A Chaste Virgin To Christ (2 Corinthians 11:2-3)

Glory be to God!

A Chaste Virgin To Christ

"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 subtility, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ."  2 Corinthians 11:2-3

One of the greatest experiences of the Christian life is that we are betrothed to Christ, our beloved. When we are baptized with the desire to be united with Christ, we become those who dedicate ourselves to Christ (Galatians 3:27). God gives the gift of the Holy Spirit to those who are baptized (Acts 2:38).Therefore, we are sealed by God and receive the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts (2 Corinthians 1:21-22). We are sealed by the promise of the Holy Spirit which is the earnest of our inheritance, to be redeemed and to be changed glorious at the coming of the Lord (Ephesians 1:14). Thus we are espoused in order to be present as a chaste virgin to Christ. Therefore, just as our Lord is pure, we too must be pure and live with the simplicity that is in Christ (1 John 3:2-3). We must not allow satan to deceive us and cause our minds to be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

According to the modern world, a virgin who is betrothed becomes the wife of that person through marriage. However, according to the Jewish marriage customs and the references in God’s Word, a virgin who is betrothed is known as his wife. When Mary, the mother of Jesus, was engaged to Joseph, she became pregnant before they came together, and Joseph decided to put her away privily. Then the angel of the Lord told Joseph fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife (Matthew 1:18-20). When Joseph went to be taxed, he went to Bethlehem with his wife, Mary, who was betrothed to him (Luke 2:4). Just as Mary, who was betrothed, is said to be the wife of Joseph, so we, who are betrothed to Christ, are also seen as the wife of our Lord. In the experience of the church, we are reminded of our status as the wife of Christ. Christ has nurtured and joined Himself to the church, which is his wife. Just as a husband and wife are one, so the church and Christ are one (Ephesians 5:22-32).

We see that a man is joined to his wife and they become one flesh (Ephesians 5:31). Similarly, when a man is joined to the Lord, they become one as husband and wife. But it is not said that they are one flesh but one Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:17). Just as in physical life, husband and wife are one, in spiritual life we are united to the Lord and joined with Him in one spirit. In our literal life, we may be united with others as husband and wife, father and mother, children, brothers and sisters, and so on. That is our physical life. But in our spiritual life, we are joined with Jesus as the wife of Jesus, who is Christ, and become one Spirit with Jesus. When we live in that way with Jesus, Jesus provides us with all the help and blessings we need in our spiritual life and nourishes and cherishes us (Ephesians 5:29). Just as it is said that Jesus made an offering for sin and would see the seed, this is needed for us so that the seed of Jesus may be formed in us (Isaiah 53:10). Just as the overcoming child is caught up from the woman the church (Revelation 12:1-5), so in our spiritual life, an inner man is formed and grows to be strengthened (Ephesians 3:16). While our outer man, the physical life, is perishing our inner man, the spiritual life, is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Through Christ we being edified and grow spiritually and attain to the full measure of the stature of Christ in all things. As overcomers we, our inner man is taken up at the coming of the Lord.

In our spiritual life, we must guard ourselves to keep us without causing our minds to corrupt from the simplicity that is in Christ. Our adversary, the devil, is walking about seeking whom he may devour (1 Peter 5:8). There are many possibilities for us to be deceived, just as the serpent beguiled Eve by his subtility (2 Corinthians 11:3). In the scriptual portion where we are told about the experience of becoming one spirit with the Lord, it should be compared with the one who cleaves to his wife and will become one flesh with her. But what we see here is after being mentioned about the matter of the one joining with the harlot to become one flesh with her (1 Corinthians 6:16-17). When we think about the spiritual experience of this, we should live together with him as the wife of Christ. This is a husband and wife relationship that should never be separated (Matthew 19:6). But in our spiritual life, we are wrong in many ways (James 3:2). If those who are in such wrong doing cannot leave that wrong doing since they become as one flesh with a harlot, therefore they will be separated from Christ. Jesus says that we can leave our wife because of fornication (Matthew 19:9). If we separate ourselves from Christ, we will be accursed (Romans 9:3). But we should take note since the wrongdoing we are in is not said with a wife but with a harlot, therefore it is a temporary relationship and can be quickly separated. Whenever the people of Israel went away from God, God said about them that they were fornicators and adulterers (Jeremiah 3:8). It can also be seen that God wants to bring them back to Him their husband (Jeremiah 3:14). God hates divorcement. Therefore, we should not be unfaithful to our Lord and go away from the Lord. Only then will the godly seed be born in us (Malachi 2:14-16). Therefore, we must always preserve our minds from the simplicity that is in Christ.

We see another experience where the devil, the prince of this world, beguile us with his subtility. He who turns away from God and follows the world is called an adulterer. Whoever wants to be a friend of the world is an enemy of God (James 4:4). Therefore, when we become lovers of the world, the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life (1 John 2:15-16) enslave us and we will fall into the devil's deception. We lose our simplicity that is in Christ and become corrupt. We must not have any other gods except our husband, God the Jehovah or our Lord Christ (Jeremiah 3:14). Without serving God we must not serve Mammon - (the worldly riches -Tamil) (Matthew 6:24). We must not live for our belly by making it as god (Philippians 3:19). Because of that, we will be burdened with worries about livelihood it will come as a snare and we will be left behind at the coming of the Lord (Luke 21:34). We should not make our own strength our god (Habakkuk 1:11). We should not lean on our own understanding instead of trusting in God (Proverbs 3:5). If we make the flesh our arm and rely on human ability as our god, we are turning away from God in our hearts and be cursed (Jeremiah 17:5). All covetousness (Ephesians 5:5) and all greediness (Colossians 3:5) which are idolatry are the experiences that separate us from God.

If we go after other things from the simplicity of our minds that is in Christ we will become corrupt (2 Corinthians 11:3). When Shechem committed adultery with Dinah (Genesis 34:5) and when Amnon lied with Tamar (2 Samuel 13:10-12), it is said to be corruption. When the people of Israel made idols, God says about them that they corrupted themselves (Deuteronomy 9:12). In short, when we leave the Lord, the beloved of our soul, in whatever way it is, we corrupt ourselves and become one among them. When we do not keep God's statutes, judgments, and commandments, it is also corruption against God (Nehemiah 1:7). When we are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of unrighteousness and iniquity we become corruptors.Therefore, we must repent of all our wickedness and pray to God then our God will forgive us (Acts 8:22-23).

In our Christian life, we are to be seen as the chaste virgin to Christ. In another sense, we are to be seen as pure, just as our Lord is pure. For this, we must purify ourselves (1John 3:3). In order to be pure, we must first be washed and made pure (Psalm 51:7). When we confess our sins, God forgives us and cleanses us from all impurity by washing us with the blood of His Son Jesus (1 John 1:7,9). God cleanses us from all our iniquities (Ezekiel 36:33). Secondly we must be purged and made white (Daniel 11:35,12:10). Like the fullers' soap God will wash and purify us then like a refiner he shall sit to purify and refine us like gold and silver (Malachi 3:2-3). He will purify us like silver tried in a furnace of earth and purified seven times thereby make us purely perfect (Psalm 12:6). Thirdly in order that we to be made pure we must have chaste conversation coupled with fear (1 Peter 3:2) so that the uprightness of our ways become our hope (Job 4:6). To cleanse our way we must keep it according to God’s Word (Psalm 119:9). We purify our souls by obeying the truth (1 Peter 1:22) that is God’s Word (John 17:17). Continually we must keep ourselves pure (1 Timothy 5:22). The virgin thinks about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit (1 Corinthians 7:34). Or, thinking about all things that are pure (Philippians 4:8) and should worship God with a pure conscience (2 Timothy 1:3). Like Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, does not depart from the temple, but served God with fasting and prayer night and day thereby lived together with God (Luke 2:37). Thus we are made sincere till the day of Christ (Philippians 1:10). In this way, may the Lord God help us all to be presented before Him as a chaste virgin to one husband our Christ by keeping our minds in the simplicity that is in Christ.