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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established
November 2008 Published Weekly on Friday
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
2 Corinthians (6:11-18)
(Lesson 17)
Greetings to you
all and welcome to HBS.
I spoke about the
truth in last week’s introduction to the lesson for a couple of reasons. #1: Besides
being pertinent to each lesson always, the
truth is our only weapon against Satan and without it we are unable to
resist evil and His schemes (Ephesians 6:10-18).
#2: Far too many
people today have this cynical question poised on their lips, “What is truth?” College campuses are adding to that number
each year by producing graduates in great numbers who reject the idea that
there is absolute truth. This means Political Correctness and
Relativism are the new standards by which they measure a person’s actions and what
is right or wrong. The written word is
no longer user-friendly. The Bible and our Constitution are just
two examples of this. These folks
believe both of these to be passé, i.e. moldy documents that need replacing,
since they don’t reflect the current mood
of society.
Let’s be clear, these
people are saying they reject the absolutes of both law and God’s Grace. It may interest you to know Jesus Christ
compared His own generation to children sitting in a market place
who call out to the other children,
and say, “We played the flute for you, and you did not
dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn (Matthew 11:15-17). But here’s the thing, for the first time in
human history the whole world is speaking
the same language and absolute truth
has gone the way of the dinosaur.
Statistics are revealing; they show 3 out of 4 Americans say there is no
such thing as absolute truth. I sincerely doubt that America was ever a
true, Christian nation, but it showed promise.
Recent statistics show 3 out of 4 people aren’t following Jesus Christ?
Clearly, the
world-stage is being prepared for the arrival of the anti-christ and God’s
end-time program. One of the signs of
this is Christians turning away from
the truth (2 Timothy 4:3-4). So, let’s
be certain we are all firmly rooted
in God’s truth and growing up in all aspects into Christlikeness: “…but
speaking the truth (how) in
love, we are to grow up in all aspects
into Him who is the head, even Christ,
from whom the whole body, being fitted together by what every joint supplies,
according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of
the body for the building up of itself in love (Ephesians
4:15-16).
In verse 13 of this
same chapter Paul mentions the goal for
the building up of the Body of Christ is to attain to the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God to
a mature man (and woman). He’s
saying each member of the Body of Christ is an “agent of truth,” and the aim of
the building is unified knowledge, i.e. a
unified understanding of God’s truth - rightly divided. Then in
verse 14 Paul shows great concern for us all as we grow into corporate
Christlikeness by saying as a result,
we are no longer to be children, tossed
here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of (false) doctrine, by the trickery of men, by
craftiness in deceitful scheming.
Paul’s saying the
true Believer is to walk after the Lord Jesus Christ only; they’re to grow to maturity in the Lord. To do so we are to be steadfast in truth; we’re not to be led away from
it by deceitful men or the world
around us.
Our Apostle Paul spoke the truth (simplified) in
love, and his message was gospel-oriented.
Every Believer is an ambassador
for Christ, as though God were making an appeal (to the unsaved world) through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God (2
Corinthians 5:18-21; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4).
********
Please
open your Bible at 2 Corinthians 6:11.
2 Corinthians 6
11: Our mouth has
spoken freely to you, O Corinthians, our heart is opened wide.
Paul
begins with this affectionate address, “O
Corinthians, our heart is opened wide,” in reference to what he has
previously stated. Here we see Paul
practicing what he preached in Ephesians 4:15, speaking the truth in love.
He genuinely loved the Corinthian saints as he did all those he served (v11). Paul spoke openly and clearly to them.
A loving parent would do no less, in comparison.
Verse
12:
You are not
restrained by us – the
Greek word for restrained is Stenochoreo (pronounced:
sten-okh-o-reh’-o), Verb, Strong’s Greek #4729, meaning: to be
in a narrow, cramped place.
Literally, it refers to someone or something being crowded together into
a narrow place. The Corinthians played
the “I’m the victim” card with Paul quite a few times. Paul responded to their immature behavior out of necessity but in doing so he was always loving
and reasonable (1 Corinthians 4:19-21).
This
serves to demonstrate, once again, that Paul didn’t simply tolerate Believers
he loved them all, even the spiritually
immature saints at Corinth. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for (who) all the churches (2 Corinthians
11:28; Philippians 1:8).
Of
course many of the Corinthians did not view themselves as spiritually immature, they thought of themselves as winners before the race of their
Christian lives was even over. If you
were here for our study of 1 Corinthians then you’re already aware many of the
Corinthians forgot some of Paul’s teachings and misapplied others and as a
result a number of significant conflicts and problems arose within the church
at Corinth. Many of the saints there had
come to believe they had received the ultimate blessings of God. This inaccurate assumption led to four
observable problems: strained
relationships within the church, sexual misconduct, abuses in worship, and a
rejection of Paul’s apostolic authority.
Therefore,
it wasn’t that Paul didn’t spend enough time
with them, or that he didn’t love them,
(both of these touchy subjects were addressed in his letters - 1 Cor 16:1-9; 2
Corinthians 1:13, 2:1-4) it was their own selfish interests and their love for
the things the world offered that restrained them. This is why Paul said, “but you are restrained in your own affections.”
Let’s
go to verse 13.
Now in a like
exchange – I speak as to (spiritually immature) children – open wide (your hearts) to us also. In other words, I speak the truth only; prepare
your hearts and minds to receive it. Paul writes to them as their loving father: I
do not write these things to shame you, but to admonish you as my beloved
children. For if you were to have
countless tutors in Christ, yet you would not have many fathers, for in
Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel (1 Corinthians
4:14-15).
2 Corinthians 6
14: Do not be bound
(yoked)
together with unbelievers; for what
partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light
with darkness?
Paul
uses a farming metaphor here taken from Deuteronomy 22:10 that teaches
Believers are not to be “unequally yoked.”
It’s another way of saying we’re not to pair-up with “another of a different kind.” Let’s think this through. If Paul is warning the Believers NOT to be bound together with unbelievers then what was going on in
Corinth? They were forming inappropriate,
intimate, interpersonal relationships with unbelievers;
these people were the “another of a
different kind.” Think about the activities going on
around the clock in the two-port city of Corinth, Greece, with 1,000
prostitutes plying their trade in the evenings and the picture begins to come
into focus, does it not.
An
unequal yoke is anything that unites a Believer with an unbeliever in a common
purpose; whatever that common interest or purpose may be. This verse has been proof-texted in relation
to Believers marrying unbelievers; however, the text doesn’t appear to be
dealing with this particular issue. But that
doesn’t mean it isn’t included in Paul’s command. Paul’s saying true Believers must restrict
their close, personal relationships to fellow Believers and some of these are
restricted even more so, i.e. to the marriage covenant.
Believers
are to keep the Main Thing, the Main Thing.
Our faith in Jesus Christ and His truths help us fight the influence of
the fallen culture which surrounds us and bombards us relentlessly with one
sole purpose and is that is to deceive
us. For our Apostle Paul writes: Do not
be deceived: “Bad company corrupts good
morals.” Become sober-minded as you
ought, and stop sinning; for some have no knowledge of God. I speak this
to your shame (1 Corinthians 15:33-34; Romans 12:1-2).
What fellowship has
light with darkness
– this comment naturally follows for here Paul is speaking of righteous living. Let’s be
practical. I say this because Paul
obviously is. Light has no fellowship
with darkness, absolutely none. Permit
me to illustrate: if you walk into a
dark room at home and flip on the light switch what happens to the
darkness? It disappears immediately, if
not sooner, right? The light causes the darkness to disperse because there is no fellowship between the two.
A
few weeks ago we looked at the first chapter of John, the apostle, where he
writes: There was the true Light which, coming into the world,
enlightens every man (and woman). He was in the world, and the world was made
through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him (John
1:9-11). Why not?
From
mankind’s perspective, everything was functioning as per normal in Judea until
Jesus Christ arrived and the same could be said for the folks living in Corinth
until Paul appeared. Both the Lord and
Paul shined the Light of God’s Truths on these people’s activities but more
importantly the true Light exposed
the darkness in their hearts (Jeremiah 17:9).
This not only angered people it shamed them. Flip on over to John, chapter 3; drop down to
verse 19: And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the
world, and men (and women) loved the
darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the Light
and does not come to the Light, so that his (or her) works may not be exposed; (John
3:19-20- Berean Literal Bible).
Our
Apostle Paul has this to say: The night is almost gone, and the day is
near. Therefore let us lay aside the
deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day,
not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not
in strife and jealousy. But put on
the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its
lusts (Romans 13:12-14; Ephesians 4:17-20, 5:8-14; 1 Thessalonians 5:4-8).
In
2 Corinthians 4:6, our Apostle Paul wrote:
For God who said, “Light shall
shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the
Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ, But we have
this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power
will be of God and not from ourselves (2 Corinthians 4:6-7). The implication is Believers are enlightened
by the knowledge of the glory of God, in
Christ Jesus, and they are to walk in
this Light.
Let’s
move on to verse 15 where Paul asks the question: Choose
whom you will follow Christ or Satan?
2 Corinthians 6
15: Or what harmony
has Christ with Belial, or what has a believer in common with an
unbeliever?
Or what harmony
has Christ with Belial – the Corinthians were too liberal in the sense that they
thought it was acceptable to coexist
with lawlessness and righteousness. I see this bumper-sticker on a car every now and again asking drivers on the road to do the same thing. However, Paul chastised the Corinthians
for their arrogance in permitting sexual immorality of such a
kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles or in plain English “winking
at sin” in their church (1 Corinthians 5:1-7); for accepting darkness along with Light, and for admitting Belial along with Christ into their assembly.
There’s
disagreement as to the meaning of the word Belial.
Some people say it means worthlessness or wickedness while some others say Paul specifically uses it here as
a name for Satan. F.Y.I. this is the
only place in the New Testament where this word appears, however it’s used a
few times in the O.T. (Deuteronomy 13:13, 15:9; Psalms 41:8, 101:3; Proverbs
6:12; Judges 19:22, 20:13; 1 Samuel 1:16, 2:12).
Let’s
work out the wrinkles… If we adhere to
the rule of First Mention in scripture, the word Belial appears first in Deuteronomy 13:13 and it means worthless:
some worthless men
have gone out from among you and have seduced the inhabitants of their
city, saying, “Let us go and serve other gods’ (whom you have not
known)… But sometimes it means wicked it depends on the passage and the
text.
According
to the Bible Dictionary, Paul uses the word Belial as a name for Satan: “the
personification of all that is evil.” Look up the word evil and you’ll discover it means wicked; among other things. Both
evil and wicked describe and define Satan.
Jesus said, “Satan was a murderer from the
beginning… and the father of lies”
(John 8:44). Jesus Christ encounters
evil incarnate at the start of His earthly ministry. Please turn to Matthew chapter 4; I want to
show you something.
This
is the account of Jesus going off into the wilderness
for forty days to be tempted of the devil… I suggest y’all read the
entire account; we’re going to begin at verse 10 after Jesus’ 3rd temptation: Then
Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘YOU SHALL WORSHIP
THE LORD YOUR GOD, AND (do what) SERVE HIM
ONLY.’”
Note
Jesus didn’t entertain Satan’s temptations and He certainly didn’t give in to
them. He used the written Word to fight off Satan’s attacks and in doing so He
let Satan know in no uncertain terms that there is only One, true God and we SERVE HIM ONLY.
Jesus clearly made a choice,
setting an example for all those who follow Him. Paul wants the Corinthians to know they too
have to make a choice as to who is
going to be their One and only leader, Christ
or Satan (Belial), because no harmony exists between the two.
This
brings another Bible verse to mind. Please
turn to the book of Joshua, chapter 25:15:
“If it is disagreeable in your
sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you
will serve: whether the gods
which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of
the Amorites in whose land you are living, but as for me and my house, we will serve
the LORD.”
I
know these verses are taken from the O.T. but as we all know, this entire book
is for our learning. These verses are dealing with the subject of idolatry, for one, and Paul’s going to
cover that topic in just a bit. But here
Joshua clearly tells the LORD’s people they have a choice to make, choose this
day whom you will serve the LORD or
other gods, i.e. Belial, worthlessness/wickedness
(Genesis 10:6-12, 11:1-9). I mention
this because the Tower of Babel was the beginning of organized, false religion
on a global scale and Satan is the mastermind behind it. His plan is simple; it’s all about deception.
He gets people to believe in anything but the One, True God: Wherein
in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the
prince of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience (Ephesians
2:2).
When
you push God aside either temporarily
or out of your life altogether you
create a vacuum and that void is filled with something else. Unfortunately for the majority of people past
and present they have chosen to fill it with worthless/wicked things of (Belial), i.e. Satan for he is the spirit that now worketh in the children
of disobedience. He has blinded the minds of the unbelieving to
the point where they see themselves as winners
but they are not. That’s because
another name for the activities linked to Satan is worthless. Nothing Satan offers
has any true, lasting value, like smoke in a strong wind it’s gone in an
instant. Compare that to the eternal riches the Believer has in
Christ Jesus and you can see why Paul said Christ
and Belial are not in harmony.
As
I just said, Christ or Belial boils down to idolatry and Paul speaks of this in
verse 16:
2 Corinthians 6
16: Or what
agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we (our physical human
bodies) are the temple of the living
God; just as God said, “I WILL DWELL IN THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE
THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
This
question asked by Paul has to do with the Believer’s devotion. Or
what agreement has the temple of God with idols? There is no agreement. Think about this. The One, true God is living and eternal. An idol is made by human hands and there is no
life in it (Isaiah 44:9-28).
The
temple of God by definition is a
holy place, a sanctuary where God is worshiped and should be protected from
anything that would defile it. Here Paul
is saying each Believer is the temple of
God. He’s said this once before, but
clearly it needed to be repeated (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). Just as it would be wrong to erect a statue
of an idol in God’s temple and openly worship it there, it is equally wrong for
a true Believer to partner with the world
or mingle with unbelievers joining them in their sinful activities: Do not
present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present
yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and
present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness (Romans
6:13). For we (our physical human bodies) are the temple of the living God.
To
drive his point home Paul borrows three quotes from the O.T.; Exodus 29:45,
Isaiah 52:11, and 2 Samuel 7:14. Let’s
go to verses 17-18: “Therefore, COME OUT FROM THEIR MIDST AND BE SEPARATE,” says the
Lord. AND DO NOT TOUCH WHAT IS UNCLEAN;
And I will welcome you (Isaiah 52:11). And I will be a father to you, And you shall
be sons and daughters to Me,” Says the Lord Almighty” (2 Samuel 7:14).
Therefore… this one word
encompasses everything Paul has discussed up to this point for this purpose, “You
Corinthians are to come out of this
unbelieving world and be separate, says the Lord.” These words were applied to the Jews who were
in Babylon. The LORD God is calling them
to leave their place of exile, to come
out from among the idolaters and fornicators of that pagan city and return
to their own land. Babylon in the Scriptures
represents whatever is proud, wicked, and generally opposed to God. Paul, therefore, applies these words with
some force to illustrate the Believer’s responsibility to separate themselves from the darkness
of this Christ-rejecting world.
(To
be continued)
©
Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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