I wish you would bear with me in a little foolishness. Do bear with me! ² For I feel a divine jealousy for you, since I betrothed you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. ³ But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ⁴ For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough. ⁵ Indeed, I consider that I am not in the least inferior to these super-apostles. ⁶ Even if I am unskilled in speaking, I am not so in knowledge; indeed, in every way we have made this plain to you in all things.

1) Why was Paul jealous?
Paul says he has “divine jealousy” for the church in Corinth because he has invested heavily into them through visits in person, letters, and much prayer, preaching, and teaching. He loved this church and was spending himself, as he partnered with the Holy Spirit, to present them as a “pure virgin” to Christ. While it is only the Spirit that can make us Christ-like (see Sanctification & Glorification), God has designed the members of the Body of Christ to continuously point one another back to Jesus again and again and again. (Look up these verses!) Paul’s jealousy was flaring up because these that he loved and valued were turning away from the solidity of the full gospel for a lesser, false gospel based on works instead of faith. This broke Paul’s heart, filling him with jealous love!

2) What is the Serpent’s deception referring to and how does that impact Paul’s audience?
The Enemy, Satan, has been lying to the human race since we existed in the Garden of Eden. That original sin, where Eve stepped into disobedience because she listened to Satan’s voice of deception over God’s voice of truth, is what Paul is referring to here. The impact of sin from that moment is significantly deep and widespread; there is no escaping sin. As Jesus says in the book of John, “You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him.” (John 8:44) Our birth father is Satan, who by his very nature is a liar and deceiver. We have no hope of truth by this birth order, which is why we desperately need to be adopted by God!

3) Who is the “other Jesus” or “different spirits”?
Both of these references are abstract concepts rather than indicative of specific people or spirits. Paul is warning the Corinthians to watch and test what they hear and learn, being careful to hold every teaching, every leader, every “fad”, up to the truth of the gospel. The full gospel alone is the only acceptable litmus test for true teaching. All other religious roads do not lead to Heaven. How reassuring it is that we don’t have to wonder if the gospel is true or whether we have an accurate measuring stick to test the thoughts and ideas that swirl around us!

4) Why is Paul bragging about himself in saying he isn’t inferior?
Paul, originally Saul, persecuted the early church, was not one of the 12 disciples who walked with Jesus and was taught by Him. He loathed Jesus and His teachings. When Paul speaks of not being inferior to the “super apostles” (Peter, James, and John and the other disciples) he is saying that, even though he did not walk with Jesus during those 3 years, he is not disqualified as having the authority of Jesus Christ. The same Lord who rescued the 12 disciples from sin and spiritual death, rescued Saul, transforming him to Paul, a fervent preacher for the full gospel.

1) Why was Paul jealous?
Paul longed for the Corinthian church to wholly love Jesus with every aspect of themselves, both corporately and individually. There are several applications we can take away from this, but let’s look at just two. One, do you wholly love the Savior Jesus Christ? Where is the proof in your life? Ask the Spirit to show you which areas you love Him most and which areas you are choosing a lesser gospel. Two, who are you spiritually investing in so deeply, and walking so tightly in community with, that at any point, you can look at them and see when they are choosing another gospel? Invest well for the Kingdom! Give yourself away for Christ….enough that you become righteously jealous for them when you see them begin to stray from His solid truth!

2) What is the Serpent’s deception referring to and how does that impact Paul’s audience?
Precious sisters, daughter of the Most High God, our Enemy is real, he is present and dangerous, seeking to destroy our souls forever. He is constantly “prowling” around us like a lion seeking prey. But we, as Christ-followers, have the victory! God and Satan are not opposite powers; Satan’s power is extremely limited while the Lord God holds limitless power. When we are purchased by the precious blood of Christ, Satan no longer has dominion over us. We have literally been transferred from the kingdom of the Enemy into the Kingdom of Light! Satan loves distraction because it turns our eyes and hearts and focus away from the beautiful Savior. Refuse to give him this power, and cling tightly the full gospel!

3) Who is the “other Jesus” or “different spirits”?
Christians are often labeled as being close-minded by claiming that Jesus is the only way to inherit eternal salvation. While it’s true that this is a core doctrine of the Christian faith, it doesn’t mean we are close-minded, rather it point to the intensity of our love for the lost. God claims all-power, all-knowing, and always-present. He laid out the definition of holiness and made it clear through the Ten Commandments what it looked like to fail to be righteous, which included every single human being in just one list of 10. If we had 10 terminally ill cancer patients and 10 vaccines that would cure them, is it “open-minded” or “intensely loving” to only offer the 10 vaccines with a genuine cure? There are a million counterfeits, but only one truth. And this truth is so sweet, so precious, and worth every ounce of our lives!

4) Why is Paul bragging about himself in saying he isn’t inferior?
Whether you’ve shared the gospel 100 times, pray for strangers out loud in Target, have attended Bible studies for decades, or are only just now exploring what this new-found faith in Jesus means, you’ve never prayed out loud, and you’re a bit overwhelmed by the whole idea of reading the Bible….here is good news! If you have given your whole heart to Jesus Christ to rescue you from the consequences of your sin, which is death, then you have His authority and abilities working in you to declare the gospel; the full, glorious, freeing gospel! “Even if I am unskilled in speaking”, says Paul. His weaknesses were not strong enough to stop him from making the gospel plainly known. You have this same Spirit of God inside you, fellow Christian! Go ahead, lean in to the sweet truths of God, declare them boldly over your life, pray for that stranger, carve out that time to read His word, sing His praises in your car, tell your friend what a difference Jesus has made in you. Share your story! Live Boldly; Jesus has come to set you FREE!

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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