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Rightly Dividing
the Word of Truth (2 Timothy 2:15)
Established
November 2008 Published Weekly on Friday
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our
Savior, who desires all men (and women) to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (1Timothy 2:3-4)
2 Corinthians (10:1-11)
(Lesson 21)
Welcome back to our
internet Bible study known as HBS, for short.
For those of you who have just joined us, we’re currently studying
Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church.
We just completed our study of chapters 8 & 9, one literary unit in
my opinion, where Paul preaches a sermon to those saints on the subject of
charitable giving in this dispensation. He also addressed the matter of their charitable
contribution to the impoverished Jews in Judea which was late in coming, and yet
he boasted
of their readiness to fulfill this promise (9:1).
Paul was exceptional
when it came to raising funds for this
righteous cause for many reasons; one of those is he never used the word
“money” once. All he did was ask the
gentile churches in Macedonia and Achaia to assist the Judean saints, i.e. “to step up to the plate,” no pun
intended, and these folks were more than eager to help. This book says the troubled Corinthian church
was first in line with the desire to do it (8:10), the churches at Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to
make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem (Romans
15:26), the churches of Macedonia, that
in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty
overflowed in the wealth of their liberality.
For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability,
they gave of their own accord (8:1-2;
9:6-8).
Paul’s instructions
on charitable giving are found in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 and they are crystal
clear as are his directions to ensure the money would arrive safely at its
destination. The reason for these approved men from each gentile church
to accompany this gift to Jerusalem is
two-fold. The amount of money collected
from all these churches had to be a considerable sum– that’s one. Paul had enemies within the church itself and
Jewish antagonists from out of town – that’s two. Therefore, these consecrated church delegates would protect the contribution from theft during the long
journey to Jerusalem while also shielding Paul from any false accusations of
dishonesty. The Apostle Luke probably
represented the church at Philippi, so at least 9 men went on this mission not
counting Paul (Acts 20:1-4; Romans 15:30-31).
********
Introduction to
chapter 10
Having completed
the subject of the Believer’s responsibility to give graciously and generously in
chapter 9, Paul now begins to defend himself of the false charges brought against
him by some of the Believers in Corinth and the Jewish intruders from out of
town. Paul is under attack from three
fronts, counting Satan. So Paul defends
his integrity, his ministry, and his apostolic authority. He’s about to show he has a right to regard
himself as called and sent by God as His apostle (2 Corinthians 1:1).
********
Please
open your Bible at 2 Corinthians 10:1.
Paul
Describes Himself
2 Corinthians 10
1: 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!
2: 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.
The
time had come for Paul to deal with the folks who opposed him. He doesn’t do this seeking revenge but
because they were attempting to destroy his reputation which in turn was undermining
his ministry of righteousness (2
Corinthians 3:9). Sometime during his
stay at Ephesus, he made a trip to Corinth to help solve some of the problems
there (2 Corinthians 12:14, 13:1). This
was the painful and less than beneficial visit which prompted the
writing of the sorrowful/severe letter. After this visit men began working hard at destroying
Paul’s reputation. This letter records
some of this conflict.
Below
is a list of the criticisms made against Paul which came from two fronts.
First,
the Corinthians charged Paul with being fickle. This came about because he changed his
travel plans, telling them one thing and yet doing another (2 Corinthians 1:17,
2:1-4). They also accused Paul of running
scared. They also said he lacked the
proper credentials (2 Corinthians 3:1-4, 5).
Second,
Paul is being criticized by a group of legalizers and Judaizers who were
eroding his apostolic authority at Corinth by claiming he does not measure up
to the standards one would expect of a genuine apostle (2 Corinthians
12:11-13). He presents no letters of
recommendation (2 Corinthians 3:1-3) or preach the gospel for pay as a
legitimate evangelist would (2 Corinthians 2:17, 11:7). They accused him of being an ineffective
speaker, evidenced by his inability to reach his own countrymen (2 Corinthians
3:12-18, 11:6). They said he lacked charisma
(2 Corinthians 10:10) and he didn’t perform any miracles (2 Corinthians
12:12). Finally, they accused Paul of
being a bold and terrifying talker
in his letters, but a weakling in
person (2 Corinthians 10:10).
Paul
was not able to confront these people face-to-face because circumstances did
not permit this. Remember, Paul wrote
this letter while he was in northern Greece, probably Philippi. But here’s the thing, he writes this letter knowing
they’re going to read it themselves or they’re going to hear it being read in
the church, so he begins by saying, “I,
Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.
There’s
usually another thing, of course, and in this case it’s this his antagonists
assumed where there was meekness there’s
weakness but we all know what happens
when people assume – they usually arrive at the wrong answer. Paul wasn’t weak by any stretch of the imagination he was a man of many
strengths. But Paul imitated Christ so they may have assumed he was meek/weak, when in truth Paul
is actually demonstrating humility
while seeking another’s individual’s highest good (1 Corinthians 10:24, 13:4-8;
1).
Contrastingly,
Paul’s opposition was up to no good; evidenced
by their behavior and their own words in attacking Paul and the gospel. The
Judaizers clearly demonstrated they were pushing their own program and while
trying to accomplish this they trampled all over Jesus’ teachings re: the
Greatest Commandment and sacrificial love (Matthew 22:36-40; John 13:31-38;
Romans 5:8; Galatians 6:2).
Once
again, the Lord Jesus Christ gives the world
an example of sacrificial love at the Cross (Romans 5:8). But in retrospect His example began long before this
event. Scripture informs us He assumed
the role of a house servant and washed the disciple’s feet, including the feet
of Judas – the night He was betrayed (Matthew 26:14-39; John 13:1-17). It goes on to say, in His agony, while
hanging on the Cross, Jesus looked down and saw the Roman soldiers gambling for
His clothing, He heard the criminals beside Him arguing, the religious leaders stood below Him
mocking Him, and the crowd was blaspheming Him, yet Jesus looked up to His
Father in heaven and said, “Father, forgive them
for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34; John 19:23-24;
Matthew 27:41-43, 44) I don’t see any weakness there… I do see Jesus Christ
demonstrating sacrificial love for all,
so they might live.
As
for Paul, there wasn’t anything meek
or weak about his character or his
ministry either. He entered the
cosmopolitan city of Corinth relatively unknown.
He proclaimed the truth of God’s Gospel there despite the Jewish
opposition, their hatred, and the paganism he encountered everywhere he
preached Christ crucified. And by the grace of God he established the
largest gentile church in a city known all over for its debauchery and moral
depravity (Acts 18).
I who am meek when
face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! (v1b). This personal evaluation of our Apostle Paul
may have something to do with that sorrowful/severe
letter (2 Corinthians 1:9-11). Paul’s
critics were saying he wrote scary
letters but wasn’t bold enough (man
enough) to travel to Corinth to face them; this is why he kept changing his
travel plans.
I ask that
when I am present I need not be bold with
the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some (meaning my
antagonists) – Paul is asking these
Believers to reconsider what they’ve heard from these disrupters of the faith. Paul thought the best plan was to put a hold
on any return trips to Corinth until there had been some significant changes in the hearts of some.
It
wasn’t Paul’s style to be bold; he
preferred to be gentle. I remember my
mother saying, “You can attract more bees
with honey than with vinegar.” This was
mom’s way of saying, “Stop complaining.
It repels people; it doesn’t attract them.” People are drawn to optimistic people, people
who wear a smile and not a frown. Our
Apostle Paul was an encourager. But some
of the Corinthians and the legalizers were accusing Paul of acting from the
lowest, base human motives, i.e. the
flesh. While Paul freely admits he
is in the flesh, he’s aware of his
mortal body, its temporal needs, its imperfections, and frailties, he strongly
asserts he is not acting fleshly or
from fleshly motives, so their
actions and words are based on false assumptions (2 Corinthians 1:17, 2:17,
4:3, 7:2, 10:3-4).
Verse
3:
3: For though we
walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh – the people
attacking Paul were judging him in light of human terms and human
motives; a.k.a human standards; “making
it up as they go along” (Romans 3:5; 1 Corinthians 9:8, 15:32; Galatians
1:11, 3:15; Ephesians 4:14). Believers
have and are motivated by a much different standard – the revealed Word of
Truth; the Old Testament, Jesus Christ, and the New Testament (John 1:17).
In
verses 3-6 Paul uses a series of war
metaphors to illustrate the struggle between the Believer and spiritual
wickedness (Romans 7, 8:3-11). The Greek
word for war in verse 3 is Strateuomai (pronounced:
strat-yoo’-om-ahee), Verb, Strong’s Greek # 4754, meaning: to
contend, fighting like a soldier in a war; figuratively – to engage in
spiritual warfare (1 Corinthians 9:7; Timothy 2:4).
Then
in verses 4-5 there’s a series of things listed which Paul attacks:
Destruction of
fortresses
Destruction of
speculations
Destruction of
every lofty thing
Taking captive
every thought
Let’s
start with verse 4:
4: for the weapons
of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction
of fortresses.
The weapons of our
warfare are not of the flesh – Paul’s saying the
means by which we achieve victory over evil in this world are not of the flesh. Believers don’t advance their cause the way
unbelievers do. Unbelievers rely on
fleshly weapons such as: beauty, education
eloquence, social status, talent, wealth, etc.
But our marching orders come from Head-quarters and our strength comes
from God alone (Romans 8:28-31; Ephesians 6:10; Philippians 4:13; Colossians
1:18).
The
type of warfare Paul speaks of here and
in 2 Corinthians 6:7 is spiritual warfare. He wrote the book of Romans from Corinth
around this same time and he mentions spiritual
warfare there too in Romans 6:13 and in 13:12. The Apostle Peter in 1 Peter 4:1 writes to
encourage Believers to arm themselves in the fleshly struggles against
evil.
I
pray y’all are getting the idea this is an important topic. I did a Bible search and found 31 verses
related to spiritual warfare and
there’s plenty more. God wants us to
understand we are in a continuous battle with Satan and the powers of
darkness. Satan’s primary goal is to
delay, if not deny, the expansion of the kingdom of God’s Son. He does this by setting up strongholds (I call
this kingdom building) in the hearts of men and women to resist the truth of
God’s gospel (2 Corinthians 4:1-4). When
he attacks Believers, his standard tactic is to knock them out of the spiritual
battle by any means necessary. His
primary weapon is deception. It worked
with the woman in the Garden of Eden
and it still works today. But any one of
our sinful activities can be used as a weapon against us, and the evidence of
this truth is all around us.
I
watched the news just last week and there stood a local church leader in his jail-orange
and handcuffs, under arrest for molesting an underage child in his church. He stood before the judge looking defeated, discouraged,
and disheartened and this is what Satan desires for every Believer. This minister was knocked out of the battle to win souls for God and his testimony
was tarnished before an audience of Believers and unbelievers alike who sat at
home just as I was viewing his shame live on television. He was being judged by some and whether
that’s right or wrong it doesn’t matter; the damage is done. This is why we pay attention to Paul’s
warning to be aware of Satan’s schemes
(1 Corinthians 10:13; 2 Corinthians 2:11; Ephesians 5:26, 6:10-18)
For the destruction
of fortresses – Bible
commentators disagree as to the meaning of this comment from Paul. But if we keep this phrase “between the
lines” or in context with what Paul has been saying all along, then Paul
explains in verse 5 what spiritual fortresses
is.
In
Paul’s native land of Cilicia, about 50 years before his birth, Roman armies
under the direct orders of Pompey the Great (106 BC – 48 BC) attacked and
destroyed many rocky fortresses and
defeated the pirates who had taken refuge in those strongholds. It’s possible Paul is using this historical
event to illustrate the destruction of
fortresses in verse 4. In any event,
in their humanness, their carnal-mindedness, the Corinthians
tended to admire and rely on carnal weapons
for spiritual warfare. This is evidenced in their behavior
patterns. Two of the carnal weapons they fought with were deceit
and manipulation, for instance.
I’m
looking at the word fortresses (v4)
and “boom” I see it’s plural, meaning more than one stronghold and that fits
Paul’s illustration above, which tells us there were more than a few negative issues
to overcome. These were strongly held beliefs
that resembled fortified obstacles such as an individual’s long-standing sinful
behavior. Our sins become deeply-rooted
problems after awhile, addictions if you will.
Then there’s the general wickedness of the world made even worse by the fact that it is fortified by millions
and millions of Christ-rejecting humans.
Idolatry was a big problem. The Romans had their gods and the Greeks had
theirs and this was one more stronghold fortified by the power of the pagan priesthood,
their laws, and the people’s narrow-mindedness.
Paul is also addressing the false
theology of the false apostles (11:12-13).
Paul
doesn’t mention the weapons he uses for spiritual
warfare here but he did once before in 2 Corinthians 6:6-7; he relied on the word of truth and the weapons of righteousness
for the right hand and for the left – in the power of God. These are the divinely powerful weapons
used for destroying fortresses and
Paul said he we are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up
against the knowledge of God. That,
in a nutshell, defines what the fortresses
are.
Verse
5:
5: We are destroying speculations
and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive
to the obedience of Christ -
We are destroying
speculations – the
word speculations in the Greek is Logismos (pronounced: log-is-mos’), Noun, Masculine, Strong’s Greek
#3053, meaning: thoughts, ideas, opinions, reasonings, philosophies, theories, and
concepts.
These
are the strongholds where men and women prefer to hide. They are ideological forts where they fortify
themselves against God, against the
gospel, and His truths.
Speculations and
every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, every concept,
every opinion, every philosophy, every theory, every thought that is raised up against God is a very strong fortress.
In 1 Corinthians 3:20, Paul called them the reasonings of the wise… the worldly wise. These reasonings are raised up
against the knowledge of God and His ways/His will. Adolph Hitler took
Nietzsche’s theory “God is dead,” and used it to drive home his view of an
atheistic world saying, “I have freed
Germany from the stupid and degrading fallacies of conscience and morality”
- just one more example of the fortresses
of sinners.
These
fortresses don’t come down easily;
you need powerful weapons to overcome them.
This is why Paul’s saying I’m coming to Corinth and when I get there
I’ll deal with you disobedient people
and these ideologies and opinions that you’ve set up against God
and the gospel and I’m going to do
it by taking every thought captive to
the obedience of Christ.
That’s
a bold statement, considering the
three-prong attack he’s facing. However,
Paul’s confidently saying he’s going to destroy these fortresses and take the people in them captive. And we are ready to punish all
disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete (v6).
I
think the adage; “Cut the head off of the
snake” is a bit too strong to be used here and so does Paul because he
chose the word punish, i.e.
discipline, or reprove unto repentance. Paul’s countering the brazen moves of the
Judaizers who had captured the minds
of the saints in Corinth. Paul would
have them renew their minds (Romans
12:2; Ephesians 4:23); and guard their
minds (Philippians 4:7), since, we are involved in a continuous spiritual warfare.
Let’s
look at verse 7.
2 Corinthians 10
7: You are looking
at things as they are outwardly.
If anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we.
After
reading verse 7, it occurred to me this would be a good a time to speak briefly
on the topic of gender-neutrality in scripture, even though taking this
“bunny-trail” moves us away from our subject material for a brief time. I know many Believers wonder, “When the Bible refers to men, mankind,
brethren, brothers, etc. is it including women?” Determining whether the word man, brother, etc. includes women comes
right down to rightly dividing the
passage and then properly interpreting its meaning. Let’s look at a couple of examples: In Acts 7:2, when Stephen addresses his
audience as “brothers and fathers,” he
is not using those terms broadly. The
Sanhedrin body in attendance was comprised of men only.
Other
words in scripture, although masculine, can be used as general terms for both
sexes. For example, man and sons are
sometimes used to refer to mankind and children in general. In Ephesians 4:8, it reads: “When
He ascended on high He led a host of captives, and He gave gifts to men.” The word “men” indicates all mankind; think about this, the Lord did not
limit His spiritual gifts to the male population only.
It
was standard practice for the Bible writers to use nonspecific, masculine names
in their writings. That’s how people
thought and spoke back then. For
centuries in modern English, they also used generic masculine terms– he was an acceptable substitute for he or she when referring to an unknown person. However, the western world began to change in
the 1970’s. Today people have grown quite
sensitive to this type of language,
calling someone a fireman, for instance, is frowned upon, or worse, it’s
called sexist, even if that person is a male.
I don’t get that, but I try not to rock the boat on purpose. When you read/study your Bible just rightly
divide the passage; carefully consider the text and the circumstances surrounding
the passage, and there shouldn’t be a problem.
Let’s
get back to Paul; in verse 6 he said we
are ready… bearing in mind we’re in an ongoing spiritual conflict, Paul
borrows a military expression to convey the message he’s armed, he’s trained, and
therefore able to punish all disobedience, using the word of truth and the weapons of
righteousness for the right hand and for the left – in the power of God. But Paul sees no point in coming to
Corinth to confront the disobedient
until those who have disobeyed the Lord Jesus Christ have had a change of heart and mind bringing about repentance.
And
now verse 7:
7: You are looking
at things as they are outwardly. If
anyone is confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again within himself, that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we.
You are looking at
things as they are outwardly - the Corinthian saints were analyzing and
criticizing Paul on a fleshly/worldly
level or by using the false teachers’ standards. They valued themselves on their outwardly advantages such as their
superiority in personal appearance, their rank, manners, and speaking ability
as compared to Paul. Paul reproved them
for this judgment. The Greeks placed a
high value on these things, but Paul in his letters states none of these
attributes constitute any real evidence that people who possessed them were
sent by God and here’s why.
If anyone is
confident in himself that he is Christ’s, let
him consider this again within
himself – these folks were claiming to be followers of Jesus Christ by
appointment, which means they were probably the false apostles. Paul’s saying,
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” or “judge a person by their outward
appearance.” It’s best to think again,
or as he said, “let him consider this again” because Paul is Christ’s too and with greater evidence to substantiate his
apostolic claim.
The
Lord God at one time led the nation of Israel symbolized by a cloud by day and
a pillar of fire at night. They didn’t move
unless He said, “Go” (Exodus 13:17-14:29). But the time came when the Israelites wanted
to be like the gentile nations around them.
They demanded an earthly king of their own and the LORD permitted them
to have their king along with all the baggage.
Saul was chosen. He was handsome;
he was strong, and tall. Today he’d be a
good presidential candidate based on those credentials. The T.V. camera would “love him,” as they say
– and so would the populace.
But
what does this book say about this individual?
He had a few good years, but then he turned from the LORD and it was straight
down-hill from there. He failed God and
he failed the people. Then God sent the
prophet Samuel to anoint one of Jesse’s sons. He found his first-born son, Eliab, and said,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is right
here (1 Samuel 16:6). But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look
at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have
rejected him; for God sees not as man
sees, for man looks at the outward
appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” (1 Samuel
16:7). 7 more sons of Jesse passed
before Samuel but none of these were selected.
Finally, the youngest son, David, who was absent because he was off
tending their flock of sheep was sent for.
He was the one God wanted, so Samuel anointed him with oil signifying
him as the next king of Israel; and a
man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14).
God taught the people a valuable lesson here, but it’s overlooked even
today.
Let’s
look at verses 8-11.
2 Corinthians 10
For even if I boast
somewhat further about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up
and not for destroying you, I will not be put to shame for I do not wish to
seem as if I would terrify you by my letters.
For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his personal
presence is unimpressive and his speech contemptible.” Let such a person consider this, that what we
are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present (v8-11).
Paul’s
authority commenced the moment he
met the risen Lord on the Damascus Rd (Acts 9:15-16; Romans 1:5; Galatians
2:9). He boasts here not because he’s an apostle, and they are not, but as
the bondservant of Christ and the steward of God’s mysteries (1
Corinthians 4:1), Paul was called to build
up the Body of Christ or God’s one, Church,
and to destroy all human strongholds,
in order to save some (Romans 11:13;
1 Corinthians 9:19).
I will not be put to
shame for I do not wish to seem as if I would terrify you by my letters –
in
other words, Paul is going to speak up
because the false apostles started
this spiritual war and it had to be
addressed. It’s not just because Paul’s
character and reputation were under direct attack. The main issue was the gospel, Jesus Christ Himself, was under attack and Paul couldn’t
ignore the problem any longer.
Again,
reference is made here of Paul’s writings to the Corinthians and somebody, but
it’s likely more than one person remarked he wrote scary letters while away. We
know this because of what Paul wrote: For they say, “His letters are
weighty and strong…”
A
few lessons ago I mentioned the friends of the world don’t take kindly to having their faults put under the
spotlight; they usually rebel when that tactic is used. When a person, like Paul, tries to help by
shining the Light of truth on their sinful behavior, they retaliate and that’s
what we’re seeing here. Paul’s opponents
went on the offensive attacking his character saying, “but his personal presence is unimpressive (weak – KJV) and his speech contemptible.”
Whether
you use the Bible translators’ word unimpressive
or weak, the thing you must
realize is neither term describes Paul. The
word weak denotes infirmity of body,
sickness, or disease (Luke 10:9; Acts 4:9; 1 Corinthians 11:30). Here it represents a false charge brought
against Paul. Paul admits he is not an
eloquent speaker like Apollos (1 Corinthians 1:17; 2 Corinthians 11:6). He did say the message of truth he preached
was from Christ Jesus (Galatians 1:11-12) though.
The
false apostles accused Paul of
writing strong letters, but of having a weak personal presentation. Paul responds to this by saying, Let such a person consider this, that what
we are in word by letters when absent, such persons we are also in deed when present. That reminds me of something my parents used
to tell us kids when we were fussing and fighting in one part of the house and
they were in another, “Don’t make me come
over there…!”
(To
be continued)
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Copyright 2011
GJ
Heitzman’s Ministry
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