“2 Corinthians 10”

Monday, April 10, 2017

Paul begins his personal defense of his apostleship here. He starts out by reminding them that we fight a spiritual battle, not an earthly one and that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal.

The Judaizing teachers had apparently been accusing Paul of using worldly, carnal tactics. The truth is that they were the guilty ones. They made false accusations and they tried to turn the Corinthians against Paul.

In verse 10, they said of Paul that his letters were weighty and powerful, but they referred to his bodily presence as weak and his speech as contemptible. They were trying to do whatever they could to diminish his apostolic authority.

Paul assures them that the things he taught them and had written to them were for their edification, not for their destruction. He only wanted to do those things that would strengthen the disciples in their commitment to God. The false teachers, on the other hand, were just trying to line up their own disciples and draw them away to their destruction.

Paul tells them that his gentleness with them was because he was dealing with them as a loving parent. But, if necessary, on his next visit, they would see the boldness and courage of this apostle of Christ.

The apostle makes it clear that they were not to compare themselves with other Christians, rather with the perfect standard of Christ. We are always foolish when we try to make ourselves look stronger by trying to make someone else look weaker.

Paul says that he did not overextend his authority when he preached the gospel to the Corinthians. It was his goal to take the gospel of Christ to areas of the world where it had not been preached. His motives were pure and he wants to assure these early Christians that the gospel message is trustworthy.

The criticisms against him were unfounded. He knew he could not convince the false teachers, but he did not want to lose the Corinthians themselves to the devil.

--Roger Hillis

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