Series: 2
Corinthians
Title:
The Groomsmen Message
Text: 2
Cor 11: 1-3
Date:
December 14, 2017
Place:
SGBC, New Jersey
2 Corinthians 11: 1: Would to God ye could
bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. [In our next message from this chapter, we will see why Paul
says this. Tonight, we will focus on verses 2-3]
Jewish
historians say the groom’s best man—the
friend of the bridegroom—held a very important position. From the time the
bride was espoused to the groom, the friend of the bridegroom was “the guarantor of the bride’s virgin chastity.”
The Apostle Paul used this illustration
to describe himself as Christ’s groomsmen—the
friend of Christ—guarding Christ’s bride.
2 Corinthians 11: 2: 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.
Why was Paul so protective with this godly jealousy? What was Paul’s fear?
2
Corinthians 11: 3: But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled
Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity
that is in Christ.
Subject: The
Groomsmen’s Message
Proposition: Christ’s preacher, as the friend of Christ, preaches only
Christ so that our minds will stay only on Christ in faith, that we remain a
chaste virgin to Christ Our Husband, to whom we are espoused.
ESPOUSED TO CHRIST
2 Corinthians 11: 2:…I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you
as a chaste virgin to Christ.
Every
true saint is a member of Christ’s church, his bride. God’s elect church was espoused to Christ as
his bride from eternity. God the Father
sovereignly chose a people by his free grace and gave us to be Christ’s bride.
According
to custom, when a father espoused his daughter to a man, before the wedding even
took place, the groom entered into a covenant and she became espoused to him by
covenant promise. Before the world was
made, Christ entered covenant with the Father concerning his bride—it is the
same covenant he makes to us when he calls us:
Hosea 2: 19: And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; [espouse]
yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment,
Christ
promised to fulfill the law on behalf of God’s elect church: to justify us from
all our sins, purge us, and make us the righteousness of God in him, while
declaring God just and the Justifier of his bride
Hosea 2: 19:…and in lovingkindness, and in mercies.
At the
same time that Christ satisfied justice for us, he was showing his bride
lovingkindness and mercies forevermore. And he continues to do so in all his
dealings with us.
Hosea 2: 20: I will even betroth thee unto me in
faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD.
Though we
fell in sin, Christ remained faithful to his bride, giving himself for us. Then
in faithfulness, he sent this gospel, revealed himself in our hearts, now we
know the LORD.
So God’s
elect church was espoused to Christ in the everlasting covenant from before the
foundation of the world. Then Christ
came and fulfilled his covenant promise.
THE GROOMSMEN
2 Corinthians 11: 2: 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.
According
to scripture, Christ’s preacher is like a groomsmen to Christ our Husband as he
protects and guards Christ’s bride. In
his faithfulness, Christ sends his preacher preaching the good news of the
gospel and Christ espouses us, personally, to himself—writing the law of this
same covenant on our hearts. Christ’s true
preachers are compared to groomsmen—the
friend of Christ the Bridegroom—because Christ’s preacher has
a heart for Christ’s bride, the same as Paul had for the Corinthian brethren.
He said, “I am jealous over you
with godly jealousy.” He watches over Christ’s bride, protective of her,
guarding her from imposters that would turn her to another. Why?
He said, “for I have espoused you to one husband.”
Only one, not Christ plus Moses, not
that jesus which is not another—one
husband—Christ Jesus the Son of God.
He said, “that
I may present you as a chaste
virgin to Christ.” The only way
we will be found of him without spot and blameless is to be found in him, not
having our own righteousness which is of the law but that which is by the faith
of Christ.
Casting
all your care on Christ is what Peter meant when he said to the church—2
Peter 3:14:…beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye
may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.—be found of him, in
him!
So the
one means and one message Christ’s preacher uses to keep her a chaste virgin to
Christ, to keep her believing only upon Christ is: he preaches Christ and him
crucified. Paul said,
1 Corinthians 2: 2: For I determined not to know any
thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.
Colossians 1:28: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching
every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:
29: Whereunto I also labour, striving according to his working, which worketh
in me mightily.
The true friend of the true Bridegroom—Christ’s
true preacher—keeps her mind focused on Christ to whom we
are espoused by constantly declaring her Husband and only him! They tried to make John the Baptist
envy Christ because so many followed Christ. But listen to John describe
himself as the groomsmen—the friend of
the Bridegroom.
John 3: 26: And they came unto John, and said unto him,
Rabbi, he that was with thee beyond Jordan, to whom thou barest witness,
behold, the same baptizeth, and all men come to him. 27: John answered and
said, A man can receive nothing, except it be given him from heaven. 28: Ye
yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am
sent before him.29: He that hath the bride is the bridegroom: but the friend of
the bridegroom, [the best man, the groomsman] which standeth and heareth him, rejoiceth
greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice: this my joy therefore is fulfilled. 30:
He must increase, but I must decrease. 31: He that cometh from above is above
all: he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: he that
cometh from heaven is above all. 32: And what he hath seen and heard, that he
testifieth; and no man receiveth his testimony. 33: He that hath received his
testimony hath set to his seal that God is true. 34: For he whom God hath sent
speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him.
35: The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. 36: He
that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
So this
is why I only preach Christ—I want your mind on Christ; I want you resting in
him, looking to no other because“He that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son
shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.”
IMPOSTER GROOMSMEN
2 Corinthians 11: 3: But I fear, lest by any
means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should
be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
None of
these things are so with the devil’s preachers. The devil uses his preachers to
turn men from Christ to anything else or to add something in addition to Christ.
The devil
uses any means—lest by any means. While
Christ’s preachers use one means—the
devils preachers use many means: sports, humanitarian works, even religious
night clubs. The devil may get your
mind interested in searching the scripture for other subjects: prophecy, end times, supralapsarinism, things
not clearly revealed. When the devil
convinces a man that meaninglness doctrine is life or death, his mind has been
corrupted from the simplicity of Christ. He proves he never knew Christ.
About a
year ago a few men began to have an idle curiosity. They thought it started
harmlessly. But it ended in apostasy, division, pride, falling away!
The devil
tricks with subtilty—as the serpent
beguiled [tricked] Eve through his subtilty. The devil came as the most
subtle of all God’s creatures, beautiful, attractive to the fleshly senses. Listen
to how deceptive and subtle his preachers are described:
2 Corinthians 11: 13:
For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into
the apostles of Christ. 14: And
no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. 15: 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.
Pastor
David Pledger said, “The devil’s
preachers are indeed the ministers of righteousness…but whose righteousness?”
Most all
preachers are adding things to Christ’s work that you must do for your good, to
make you wise, to make your more holy, to be more like God. The devil tricked
Eve with the same things—“your eyes shall
be open and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
But doing
so, “your minds should be corrupted from
the simplicity that is in Christ.” What does it mean “the simplicity that is in Christ?”
It means
not complicated. They use same words but give them different definitions. When
a man asks about “election?” Tell define election. Sanctification? Define it.
Redemption? Define. Sinner? Define sinner. False preachers use words no one can
understand, complicating. They will say a greek word. Then say, “it means this.” Why not just say what it
means? He wants to commend himself, impress you with his intellect. And men
follow because of it. Paul said,
2 Corinthians 1: 1: And I, brethren, when I came to you,
came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the
testimony of God… 4: And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words
of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: 5: That your
faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Chiefly, simplicity
means “Christ is all, and in all.” The
word “simplicity” means “singleness”—I
fear lest your minds should be corrupted from the single object of Christ our
All.
Concerning the scriptures, “Christ is all and in all.”—the single subject of the
whole Bible! Christ said,
John 5:39: Search the scriptures;…they are they which
testify of me.
Yesterday,
while I was studying this passage, Brother John texted asking me for some
scripture about a subject that God is silent about. I am sure John thought I blew
a gasket when I texted a sermon in reply warning him to seek no other object in
the book but Christ. Why did I do that? But
I fear let your minds should be corrupted from looking for the single subject
of this book—in all the scritpures Christ is All and in all!
Concerning the wisdom of God—Christ is All and in all; he filleth all his people with
Wisdom and he is All our Wisdom. We have the mind of Christ that we might know
the things that are freely given to us of God.
Concerning righteousness—Christ is All and in all—Christ is the Righteousness of
God, the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth.
Concerning sanctification—Christ is All and in all. We were sanctified by God the
Father electing us in Christ; by the Spirit of God sanctifying us in the new
birth forming Christ in you. Christ is that holiness without which no man shall
see the Lord. That is why Christ in you is the hope of glory. When Christ our
Sanctifier is the holiness of the new man. Christ said, “Thou, [Father] in me and I in them, that they might be made perfect in
one.”
Concerning redemption—Christ is All and in
all. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of
the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:”
(Ga 3:13) And Christ shall redeem our
vile bodies into the glorious liberty of the sons of God that they might be
made like unto his glorious body. (Rom 8: 17, 23)
Concerning the believer’s rule of life as we
walk through this life—Christ is All!
John 10:27: My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they
follow me:
John 12: 26: If any man serve me, let him follow me;
John 21:22 [when Peter turned and started minded the
business of another apostle] Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till
I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.
How can
we walk by faith except you follow Christ? Paul said, “Follow me as I follow Christ!”
Concerning resurrection—Christ is the Resurrection and the Life.
Concerning heaven—Christ is heaven! CHRIST IS ALL AND IN ALL!
As the
friend of Christ, “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 subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the
simplicity that is in Christ.” Hear Christ preached, believe on Christ,
search Christ in this book, persevere in Christ, suffer with Christ, and never
turn from Christ!
1 John 5: 11:
this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in
his Son. 12 He that hath the Son hath life; and he
that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
Amen!