Click Here to Read 2 Peter 2:18-22 NKJV

“While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage.” (2 Peter 2:19 NKJV).  The Greek word used here for corruption is “phthora” which also means “decay that is ruin”.  One definition of the word corruption is: “the destruction of the natural form of bodies, by the separation of the component parts, or by disorganization, in the process of putrefaction.”  I thought about this as it might pertain to the “body” of Christ.  This is the tactic of the enemy.  To distort truth so that it causes division among the body that is supposed to be united by one Spirit in one truth.  His aim is to cause putrefaction in Christ’s body by the separation of its parts.

Another definition for the word corruption is: “depravity; wickedness; perversion or deterioration of moral principles; loss of purity of integrity.”  These are the fishing hooks the enemy uses to catch us up in sin, appealing to the fleshly desires.  Sin causes us to separate from one another because of guilt and shame but it also causes separation from God.  That is where we become easy prey for the powers of darkness to take us over.  Notice that Peter says by whom we are overcome, we are also brought into bondage.  The NLT puts it this way: “For you are a slave to whatever controls you.”  (2 Peter 2:19 NLT).  The Amplified translates it like this: “for by whatever anyone is defeated and overcome, to that (person, thing, philosophy, or concept) he is continually enslaved” (2 Peter 2:19 AMP).

Being separated from the Truth, we can be defeated and overcome by sin, returning to our life before Christ.  It is hard for me to imagine ever returning to my life before Christ.  But some people do.  When God led the Israelites out of Egypt where they had been in bondage for some 400 years, it wasn’t long before they began to complain to Moses that they wanted to go back.  Go back?  Go back into slavery?  It was the only life they knew, and I think it was challenging for many of them to comprehend the kind of life God wanted to give them.  They heard what He promised them, but they couldn’t see it, so they did not believe.  When we receive Jesus, He leads us out of our own Egypt, setting us free from the things we have been enslaved to by the powers of this world.  And I guess it can be hard sometimes to imagine the life that God wants to give us.  It doesn’t come without full surrender and that can feel like too high a cost.  God requires our trust and our obedience, and most of all our faith.  We have to receive before we get to see. 

I think there is a big difference between knowing of God and knowing God.  We can know lots of things about God and what He has promised.  But unless we embrace a relationship knowledge of God, we don’t really know Him.  We must draw near to Him, not know Him from a distance.  The Israelites were too afraid to talk to God so they elected Moses to be the one who would be their mediator.  They didn’t want a relationship with God, they wanted to keep their distance.  “Now all the people witnessed the thunderings, the lightning flashes, the sound of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking; and when the people saw it, they trembled and stood afar off.  They said to Moses, ‘You speak with us, and we will hear; but let not God speak with us, lest we die.’  And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear; for God has come to test you, and that His fear may be before you, so that you may not sin.’ So the people stood afar off, but Moses drew near the thick darkness where God was.” (Exodus 20:18-21 NKJV).

And what happened during the 40 days that Moses was up on the mountain with God?  “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘Go, get down! For your people whom you brought out of the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves.  They have turned aside quickly out of the way which I commanded them.  They have made themselves a molded calf, and worshiped it and sacrificed to it, and said, ‘This is your god, O Israel, that brought you out of the land of Egypt!’” (Exodus 32:7-8 NKJV).  The Israelites stood afar off from God, and they ended up corrupting themselves.  Moses drew near to God, and he experienced the goodness of God.  He shared a friendship with God and his heart grew to beat in step with God’s heart.  Moses is known throughout the Bible as many things, the most inspiring to me is that he is called a friend of God.

Peter tells us that it is better to have never known truth than to know it, and then turn away from it.  “For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2 Peter 2:21 NKJV).  In fact. when the Israelites made their own gods and credited them for bringing them out of Egypt, God wanted to release His wrath upon them.  “And the LORD said to Moses, ‘I have seen this people, and indeed it is a stiff -necked people!  Now therefore, let Me alone, that My wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them.  And I will make of you a great nation.” (Exodus 32:9-10 NKJV).  God would consume those who kept their distance, but through the one who drew near to Him, He would make a great nation.

It is in the relationship that we discover God’s heart, His vision for us, His unfailing and relentless love for us.  As we discover these things our character is being reshaped, our perspective is stretched, our mind is renewed.  We are being established on a firm foundation of truth that will be unshakable in the storms of our journey through the wilderness.  All of this is accomplished through our experiences of Him.  We don’t really know truth until we commune with The Truth Himself.  And the more we move toward Him, the more we secure ourselves against corruption.  Psalm 34:8 says, “Oh taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” (NKJV).  I have tasted and I have seen that the Lord is good.  I have seen glimpses of God’s vision for me.  Egypt is but a memory that serves to remind me of what I’ve been set free from.  But I’m taking never going back!

Let’s pray:

Father, what a privilege it is to be invited into a relationship with You, to know that you want to share Your heart, Your thoughts, Your dreams with us.  You are the creator of all things, and You delight in interacting with us.  There is nothing that this world has to offer that can compare with that.  We pray that as we continually draw near to You our eyes would be opened to new revelations in Your Word and in Your heart.  Guard our hearts from deception and false teachings that will pull us away from You.  May our hearts receive all that you desire to share with us.  May we be firmly grounded upon the Your truth, especially when it stretches beyond what our eyes can see.  May our faith continue to be strengthened as we experience your great love.  Amen.