Paul's Bold Letters

1 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!-
2 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.

- Paul seems to be drawing a line in the sand. He seems to be indicating that the gloves are off if the Corinthians do not fully repent. And he's drawing battle lines against those whom he called out in chapter one of his first letter - those who are sectarian and have aligned themselves with other Apostles and leaders (such as Cephas or Apollos). Fascinating. Paul doesn't just "let it rest" or "give it to God," as the common ministry-wisdom of the day would dictate. Paul is fighting for his church, correcting the poison influence there.

- As a matter of fact, he's being accused of walking according to the flesh for seeking to address these problems, as people do today to a preacher who won't relent or "let it go."

- OR does their accusation of Paul walking by the flesh go deeper than these immediate circumstances? Is this the general accusation by Paul's opponents, which has empowered them to align with other preachers?

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.

-Paul admits he is human. But he is not human in his approach to life and ministry. His authority is otherworldly.

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

- The strongholds seem to be the arguments of his opponents. His divine power that he's been given is a reference to his Apostleship. The tearing down of these strongholds is the act of writing these corrective letters, sending his protégées (Titus; unknown preacher mentioned two chapters earlier) to check in on and monitor them, and soon visiting them to bring this correction to its rightful, God-exalting completion. This is how he destroys strongholds. Work. Prayer. Guidance. Leadership. Correction. Teaching. Diligent follow-up.

6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

- A Greek study would be of particular interest here. Is he saying that every disobedience is punished as he exerts his apostolic authority or is he preparing them for some sort of disciplinary action upon his arrival and after they've fully repented? Or does he mean that disobedience is punished as they learn to obey? Cryptic verse.

Created about 1 year ago