II Corinthians 11:4 “For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
We are charged to be much on guard against preachers that “cometh preaching another Jesus, … another spirit, … or another gospel”! After telling us of his great concern that “by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (II Corinthians 11:3), he tells us about three “devices” (II Corinthians 2:11) “the serpent” (devil) uses to corrupt “the simplicity that is in Christ” in our Churches and in our daily lives. “another Jesus” is any person who asserts that they have any power or authority over our Eternal Salvation or that some act on their part is required to either obtain or secure our Eternal Salvation. “another spirit” is any means other than the Holy Spirit to give us Spiritual Life or motivate, comfort, or encourage us in our life of worship and service to our Lord. “another gospel” is those messages that takes our attention off Jesus Christ and His Sacrificial Death and directs us to carnal joys, wealth, intellect, and position. The great peril of these anothers, is that “another Jesus, … another spirit, … or another gospel” gives glory to “another” instead of God and they will all ultimately fail us. Also, these anothers are never “another” enough; once we start down the path of “another”, we soon want “another” and “another” and “another” …; and soon the Church with anothers is no Church at all and its members are guided by carnal things and teachings, and “the serpent” has “beguiled” us again!