SUBTILTY!

SUBTILTY!

2 Cor 11:2-3

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.

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.

          The picture here is that of a loving father who has a daughter that is engaged to be married. The great concern is that she will be unfaithful to her intended husband; not because she is particularly wicked; but because she is not careful. It was this lack of caution that Satan used to snare Eve.

          Several words in verse 3 are worthy of a second look. The first is the word “beguiled” which is the Greek word exapatao which means “to seduce wholly.” The idea is that of a thorough ruin which includes willing participation.

          The next word is subtilty which is the Greek word panourgia which simply means “adroitness” which is here used in a bad sense. The idea is that Satan is skillful in trickery. The word is preceded by ho which is a definite article. Verse 3, then, reads “THE subtilty.” Satan can make the most wicked things appear pleasant and desirable.

          The battleground is the mind and so our next word is “corrupted” which is the Greek word phtheiro which means “to shrivel or wither.” We’ve all met folks we suspected had a mind that had dried up! Muscles that are not used will atrophy and shrink. Minds shrivel through lack of use. The warning is to never turn off the mind so that you can give control to the senses.

          Our final word is “simplicity” which is the Greek word haplotes which means “singleness.” The idea is a loss of focus through distraction. So many things are presented at one time that the victim can’t focus and concentrate. He loses the “simplicity” of the gospel of Christ. When this happens false doctrine creeps into his theology.

1 Peter 5:8

8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

Dear Lord, don’t let me lose my mind through lack of use. Let me be watchful and cautious today. AMEN