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2 CORINTHIANS CHAPTER 10 KJV WEB See previous page 2Cor 10-1,2 (11l) Servant >> Paul’s example of ministry – It would be fair to say that Paul was one of the greatest men who ever lived, but many don’t see it that way. For example, probably the reason people loved Peter more than Paul (such as Catholics) was that Peter was one of Jesus’ twelve closest disciples, whereas Paul never personally met the Lord in the flesh. Usually, people rely on other people’s favor to get where they want to go in life, but Paul was blazing a trail in a divine work of God. However, it is fair to say that Paul wasn’t a particularly likable fellow even before his conversion. The best description of him is: a fanatic beyond reason. It was part of his personality to be obsessive; in fact, he may have even had Obsessive/Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Prior to his conversion he was a persecutor of the Church, but then he met the Lord on the road to Damascus. Fourteen years later he approached the apostles, wanting a leadership role in the Church, using his zeal of evangelism as his credentials. He soon rose as head evangelist of the entire Church of God and head apostle of the churches he founded, because of his courage to confront any town with the gospel and tenaciously preached with the authority of Christ, often being severely punished for it, but the more beatings he received the more he preached, the more people listened to him and the more people were getting saved, and so it was all worth it to Paul. See also: Paul's conversion; 1Tim 2-7; 43c (17l) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Discerning by the flesh >> Making distinctions between each other -- These verses go with verses 10-12. The Corinthians accused Paul of walking in the flesh, considering themselves to be spiritual, but a person can only be as spiritual as they are faithful to Christ. They did not have an accurate self-depiction; they struggled to obey Christ according to the letters of Paul more than any of the other churches, yet they accused Paul of being carnal, which is not surprising, since people tend to accuse others of the very sins they practice themselves. They do this from a lack of objective introspection, that is, an inability to accurately view themselves as others see them, and more importantly as God sees them. Paul wrote of this in Rom 2-1, "Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment, for in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things." Jesus warned us not to judge, knowing that those who do also do most of the sinning. Sin creates a blind spot in a person’s self-image, so they cannot see themselves in areas that have been darkened by sin. (84i) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Gossip >> Attacking a person’s name -- These verses go with verses 10,11 (178e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for rebellion -- These verses go with verses 7-12 (181c) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Rebelling against God >> Rebelling against the men of God -- These verses go with verses 7-11. The Corinthians thought of Paul as one who was easily intimidated and afraid to confront them face-to-face, but based on his accomplishments there was no way Paul was timid. His greatest legacy was that he did more than anyone to reach the entire known world with the gospel of Christ, yet if they could locate his bones, they probably wouldn’t be interested in building a cathedral over them with a glass floor and line up to worship his remains like they do at Saint Peter's Basilica in the Vatican. This is partly due to the fact that Paul was not one of Jesus' twelve closest disciples, and it is also due to Paul's personality, how people thought of him in his day. He wasn’t well-liked, and the Corinthians reflected this attitude, yet he was Christ’s right-hand man, and Paul was satisfied with God's favor so much that he didn't crave man's favor at all. They complained that he wrote weighty letters but his personal presence was meek. Their criticisms were unfounded, and they misappropriated Paul's great love for them. The Corinthians were pushing Paul into a position that, when he was finally able to visit them, he couldn’t come in the meekness and gentleness of Christ as he wanted, but with a rod of discipline. The Corinthians were part of Paul’s legacy; they knew all about him, his accomplishments and the beatings he took to make the gospel available to them, yet they chose to make up stories about him, and it forced Paul to set them straight, not because Paul was offended, but because their wrong thinking was getting in the way of their walk with God. 2Cor 10-1 (63j) Paradox >> Anomalies >> Sarcastic from being emotional >> Angry – Paul gives us a taste of his sarcasm, describing himself in terms of the Corinthian's perception of him, and it came off sarcastic. Paul used sarcasm as a tool when the Corinthians quit listening to him, and so should we when our audience quits listening to us. Sarcasm is extremely effective in bringing across a point; it sharply rebukes our “listeners” and conveys to them that they don’t respect our views. Sarcasm expresses many thoughts along with the truth, usually in opposite format, such as in this case; Paul spoke opposite the truth when his audience knew the difference. We don’t use sarcasm when our audience has little knowledge of a subject, such as during the moon landing; the astronauts didn’t use sarcasm when they hopped onto the moon’s surface and started explaining what they saw, because people were open to their feedback and didn’t know what to expect. When people should already know the truth but have rejected it and have closed their minds, sarcasm comes in handy to jolt them back into cognizance with our views. The Corinthians knew enough to know he was being sarcastic, so that when he put their thoughts into words, it sounded ridiculous. (77n) Thy kingdom come >> God Ministers To People Through The Humble >> Humility gives a blessing (128h) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Gentleness >> Jesus is gentle KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 10,2-6 (5b) Responsibility >> Advocate God’s cause >> Disciples are soldiers in God’s army (6g) Responsibility >> Being spiritual >> Ministering to God by dying to self – Many Christians take this passage into outer space in attempt to explain what they mean. They should not interpret these verses by ranting at the devil in effort to make him leave. Rather, if we want to chase away the devil, it would behoove us to repent of the sinful passions and desires of our flesh. (46a) Judgment >> Spiritual warfare >> Subjecting your flesh >> Violent take it by force >> Taking the kingdom by force – What exactly is spiritual warfare? It is resisting satanic forces of deception that nudge our thoughts and influence our views and perceptions in the direction they wants us to think. It gets scary when we realize the power Satan has over society to compile worldviews and establish a single mindset within society that the majority believe. These spiritual forces are adept at tricking people to believe that the thoughts of demons are their own, and our natural incredulity to believe in Jesus helps the devil by adopting his views and acting on them. If we don’t think spiritual warfare is real or don’t believe it’s relevant, think of the dozens of wars raging around the globe at any one time, people killing their fellow man based on ideology they think is their own, when in fact they are being spoon-fed by demons. Most people are incapable of stepping from their puny lives far enough to obtain a wider perspective and realize they have been duped. 2Cor 10-2,3 (92a) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way >> Trail of good works >> The good works that He prepared for us 2Cor 10-2 (17m) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Discerning by the flesh >> Judging the sins of others that you practice – The Corinthians accused Paul of walking in the flesh. Paradoxically but not surprisingly, his accusers were guilty of this very thing. Paul said in Rom 2-1, “You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.” The Corinthians were guilty of this elementary principle: accusing others of the very sins they practiced. They did this for the same reason a person who wears purple sunglasses views the world as purple. It is a fascinating truth about our optical-to-brain psychology that we can put on a pair of amber sunglasses and everything looks amber for a little while, but after about ten minutes our eyes adjust to the filter and screen the tint from our perceptions to make the world look normal again; i.e. after a few minutes the sky turns from gaudy green back to beautiful blue. There is absolute proof of this; put the filter in front of a camera lens and take a picture, and our eyes will not correct the colors in the photograph, because we know it is not the actual sky but a mere copy of it. This was happening to Paul’s accusers, who passed judgment on him regarding the very sins they practiced: they had screened their sins from their perceptions and projected them onto Paul. Yes, the field of psychology recognizes this phenomenon, calling it projection. Like a movie projector, they projected their sins onto Paul, assuming he was guilty of the very sins they denied about themselves. Paul took offense at them disrupting people’s faith, accusing their spiritual leaders as frauds, attempting to destroy his reputation among the saints, hindering them from listening to his teachings, so they could introduce heresy into the Church. See also: Projection; 2Cor 10-5; 178b (51c) Judgment >> Judging the Church with the world >> Warning of Wrath >> God warns the Church (84i) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Gossip >> Attacking a person’s name -- This verse goes with verses 10&11 (121l) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence >> Confidence in God >> Confidence in God as you fulfill your ministry (178b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Presuming the facts about the circumstances >> Presumption is not founded on facts -- This verse goes with verse 5 KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 10,3-6 (8m) Responsibility >> Responsible to defend God’s cause >> Laying the foundation of freedom – Freedom is one of those terms that gets interpreted in as many ways as the word is used. Taking one more stab at it, freedom is a composite of two things: freedom from… and freedom to…. "Freedom from" defines the fences with which we surround ourselves to keep out whatever is challenging our freedom; the fence defines the boundaries where we can tread without being re-enslaved to our addiction. "Freedom to" defines our abilities we have won with our freedom within the confines of the fence. (11b) Servant >> Standard for being a servant >> A Spirit-filled life – Only spirit-filled people can participate in spiritual warfare, since it is hinged on the obedience of faith and not merely on our status of salvation. Spiritual warfare is conducted through a combination of knowledge, obedience, faith and prayer. (79b) Thy kingdom come >> Renewing your mind >> Satan will control your mind if you don’t (80c) Thy kingdom come >> Know the word in spiritual warfare >> To fight in the Spirit – These are some of the most pertinent verses in the Bible pertaining to spiritual warfare. Paul associates it with the mind using three words: speculations, knowledge and thoughts. Based on these words, the battleground of Spiritual warfare clearly is in the mind. He describes the persuasive powers of the devil as lofty, meaning this in two ways: his influence on our mind haughtily opposes God’s word, and he dresses his thoughts in persuasive argument, similar to the way he approached Eve in the garden. God is waging war in our mind against satanic forces of wickedness that have its own brand of truth in mind, a truth that will one day become obsolete, but God’s truth will remain forever. Spiritual warfare pertains to our interpretation of circumstances and Scripture. Spiritual warfare is in our self-perceptions and behavior and in the way we perceive our own walk with God. Spiritual warfare is in the presumptions we make. In every case “interpretation” and “perception” are involved. That is, the truth gets lost in translation, and the devil is there to make sure of it. (83j) Thy kingdom come >> We have the ministry of intercession >> Church prepares itself to meet Jesus (94n) Thy kingdom come >> Perspective is your personal reality >> How you interpret your point of view – The Corinthians fell short of doing spiritual battle with dark forces, and as a result their theology was corrupted. Spiritual warfare pertains to determining our worldview; how we perceive the truth is our reality. Meanwhile, Jesus is truth, so the closer our perceptions of reality come to incorporating the tenets of Scripture, the more confidence we have in the truth. The earth refers to this planet, but the world refers to the collective mindset of society as an arbitrary depiction of reality. One day God will throw this world, including Satan and his demons into hell, and God’s kingdom will replace the world and reign on the earth for a thousand years. Eternity will one day be reestablished, and we will belong to a kingdom that will never end. This is God’s reality; it is God’s truth, and He wants us to be a part of it. (99n) Thy kingdom come >> Perseverance (Working to keep in motion) >> Persevere in faith (104a) Thy kingdom come >> Purifying process >> Purified by circumstances >> Purified through judgment (111g) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Spirit and the word >> Word and the power (meaning) of God >> Circumstances cannot evade the voice of the Spirit (116d) Thy kingdom come >> Faith >> Working the grace of God >> Through worship >> Through His authority (119j) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Curse of sin is broken >> Bondage of Satan is broken 2Cor 10-4 (159l) Works of the devil >> Essential characteristics >> Counterfeit God >> Counterfeit anointing >> Anointing of the flesh KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 10-5,6 (87j) Thy kingdom come >> Obedience >> Being a slave to obedience 2Cor 10-5 (4k) Responsibility >> The choices you make >> Accountable for your thoughts – This verse, of all the Scriptures that allude to the mind, best paints a picture of the war that is raging against the truth, and everyone who lives according to the truth is engaged in this war. We may have a mental comprehension of the Bible, yet without willingness to go to war in battle for the mind, invariably very little of what we believe correlates with God's truth. We live in Satan’s world, and he has a say in everything that happens here, except what God does. Therefore, we must let God perform His work in us and work with Him to fight the battle of the mind. (178b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Presu ming the facts about the circumstances >> Presumption is not founded on facts -- This verse goes with verses 10-12. The Corinthians accused Paul of being in the flesh, when it was they who lived and walked in the flesh. Accusing people of the relics of their own guilt is a sign of being controlled by demons. It is a recurring scenario that has played itself out throughout all human history, and Paul wrote of it in Rom 2,1-8. It’s the reason Jesus said, “Do not judge,” for those who do all the judging also do all the sinning. It is strange how that works. Sin creates a blind spot in a person’s self-image, so they cannot see the part of themselves that dwells in darkness. See also: Projection; 2Cor 10-2; 17m 2Cor 10-6,7 (196e) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Immaturity >> Not mature enough to die to self >> Unable to obey God – The fact that Paul had to defend himself against the Corinthian Church deeply offended him. He considered himself their father. He not only had authority over them, he also had to be the more mature one and love them through their barrage of insults. He adequately fulfilled his role, but the Corinthians were too immature to respect Paul or give him the credit he deserved, and they were too immature to learn from him or from the Scriptures. 2Cor 10-6 (7h) Responsibility >> Defend God’s cause >> Protecting the Church (44d) Judgment >> Satan destroyed >> Complete >> Finish the course (54n) Paradox >> Opposites >> Punish disobedience after you desire to obey – We don’t teach people to obey by disciplining them; rather, we teach them to obey by modeling correct behavior. For this reason Paul didn’t discipline the Corinthians; rather, he trained them to be mature, becoming a role model for them of faith and loyalty toward God, and then he disciplined them, so they might become more mature. There is no point in disciplining undisciplined and immature Christians, because they are incapable of learning from it, since their infrastructure of obedience is absent. No one disciplines babies because they don’t know any better; even young children we allow certain things that are normally unacceptable, because they are still in training. (137h) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> Maturity >> Maturing in Jesus is hard work >> Maturity comes through discipline – Until the Corinthians become complicit, there was nothing Paul could do, for they were not yet in a position to receive instruction. This is why it is important to maintain order in a classroom. Proverbs 12-1 says, “Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.” When we think about the expectations of the classroom and the order that is required for learning, it resembles the military. There are rules that must be followed and codes of behavior that are the premise of learning. We must learn to behave before we can learn anything else. Therefore, we say that attitude and behavior are the basis for all knowledge. When we look at a rebellious person, he might know things, but he doesn’t know what he ought to know (1Cor 8-2,3). Paul was saying that the moment complicity is reached, they will be able to learn what God wants them to know, but until then they are part of a feedback loop where ignorance begets delinquency and delinquency begets ignorance. When they are ready to learn, sitting at attention in their desks, back straight, looking ahead, pencils sharpened, books opened, hands to themselves, feet flat on the floor, waiting for instruction, these can learn, but a classroom full of monkeys shooting spit wads at each other, talking loudly and disrupting the class, might know how to do that, but pitifully little else. God would call them fools, especially when we place this scenario in the spiritual arena. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 10,7-12 (17d) Sin >> Judging in the flesh >> Accusing God and others of sin – A changing reality is not real; true reality is constant in the mind of God; He can see beyond our times. Eternity is the mindset we need to fix in our mind as the first order of thinking like God, though we are bound to this temporal reality. The ground beneath us is real; it is what we fear when falling, killing us from the sudden stop, but in heaven there is no death. That is the reality of heaven. Our present reality will one day disappear, and once God establishes His kingdom, it will remain forever. So which reality is real, the temporal or the eternal? Isn’t it the one that lasts the longest? Nevertheless, people interpret reality in the present, but it leads them all to the wrong conclusions. The Corinthian Church hurled accusations at Paul because of the things he said about their immaturity, being a common mistake of Christians who want to be spiritual without letting go of their earthly preoccupations. If we want to perceive God in our life, we must look at the world as He sees it, according to His word. We must learn to view this world as a spiritual battleground between good and evil, and view ourselves as a participant in this war, and fight for our freedom to obey God through faith. As it is, most Christians are too lazy and unbelieving to engage these forces, and consequently they have adopted the world's perception of reality and "are looking at things as they are outwardly." (178e) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Hypocrisy >> Hypocrisy of the Church is rebuked >> The Church is rebuked for rebellion -- These verses go with verses 1&2. Paul assures the Corinthians that though he was hard on them, it was for the purpose of building them up and not for tearing them down, always for their benefit. He wanted the Corinthians to know that when he rebuked them, he did it not from spite, hatred or anger but from concern, edification and love. He wanted to come to them in the meekness and gentleness of Christ, but he couldn’t because they would have misinterpreted his kindness as weakness. They thought they were following Christ, though largely they were merely deceiving themselves, evidenced their perceptions of Paul's timidity, as though he were incapable of personally defending himself against their insolence. He had reached so many milestones, and he also received many beatings for his accomplishments, yet he continued to speak the word with boldness and accepted the consequences, knowing that serving Christ was worth the suffering. How could they possibly consider Paul to be timid? Why would he be afraid of them when he wasn’t afraid of kings and magistrates, authorities and rulers, and his greatest enemy of all the Jews, of whom he himself was one, perhaps being the reason the Jews hated him more than the other apostles, because he defected from their religion; for that they mercilessly beat him times without number. (198a) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Man withers when he is in control >> Unteachable >> Resisting the knowledge of God 2Cor 10,7-11 (181c) Works of the devil >> Practicing witchcraft >> Rebelling against God >> Rebelling against the men of God -- These verses go with verses 1,2. Paul was defending himself in this and in many other cases throughout both his letters to the Corinthians. They had made up accusations against him after he had dedicated his life to them, sacrificing everything for their sakes. Had they appreciated the love and commitment Paul had for them, it would have been the beginning of an endearing relationship that would have translated directly to their relationship with God, their knowledge blossomed and their ears unplugged to hear the Holy Spirit. As it was, they looked for excuses to justify their disobedience. They blamed Paul for their own faults; he was a convenient target. If they could talk Him into their baloney, it would have taken the emphasis off their waywardness, and they could have argued with Him and each other and continued in their fleshly ways, believing they were worshipping God, but Paul rebuked them saying, “You are looking at things as they are outwardly.” They were actually claiming to be better Christians than Paul. The truth was just the opposite; the truth is always opposite when we walk in the flesh. 2Cor 10-7 (97c) Thy kingdom come >> Having a negative attitude about yourself >> Having a worldly attitude -- This verse goes with verses 10-12. Had the Corinthians known the insult Paul wrote to them when he said, “You are looking at things as they are outwardly,” they would have repented in sackcloth and ashes. This is how the world views reality; they see everything at face value, not seeing the spiritual side of creation. For this reason many worldly people don’t believe God even exists. So when Paul told the Corinthians they had an outward viewpoint, he was saying they view their lives as atheists do, for the world’s great claim to truth and reality goes by what they can detect with their five senses, and what they can’t see they don’t believe. God has placed man in a situation where we must believe that He exists and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him (Heb 11-6). God wants us to believe in Him, for he equates faith with perfection. God created the heavens and the earth by faith; He spoke all things into existence by His word, so obviously He has strong convictions about faith, and He wants us to believe in Him, that we might become His children. Consequently, For the Corinthians to view things as they are outwardly is just the opposite of God. Paul was telling them that they don’t believe anything. They had a secular mindset, being worse than pagans, who at least claimed to believe in things beyond the visual spectrum. See also: Faith (Confidence in God); Mat 6-14; 156da (122e) Thy kingdom come >> Manifestations of faith >> Confidence in yourself as you die to sin >> Confident in your salvation (167e) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Walking outside the realm of faith – Paul is not quite done talking about the subject of spiritual warfare until he addressed secularism, defined tongue-in-cheek as, “Reality that needs no interpretation.” We wake up in the morning without asking any questions; we get dressed and make the coffee; it’s all part of the physical world. There needs no interpretation. If we need to interpret secularism, then it is not secular in the purest sense. Secularism is all the things we assume, and it’s presumption that gets us in trouble. There are huge chunks of our lives that we think need no interpretation, but in fact they do. (171k) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Outward appearance >> Outward appearance is not important – We need to stop looking at things as they are outwardly and start looking at our future with eternity in mind, and we need to start placing the thoughts of God in our heart. We look in the mirror and walk away, and immediately we have forgotten what sort of person we saw in our reflection. We need to keep our minds renewed in the word of God and prayer and view ourselves the way God sees us. This is the essence of spiritual warfare. As we do these things, it guarantees a confrontation with satanic forces of wickedness in high places that are underfoot. (213i) Sovereignty >> God is infinite >> Jesus owns you >> His will becomes our will >> We are God’s property (222l) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Conceit >> Thinking you are superior to others >> Treating people with contempt -- This verse goes with verses 10-12 (240h) Kingdom of God >> Opposition toward the Kingdom of God >> Hindering the kingdom >> Natural disadvantage >> Natural disadvantage of the world KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 10-8 (68b) Authority >> Doing God’s work under His authority >> Natural Ministry of helps (72a) Authority >> Ordained by God >> We are ordained to walk in His authority (73b) Authority >> Respect your leaders >> Those in charge of the word – Paul rebuked the Corinthians because they refused to give him the credit that he deserved. Paul told them they were not putting into words their appreciation for the things he had done for them. Nobody else was remotely committed to the Corinthians like Paul. He boasted about his authority as an apostle over them regarding the tremendous anointing God had given him to preach the word of God, and there were few epistles to read until Paul wrote them to the Corinthians and other churches, which became the word of God. Therefore, how much authority did Paul have as a writer of Scripture? He was just as important to the New Testament as the ancient prophets were to the the Old Testament! For centuries they meticulously preserved their writings, transcribing the documents from generation to generation. When they finished transcribing a document, such as the book of Isaiah, they would start over and do it again, making multiple copies for people to read and memorize. Each manuscript took months to finish; they did the same thing to Paul's epistles; they didn’t hurry, but wrote one letter at a time. This is how valuable their writings were to them, and Paul’s epistles are just as valuable to us and even to the Corinthians at the time. This is the authority that Paul had; he was like a new covenant Moses. He used his authority only for building up the Corinthians and not for destroying them. (84d) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Boasting >> It needs to be said and no one is saying it >> Boasting of my accomplishments in Christ -- This verse goes with verses 13-18. Paul devoted this entire chapter to boasting, putting the disobedient Corinthians between a rock and a hard spot, delivering one of the most painful blows to them through his pen when he boasted about his accomplishments in Christ. His point was that these things needed to be said and no one was saying them. This work He had been doing was unmentioned and the silence was deafening, like the best-kept secret. Good news travel slow. They didn’t want to give Paul the credit he deserved, risking his life to bring the gospel to them. He didn’t accomplish this feat unscathed; in the next chapter he itemizes the physical punishments he endured. Three times he was beaten with rods; he was stoned to death, and God raised him from the dead (Act 14-19,20). Many other things happened to him, which was the price he paid to be God’s evangelist to the world. Most people would have died from Paul’s wounds; their first flogging would have been their last, taking the advice of their torturers to quit preaching the gospel, but Paul continued undeterred. He didn’t have a choice; he was hopelessly addicted to Jesus Christ, willing to suffer anything to continue doing the will of God. To be killed a dozen times meant nothing to him; a hundred times worse would have been to abandon his post and leave his ministry unfinished. Sitting in a rocking chair would have been worse than receiving five times from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. As was done to Jesus, they used a cat-o-nine-tails to flog Paul, which cut him to ribbons, illustrating the multi-layered brand marks on his back (Gal 6-17). (139g) Temple >> Building the temple (with hands) >> We build the temple through Christ – Paul was a master builder of the Church, and God was with him making sure the work was done right, converting Paul’s work into a spiritual product that God would ultimately plant in the hearts of His people. God calls us to do a work for Him, which He promises to bless and increase, just as Paul worked with the grace of God to build the Church, a human effort transformed into a divine enterprise. KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 10,10-12 (17l) Sin >> Unrighteous judgment >> Discerning by the flesh >> Making distinctions between each other -- These verses go with verses 1&2. This principle of Scripture many people incessantly violate and pay the penalty with a stunted faith in God. This passage could lead certain people from the foolishness of their imaginations into a clearer view of the truth if they internalized what Paul was saying here. We are not standards for each other, though many people regularly use each other as such, measuring themselves by other people and measuring other people by themselves as a standard, resulting in a skewed understanding of God. This form of unrighteous judgment is childish and exposes the cause of their negative spiritual growth. They are babes in Christ who compare themselves with other people instead of using Christ as their standard. Everyone does this occasionally, but some actually believe they achieve an accurate measure. False judgment is a common trait of witchcraft; those who use themselves and others as their standard of measurement need to grow-up and renew their mind in the word of God and prayer. (97c) Thy kingdom come >> Having a negative attitude about yourself >> Having a worldly attitude -- These verses go with verse 7. The Psalms poetically spoke about gratitude and thankfulness with a heart of worship, glorifying the Lord for His loving-kindness and salvation. The Corinthians disheartened Paul from a lack of gratitude and appreciation for his ministry toward them. He was hoping they would reciprocate his love, that he might enjoy their fellowship and bask in their spiritual affection, but he got insults instead. Coming into the Church from the world should feel like a protective harbor from a wild storm that is raging in a sea of people. Although Paul needed the Corinthian’s spiritual affection, he also needed them for their own sake to practice love. There was no better way for Paul to know how well they were doing than for them to treat him in a godly manner, showing their respect to him. He couldn’t just give and give to the Corinthians without getting anything in return, because it would have done neither of them any good. He earnestly desired them to aptly respond to him, and by their progress grow in faith. We cannot be more spiritual than we behave. We can read the Bible and pray, but if it doesn't affect our obedience, we are just spinning our wheels, going nowhere. Disobedience lacks gratitude and ingratitude is a sign of spiritual immaturity. (178b) Works of the devil >> The religion of witchcraft >> Presumption (Hinduism) >> Presuming the facts about the circumstances >> Presumption is not founded on facts -- These verses go with verse 2 (196g) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Immaturity >> Not mature enough to seek God >> Unable to make sound judgments – Paul didn’t quit serving the Corinthians because they were ungrateful; he had a heart of compassion for them. Without gratitude, there is no solution; ingratitude comes from immaturity, and there’s no solution to immaturity, except to mature, and that takes commitment, dedication and vision; and if we don’t have these things, then how do we begin? We can talk some people into growing-up, but other people simply refuse, and they will pay the penalty for the rest of their lives for remaining children in their conduct and thinking, and Paul was trying to help the Corinthians avoid this fate. On a spiritual level it usually leads to apostasy and losing their faith and ultimately their souls, which they will never be able to retrieve. Spiritual immaturity is absolutely devastating; it can lead to eternal consequences, as the apostle Peter warned, “It would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment handed on to them” (2Pet 2-21). Paul struggled and argued with them and was patient; he did everything he knew to show them through the compassion of the Spirit the ways of God, so they might learn by example the true meaning of Christianity and grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ (2Pet 3-18). (222l) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Conceit >> Thinking you are superior to others >> Treating people with contempt -- These verses go with verse 7 2Cor 10-10,11 (84i) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Gossip >> Attacking a person’s name -- These verses go with verses 1,2. Paul intended to reprove certain people in the Corinthian Church who had been speaking against him and attacking his good name. He was not about to stand for their behavior since he regularly got ill-treated by the world when he conveyed the gospel, enduring intense mental anguish and physical torture, and he wasn’t about to accept similar treatment from the Corinthians. He wanted his experience with them to be edifying and comforting, since they claimed to love the Lord. Paul was committed to leading them into a deeper and fuller faith in Christ, and it seemed all the Corinthians could do was gossip about him and devise stories to malign his reputation. Supposedly, their complaint was that his letters were weighty but his personal presence apprehensive, complaining that he preferred writing to avoid personal confrontation. However, heavy and weighty his letters, his presence could be even heavier when incited to anger. (92j) Thy kingdom come >> The narrow way connects you to God >> It demonstrates your faith in Him 2Cor 10-12 (11i) Servant >> We are not a standard for each other -- This is a classical error of which an incredibly large population of the world is guilty. Apparently, the temptation to use other people as a standard of conduct is for some a temptation too irresistible to avoid. It is inherently a bad idea, simply because it is inaccurate. For one thing, God’s expectations for us are far higher than what menial accomplishments our neighbor may or may not have achieved, so using him/her as a standard is moot. Also, trying to keep up with the Joneses when God has allotted each person different gifts and abilities is unfair to ourselves. (22m) Sin >> Pride glorifies self >> Comparing yourself with others – We are not to compare ourselves with other people or compare others with ourselves, for there is only one standard who is Christ. Of course He stands far above us, so we cannot attain to Him, and for that reason He has condescended to us, yet people don't seek Him for this very reason, because they don't want to be beholden to Him. It is important to have a true measure; we will always find ourselves short of the mark, but those who abandon the standard of Christ in search of a false standard are seeking perfection in all the wrong places. Perfection in Christ comes through faith, and perfection among the brethren comes by using Christ as our standard, but it accomplishes nothing to lie about our true condition. A man has hope when he realizes he is a sinner, but the one who uses a false standard attempts to deny this fact. They are self-righteous, and their self-righteousness has blinded their eyes to God's view of them. Those who compare themselves to others, do it most often when people are sinning, thus admitting they are comparable to sinners, and being like those sinners they are without Christ indeed. (164g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> The world system >> Satan’s system of authority >> His elementary principles of the world (166g) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Wisdom of the world >> Nature Of Man’s Wisdom >> Man’s wisdom contradicts itself (167c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (Mindset of the world) >> (170a) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Seeking the glory of man >> Stepping on people to get to the bottom >> Those who seek glory from men discard others (181h) Works of the devil >> The origin of lawlessness >> Deception >> Self deception >> Imaginary perception of self >> Distorted perception of self (198e) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Men place themselves in positions of authority >> Men raising up men -- This verse goes with verse 18 (223c) Kingdom of God >> The elusive Kingdom of Heaven >> Conceit >> Imposing your opinion of self on others >> Cliques make people seek your acceptance KJV WEB / Navigation Bar 2Cor 10,13-18 (84d) Thy kingdom come >> Words of your mouth >> Boasting >> It needs to be said and no one is saying it >> Boasting of my accomplishments in Christ -- These verses go with verse 8. Paul spoke about the Corinthians as within his jurisdiction in that he came to Corinth and preached the gospel to them, and now he feels responsible for their souls. Like the Chinese philosophy when someone saves another person from a tragic death, the one who saved him is responsible for that person for the rest of his life. The other churches that resulted from his ministry, many to whom he wrote in his epistles, were also within his jurisdiction and he felt responsible for their spiritual welfare too. The various apostles respected each other's ministries and didn't want to influence someone else's churches with their teachings, but let each apostle influence their own churches, creating unique emphases of faith in the people's understanding of God and thereby establishing variation in the overall body of Christ. 2Cor 10,13-16 (14a) Servant >> Servants of God’s word (226i) Kingdom of God >> Illustrating the kingdom >> Rewards of heaven >> Levels of reward >> God rewards us to the degree of our labors 2Cor 10-13 (44k) Judgment >> Transformation process >> Fulfill your ministry in evangelism >> Complete your mission 2Cor 10-18 (72a) Authority >> Ordained by God >> We are ordained to walk in His authority -- This verse goes with verse 8. It is good to be commended by great people, but it’s more important to seek God’s commendation; for if we have His, we don’t need anyone else’s, but that is not to say we shouldn’t seek approval from those we admire and want to emulate. When we seek the Lord and God reveals Himself to us, if we confess our faith to others and they don't find it palatable, and if they don't receive us, it doesn't matter, because they have no power to stop us from continuing in the Lord. He will change us in ways they may never experience or understand; but if it is possible, it is better to be commended by the brethren, because it establishes unity. The more we agree with each other, the more unity can grow and establish us together in His word and the more influence we have in the world. (167c) Works of the devil >> Manifestations of the devil >> Carnality/Secularism (Mindset of the world) >> The carnal mind is set on the flesh >> Wanting authority without responsibility -- This verse goes with verse 12 (198e) Denying Christ >> Man exercises his will against God >> Ordained by man >> Men place themselves in positions of authority >> Men raising up men -- This verse goes with verse 12 See next page