2 Corintios 11:3

3 Pero me temo que, así como la serpiente con su astucia engañó a Eva, los pensamientos de ustedes sean desviados de un compromiso puro y^[a] sincero con Cristo.

2 Corintios 11:3 Meaning and Commentary

2 Corinthians 11:3

But I fear lest by any means
Jealousy is always attended with fear, care, and solicitude, whether in things natural or spiritual. The apostle, as things were in this church, could not but express his fears, lest

as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety;
that is, the old serpent the devil, who made use of a serpent, the most subtle creature of all the beasts of the field, and seduced Eve from her obedience to God, to transgress his command, by eating the forbidden fruit. The apostle here speaks the language and sense of the Jews, who say ^F16, that, (Mhl dxa Mv vxnw Njv) "Satan and the serpent have one name", i.e. are the same; and that it was the old serpent (the devil), (hwxl ytpd) , "that beguiled Eve" ^F17, and who is said to be corrupted by him;

``the serpent (they say ^F18) was corrupted first, after that, (hwx hlqlqtn) , "Eve was corrupted", and after that Adam was corrupted.''

So the apostle was jealous and fearful, knowing that the false apostles were ministers of Satan, artful and cunning men, lest, through their craftiness and sophistry,

your minds,
says he,

should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ;
that is, lest their judgments should be misled, their minds be vitiated with corrupt principles, and be carried away in any degree with the error of the wicked, from off the pure and simple doctrine of the Gospel, which respects the person and grace of Christ; and chiefly lies in this one plain, easy, and important truth, salvation alone by him. The Vulgate Latin version reads, "your minds should be corrupted, and should fall from the simplicity that is in Christ".

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 Caphtor, fol. 93. 1.
F17 Raya Mehimna in Zohar in Exod. fol. 50. 1.
F18 T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 15. 2.

2 Corintios 11:3 In-Context

1 ¡Ojalá me aguanten unas cuantas tonterías! ¡Sí, aguántenmelas!

2 El celo que siento por ustedes proviene de Dios, pues los tengo prometidos a un solo esposo, que es Cristo, para presentárselos como una virgen pura.

3 Pero me temo que, así como la serpiente con su astucia engañó a Eva, los pensamientos de ustedes sean desviados de un compromiso puro y sincero con Cristo.

4 Si alguien llega a ustedes predicando a un Jesús diferente del que les hemos predicado nosotros, o si reciben un espíritu o un evangelio diferentes de los que ya recibieron, a ese lo aguantan con facilidad.

5 Pero considero que en nada soy inferior a esos «superapóstoles».

Footnotes

• [a]. Var. no incluye: "puro y" .