11-05-05 2 Corinthians 11:3

2 Corinthians 11:3 (KJ21)
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.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NAS)
But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity of devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NIVUS)
But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (NLT)
But I fear that somehow you will be led away from your pure and simple devotion to Christ, just as Eve was deceived by the serpent.

2 Corinthians 11:3 (Philips)
I am afraid that your minds may be seduced from a single-hearted devotion to him by the same subtle means that the serpent used towards Eve.

Although as a child of God, you always have God's grace and His power available to you, you must still respect and be alert to your enemy and his strategies. Satan, the serpent of old, is always trying to deceive and beguile you by any means. He is full of crafty cunning and wisdom. Beware of and take heed to this or he may be able to gain your attention, as he did with Eve. He is trying to cheat you out of obtaining the promises of God.

Through his deceptive ways, Satan wants to corrupt and destroy your mental perceptions and thoughts. He wants to turn you from God's ways to his own evil purposes. His goal is to separate you from God and to weaken your faith in Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior. His best strategy is to make you double-minded, which keeps you in constant turmoil and lack of peace.

God's will and purpose, however, is that you maintain singleness and simplicity in your thinking. He wants you to be free from pretense or hypocrisy. You should not be self-seeking, but have a generous and open heart toward others. God wants your motives to be simple and not complex; your one goal should be to love the Lord your God with all of your strength, your mind, and your heart. As you do this, you will show that you belong to Jesus Christ, the Anointed of God and Satan will have no foothold in your life.