2 Corinthians 11:1-6

2 Corinthians 11:1-6 I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that. I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.” I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.

Paul is battling those who are bringing in a discordant gospel into the church of Corinth, a gospel of impurity, one that is based on fleshly pursuits and man's natural instincts. For I am afraid that when I come I may not find you as I want you to be, and you may not find me as you want me to be. I fear that there may be quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, factions, slander, gossip, arrogance and disorder. I am afraid that when I come again my God will humble me before you, and I will be grieved over many who have sinned earlier and have not repented of the impurity, sexual sin and debauchery in which they have indulged. (2 Corinthians 12:20-21) He has already heard of sinful activities in the Corinthian church. He has heard that they are teaching another Jesus, another spirit, another gospel. Paul is very much afraid that they have been deceived by these false prophets and that their present plans will destroy their spiritual dwelling place. Paul admits that he is probably not the best, or most becoming messenger of the gospel, for he is not attractive in appearance, nor is his speech eloquent. But he is telling them that no one could possibly love them more than he does. His whole desire is to present them to God in holiness, as a virgin is presented to her husband. Paul is stating again to the Corinthians that he is their true apostle, their spiritual father on Earth.

This same attitude of love and dedication should be present in a parent, especially the father. A true father will not abandon his children. He will do whatever is necessary to insure that his children receive the gospel in the purest form so they might know Christ. If our homes are ones of dissimilitude, of conflict, of anger, or even of flight, we are putting our children in jeopardy of losing out in Christ. For the spirit of the world is always ready to preach another Christ to them, another gospel. Children will learn that they are descended from monkeys rather than from the hand of God. They will learn that all things possess some kind of spirit, and it just happens that they are higher up on the chain of life. They will learn that sin and debauchery are fun, and that life consists only of self-will and self-preservation. FOR SURE, THEY WILL LEARN, ONE SPIRIT OR THE OTHER!

How sad it is when one parent decides that the spirit of the world is more enjoyable, THAT SELF is more important than the family, that life consists of what he/she can get out of the world, and nothing else matters. As far as I am concerned, the sin of self is the basis of all sin. Eve chose self-will over God's will. The serpent said, "Surely you will not die if you follow your self-will," but he lied and death entered man's domain. For God's will is eternal; man's will is temporary. When a man chooses self, another spirit enters the home. Then destruction walks in. The family structure planned by God will end; immense pain will be inflicted on all who abide there. I have seen this many times in my life, and it is always tremendously sad, for the children are the damaged collateral. They are the walking wounded. Their lives will never be the same. As an eighth grade student once wrote in an essay, "The problem with divorce is that it never ends."

Paul had a godly jealousy for the Corinthians. He was a true spiritual father. His chief desire in life was to present the Corinthians to God in purity and love. For a Christian father there is no higher calling in life than leading his children to God. He knows the children will be watching everything he does--they will imitate his actions and words. They always will be reading the letter that his life is writing, and the children will know if it is valid or not. If the letter is full of self, the children will suffer, and they will carry the hurts of this self-willed life throughout their lives. Fathers turn your hearts toward the Lord, He will deliver you from your self-willed ways. He will make your life worth living.