2 Corinthians 10

Paul Defends His Ministry

How does Paul entreat himself to the Corinthians? (verse 1)

How is Paul when he is face to face with the Corinthians? (verse 1)

How is Paul when he is away? (verse 1)

Who would Paul count on showing boldness to? (verse 2)

Are we waging war according to the flesh? (verse 3)

Are the weapons of our warfare of the flesh? (verse 4)

What power do our weapons of warfare have? (verse 4-6)

What is destroyed (verse 4-5)

What is taken captive to obey Christ? (verse 5)

What is the response to disobedience in verse 6?

What should someone who si confident that he is in Christ remind himself of? (verse 7)

Why did the Lord give authority in verse 8? 

What is not a reason why the Lord gave authority in verse 8?

What effect does Paul not want to have with his letters? (verse 9)

What does Paul do when he is present? (verse 10-11)

Are people with understanding when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another? (verse 12)

What will Paul not boast beyond? (verse 13)

What will Paul boast in regard to? (verse 13)

Who was first to come all the way to the Corinthians with the gospel of Christ? (verse 14)

What does Paul not boast in? (verse 15)

What is Paul's hope regarding the faith of the Corinthians and their area of influence? (verse 15-16)

How would the gospel be preaching in the lands beyond the Corinthians? (verse 16)

“Let the one who boasts, boast in _____ _______.” - verse 1

Is the one who commends himself approved? (verse 18)

Who is approved? (verse 18)

Interpretation

What would cause Paul to act with boldness while present? (verse 2)

What is righteous boasting? (verse 17, Jeremiah 9:24)

Thoughts

“Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” - verse 17 references Jeremiah 9:24

Jeremiah 9:24 

but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

Jeremiah 9 

 [a] Oh that my head were waters,
    and my eyes a fountain of tears,
that I might weep day and night
    for the slain of the daughter of my people!
 [b] Oh that I had in the desert
    a travelers' lodging place,
that I might leave my people
    and go away from them!
For they are all adulterers,
    a company of treacherous men.
 They bend their tongue like a bow;
    falsehood and not truth has grown strong[c] in the land;
for they proceed from evil to evil,
    and they do not know me, declares the Lord.

 Let everyone beware of his neighbor,
    and put no trust in any brother,
for every brother is a deceiver,
    and every neighbor goes about as a slanderer.
 Everyone deceives his neighbor,
    and no one speaks the truth;
they have taught their tongue to speak lies;
    they weary themselves committing iniquity.
 Heaping oppression upon oppression, and deceit upon deceit,
    they refuse to know me, declares the Lord.

 Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Behold, I will refine them and test them,
    for what else can I do, because of my people?
 Their tongue is a deadly arrow;
    it speaks deceitfully;
with his mouth each speaks peace to his neighbor,
    but in his heart he plans an ambush for him.
 Shall I not punish them for these things? declares the Lord,
    and shall I not avenge myself
    on a nation such as this?

 “I will take up weeping and wailing for the mountains,
    and a lamentation for the pastures of the wilderness,
because they are laid waste so that no one passes through,
    and the lowing of cattle is not heard;
both the birds of the air and the beasts
    have fled and are gone.
 I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins,
    a lair of jackals,
and I will make the cities of Judah a desolation,
    without inhabitant.”

 Who is the man so wise that he can understand this? To whom has the mouth of the Lordspoken, that he may declare it? Why is the land ruined and laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through? And the Lord says: “Because they have forsaken my law that I set before them, and have not obeyed my voice or walked in accord with it,  but have stubbornly followed their own hearts and have gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them. Therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will feed this people with bitter food, and give them poisonous water to drink. I will scatter them among the nations whom neither they nor their fathers have known, and I will send the sword after them, until I have consumed them.”

 Thus says the Lord of hosts:
“Consider, and call for the mourning women to come;
    send for the skillful women to come;
 let them make haste and raise a wailing over us,
    that our eyes may run down with tears
    and our eyelids flow with water.
 For a sound of wailing is heard from Zion:
    ‘How we are ruined!
    We are utterly shamed,
because we have left the land,
    because they have cast down our dwellings.’”

 Hear, O women, the word of the Lord,
    and let your ear receive the word of his mouth;
teach to your daughters a lament,
    and each to her neighbor a dirge.
 For death has come up into our windows;
    it has entered our palaces,
cutting off the children from the streets
    and the young men from the squares.
 Speak: “Thus declares the Lord,
‘The dead bodies of men shall fall
    like dung upon the open field,
like sheaves after the reaper,
    and none shall gather them.’”

 Thus says the Lord: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches,  but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the Lord who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the Lord.”

 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will punish all those who are circumcised merely in the flesh—  Egypt, Judah, Edom, the sons of Ammon, Moab, and all who dwell in the desert who cut the corners of their hair, for all these nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised in heart.”

Footnotes:

1. Jeremiah 9:1 Ch 8:23 in Hebrew
2. Jeremiah 9:2 Ch 9:1 in Hebrew
3. Jeremiah 9:3 Septuagint; Hebrew and not for truth they have grown strong

by the meekness and gentleness of Christ - verse 1

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

We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. - verse 5-6

For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends. - verse 18 

Give diligence to present thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, handling aright the word of truth. - 2 Timothy 2:15

In context,

2 Timothy 2 

A Good Soldier of Christ Jesus

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,[a] who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory.  The saying is trustworthy, for:

If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—

for he cannot deny himself.

A Worker Approved by God

 Remind them of these things, and charge them before God[b] not to quarrel about words, which does no good, but only ruins the hearers.  Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved,[c] a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth. But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness,  and their talk will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus,  who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some. But God's firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.”

Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable,[d] he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.

So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant[e] must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.

Footnotes:

1. 2 Timothy 2:2 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and women, depending on the context
2. 2 Timothy 2:14 Some manuscripts the Lord
3. 2 Timothy 2:15 That is, one approved after being tested
4. 2 Timothy 2:21 Greek from these things
5. 2 Timothy 2:24 For the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface

You then, my child, be strengthened by the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also. Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. An athlete is not crowned unless he competes according to the rules. It is the hard-working farmer who ought to have the first share of the crops. Think over what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything.

Matthew 6:22

“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light,

Matthew 6:33 

But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Matthew 6:25-34 

Do Not Be Anxious

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?  And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?[a] And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Footnotes:

1. Matthew 6:27 Or a single cubit to his stature; a cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters

2 Corinthians 10 

Paul Defends His Ministry

10 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. 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 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, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

7 Look at what is before your eyes. If anyone is confident that he is Christ's, let him remind himself that just as he is Christ's, so also are we. 8 For even if I boast a little too much of our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for destroying you, I will not be ashamed. 9 I do not want to appear to be frightening you with my letters. 10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.” 11 Let such a person understand that what we say by letter when absent, we do when present. 12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.

13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you. 14 For we are not overextending ourselves, as though we did not reach you. For we were the first to come all the way to you with the gospel of Christ. 15 We do not boast beyond limit in the labors of others. But our hope is that as your faith increases, our area of influence among you may be greatly enlarged, 16 so that we may preach the gospel in lands beyond you, without boasting of work already done in another's area of influence. 17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.