2 Corinthians 10

2 Corinthians 10:1

In 2 Corinthians chapter 10, we come to the beginning of what many scholars believe is the letter to which Paul referred in 2Co_2:4 and 2Co_7:8. You see, chapters 1-6 of 2 Corinthians constitute Paul’s defense of his apostolic authority that had been questioned by some in Corinth. Then, in chapters 7 and 8, he deals with the subject of givinga section he ended by saying, “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.” At this point, it seems as though Paul is closing his letter. He’s defended his ministry, he’s given the Corinthians an exhortation about giving, and he’s made a closing statement. So as you follow the flow of this letter, it seems as though this should be the end of the Epistle. But it’s not. There are four more chapters. And the interesting thing about these final four chapters is that Paul doesn’t pull any punches, but instead comes down on the Corinthians rather aggressively. And this is what perplexes scholars and students. Why would he end the letter this way? After all, any preacher, teacher, or pastor knows the time to get in people’s faces is not following an exhortation to give. The answer could possibly lie in the fact that 2 Corinthians 10-13 actually constitutes a different book altogetherthe letter that caused Paul such sorrow and anguish (2Co_2:4; 2Co_7:8). If this be the case, 2 Corinthians would be comprised of chapters 10-13, and “3 Corinthians” would be comprised of chapters 1-9. The possibility that at some point 2 and “3” Corinthians were inadvertently combined seems to explain both the missing Epistle and the reason for the heaviness of chapters 10-13. Meekness does not mean weakness, but rather strength under control. Used to describe a powerful stallion so well trained that it yields to the slightest nudge of the rider, the Greek concept of meekness was exhibited nowhere more perfectly than in Jesus. It is this controlled strength that Paul employs as he deals with the church at Corinth. Paul quotes his detractors, who said about him, “Sure, he can write a strong letter, but in person he’s not all that impressive,” as they resorted to the age-old tactic of criticizing one’s opponent physically if unable to counter his argument logically.

2 Corinthians 10:2

“I don’t want to be harsh,” Paul says, “but they who accuse us of being carnal leave me no other choice.”

2 Corinthians 10:3

“Because we’re human, of course we walk in the flesh, but the battle we wage for you is spiritualnot dependent upon oratorical skill or physical stature,” Paul argues. As we pull down the strongholds of the Enemy, the battle we wage is spiritual. The Real Battle A Topical Study of 2Co_10:3-5 On June 6, 1944, General Dwight David Eisenhower made a pivotal decision when he said, “Let’s go.” At 4 A.M., over 155,000 made their way across the English Channel in the greatest single military invasion in world history. Having been told that only one in three would likely return from the morning excursion, they landed on the beaches of France that were code-named Utah and Sword, Juneau and Gold, and, most famously, Omaha. As they landed on the shores, the enemy, already entrenched, began to fire round after round on those 155,000 brave soldiers. Ten thousand men lost their lives at Omaha Beach on that bloody, brutal day. Yet the Allied soldiers kept comingwave after wave after waveuntil they took the strongholds, the high towers from which the Nazi soldiers fired. Had the Allies failed, Germany would have dominated Europe, indeed the world militarily. But their success ensured eventual victory. The greatest military invasion in the history of the world took place on D-Day. But an infinitely greater invasion took place the day God invaded this world in the Person of Jesus Christ. Monumental were the repercussions of the sacrifice and bloodshed on the beaches of Normandy. But they were nothing compared to the results of the sacrifice and blood shed at Calvary. Satan’s plan of nailing Jesus to the Cross backfired totally because the only foothold Satan has on humanity is getting people to succumb to sin and thus turn over the authority of their lives to him. Therefore, because the blood of Jesus paid the price for the sin of all men, Satan’s foothold is obliterated. Yet even though the victory has been won, the battle goes on because the Enemy will not give up that which we do not take. When the Allied invasion succeeded, Hitler and the boys in Berlin knew their days were numbered. They knew they didn’t have a chancebut they continued fighting to the bitter end. This explains the reason that although the outcome of the war was determined on June 6, more blood was shed in the year following the victory at Normandy than at any other time in history. So, too, Satan knows he doesn’t have a chance. He knows that the one grasp he had on man is gone. He knows his time is running out. Yet so deep is his hatred of God that he continues to hang on to the territory he knows is no longer his. And he fights to the bitter end. “It is finished,” Jesus declared from the Cross (Joh_19:30). The victory is won. Although the war goes on, we do not fight for victory. We fight from victory. That is why Paul tells us to pull down, root out, take control of the strongholds our adversary has erected in our minds and hearts. Concerning this Enemy, Paul says we are not to be ignorant of his devices. And we aren’t. We know that when we were saved, Jesus took up residence in our lives. Our sinpast, present, and futurewas cleansed completely. We were born again. And yet each time I give in to sin, each time I succumb to an attitude or an activity I know is wrong, a brick is added to the high tower of the Enemy from which he can manipulate my thinking. This explains how I can be driving down the road, enjoying the day, when suddenly a thought will come into my mind, or an attitude into my heart that causes me to say, “Where in the world did that come from?” It didn’t come from the world. It came from hell. Ephesians 6 tells us that Satan fires fiery dartsa bit of hellinto our minds. Oh, he can’t possess our hearts. But there’s still a battle going on for the mind. The spirit is secure, but the soulthe mind, emotions, and willis still up for grabs. In Ephesians 6, Paul tells us more about the warfare we wage. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.Eph_6:12 Any time we are wrestling against flesh and bloodagainst family members, bosses, employees, neighbors, or friendswe’re fighting the wrong battle. Anytime we’re upset with people, we are waging the wrong war. The enemy is not your husband, your teenage daughter, or your boss. The enemy is Satan. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.1Pe_5:8 Peter identifies Satan not as the adversary, but as your adversary. You might think, I’m not that important. The devil doesn’t care about me. Wrong. “Your adversary” means you have a personal enemySatanwho has a specific plan to manipulate you and rob you of joy, power, and your ability to influence others. Because there is a war going on, it is imperative that we pull down the high tower, the stronghold of the Enemythe areas Satan controls, even though you’re a Christian, even though your sin is forgiven, even though you’re on your way to heaven. How are they pulled down? What does it mean to cast down the imagination? For every New Testament principle, there’s an Old Testament picture. And concerning the pulling down of strongholds, there are two. The first is seen in Joshua 6… Proclaim Aloud the Victory Just as we have been delivered from the world, the people of Israel had been freed from the bondage of Egypt. After wandering for forty years in the wilderness, they were now ready to move and possess their possessions, to take the Land of Promisea picture of the Spirit-filled life. But what happened? When they crossed the Jordan River, there before them stood the walled city of Jerichoa city that seemed absolutely impregnable. God said to Joshua, “I want you to pull down this stronghold in a way that’s going to surprise younot by catapult, not by dynamite, not by atomic power. I want you and the people to march around the city once a day for six days.” So Joshua and the Israelitesperhaps three million in numbermarched around the city once a day. And as they did, no doubt they saw just how strong the walls were and how impossible the situation seemed. On the seventh day, they were to march around Jericho seven times, the seventh of which they were to shout audibly. This didn’t make a lot of sense logically. But shout they did. And as they did, something amazing happened. The walls of Jericho that so intimidated them came down. The principle is essential. If we want to see the strongholds that keep us from experiencing God’s blessing and promises brought down, the first thing we must understand is that they will be pulled down by audibly proclaiming victory. God knows the power of the citadel that threatens you. Therefore, He doesn’t ask you to deny its reality. Rather, He asks you to proclaim aloud the victory. Proclaim ye this among the Gentiles; Prepare war, wake up the mighty men, let all the men of war draw near; let them come up: Beat your plowshares into swords, and your pruninghooks into spears: let the weak say, I am strong.Joe_3:9-10 Don’t talk about your sickness, your weakness, your discouragement, or your despondency. Don’t talk about that which perpetuates your problems. Instead, speak out the promises of Scripture. When you were saved, you confessed with your mouth that Jesus is Lord (Rom_10:9). The prerequisite for victory is the same as for salvation… For this commandment which I command thee this day, it is not hidden from thee, neither is it far off. But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it.Deu_30:11, Deu_30:14 This passage speaks not only of salvation, but about liberation and blessing… That then the LORD thy God will turn thy captivity, and have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the LORD thy God hath scattered thee.Deu_30:3 Do you feel scattered, unstable, and as though you’re spread too thin? The Lord promises to pull in the reins, to bring us into a “togetherness.” And the LORD thy God will bring thee into the land which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers.Deu_30:5 Do you feel disenfranchised, that good is not happening to you? God promises to bring you to the land and do good to you… And the LORD thy God will make thee plenteous in every work of thine hand, in the fruit of thy body, and in the fruit of thy cattle, and in the fruit of thy land, for good: for the LORD will again rejoice over thee for good, as he rejoiced over thy fathers.Deu_30:9 Over and over in this chapter promises are given to help us out, to free us up. The stipulation? Obedience and the proclamation of God’s Word. What has been your conversation the past week, month, or year? Have your words been those of doubt and discouragement, despondency and despair? Have you said, “This is never going to work. That job will never open up. I’ll never get well. I’m destined for loneliness and poverty”? As long as that is what is spoken from your lips, Jericho will loom over you menacingly. It’s when you finally speak out the promises of Scripture that Jericho will fall before you. Am I suggesting you “Name It and Claim It”? No. I’m not suggesting we make our own reality. I’m reminding us that if we draw nigh to God through the glorious promises of His Word, He will indeed draw nigh to us (Jas_4:8). Plow Away Diligently Not only are we to proclaim aloud the victory, but we are to plow away diligently. The Midianites controlled the people of Israel with such a heavy hand that Gideon sifted his wheat in a cave in order to avoid detection. Then God came to him and said, “The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor” (Jdg_6:12). I love this! Here’s a guy hiding in a cave, worried that someone might see himand yet the Lord views him not in his present weakness, but in his potential greatness. That’s always the way of the Lord. “If You’re real, God, how come Your people are having such problems?” asked Gideon. “Why aren’t we seeing miracles happen?” “Here’s the way to victory,” God said. “Take your dad’s two oxen and pull down the stronghold, the image, the idol that has been erected in your land, which has been worshiped by your family.” So Gideon took ten men and did just that (Jdg_6:27). What does this mean for you and me? It means there comes a time when we have to say, “It might take ten men, ten days, ten yearsbut I’ll plow away. I’ll come to church on Wednesdays. I’ll go to a Bible study on Tuesdays. I’ll attend a prayer meeting on Thursdays. Ten being the number of completion, I’m going to keep on plowing away until the image is pulled down.” And as you continue to plow through the Scriptures day after day, book by book, chapter by chapter, line upon line, precept upon precept, something happens. As you plow away, the images, the strongholds begin to topple. People might say, “You’ve been going to Bible study for fifteen years. Why do you keep going?” But wise is the man or woman who understands that once he gives up, once she quits plowing, the images will return and take control once again. I believe that anyone who will proclaim aloud the victory and plow away diligently will see once-formidable strongholds fall. “I’ve tried that,” you say. “I’ve tried speaking the Word, even shouting it at times. And I’ve been plowing through the Scriptures consistentlybut nothing seems to be working.” Consider the following… Sandi Anderson, a lady who runs a relief agency in Zaire grew up a child of missionaries in that region. When she was about eight years old, there was a big celebration in Zaire, commemorating the one hundredth anniversary of the arrival of the Evangelical Christian Missionary Alliancea ministry God used to save virtually 80 percent of the people in the region. During the celebration, a very old man stood up and said, “I must speak. I am one hundred three years old. I am the last person who was alive in those days when your missionaries first came to our land. I have knowledge of a situation, the story of which will be lost if I don’t share it.” Given permission, he continued. “When your missionaries came, they told us how to live. We thought their message was strange. We wanted to know if what they said was true, and we knew the only way to find out was to see how they would die. So we began poisoning them and their children one by one.” Indeed, it was true that within the first twelve years, every single one of the original missionaries and their children died mysteriously. “When the last one died, we held a council meeting and determined that there was something real about your faith, something real about your Godnot because the missionaries told us how to live, but because we saw the way they died.” This story is incredible to menot only because this group of brave missionaries lived out their faith through pain and suffering so powerfully that an entire tribal group was convertedbut because of the fact that no one knew about this for one hundred years. Why is your ordeal continuing? Could it be that people are watching you, that God is allowing you to be an example of a man or woman who keeps plowing away, who keeps proclaiming the victory, even though the situation doesn’t change outwardly? Could it be that by your proclaiming and plowing, greater victory than you ever imagined will one day be yours? I think so. If you despair, whine, and complain, the Enemy will have a field day with you. But if you say, “Jericho’s going down as I proclaim the Word. Baal’s going to bail as I plow through the Scriptures day after day,” you will see God not only free you, but impact those watching you.

2 Corinthians 10:6

“We’ll keep fighting on your behalf until you Corinthians grow into spiritual maturity, for that’s our ministry,” declares Paul.

2 Corinthians 10:7

There were those in Corinth who said, “We are Christ’s, but Paul is nothing.” To them, Paul maintains that he is Christ’s as well. In 1Co_4:5, Paul had warned about judging people prematurely, before the day when all things will come to light at the bema seat, the award stand of Christ. I often think about this. At the judgment seat of Christ, the beauty, power, and importance of the beautiful, powerful, important people will evaporate. On the other hand, those who, like Paul, although they were unimpressive physically, or unknown socially, cultivated a deep and meaningful walk with Jesus will be beautiful throughout eternity. There are people now who physically, mentally, financially seem to be nothing. But in secrecy they have developed an intimacy with the Lord.

Right now, they’re proverbial ugly ducklings. They don’t fit in; they’re not acknowledged. But in that day, they will be beautiful swans. What a day it will be when those people who have been plugging away and seeking God rather than getting the breaks in this world will hear Jesus say to them, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter in to the joy of the Lord” (see Mat_25:21).

2 Corinthians 10:8

“Although I don’t want to, I’ll have to boast here a bit,” says Paul. “We don’t seek to have dominion over you, but are helpers of your joy,” Paul had said in chapter 1 (see 2Co_1:24). “The authority we claim is not to do anything other than to build you up and be helpers of your joy.”

2 Corinthians 10:9

“I’m going to talk to you firmly and straightforwardly so you won’t think I’m bluffing,” says Paul.

2 Corinthians 10:10

Perhaps the word “contemptible” refers to Paul’s high-pitched voice. Or perhaps, like Moses, Paul stuttered. Either way, his enemies made fun of his speaking style.

2 Corinthians 10:11

There were those who, comparing themselves with one another, put themselves in the top ten and Paul at the bottom of the heap. But, under the inspiration of the Spirit, Paul says measuring ourselves against one another is unwise. Why? Measuring yourself against another will do one of two things. It will either puff you up or pull you down. You can always find someone seemingly less spiritual than you. And when you do, you’ll be puffed up by pride. You can also find people seemingly more spiritual than you. Yet trying to emulate them leads only to frustration.

2 Corinthians 10:13

“We don’t stretch ourselves beyond the parameter that God has placed around us,” declared Paul. As believers, yes, we should be stretched. Yes, we should go for it in faith. But concerning his own ministry, Paul says, “We do not stretch ourselves beyond that which we’ve been called to do.” Happy is the man and wise the woman who understands what God has given him or her to do and who devotes himself or herself to doing that wholeheartedly without stepping into other areas to which God has not called them. Such was not the case with those who were eager to speak against Paul in Corinth, even as they “piggybacked” on the work he had already done.

2 Corinthians 10:17

“Our glorying lies simply in doing what we’re supposed to do,” said Paul. “Our glorying is in the Lord. And that is where your glory should be as well.”