WHEN AN APOSTLE IS CONCERNED " . . . so your minds should be corrupted . . . " -- Tomorrow:
"Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 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. But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him." (2 Corinthians 11:1-4)
Devotion 17 of 29
Other versions read, "your minds should be led astray" (NASB), "your thoughts will be led astray" (NIV), "your minds should be turned away" (BBE), "your wits should be corrupted" (TNT), "your minds might be polluted too" (IE), "so your minds might somehow be lured away" (ISV), "your minds should be seduced" (MONTGOMERY), and "so your minds may be corrupted and seduced" (AMPLIFIED).
CORRUPT
The word "corrupted" is an especially strong one. Lexically it means "to corrupt, destroy" (THAYER), "ruin, destroy . . . mislead . . . be depraved" (FRIBERG), "ruin, destroy, lead astray, seduce" (UBS), "to ruin or destroy something, with the implication of causing something to be corrupt and thus cease to exist" (LOUW-NIDA), and "to ruin, waste, spoil, destroy" (LIDDELL-SCOTT).
A corrupted mind has lost all utility in the kingdom of God. It cannot lay hold of the things of God, or think properly concerning matters pertaining to life and godliness. The corrupted mind CANNOT "think on these things" – things that are honest, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtue, or praise (Phil 4:8). One of the chief areas in which men are transformed – the mind – is thus destroyed for holy purposes. Just as surely as a grain of arsenic spoils a glass of water for drinking, so corruption spoils the mind for godly thinking. Satan knows if he can contaminate the minds of people they at once become his vassals.
The advantage or disadvantage of the mind is determined by the things upon which it is placed – the focus of one's attention. Satan seeks to corrupt, or contaminate and pollute, the mind. This involves provoking us to focus on the wrong thing, viewing matters from an improper perspective, and being curious about the forbidden. For example, Satan could not provoke Eve to eat of the fruit of the tree until she saw that tree differently than God had presented it. Once perceived incorrectly, what was clearly declared to be a means to death was thought to actually be the means to being "as gods" (Gen 3:5).
There are examples of corrupted minds in Scripture. Take, for example certain teachers from whom Timothy was admonished to "withdraw" himself. "If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of CORRUPT MINDS, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself" (1 Tim 6:3-5). Note that there are two sides to their condition: (1) "men of CORRUPT MINDS," and (2) "reprobate concerning the faith." The more corruption is found in the mind, the more distant faith becomes – and faith is the sanctifying element in the newness of life (Acts 26:18). That is, corruption of mind is the path that leads to reprobation, or being rejected and cast away by God. Jeremiah once referred to fallen Israel as "Reprobate silver. . . because the LORD hath rejected them" (Jer 6:30). Because the Gentile world "did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind" (Rom 1:28). Paul reminded Titus that there were some who professed "that they know God; but in works they deny Him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate" (Titus 1:16).
Again, Timothy is warned of two particular teachers. These were men whose teaching introduced creeping corruption within the mind that was much like spreading and consuming cancer. "But shun profane and vain babblings: for THEY WILL INCREASE unto more ungodliness. And their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already; and overthrow the faith of some" (2 Tim 2:16-18).
This is the inevitable conclusion if the minds of men become corrupted. The individual begins a journey down the path that leads to reprobation and ultimate destruction. Yet, Paul will be even more definitive in the articulation of his deep concern for the church in Corinth.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to detect and avoid teachings that tend to corrupt my thinking.