Dealing With False Teachers

I myself, Paul, appeal to 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.

which is a quotation what the enemies are saying about Paul.

So we don't have it in inverted commas, like new Revised Standard Version has it with these hyphens.

So that's how you know that he's not speaking about himself.

He's quoting what his enemies, what these false teachers said about him.

Okay, let's go to verse 2 to 11.

I ask that when I am present, I need not show boldness by daring to oppose those who think we are acting according to human standards.

Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards, for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds.

We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we... take every thought captive to obey Christ.

We are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete.

Look at what is before your eyes.

If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remind yourself of this, that just as you belong to Christ, so also do we.

Now, even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it.

Mm-hmm.

So, Paul says there is a battle for the mind that's going on in the world, in the universe.

And then in verses 3, 4, and 5, he describes his strategy.

And the essence of it is that he wants to take every thought a prisoner, making it to obey the Messiah.

Now, in the translation that Terry read for us, the Greek according to the flesh, which is there three times, is nicely translated according to human standards, or our weapons of our warfare are not merely human.

That helps very much, this Greek idiom, according to flesh.

But they have divine power to destroy strongholds.

Now, the whole passage is about boldness, his boldness as an apostle.

And, of course, he quotes these false teachers who say, as we read in verse 10, his letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible.

So be assured that when I will come, I will do what I did in my letters.

So don't count too much on that.

How do you balance the meekness and gentleness of the Messiah with the boldness that is needed to tear down the strongholds? And of course, the key will be the understanding of the death and resurrection of King Jesus.