2 Corinthians 11:3, commentary and pictures

Paul feared for the church he had joined to Christ as a pure bride, lest its mind be drawn away from Him just as Eve was drawn away by the serpent. The serpent is Satan, who did not attack openly but used a beautiful serpent as his medium to beguile Eve with flattering, deceptive subtlety after she wandered from her husband's side to gaze at the forbidden fruit. The simplicity to be kept is wholehearted, undivided devotion and childlike trusting faith in Christ, which is purity, meekness and lowliness with self hidden in Him. That corruption still comes through false teachers and pleasing errors, as Satan transforms himself into an angel of light to excite ambition, desire for forbidden knowledge, distrust of God, and disregard for His law. Safety is found only in humble watchfulness, earnest study and obedience of God's Word, and holding fast to Christ by faith to resist the tempter.

Paul's Pastoral Warning

The fear expressed is godly jealousy over the church, for Paul had espoused believers to one husband in order to present them as a chaste virgin to Christ, and he spoke because he could see evils coming into the church lest minds be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ as the serpent beguiled Eve through subtlety. He spoke it concerning men working to destroy his influence, and it stands as a warning about the deceptions that will come in the last days. The corrupting feared is done through corrupt teachers, who are false apostles and deceitful workers transforming themselves into apostles of Christ, just as Satan is transformed into an angel of light and his ministers into ministers of righteousness.

The warning vindicates preaching the gospel in disinterested love and humbling himself to work with his hands at tentmaking rather than cheapening gospel influence, against those who commend themselves and measure and compare themselves among themselves. The chapter containing the verse gives Paul's experience and is to be studied and made to speak decidedly as a guide not to enter into controversies, to obtain a deeper experience, not to seek to be original lest odd notions arise, and to keep the work moving in a dignified, elevated, ennobling manner. Viewing matters with human eyesight leads to very grave mistakes when people take up a work God has not appointed but has condemned, which is criticizing others, climbing upon the judgment seat, and pronouncing sentence.

For advancement they should examine their own hearts and remove the beam of faultfinding, evil surmising, evil speaking, bearing false witness, hatred, and accusing of the brethren, looking well to their own shortcomings and defects of character by watchful examination. Against the danger warned of, believers are to put on the armor of righteousness, look steadfastly to Jesus Christ, and refuse to be turned away from the gospel. They are to come fully out of the world and onto the Lord's side as living representatives of Christ, showing before the heavenly universe a life with no division, wholly on the Lord's side.

Coming out to Jesus requires coming out of the world and being separate from it, realizing that although in the world one is not of it, and keeping this simplicity requires walking as dear children, walking worthy of the calling, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, walking in Christ as He was received, rooted and grounded and built up in Him and established in the faith.

Serpent's Deception of Eve

The serpent is Satan, the prince of evil, who became an apostate in the heavenly courts with no reasonable cause, so that his rebellion is unexplainable transgression. He sought the fall of Adam and Eve through cunning and deceit rather than open force or intimidation, because they would have resisted a direct attack. He used the serpent as his medium, which itself had no power of speech, so that Eve was deceived into thinking it was the serpent speaking when Satan used him to speak.

That serpent was a very beautiful creature with wings, very bright in flight like burnished gold, going from place to place through the air and not upon the ground, and eating fruit like man. The beguiling took place after Eve wandered away from her husband's side and stood gazing with mingled curiosity and admiration upon the fruit of the forbidden tree. He beguiled her through artful, flattering subtlety and charming deceptive words, including flattery, misrepresentation of God's character, envy, distrust, questioning, unbelief, and plausible arguments to draw into disobedience and persuade to do the very thing God told them not to do. His subtlety has not diminished, and as he charmed Eve with deceptive words so people can still be charmed by appealing philosophical speculation and drawn away from simple truth.

Eve was deceived to think something was withheld that would make them wise, even as God. The flattering hope of entering a higher state of knowledge led her to think herself capable of deciding between right and wrong and to trust the serpent as a special friend possessing a great interest in her welfare. The serpent had given no tokens of love and had done nothing for their happiness and benefit, while God had given them everything good for food and pleasant to the sight, with abundance and beauty everywhere the eye could rest. Yet our first parents chose to believe the serpent's words, and instead of believing and confiding in God, Eve mistrusted His goodness and cherished the words of Satan.

Corruption of mind begins when self-confidence and desire for higher knowledge receive the tempter as a friend. Eve would have been delivered at once from his artful temptation if she had sought her husband and they had together told God the serpent's words. His beguiling was leading Adam and Eve to disregard the word of God, transgress the holy law of Jehovah, and fail the single test God put upon them.

Simplicity That Is in Christ

The verse warns that just as the serpent deceived Eve by cunning, minds can be corrupted and led away from simple, wholehearted, undivided devotion and trusting faith in Christ. Against that last-day danger believers are to put on the armor of righteousness, look steadfastly to Jesus Christ, refuse to be turned away from the gospel, come fully out of the world and onto the Lord's side, and show before the heavenly universe a life with no division. Keeping that simplicity means coming out from the world while in it as living representatives of the Lord Jesus, walking as dear children, walking worthy of the calling, being fruitful in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God, walking in Christ as He was received, rooted and grounded and built up in Him and established in the faith.

Even a mind created by God can be influenced by another power when warning is ignored and heed is given to evil, and the seduction from faithfulness to Christ into apostasy can become so complete that the power leading astray is not discerned. Satan can poison thoughts and influence one person through another without recognition.

Simplicity in Christ is purity and the pure, sacred dignity of the truth, which those who are as stars in His hand as His representatives are ever to preserve. It is the essence of Christ's teachings and methods, it is sanctified, and teachers of the young must preserve it in their work and educate in right lines by it, with only those who will maintain it chosen for that work.

That simplicity is meekness and humility, meekness and lowliness of mind with self hidden in Christ, joined with His character of love. It is the opposite of spiritual pride, which corrupts the mind away from Christ unless every trace is removed from the heart and His meekness and simplicity put in its place, while yielding self-will and receiving His counsel changes rude traits instead of diverting others into vague, uncertain paths by human understanding and worldly, selfish policy.

The simplicity is a trusting faith that brings troubles to Jesus, believes He is near, asks for what is needed, and relies on Him rather than becoming disheartened. It means receiving light by faith without demanding that every difficulty first be laid out in clear lines, as was required to receive the blessing present at Minneapolis and the General Conference, where some received the light for the people and rejoiced while others stood back and gave confidence to talk and cherish unbelief, and those who wait for full explanation before believing will wait until the judgment where they will be weighed in the balances and found wanting.

Simplicity in Christ means proclaiming in plain form the truths Christ taught, grounded in Scripture, with Scripture's It is written as the test for every soul, and it cautions against theories or tests Christ never taught that have no biblical foundation. Simplicity in Christ Jesus, kept together with unity and love for one another, is the secret of success in any religious effort. It is shown in pure, Christlike life practice, which witnesses to genuine piety.

How Deception Corrupts Minds

Satan still beguiles people exactly as he beguiled Eve in Eden, by flattery, by kindling a desire to obtain forbidden knowledge, and by exciting ambition for self-exaltation, evils whose cherishing caused his own fall and through which he aims to compass the ruin of men. His declaration, Ye shall be as gods knowing good and evil, now reappears in Spiritualism teaching that man is a creature of progression destined from birth to progress to eternity toward the Godhead, that each mind will judge itself and not another, that judgment is right because it is judgment of self, that the throne is within, that all are unfallen demigods, and that any just and perfect being is Christ. In place of the righteousness and perfection of the infinite God as the true object of adoration, and in place of the perfect righteousness of His law as the true standard of human attainment, he substitutes the sinful, erring nature of man himself as the only object of adoration and only rule of judgment and standard of character, so that by the law that by beholding we become changed, the mind adapting and assimilating to what it dwells on, loves and reveres, man never rises higher than his standard but if self is his loftiest ideal never attains anything more exalted and constantly sinks lower and lower, and only the grace of God has power to exalt him.

False religious ideas that promise higher knowledge and make people believe they can become gods leave no place for God or Christ, and listening to such teachings can lead people to love them, while their influence poisons the mind and deadens the soul. He corrupts serpentlike, creeping in imperceptibly through the science of the human mind to corrupt the work of God, transforming himself into an angel of light to deceive and lead thousands captive and making the miracles and works of Christ all human, so that Christians must be guarded on every side and perseveringly resist his insinuations and devices. Part of the warning is his use of supposed communication from the dead to mislead, against which knowing and obeying Scripture guards, and his use of professed Christians to lead away from the simple truth of the gospel, with worldly companions and amusements planting doubt and skepticism, while a merely outward form of godliness without spiritual power does not please God and good intentions, resolutions, and deeds cannot take the place of repentance, faith, and willing obedience.

False sanctification is one such deception, drawing people into error, away from the church and its spiritual care, and weakening the church's life. That same work continues through his agents when breakers of God's law claim to be sanctified and made perfect with hearts at enmity with God's law, and as false lights deceive many into practicing the same iniquity, showing the same disregard for God's law and teaching others that they may transgress with impunity, for his beguiling was leading Adam and Eve to disregard the word of God, transgress the holy law of Jehovah, and fail the single test God put upon them. As the serpent charmed Eve with deceptive words, people can be charmed by appealing philosophical speculation and drawn away from the simple truth found in Christ, and such influence can corrupt the mind and weaken its hold on God's word. Such deceptive ideas can act like the serpent's subtle charm and can appear spiritually beautiful while leading the weak and spiritually ignorant into forbidden paths.

He seeks to deceive God's people and destroy the simplicity of faith in Christ by presenting the errors of the world in an attractive guise or style. Cherishing those errors and introducing them mingles error with truth and obscures and mars the precious landmarks of truth, and guarding that simplicity requires jealously refusing to pervert God-given talents and mental powers to his service in any work that leads away from right principles, for no leaven of false, dishonoring doctrines can be safely tampered with or introduced as legitimate work, since tampering brings spiritual weakness and inefficiency, as Solomon's history warns. Deceptive teachings and false sentiments can corrupt the mind and draw people away from the simplicity of the gospel in Christ, and holding fast to Christ and truth means rejecting such deception, for otherwise faith and spiritual experience are spoiled and people may ultimately deny Christ who bought them with His blood.

The same subtlety that beguiled Eve by flattery and by misrepresenting God's character to persuade Adam and Eve to do the very thing God told them not to do still corrupts minds, leading the religious world captive by tearing down God's holy law as the standard of righteousness, throwing a hellish shadow between man and God to eclipse the rich loveliness of a character untainted by transgression, chaining men and women in bondage to his will and winning others to his side through those who obey his suggestions. He works with serpent-like subtlety inside the work of God, leaving a slimy, serpent-like trail that even men who ought to be wise cannot discern, which makes the warfare no child's play but a soul-trying conflict to be entered with active participation, with no two-sidedness, with continual prayer for God's help, and with the heavenly anointing eyesalve. Like the serpent who deceived Eve, he also works through disguised insinuations such as suspicion, faultfinding, criticism, and ambition to turn people from the simplicity and trust that belong in Christ, and unless the Holy Spirit removes this evil his influence can defeat those who might otherwise go forward to victory. The danger includes wrong tendencies, both inherited and cultivated, being stirred into action with self taking the place that belongs to God or Christ, when ministers and members rely on human wisdom, follow standards of their own making, or trust in self-righteousness instead of growing in grace and knowing Christ, while human wisdom and pride can hide Christlike character.

Guarding Simplicity in Life

Guarding against corruption from the simplicity in Christ requires constant watchfulness marked by humble dependence on God, awareness of personal weakness, and childlike trust in His promises, not pride or self-reliance, for relying on one's own ability instead of depending on God makes a person vulnerable to the enemy's guile and subtle deception that can corrupt the mind and lead away from Christ. Security from Satan's deceptive reasoning, including his use of supposed communication from the dead to mislead as he beguiled Eve, comes by earnestly studying God's revealed Word, meditating diligently on its precepts, obeying His commands, and refusing to leave revelation for false reasoning, for knowing and obeying Scripture guards against such deception. Through Christ's transforming grace people can resist Satan, distinguish falsehood from truth, and stand against his attacks, remaining on that ground only by holding to Christ and following Him, and young people need to seek God, pray, and rely on Him for strength lest their minds be led away from God.

Simplicity is maintained by walking humbly with God, asking Him to remove anything that separates from Him, dying to self and cherishing humble, childlike faith instead of looking to human talent and status as strength, which brings spiritual blindness and poverty, inflated views of ability, and weak, faint faith. Keeping heart and mind in simplicity by depending fully on God requires acting with the greatest caution, keeping a united front, and remaining silent on non-vital disputed questions rather than agitating, publishing, or circulating divisive material, guarding against confusion, division among leading ministers, giving enemies occasion to magnify flaws and bear false witness, giving the impression of varied opinions and lack of divine leading, and tempting those not thoroughly converted to rash moves. Believers are to cherish the truth in the simplicity in which they received it from Christ and not seek strange new teachings from human beings or accept false science as truth, for simplicity is to be studied and held to rather than displaced by fanciful doctrines that exalt their promoters and separate believers from fellow workers.

Acceptance with God does not need to be proved by spiritual ecstasy, for faith can trust Christ for pardon without that feeling. The blessing present at Minneapolis and the General Conference required receiving light by faith in the simplicity of Christ without demanding that every difficulty first be laid out in clear lines, while those who stood back and waited for full explanation before believing talked and cherished unbelief and gave confidence to others to do so, and will wait until the judgment where they will be weighed and found wanting. Instead of focusing on others' wrongs to cover their own, believers should walk humbly with God and seek to partake of the divine nature, letting Christ work in them, yielding self-will, receiving His counsel, and changing rude traits of character rather than relying on own understanding and conforming to worldly, selfish policy that diverts others into vague, uncertain paths, for Christ's simplicity is joined with His meekness and character of love.

Simplicity is lived out by self-denial, bearing the cross after Jesus, and helping others rather than seeking personal advantage, sharing in affliction and gaining precious experience, and it means rejecting worldly popularity, fashions, conformity, customs, and maxims, and representing Christ in daily life with simplicity, self-control, and obedience, lest imitation of extravagance and self-indulgence corrupt the gospel's simplicity, weaken witness, and encourage others to remain in harmful habits. Fathers and mothers and the church have departed from simplicity and purity and neglected the holy calling of the gospel by adopting the world's customs and maxims and turning from that calling, and though Christ would freely give abundant unsearchable riches of grace, by departing they prove unworthy. Leaders who refuse to follow Christ place themselves under the guidance of evil angels and eclipse the beauty of God's holiness by unsanctified words and actions, and they must be converted and led back to God, with some not breaking the spell upon them without severe chastisement from God, for people can be beguiled and led away from faithful experience.

The simplicity of the gospel held in humility and lowliness of heart forbids rising above it and working by art and display, and keeping it means lifting up Christ as the sin-pardoning Redeemer where success in winning souls is found, with God manifesting Himself to those who work humbly. Precious truths are to be grasped clearly and presented to others in Christ's simplicity, especially to those who have not heard them, and daily study of the Scriptures enables teaching others in that simplicity, for Christ's way of simplicity lets children receive knowledge and carry precious lessons home in their hearts. Proclaiming and living the truth in its simplicity must not be corrupted by counter jots and tittles introduced and magnified to immense proportions when silence would be the wisdom of righteousness, for unless taught of God and worked by His Holy Spirit great confusion comes, and departing dries up and loses the heavenly moisture of the Spirit, while keeping it lets souls in the cities who have not heard mercy see truth, lay hold upon it, be converted, and then in first love present it to others.

Holding to purity and simplicity and showing it in life-practice in all said and done glorifies His name, and remaining true to the Lord, looking to Him in confidence for wisdom and guidance, and moving guardedly in wisdom's way keeps minds from corruption and witnesses to genuine piety, for God desires every believer to be a soul winner and blesses all who do so. Simplicity in gospel work means working economically and planning to reach hearts without spreading over more territory, starting more enterprises, multiplying plans, machinery, and formal arrangements than help and means can carry out perfectly, but keeping up enterprises already started, regarding life and health, selecting and training workers, and carrying forward with thoroughness, sympathy, compassion, love, and Christ's way with self subdued and Christ exalted, for departing makes perception complex and intricate, burdens workers, absorbs resources, leaves parts neglected, and leads to formal service without Christ. Service is to be humble, unselfish work bringing converting truth to needy people without imposing precise methods or human plans that make one person the center, prescribe one rigid method, and limit usefulness, with the Holy Spirit guiding mind and will, sanctifying speech, and teaching converted people to serve as God directs in humility and gentleness rather than by human wisdom.

Christ's sanctified simplicity of methods, which is the essence of His teachings, must be sacredly maintained in educating and training youth, and only teachers who will educate in right lines by it are to be chosen, for teachers of the young must preserve it in their work. Deceptive satanic influence can still corrupt minds as the serpent subtly deceived Eve, working with serpent-like subtlety inside God's work and leaving a slimy trail even men who ought to be wise cannot discern, and God is asked to preserve the soul from this beguiling. This warfare is no child's play but a soul-trying conflict to be entered with active participation, no two-sidedness, continual prayer for God's help, and the heavenly eyesalve.