2 Corinthians 10:1-7 Using the Wrong Weapons
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: May 10, 2020 2 Corinthians 10:1-7
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ’s, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ’s, so also are we.
(Understanding the Text) This begins a new letter to the Corinthians. It is not a continuation of chapters 1-9. It is actually the beginning of 2nd (or 3rd) Corinthians. The part that I was reading before this would actually be 3rd (or 4th) Corinthians. Bruce in The Spreading Flame describes how he thought 2 Corinthians came to exist in its present form. “Plainly Clement had access to a copy of 1 Corinthians. It is thought, however, that he did not have access at that time to a copy of 2 Corinthians because, if he had, there are places in his argument where he might have quoted it most aptly. This, of course, cannot be proved. Neither can the further suggestion be proved that it was Clement’s appeal to 1 Corinthians that made the church of Corinth search its records for further literary relics of Paul, with the result that they found two or three parts of letters of his which they fitted together to form the document which we now know as the Second Epistle to the Corinthians” (Bruce, F.F.. The Spreading Flame: The Rise and Progress of Christianity from Its First Beginnings to Eighth-Century England. Kingsley Books. Kindle Edition). Why did they put the second letter after the third? My thought is that they had already written down the third letter when they gained access to the second, so they just wrote it after the one that they had already begun copying down. Then that copy of the two letters was sent off, and that copy is the one that was copied again and again to be sent out to other churches. Why did God allow it to be done in this way? I’m thinking that it is good to see the result first before seeing the negative. However, I don’t know. It is apparent that this is not the whole letter because it does not have the greetings that Paul started his letters with normally. On the other hand, Guzik’s commentary does not believe that this is two separate letters. “Paul introduces this chapter with a change of tone. Some have even thought that 2 Corinthians 10 through 13 are really a different letter altogether that was added to the end of 2 Corinthians 1 through 9. This isn’t likely, but it does show that Paul is changing gears as he ends the letter.” The SDA commentary is not as strong in its disagreement, but it says that since there is not enough evidence, that it will assume that 2 Corinthians is only one letter. If it is only one letter, it is very confusing because the tone is totally different and the words before this were the wind down of a letter. It is the same way that 1 Corinthians wound down with the collection at the end.
In this first part, Paul is saying that some people in Corinth accuse him of walking according to the flesh. What does he mean by this? Are they accusing him of being prideful? Of being greedy? Of being sinful? I think maybe they are accusing Paul of speaking with his own authority and trying to throw his weight around. I base this on the following sentence where Paul says that while he is of this world, he does not use worldly methods to fight with. I will have to look in the commentaries. Anyway, Paul tells them that he is writing strongly in his letter so that when he is with them in person, he will not have to act the role of mean taskmaster. However, he is afraid that he is going to have to rebuke them strongly in person though he hopes that his letter will allow him to visit them with joy instead of harsh words.
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) Paul has several points here that might be clearer if the earlier part of the letter were attached. First, he says that though he is walking around in a body (the flesh) and part of this world, he does not make war against others in the same way that worldly (the flesh) people make war. He is fighting against the wrongheaded attitudes and misguided opinions that have invaded the Corinthian church. He does not fight with shouting or hatred. Instead, he has more powerful weapons to fight with. His weapons can destroy utterly, but he only uses them to defend God’s reputation. He is only concerned with bringing thoughts into obedience to Jesus. Paul reminds the Corinthians that both they and he are under Jesus’ authority and that everyone should be treating each other as people who have to answer to the same Master. Guzik’s commentary says “The Corinthian Christians tended to rely on and admire carnal weapons for the Christian battle. Instead of the belt of truth, they fought with manipulation. Instead of the breastplate of righteousness, they fought with the image of success. Instead of the shoes of the gospel, they fought with smooth words. Instead of the shield of faith, they fought with the perception of power. Instead of the helmet of salvation, they fought with lording over authority. Instead of the sword of the Spirit, they fought with human schemes and programs.” Jesus’ “kind of victory through humble obedience offended the Corinthian Christians because it seemed so ‘weak.’ The carnal, human way is to overpower and dominate and manipulate and out-maneuver. The spiritual, Jesus-way is to humble yourself, die to yourself, and let God show His resurrection power through you.”
(Understanding the Text) Guzik’s commentary also makes an observation that I had not thought about. “Paul doesn’t say that it is wrong to test an apostle’s credentials, but that the Corinthians were using the wrong test. They were judging only by outward appearance.”
(Application) The lesson here is that as Christians, we have great power in how we deal with others. Our words and actions can open or close the doors of heaven to people. Thus, we need to be careful how we use that power. We need to always be aware that we have to answer to our Lord for the words and actions that we do that misrepresent Him. When speaking with our fellow Christians, we need to be aware that they belong to Jesus also, and anything that we do to them is done in Jesus’ sight. Thus, when we disagree with them, we have to remember that they don’t answer to us. They answer to Jesus. It is not up to me to make someone think differently. I must share what Jesus has revealed to me, but it is not my responsibility to force them to believe. Their thoughts are Jesus’ responsibility to try to change. My responsibility is to listen to what Jesus tells me to do or say, and to do or say what I have been given. My responsibility is to listen carefully and learn from Jesus. My responsibility is to share what I have learned. That is where my responsibility stops. If I go beyond that authority, to begin treating someone else with worldly methods of disagreement, then I am in the wrong. Obedience does not travel from Jesus to me to the other person. The path of communication is from Jesus to me and from Jesus to the other person and from me to the other person knowing that he/she has a direct line to Jesus just as I have. I just have to remind the other person to use that line instead of ignoring his/her Lord. I don’t know if I am making much sense today. I’m trying to reason this out, but it just doesn’t sound quite right. But I think maybe our dependence on preachers to deliver messages to us has caused a way of thinking where we don’t listen for God to speak to us directly.
(Prayer) I always want to listen to You, but too often I am to focused on myself and others to listen. Open my ears to hear You. Open my eyes to see You. Open my mouth to communicate Your beauty and message to others. I can do none of these things without Your help. Help me.