2 Corinthians 10:1-6 says,...
Today's verses are 2 Corinthians 10:1-6, which read,
v.1, 2 - Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ--I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh.
Paul is asking the Christians in the Corinthian church for the reason to not have to be bold with them as he stands against the false teachers because they are already not listening or following them. He wants to come with meekness and gentleness that he is asking of them as they both follow Christ's example. To be meek is to have strength in a situation but it is a quiet resolve that doesn't lash out. To be gentle is to give grace and patience in a situation with the truth not being lost. Paul will have to face these false teachers and it would be better if the Christians in the Corinthian church were already holding to the truth firmly so Paul could approach them with a quiet strength filled with the grace of the message of the truth.
Paul wrote a very stern letter to them about following the false teachers that led to sin. He was quite bold in the letter but he wishes and prays to come in a different way to them because of their repentance. This will help him to stand before the false teachers with his confidence in Christ and the witness of their Christ-like character. Paul will stand courageously against these falsehoods told of him but with the church standing behind him in the meekness and gentleness of Christ as witness of following the truth.
v.3, 4 - For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
The false teachers were accusing Paul of walking according to the flesh to deceive them or to have another agenda of selfish gain. Paul agrees with them that we all walk in the flesh. We are all sinners. But, and it is a big but, we do not do battle with that sinful nature with the devil's tools. We don't fight fire with fire. We don't give them back what they have thrown at us. The problem of the flesh is not solved with the flesh.
Paul is calling upon other weapons to war against the flesh and these weapons are divinely. They do not come from us but from above given to us. They also are so powerful that they can bring down fortresses. What seems to be something that is heavily fortified in one's life can be brought to destruction by these heavenly weapons given to the Christians in the face of the flesh, the sin that we have and will face.
v.5, 6 - We are destroying speculations and every lofty things raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
How is Paul destroying these attacks against him and against the truth of God's word? He takes every thought that the false teachers give and lay it aside Christ's life and His words. The weapons that Paul uses is Christ Himself and the words of Scriptures, both divinely given. These false teachers need to be addressed in light of their false accusations and the leading of the people away from God.
Paul shows his patience here that this confrontation will come after the Christians in Corinth have been obedient in repentance. His first concern is with them and then his attention will be turned to address the false teachers directly if need be. As the Christians in Corinth display the meekness and gentleness of Christ, Paul will courageously address the false teachers for what they are doing against God and His word. He will take every thought and every argument that they have brought up and with lawyer like fashion tear it down with the life and words of Christ.
This is a beautiful example and principle that we need to follow daily. We are presented daily with Satan giving us false information about God. All the way back to the garden of Eden he is asking us to question God. Those thoughts and ideas need to be caught and bound and brought before Jesus in our lives. When we lay those before our Lord we will see the falseness of them and they will be destroyed, not by us but by Christ. Our part is to take them captive and bring them to Jesus. The question then is are we doing that or are we allowing them to reside in our minds and then evidently through our actions?
"Lord, we do walk in this world full of sin and we have been born in sin but You have offered through Your Son the tools to do battle against it. Your weapons have the capability to not just push back against the enemy but to destroy the enemy. The problem is that we don't come to You with the enemies' schemes so that You can destroy them. We allow them to linger in our lives and do their damage. Thank You that You are patience as we become obedient before You deal completely with the evil one. Amen."
Pastor Adam
v.1, 2 - Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ--I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh.
Paul is asking the Christians in the Corinthian church for the reason to not have to be bold with them as he stands against the false teachers because they are already not listening or following them. He wants to come with meekness and gentleness that he is asking of them as they both follow Christ's example. To be meek is to have strength in a situation but it is a quiet resolve that doesn't lash out. To be gentle is to give grace and patience in a situation with the truth not being lost. Paul will have to face these false teachers and it would be better if the Christians in the Corinthian church were already holding to the truth firmly so Paul could approach them with a quiet strength filled with the grace of the message of the truth.
Paul wrote a very stern letter to them about following the false teachers that led to sin. He was quite bold in the letter but he wishes and prays to come in a different way to them because of their repentance. This will help him to stand before the false teachers with his confidence in Christ and the witness of their Christ-like character. Paul will stand courageously against these falsehoods told of him but with the church standing behind him in the meekness and gentleness of Christ as witness of following the truth.
v.3, 4 - For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
The false teachers were accusing Paul of walking according to the flesh to deceive them or to have another agenda of selfish gain. Paul agrees with them that we all walk in the flesh. We are all sinners. But, and it is a big but, we do not do battle with that sinful nature with the devil's tools. We don't fight fire with fire. We don't give them back what they have thrown at us. The problem of the flesh is not solved with the flesh.
Paul is calling upon other weapons to war against the flesh and these weapons are divinely. They do not come from us but from above given to us. They also are so powerful that they can bring down fortresses. What seems to be something that is heavily fortified in one's life can be brought to destruction by these heavenly weapons given to the Christians in the face of the flesh, the sin that we have and will face.
v.5, 6 - We are destroying speculations and every lofty things raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
How is Paul destroying these attacks against him and against the truth of God's word? He takes every thought that the false teachers give and lay it aside Christ's life and His words. The weapons that Paul uses is Christ Himself and the words of Scriptures, both divinely given. These false teachers need to be addressed in light of their false accusations and the leading of the people away from God.
Paul shows his patience here that this confrontation will come after the Christians in Corinth have been obedient in repentance. His first concern is with them and then his attention will be turned to address the false teachers directly if need be. As the Christians in Corinth display the meekness and gentleness of Christ, Paul will courageously address the false teachers for what they are doing against God and His word. He will take every thought and every argument that they have brought up and with lawyer like fashion tear it down with the life and words of Christ.
This is a beautiful example and principle that we need to follow daily. We are presented daily with Satan giving us false information about God. All the way back to the garden of Eden he is asking us to question God. Those thoughts and ideas need to be caught and bound and brought before Jesus in our lives. When we lay those before our Lord we will see the falseness of them and they will be destroyed, not by us but by Christ. Our part is to take them captive and bring them to Jesus. The question then is are we doing that or are we allowing them to reside in our minds and then evidently through our actions?
"Lord, we do walk in this world full of sin and we have been born in sin but You have offered through Your Son the tools to do battle against it. Your weapons have the capability to not just push back against the enemy but to destroy the enemy. The problem is that we don't come to You with the enemies' schemes so that You can destroy them. We allow them to linger in our lives and do their damage. Thank You that You are patience as we become obedient before You deal completely with the evil one. Amen."
Pastor Adam
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