narration of his sufferings by telling of his humiliating experience at Damascus, when he—the great apostle—was smuggled out of the city in a basket let over the wall! (2 Cor. 11:32–33) Would any of the Judaizers ever tell a story like that? Of course not! Even when Paul did narrate his sufferings, he was careful that Christ was glorified, and not Paul.
We cannot read these verses without admiring the courage and devotion of the Apostle Paul. Each trial left its mark on his life, and yet he kept moving on, serving the Lord. “But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself” (Acts 20:24).
Paul certainly proved his love for the church.
Now the church had to prove its love for Paul.
May we never take for granted the sacrifices that others have made so that we might enjoy the blessings of the Gospel today. (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 1, p. 672). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.)
11:28, 29 Far worse than the occasional physical suffering Paul endured was the constant, daily burden of concern for the churches that he felt. Those who were “weak” (cf. Ro 14; 1Co 8) in faith, or were “led into sin” caused him intense emotional pain. Cf. 1Th 5:14. (MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (2006). The MacArthur study Bible: New American Standard Bible. (2 Co 11:28). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Ver. 28. Besides those things that are without, &c.] Or are omitted, which he had passed by, and had not mentioned in the account and enumeration of things he had given; for otherwise the things he had taken notice of and instanced in, were things external; but besides them and many other things which would be too tedious to relate, that which cometh upon me daily, is not to be forgotten; meaning the prodigious deal of business which was every day upon his hands, through the continual coming of brethren to him, either for advice, or comfort, or instruction; and through the multiplicity of letters from divers parts, which he was obliged to give answers to; and the several duties of the day, as prayer, meditation, reading, praising, preaching, &c. and to sum up the whole, and which is explanative of the phrase, the care of all the churches; not of ten, or twenty, or some only; but of all of them, he being the apostle of the Gentiles, and was concerned in planting, and raising them, and preaching the Gospel to most of them; and who continually stood in need of his watch and care over them, to provide ministers for some, to prevent schisms and heal divisions in others; to preserve others from errors and heresies, and warn them of the dangers to which they were exposed by false teachers; and to animate, strengthen, and support others under violent persecutions, lest their faith should fail, and they be tempted to desert the Gospel, and drop their profession of religion. (Gill, J. (1809). An Exposition of the New Testament (Vol. 2, pp. 834–835). London: Mathews and Leigh)
First, he declares his care for all the churches: “Besides those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches” (11:28). He could shrug off all these outward hardships, these external trials. They were neither here nor there in his estimation—although many a preacher would have given up under a mere tithe of the things Paul took for granted. To Paul these “light afflictions” simply went with the job.
But his care for all the churches was something else. This was what bore most heavily on his heart. In the two Pauline letters to the Corinthians we see his care for just one church. We add to that his letters to the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Colossians, the Philippians, the Romans, and the Thessalonians. We read and read again his nine letters to these seven churches. We underline their doctrine, their reproofs, their correction, their instruction in righteousness (2 Tim. 3:16). We underline the many personal references he makes, recalling this one and that one, sending greetings, making suggestions, offering praise, tendering advice, sounding warnings. All the churches! Not just his churches. He had not founded the church at Rome but he adopted it and wrote to it and prayed for it and planned again and again to come to it. The church at Colossae was not one he had founded directly but when heresy raised its head there he went to war for it.
The care of all the churches! How he yearned after the Jerusalem church! How he longed to be part of it, to emancipate it from the Judaism and legalism and narrowness and bigotry which so hindered it. His very efforts to help that church led to his arrest and his imprisonment in Rome.
His care of all the churches! These cares pressed in upon him daily. Every day there was a new series of demands upon his time and attention. He must have had a voluminous correspondence to attend to and countless administrative and ministerial matters besides. (Phillips, J. (2009). Exploring 2 Corinthians: An Expository Commentary (2 Co 11:28–31). Kregel Publications; WORDsearch Corp.)
Paul’s external sufferings were climactically matched by his internal concern for all the churches, especially the ones he founded. The opponents made the Corinthians spiritually weak, and this affected Paul as well. When the Corinthians were led into sin, Paul burned with anger toward the opponents. Paul’s external suffering and internal concern should challenge ministers who suffer little for the gospel and have minimal concern for their people. (p. 1822, The Moody Bible Commentary)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
THE STORMS OF LIFE
by Anne R. C. Neale
We all have storms in our life,
We must learn how to go through them all,
Don’t allow them to capsize your dreams,
“This too shall pass,” say that, it is good for your soul.
Learn from them and ride through them,
You can make it through life’s storms,
Don’t panic, just pray to God for help
God will help you all night and morn.
Dr. and Mrs. Scofield now went from London to Montreux, Switzerland, for quiet work and study. Here he fell desperately ill. It was evidently one of the several attacks that Satan began making upon him and this work of putting the riches of God’s Word freely at the disposal of multitudes who otherwise would not have them. The story of the Adversary’s persistent, desperate, but futile attempts to prevent the successful completion of the Scofield Reference Bible is a significant and impressive one. Satan is a terrible adversary; but, praise God, he is an “already defeated foe.” (Trumbull, C. G. (1920). The Life Story of C. I. Scofield (p. 90). New York; London; Toronto; Melbourne; Bombay: Oxford University Press.)
WALL STREET JOURNAL: NO SEX “SPECTRUM” BEYOND MALE AND FEMALE (Friday Church News Notes, February 21, 2020, www.wayoflife.org fbns@wayoflife.org, 866-295-4143) – The following is excerpted from “WSJ: No Sex ‘Spectrum,’” Breitbart, Feb. 14, 2020: “The Wall Street Journal has issued a throwdown to the gender lobby, insisting in an op-ed Thursday that sex is binary and there is no ‘spectrum.’ ‘In humans, reproductive anatomy is unambiguously male or female at birth more than 99.98% of the time,’ note biologists Colin M. Wright and Emma N. Hilton. … ‘No third type of sex cell exists in humans, and therefore there is no sex spectrum or additional sexes beyond male and female. Sex is binary,’ they assert. As the American College of Pediatricians concurred in 2016, the exceedingly rare disorders of sex development ‘are all medically identifiable deviations from the sexual binary norm, and are rightly recognized as disorders of human design. Individuals with DSDs do not constitute a third sex.’ The WSJ writers are responding to what they call a ‘dangerous and anti-scientific trend toward the outright denial of biological sex,’ which sees male and female as ‘arbitrary groupings.’ While sexual ambiguity does occasionally occur, the authors note, ‘intersex individuals are extremely rare, and they are neither a third sex nor proof that sex is a spectrum or a social construct.’ The WSJ essay echoes concerns increasingly being voiced that modern society has rushed into a dangerous social experiment based on less than flimsy scientific foundations. ‘The concept of changing one’s biological sex is, of course, nonsense, as sex is determined by unalterable chromosomes,’ wrote researcher Jane Robbins for Public Discourse last October. ‘An individual can change his hormone levels and undergo surgery to better imitate the opposite sex, but a male on the day of his conception will remain a male on the day of his death.’ … The American College of Pediatricians has pulled no punches in condemning this behavior, calling hormone treatment and surgical operations on children with gender dysphoria ‘child abuse.’ ‘The time for politeness on this issue has passed,’ the authors conclude. ‘Biologists and medical professionals need to stand up for the empirical reality of biological sex.’”
Deuteronomy 7
God commands the Israelites to destroy the Canaanites.
INSIGHT
God instructs the Israelites to remove from their land everything that will lead them to forsake their purity and commitment to the Lord. When we allow corruption inside our walls, it seeps into our lives and destroys us. We must remove the things from our lives that would tempt us or weaken us. Paul wrote, “Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts” (Romans 13:14). Are there some things you have carried over from your earlier days that ought to be removed from your life? Why not remove them right away?
(Quiet Walk)
The Rough Places Plain
“Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low; and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain.” (Isaiah 40:4)
This is an amazing promise. In the primeval “very good” creation (Genesis 1:31), there was nothing “crooked” or “rough.” Even the hills and mountains were apparently gentle in slope and relatively low; the rugged mountain ranges and volcanic peaks of the present world date from the upheavals and residual catastrophism of the great Flood (see especially Psalm 104:5-9). God had instructed men and women to literally “fill” the earth (Genesis 1:28), which would indicate that no part of the lands was uninhabitable.
That is not the way it is now. Vast inaccessible mountain ranges, deserts, glaciers, swamplands, etc., abound, all basically as a result of sin and God’s curse on the ground (Genesis 3:17).
But in the coming period of God’s judgments on the rebellious world of mankind, there also will be extensive renovational physical changes accompanying them. For example, there will be such “a great earthquake” that “every mountain and island were moved out of their places” (Revelation 6:12, 14). Then a few years later will follow an even greater global earthquake—“so mighty an earthquake, and so great” that “every island fled away, and the mountains were not found” (Revelation 16:18, 20).
“For thus saith the LORD of hosts; . . . I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and the dry land; And I will shake all nations, and the desire of all nations shall come” (Haggai 2:6-7). Finally, indeed, “every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together” (Isaiah 40:4-5). (HMM, The Institute for Creation Research)
THE RESULTS OF THE HOUR
Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
John 12:31
The results of the hour are put very plainly by Jesus in John 12:31.What an hour this is! Do you not begin to see that it is the most momentous hour of all time? We talk about the pivotal points of history, but they are all nothing when you look at this. “Now is the judgment of this world”—the whole world, in the sense that it is the hour in which the world was really revealed for what it is. It was there that sin was revealed. There, shown plainly and clearly once and forever, is the whole state of mankind apart from God.
The cross does not only reveal sin for what it is—at one and the same time it pronounces doom on the whole world and everything that belongs to that realm. The cross of Jesus Christ makes this great proclamation. Unless I believe in Him, unless I believe that His death at that hour is the only thing that reconciles me to God, I remain under the wrath of God. If I do not see that the wrath of God against my sin has been borne there by the Son of God, then the alternative is that I must experience the wrath of God. That is the essence of the Christian Gospel. I either believe that my sins have been punished in the body of the Son of God, or else they will be punished in me. It is the judgment of the world.
The world apart from Him is under the wrath of God, it is doomed, it is damned, and He alone can save it in that way. There was no other way, for God would never have allowed His Son to endure all that if there had been another way. It is the only way; so it is the judgment of the world.
A Thought to Ponder: This hour is the most momentous hour of all time.
(From Saved in Eternity p. 118, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
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