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Articles
Corruption
Corruption is a state of decay, pollution, or incorrectness. We see in the Bible, corruption is one of the effects of sin that resulted from the fall of man. In the beginning, God created a perfect paradise, free of sickness, pain, and death. But when Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit, sin entered the world, spoiling its perfection making it corrupt. That sin also brought contamination and decay to Adam and Eve and to the human nature of every person born after that as we are told in Romans 5:12. Thus, corruption in the Bible is the state of moral contamination and spiritual decay expressed through disobedience toward God.
Corruption is closely related to spiritual death. In, Genesis 2:17 God told Adam that, if he ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he would 'surely die.' Adam didn’t die a physical death that day but a spiritual one that involved separation from God (Ephesians 2:1-3).
The Bible describes sinful humanity as corrupt:
Psalm 14:1-3 “1The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no god.’ They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. 2The LORD looks down from Heaven on all mankind to see if there are any who understand, and who seek God. 3All have turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.”
In Romans 6:23 it teaches us that the consequence of sin is death. Living a state of moral corruption brings about eternal separation from God: John 3:36 warns us that, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.” This wrath will eventually result in God’s judgment of sinners and their final, irreversible separation from Him.
Matthew 25:41 (2Thesssalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15) The power of corruption is broken by the divine power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 1:2-4 says, “2Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.”
When we come to know Jesus Christ, we embark on a personal relationship with Him. The more that relationship grows, the better we understand who Jesus is and what He has done for us. We start to grasp what His divine power accomplished for us. One of Jesus’ promises to us is the empowering and purifying ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of every believer and can be read in John 14:15-17; 16:17; Acts 1:4-5, 8. The Holy Spirit empowers us to obey God, reversing the curse of corruption and making us partakers of God’s divine nature.
The book of Galatians likens the process of spiritual development in the child of God to sowing and reaping. Galatians 6:8 tells us, “For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.” As the Holy Spirit undoes the effects of corruption and decay, we reap the rewards of eternal life.
One glorious future day, the curse of corruption and decay will be lifted for all eternity; Romans 8:19-21 says, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. 20For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope. 21that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.
I pray that we all seek that eternal home where corruption will never enter and we all can live in peace from the Glory of God.
Robby Cable
Providence Church of Christ
606-305-8452
