THE ESPOUSAL AND THE GOAL

2 Cor. 11:2

Morning Meditation 9/1/16

Verse 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.”

Paul is speaking to a church that had many problems. I have no doubt that many of those problems that existed at the time of the writing of the First Epistle had been solved Scripturally and the Church was in much better shape at the time of the writing of the Second Epistle. Paul loved these Christian brothers and sisters in Corinth. He had something in mind for them. He had a responsibility to them and a goal for them. It is expressed in the words of our text. He had espoused them to Christ and his desire for them was that he might present them as a “chaste virgin” to Him. No doubt the time of this presentation would be the Judgment Seat of Christ.

Let’s look at the terms Paul uses here so that we can know exactly what he is saying. The words “I am jealous” translate “zeloo” and means “to burn with zeal; to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, anger; in a good sense, to be zealous in the pursuit of good; to desire earnestly, to pursue.” It is a present active indicative verb. Paul is saying “I am burning with zeal” for you. Paul was not just casual about this Church. He had a burning desire for them. He says, “this is something I desire earnestly for you.” So Paul does not mind telling the Church at Corinth that he has plans for them, if they will cooperate.

The words “with a godly jealousy” qualify the zeal he has for them. The word “godly” translates “theos” and is translated God 1320 times in the KJV. He is saying that my zeal for you, my jealousy for you is the God kind of jealousy. This jealousy is one that reaches out to promote the good of others. Jealousy can also be Satanic. It can be selfish and it has caused men to kill. So Paul qualifies the word so that there will be no misunderstanding. Paul’s burning desire for them is God’s desire. We can take that a step further and say that God was working in Paul both to will and do of His good pleasure. This is not a fleshly desire, it is a God implanted desire.

The words “I have espoused” translate “harmozo” and means “to join or to fit together.” It is used “of carpenter's, fastening together beams and planks to build houses, ships, etc.” It is also used “ to betroth, to give one in marriage to any one.” It is an aorist middle indicative verb. The aorist tense represents a once for all act at a point of time in the past. The middle voice is reflexive and means that Paul is calling attention to his pioneer mission work in Corinth when he won many of those to whom he is writing to Christ. Paul was a soul winner and when one is saved he/she is espoused to Jesus as a bride to a groom. This is the language that is used to describe the believers relationship to Jesus.

Paul used this language in his Epistle to the Ephesians: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church” (Eph. 5:25-32). Is Paul saying to the local church institutionally that they “are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones?” I think not. He says, “We are members . . .” He includes himself and he is not a member of the church at Corinth. For further proof of this see chapter 12 where Paul includes himself with them in verse 13, when speaking of the baptism of the Holy Spirit that takes place at salvation, and excludes himself from them when he is speaking of the local body at Corinth in the words “Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” The words “we” in verse 13 and “ye” in verse 27 make this definite distinction. You will also notice in verse 30: “For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.” The words “we are” translate “esmen” and is a present indicative verb. This means that Paul is addressing a present truth. We are already, right now, “members of his body . . .” Amen!

Again, First Corinthians chapter six and verse fifteen says, “Know he not that your bodies (plural therefore he is speaking to individuals in the church) (explanation mine) are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid.” The verb “are” is a present indicative verb and means that the members of the Church at Corinth were members of Christ’s body at the time Paul was writing. It is not a future expectation but a present fact. The Lord is not saying “I’ll marry you if you shape up.” He is saying “I’m married to you, therefore, don’t take the body that belongs to me in marriage and join it to a harlot (vs 15). He says, But he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” (I believe the word Spirit should be capitalized). The words “he that is joined” translate “kollao” and means “to glue, to glue together, cement, fasten together; to join or fasten firmly together.” It is a verb and is a present passive participle. Those Christians Paul is speaking to are at the time he is writing them “joined to the Lord, glued to the Lord, cemented to the Lord.” It is passive voice which means that God did the glueing, they did not do it themselves.

Paul says, “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.” “ The words I may present” translate “parestemi” and means “to stand beside, stand by or near, to be at hand, be present.” It is an aorist active infinitive. The aorist tense refers to the point of time in which this takes place. Paul is saying, “When we stand before the Lord, I want to be standing beside you, and I want you to be, on that day, a chaste virgin and I want the privilege of presenting you to the Lord.

The Church at Corinth is an “AS THE WORLD TURNS” type of Church. There wasn’t much that wasn’t wrong with this Church. This means that a born again believer can go from being and unfaithful “betrothed wife” to being a virgin. Only GRACE could make this possible. This is good news for Christians who have made a mess of their Christian lives. God can still turn you into “a chaste virgin.” But you must cease from resisting His Word. We need the local church and it’s God called, God ordained ministry. Here is where “the washing of water by the Word” (Eph.. 5:26) takes place. The blood of Christ that initially cleansed you is still there for the cleansing of the backslider. There is no mess God can’t straighten out if there is a willing subject. John said, “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous” (1 John 5:3). The word “grievous” means “burdensome.” If we Love the Lord, when His commands come to us, they will not be a burden. We will welcome his intervention. If we want to be the “Chaste Virgin” that Paul is talking about in our text, we must welcome Jesus as Lord and bow to His intervention and immediately make the adjustments that He wants. And when He does intervene, we begin the change by confessing our sins, and receiving the cleansing that the Precious Blood avails. We can’t be more right with God than the blood makes us. Amen.

May God bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White