1. 2 CORITHIAS 10 COMMETARYEdited by Glenn PeaseITRODUCTIO1. Calvin wrote, Having finished his exhortation, he now proceeds partly to refutethe calumnies with which he had been defamed by the false apostles, and partly torepress the insolence. The insolence and audacity. of certain wicked persons, whocould not bear to be under restraint. Both parties, with the view of destroying Paulsauthority, construed the vehemence with which he thundered in his Epistles to be (mere bravado,) The boldness of a braggadocio. is acompound of ( boldness ) and ( timidity. ) because when present hewas not equally prepared to show himself off in respect of appearance, and address,but was mean and contemptible. See, said they, here is a man, that, under aconsciousness of his inferiority, is so very modest and timid, but now, when at adistance, makes a fierce attack! Why is he less bold in speech than in letters? Will heterrify us, when he is at a distance, who, when present, is the object of contempt?How comes he to have such confidence as to imagine, that he is at liberty to doanything with us? That he thinks he has entire authority over us. They putspeeches of this kind into circulation, with the view of disparaging his strictness, andeven rendering it odious. Paul replies, that he is not bold except in so far as he isconstrained by necessity, and that the meanness of his bodily presence, for which hewas held in contempt, detracted nothing from his authority, inasmuch as he wasdistinguished by spiritual excellence, not by carnal show. Hence those would notpass with impunity, who derided either his exhortations, or his reproaches, or histhreatening. The words I myself are emphatic; as though he had said, that howeverthe malevolent might blame him for inconstancy, he was in reality not changeable,but remained uniformly the same.2. Henry wrote, There was no place in which the apostle Paul met with moreopposition from false apostles than at Corinth; he had many enemies there. Let notany of the ministers of Christ think it strange if they meet with perils, not only fromenemies, but from false brethren; for blessed Paul himself did so. Though he was soblameless and inoffensive in all his carriage, so condescending and useful to all, yetthere were those who bore him ill-will, who envied him, and did all they could toundermine him, and lesson his interest and reputation. Therefore he vindicateshimself from their imputation, and arms the Corinthians against their insinuations.In this chapter the apostle, in a mild and humble manner, asserts the power of hispreaching, and to punish offenders, 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 . He then proceeds toreason the case with the Corinthians, asserting his relation to Christ, and his

2. authority as an apostle of Christ (2 Corinthians 10:7-11 ), and refuses to justifyhimself, or to act by such rules as the false teachers did, but according to the betterrules he had fixed for himself, 2 Corinthians 10:12-18 .Paul's Defense of His Ministry1. By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, Iappeal to youI, Paul, who am timid whenface to face with you, but bold when away!1. Jamison, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ--He mentions these graces ofChrist especially (Ps 18:35; Mt 11:29 ), as on account of his imitation of them inparticular he was despised [GROTIUS]. He entreats them by these, in order to showthat though he must have recourse to more severe measures, he is naturally inclinedto gentle ones after Christ's example [MEOCHIUS]. Meekness is more in themind internally; gentleness in the external behavior, and in relation to others; forinstance, the condescending yieldingness of a superior to an inferior, the former notinsisting on his strict rights [TRECH]. BEGEL explains it, By the meeknessand gentleness derived by me from Christ, not from my own nature: he objects tounderstanding it of Christ's meekness and gentleness, since nowhere else isgentleness attributed to Him. But though the exact Greek word is not applied toHim, the idea expressed by it is (compare Isa 40:11; Mt 12:19, 20 ). in presence--inpersonal appearance when present with you. base--Greek, lowly; timid, humblydiffident: opposed to bold. Am stands here by ironical concession for amreputed to be (compare 2Co10:10 ).2. Robertson, By the meekness and gentleness of Christ (dia tev prauthtov kaiepieikiav tou Xristou). This appeal shows (Plummer) that Paul had spoken to theCorinthians about the character of Christ. Jesus claimed meekness for himself(Matthew 11:29 ) and felicitated the meek (Matthew 5:5 ) and he exemplified itabundantly (Luke 23:34 ). See on Matthew 5:15 ; 1 Corinthians 4:21 for this greatword that has worn thin with us. Plutarch combines prauthv with epieikia as Pauldoes here. Matthew Arnold suggested sweet reasonableness for epieikeia in Plato,Aristotle, Plutarch. It is in the .T. only here and Acts 24:4 (to epieikev inPhilippians 4:5 ). In Greek Ethics the equitable man was called epieikhv , a manwho does not press for the last farthing of his rights (Bernard). Lowly among you(tapeinov en umin). The bad use of tapeinov , the old use, but here alone in .T. in 3. that meaning. Socrates and Aristotle used it for littleness of soul. Probably Paul hereis quoting one of the sneers of his traducers in Corinth about his humble conductwhile with them (1Co 2:23; 2 Corinthians 7:6 ) and his boldness (apwn tarrw) whenaway (1 Corinthians 7:16 ). It was easy to satirize and misrepresent a depression ofspirits, a humility of demeanour, which were either the direct results of some bodilyaffliction, or which the consciousness of this affliction had rendered habitual(Farrar). The words stung Paul to the quick.3. Gill, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, not to regard their reproaches,and join with them in them; for did they but consider the meek and gentledeportment of Christ, so worthy of his and their imitation, they would see there wasno reason to reflect on him for that part of his conduct, in which he followed hisLord and master; whose meekness was to be seen in the assumption of humannature, in the whole of his life and conversation, and in his sufferings and death;and his gentleness of Spirit to be observed in his coming into this world, not tojudge and condemn it, but that the world might be saved; in bearing all indignitiesand insults, without being provoked to wrath and revenge; in rebuking his disciplesfor the severity of their spirits, declaring he came to save, and not take away thelives of men; in praying for his enemies, and in his silence under all the ill treatmenthe met with from the worst of men. As the apostle had this excellent example beforehim, which served both to regulate his conduct, and support him under the hardmeasures he met with, so he was desirous to direct others to the observance of it,which might be a check upon the ill usage of him. He here speaks of himself in thelanguage of his adversaries, who meant by these characters to expose him to scornand contempt: I Paul myself; whose name the false teachers played upon, itsignifying little; and he being of little stature, they reproached him for it, andwould insinuate, that as his name was little, and his person mean, his bodilypresence weak, and his speech contemptible, that he had a little soul, was a man ofsmall knowledge, mean parts, and a very insignificant minister. ow it is as if theapostle should say, I am not ashamed of my name, nor of my person, and I amwilling to own myself the least of the apostles, yea, less than the least of all saints;but I beg of you by the mild and gentle Spirit of my Lord and master, whom I amnot ashamed to imitate, that you would not join in those sneers. I am Paul, (autov) ,the same in my principles and practice, in my doctrine and life, when present andabsent; though my enemies say the contrary, as that I am such an one,who in presence am base,or humble among you: they suggested, that when he was at Corinth he washumble and modest in his conversation, mild and gentle in all his expressions and 4. deportment; and which they interpreted of a meanness and baseness of spirit, asthough he crept and cringed to curry favour with men, to avoid offence, and gainand keep an interest among them:but being absent, am bold toward you;wrote blustering, hectoring, terrifying letters, threatening to come with his apostolicrod and deliver them up to Satan, to fright them into a compliance with him.4. Clarke, He seems to quote these as the words of his calumniator, as if he had said;This apostle of yours is a mere braggadocio; when he is among you, you know howbase and contemptible he is; when absent, see how he brags and boasts. The word, which we render base, signifies lowly, and, as some think, short ofstature. The insinuation is, that when there was danger or opposition at hand, St.Paul acted with great obsequiousness, fearing for his person and authority, lest heshould lose his secular influence.5. Barnes, ow I Paul myself beseech you - I entreat you who are members of thechurch not to give me occasion for the exercise of severity in discipline. I have justexpressed my confidence in the church in general, and my belief that you will act inaccordance with the rules of the gospel. But I cannot thus speak of all. There aresome among you who have spoken with contempt of my authority and my claims asan apostle. Of them I cannot speak in this manner; but instead of commanding themI entreat them not to give me occasion for the exercise of discipline.By the meekness and gentleness of Christ - In view of the meekness and mildnessof the Redeemer; or desiring to imitate his gentleness and kindness. Paul wished toimitate that. He did not wish to have occasion for severity. He desired at all times toimitate, and to exhibit the gentle feelings of the Saviour. He had no pleasure inseverity; and he did not desire to exhibit it.Who in presence - Margin, In outward appearance. It may either mean that whenpresent among them he appeared, according to their representation, to be humble,mild, gentle 2Co_10:10; or that in his external appearance he had this aspect; see on2Co_10:10. Most probably it means that they had represented him, as timid whenamong them, and afraid to exercise discipline, however much he had threatened it.Am base among you - The word used here ( tapeinos) usuallymeans low, humble, poor. Here it means timid, modest, the opposite of boldness.Such was formerly the meaning of the English word base. It was applied to those oflow degree or rank; of humble birth; and stood opposed to those of elevated rank ordignity. ow it is commonly used to denote that which is degraded or worthless; ofmean spirit; vile; and stands opposed to that which is manly and noble. But Paul didnot mean to use it here in that sense. He meant to say that they regarded him astimid and afraid to execute the punishment which he had threatened, and asmanifesting a spirit which was the opposite of boldness. This was doubtless a chargewhich they brought against him; but we are not necessarily to infer that it was true.All that it proves is, that he was modest and unobtrusive, and that they interpreted 5. this as timidity and lack of spirit.But being absent am bold toward you - That is, in my letters; see on 2Co_10:10. Thisthey charged him with, that he was bold enough when away from them, but that hewould be tame enough when he should meet them face to face, and that they hadnothing to fear from him.6. Henry, ote, When we find ourselves tempted or inclined to be rough and severetowards any body, we should think of the meekness and gentleness of Christ, thatappeared in him in the days of his flesh, in the design of his undertaking, and in allthe acts of his grace towards poor souls. How humbly also does this great apostlespeak of himself, as one in presence base among them! So his enemies spoke of himwith contempt, and he seems to acknowledge it; while others thought meanly, andspoke scornfully of him, he had low thoughts of himself, and spoke humbly ofhimself. ote, We should be sensible of our own infirmities, and think humbly ofourselves, even when men reproach us for them.7. Calvin, I exhort you. The speech is abrupt, as is frequently the case withspeeches uttered under the influence of strong feeling. The meaning is this: Ibeseech you, nay more, I earnestly entreat you by the gentleness of Christ, not tocompel me, through your obstinacy, to be more severe than I would desire to be, andthan I will be, towards those who despise me, on the ground of my having nothingexcellent in external appearance, and do not recognize that spiritual excellence, withwhich the Lord has distinguished me, and by which I ought rather to be judged of.Editors of Calvin, Learn of me, says he, for I am meek and lowly.My yoke iseasy and my burden is light.(Matthew 11:29, 30 .) The Prophet also says of him,His voice will not be heard in the streets: a bruised reed he shall not break, etc.(Isaiah 42:2, 3 .)That gentleness, therefore, which Christ showed, he requiresalso from his servants. Paul, in making mention of it, intimates that he is nostranger to it. He is no stranger to the practice of it. I earnestly beseech younot to despise that gentleness, which Christ showed us in his own person, andshows us every day in his servants, nay more, which ye see in me. Who inpresence He repeats this, as if in the person of his adversaries, by way ofimitating them. By imitating the speeches that they uttered respecting him.ow he confesses, so far as words go, what they upbraided him with, yet, as weshall see, in such a way as to concede nothing to them in reality.8. Intervarsity Press, Paul Tackles His Opponents: Paul rarely identifies himself byname in the body of his letters (2 Cor 10:1; Gal 5:2; Eph 3:1; Col 1:23; 1 Thess 2:18;Philem 9 are the sole exceptions). When he does, it inevitably carries specialsignificance. I, Paul, . . . beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as Iexpect to be (10:1-2). This rather startling comment at 10:1 marks the transition tothe last of the letter's three major sections (1:1--7:16; 8:1--9:15; 10:1--13:13[14]). 6. Indeed, so startling is Paul's statement, coming after his plea for the Corinthians'affection (chapter 6), his expressions of joy and confidence (chapter 7) and hisfundraising appeal (chapters 8--9), that many today find it hard to believe that 1:1--9:15 and 10:1--13:13 originally coexisted in the same letter.This is not the only difficulty. There are other aspects of chapters 10--13 that seemto be at odds with the rest of the letter. For one, Paul's remarks about his criticsbecome much more pointed and strident. The some who peddle the word of Godfor profit (2:17) and carry letters of recommendation (3:1-3) are now called falseapostles, deceitful workmen and [Satan's] servants (11:13-15) who are out toenslave, exploit and slap the Corinthians in the face (11:20). Also, Paul's defensebecomes much more impassioned: What anyone else dares to boast about . . . I alsodare to boast about (11:21)--so much so that he admits to being out of his mind totalk as he is doing (11:23). Moreover, his tone is marked by biting sarcasm andscathing irony (for example, 11:19: You gladly put up with fools since you are sowise!). Indeed, translations average six exclamation points in rendering the Greekof chapters 10--12. Finally, Paul's attitude toward the Corinthians becomesthreatening: On my return, he warns, I will not spare those who sinned earlier(13:2). Examine yourselves, he commands, to see whether you are in the faith(13:5; see the introduction).2. I beg you that when I come I may not have tobe as bold as I expect to be toward some peoplewho think that we live by the standards of thisworld.1. Clarke, As it is customary for cowards and overbearing men to threaten the weakand the timid when present; to bluster when absent; and to be very obsequious in thepresence of the strong and courageous. This conduct they appear to have chargedagainst the apostle, which he calls here walking after the flesh- acting as a man whohad worldly ends in view, and would use any means in order to accomplish them.2. Guzik, I intend to be bold against some: Some reminds us that we shouldn'tthink that all the Corinthian Christians had a bad opinion or Paul. It may have beenmerely a vocal minority.3. GILL, But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present,.... Thatis, he entreated them that they would so behave for the future, that he might have no 7. occasion, when he came among them, to use that power and authority they calledboldness, which he had received from Christ for edification, and not destruction; as forthat asperity and roughness with which he wrote, and which was thought to be toosevere, it was in order to reclaim them, and so prevent that sharpness he wasempowered by Christ to use: for though he had said in his former epistle, 1Co_4:21shall I come unto you with a rod or in love? and in the spirit of meekness? he chose tocome in the latter, rather than with the former; namely, notwith that confidence wherewith, says he,I think to be bold: by confidence he means the faith of miracles he was possessed of,and particularly the power he, and other apostles had, of striking dead or blindincorrigible offenders, or of delivering them to Satan to undergo some corporealpunishment; which he had been thinking of, and reasoning about in his own mind, andwas almost come to a conclusion concerning it, to inflict it upon, and with it to be bold,against some which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh; whonot barely thought so within themselves, but reasoned the matter with others, and wouldfain persuade them to believe that they did walk in a carnal manner; not that they hadthe face to say, that they walked after the dictates of corrupt nature, or lived in open viceand profaneness; but that they walked in craftiness, had their conversation in the worldwith fleshly wisdom, seeking their own worldly interest and secular advantage; which isdenied by the apostle, 2Co_1:12 and was the real case, and true picture of the falseteachers themselves.4. Henry, He is desirous that no occasion may be given to use severity,2 Corinthians 10:2 . He beseeches them to give no occasion for him to be bold, or toexercise his authority against them in general, as he had resolved to do against somewho unjustly charged him as walking according to the flesh, that is, regulating hisconduct, even in his ministerial actions, according to carnal policy or with worldlyviews. This was what the apostle had renounced, and this is contrary to the spiritand design of the gospel, and was far from being the aim and design of the apostle.5. Barnes, That I may not be bold - I entreat you so to act that I may not haveoccasion to exercise the severity which I fear I shall be compelled to use againstthose who accuse me of being governed wholly by worldly motives and policy. Inother words, that I may not be compelled to be bold and decisive in my measures byyour improper conduct.Which think of us - Margin, reckon. They suppose this; or, they accuse me of it.By the word us here Paul means himself, though it is possible also that he speaksin the name of his fellow apostles and laborers who were associated with him, andthe objections may have referred to all who acted with him.As if we walked - As if we lived or acted. The word walk in the Scriptures is oftenused to denote the course or manner of life; see the Rom_4:12, note; 2Co_5:7, note.According to the flesh - see the note on 2Co_1:17. As if we were governed by theweak and corrupt principles of human nature. As if we had no higher motive thancarnal and worldly policy. As if we were seeking our own advantage and not the 8. welfare of the world. The charge was, probably, that he was not governed by highand holy principles, but by the principles of mere worldly policy; that he was guidedby personal interests, and by worldly views - by ambition, or the love of dominion,wealth, or popularity, and that he was destitute of every supernatural endowmentand every evidence of a divine commission.6. Calvin, Some think, that the discourse is incomplete, and that he does notexpress the matter of his request. And the meaning would be, I beseech you, inorder that I may not have occasion to use boldness. I am rather of opinion,however, that what was wanting in the former clause is here completed, so that it isa general exhortation. Show yourselves docile and tractable towards me, that I maynot be constrained to be more severe. It is the duty of a good pastor to allure hissheep peacefully and kindly, that they may allow themselves to be governed, ratherthan to constrain them by violence. Severity, it is true, is, I acknowledge, sometimesnecessary, but we must always set out with gentleness, and persevere in it, so long asthe hearer shews himself tractable. Teachable and tractable. Severity must be thelast resource. We must, says he, try all methods, before having recourse to rigor;nay more, let us never be rigorous, unless we are constrained to it. In the meantime, as to their reckoning themselves pusillanimous and timid, when he had tocome to close quarters, he intimates that they were mistaken as to this, when hedeclares that he will stoutly resist face to face the contumacious The rebellious andobstinate. They despise me, says he, as if I were a pusillanimous person, butthey will find that I am braver and more courageous than they could have wished,when they come to contend in good earnest. From this we see, when it is time to actwith severity after we have found, on trial being made, that allurements andmildness have no good effect. I shall do it with reluctance, says Paul, but still Ihave determined to do it. Here is an admirable medium; for as we must, in so far asis in our power, draw men rather than drive them, so, when mildness has no effect, indealing with those that are stern and refractory, rigor must of necessity be resortedto: otherwise it will not be moderation, nor equableness of temper, but criminalcowardice.Who account of us. Erasmus renders it Those who think that we walk, as itwere, according to the flesh. The Old Interpreter came nearer, in my opinion,to Pauls true meaning. (Those who think of us as though we walkedaccording to the flesh; Wiclif (1380) renders it: that demen (i.e., judge ) us as if we wandren aftir the fleisch. Tyndale (1534,) Cranmer (1539,) andGeneva (1557,) read as follows: which repute us as though we walkedcarnally. Rheims (1582) which thinke us as though we walke according tothe flesh. Ed. ) though, at the same time, the phrase is not exactly inaccordance with the Latin idiom, nor does it altogether bring out the Apostlesfull meaning. For is taken here to mean reckoning oresteeming. The sense is, I entreat, I say, that I may not have to be bold when I 9. am present, with that confidence, wherewith I intend to be bold against certain,who regard me as walking after the flesh, i.e., guided by worldly principles.There seems to be a paraniomasia in and, which, if introduced into English, may perhaps bebest expressed by reckon. Bloomfield. Ed. They think of us, saysPaul, or they take this view of us, as though we walked according to the flesh.To walk according to the flesh, Chrysostom explains to mean actingunfaithfully, or conducting ones self improperly in his office; or is italtogether with propriety, in my opinion, that Chrysostom has explained, as if the Apostle were accused on this ground that hewas not led by the Spirit of God, but by the depraved affections of the flesh. Beza Ed. and, certainly, it is taken in this sense in various instances inPauls writings. The term flesh, however, I rather understand to mean outward pomp or show, by which alone the false Apostles are accustomed torecommend themselves. Paul, therefore, complains of the unreasonableness ofthose who looked for nothing in him except the flesh, that is, visibleappearance, as they speak, or in the usual manner of persons who devote alltheir efforts to ambition. For as Paul did not by any means excel in suchendowments, as ordinarily procure praise or reputation among the children ofthis world, (Luke 16:8 ,) he was despised as though he had been one of thecommon herd. But by whom? But who are those that despised him thus?Certainly, by the ambitious, who estimated him from mere appearance, whilethey paid no regard to what lay concealed within.7. ow what some in Corinth did was to confuse his meekness with cowardice andPaul in this verse and following warned them not to push him to the place where hehad to implement his apostolic authority in their presence. Or as Wesley states: Ibeseech you not to compel me when present to make a bold display of the confidencewith which I reckon I shall show my courage against some who reckon that we areguided by worldly principles. In this verse however, Paul made it clear that when hedid come back to Corinth, which this letter preceded his journey, he DID intent tobe very courageous towards the some even if they would think that he was actingas if he were in the flesh because he would use his apostolic power to deal with them.ow as to the words, as if we were walked (should be walking) according to theflesh, many men disagree to the nuances of the meaning. Some say that Paul wasbeing described simply as a worldly man, a man who used carnal tactics toaccomplish his goals and that is a good interpretation. I take a more radicalapproach and believe that the accusers were saying that more than that. I believethat they were saying that Paul was a lost individual, that he was a man who wasjust another of the religious hucksters that blanketed the religious country side ofthe Corinthian culture. It would seem rather foolish for the false teachers to say asmuch hateful things against Paul and then say that he was a saved man, but just aswayward from the truth in his teaching, motives and behavior as all of the otherhucksters in the land. To me that makes no sense at all. The slander was cruel and 10. merciless. Its design was to destroy, not to produce sympathy. Its intent was tosever, to end the relationship that Paul had with the church at Corinth, not just hurtit a little. They wanted Paul gone from their affections and spiritual life. I believethat a failure to see this as the motives for those who slander is in great part thechurchs failure to deal properly with false teachers are trouble-makers. It seems tome that the prevailing mentality by many today is that there seems to be someredeeming quality when the bible clearly spells out their intent, and also how Godsees them. It is never favorable, and yet in spite of what the bible clearly teachesconcerning these people, very few people have the courage to stand against these evilpeople. Our failure to see people for who they really are, based on their actions andspeech, will indeed destroy the lives of many Christians and open doors for satansservants to infiltrate the church through their presence, their lies, as well as theirinfluence on duped believers. Paul said that he had every intention to deal withthose who failed to repent of their rebellion with the full God-ordained power thatwas his as an apostle. author unknown3For though we live in the world, we do not wagewar as the world does.1. Clarke, That is: Although I am in the common condition of human nature, andmust live as a human being, yet I do not war after the flesh-I do not act the cowardor the poltroon, as they insinuate. I have a good cause, a good captain, strength atwill, and courage at hand. I neither fear them nor their master.2. Guzik, For though we walk in the flesh: Paul will admit that he walks accordingto the flesh in the sense that we all do. He is a flesh and blood human being, and hestruggles with the same things the Corinthian Christians struggled with. But Paulwants to make it clear that he does not war according to the flesh.3. Jamison, For--Reason why they should regard him beseeching them (2Co 10:2) not to oblige him to have recourse to bold and stern exercise of authority. Wewalk I the flesh, and so in weakness: but not ACCORDIG TO the flesh (2Co10:2 ). Moreover, though we WALK in it, we do not WAR according to it. A doublecontrast or antithesis. They who accuse us of walking after the flesh, shall find [totheir cost] that we do not war after the flesh; therefore compel us not to use ourweapons [ALFORD].4. Calvin, For though we walk in the flesh. Walking in the flesh means hereliving it the world; or, as he expresses it elsewhere, being at home in the body. 11. (2 Corinthians 5:6 .) For he was shut up in the prison of his body. This,however, did not prevent the influence of the Holy Spirit from showing itselfmarvelously in his weakness. There is here again a kind of concession, which, atthe same time, is of no service to his adversaries.Those war according to the flesh, who attempt nothing but in dependence uponworldly resources, in which alone, too, they glory. They have not theirconfidence placed in the government and guidance of the Holy Spirit. Pauldeclares that he is not one of this class, inasmuch as he is furnished with otherweapons than those of the flesh and the world. ow, what he affirms respectinghimself is applicable, also, to all true ministers of Christ. All true servants andministers of Jesus Christ. For they carry an inestimable treasure in earthenvessels, as he had previously said. (2 Corinthians 4:7 .) Hence, however theymay be surrounded with the infirmities of the flesh, the spiritual power of God,nevertheless, shines forth resplendently in them.5. Henry, The power of his preaching, 2 Corinthians 10:3,5 . Here observe, (1.)The work of the ministry is a warfare, not after the flesh indeed, for it is aspiritual warfare, with spiritual enemies and for spiritual purposes. Andthough ministers walk in the flesh, or live in the body, and in the commonaffairs of life act as other men, yet in their work and warfare they must not goby the maxims of the flesh, nor should they design to please the flesh: this mustbe crucified with its affections and lusts; it must be mortified and kept under.(2.) The doctrines of the gospel and discipline of the church are the weapons ofthis warfare; and these are not carnal: outward force, therefore, is not themethod of the gospel, but strong persuasions, by the power of truth and themeekness of wisdom. A good argument this is against persecution forconscience' sake: conscience is accountable to God only; and people must bepersuaded to God and their duty, not driven by force of arms. And so theweapons of our warfare are mighty, or very powerful; the evidence of truth isconvincing and cogent. This indeed is through God, or owing to him, becausethey are his institutions, and accompanied with his blessing, which makes allopposition to fall before his victorious gospel. We may here observe, [1.] Whatopposition is made against the gospel by the powers of sin and Satan in thehearts of men. Ignorance, prejudices, beloved lusts, are Satan's strong-holds inthe souls of some; vain imaginations, carnal reasoning, and high thoughts, orproud conceits, in others, exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, that is,by these ways the devil endeavors to keep men from faith and obedience to thegospel, and secures his possession of the hearts of men, as his own house orproperty. But then observe, [2.] The conquest which the word of God gains.These strong-holds are pulled down by the gospel as the means, through thegrace and power of God accompanying it as the principal efficient cause. ote,The conversion of the soul is the conquest of Satan in that soul.6. Barnes, For though we walk in the flesh - Though we are mortal like other 12. people; though we dwell like them in mortal bodies, and necessarily must devotesome care to our temporal needs; and though, being in the flesh, we are conscious ofimperfections and frailties like others. The sense is, that he did not claim exemptionfrom the common needs and frailties of nature. The best of people are subject tothese needs and frailties; the best of people are liable to err.We do not war after the flesh - The warfare in which he was engaged was with sin,idolatry, and all forms of evil. He means that in conducting this he was not actuatedby worldly views or policy, or by such ambitious and interested aims as controlledthe people of this world. This refers primarily to the warfare in which Paul washimself engaged as an apostle; and the idea is, that he went forth as a soldier underthe great Captain of his salvation to fight his battles and to make conquests for him.A similar allusion occurs in 2Ti_2:3-4. It is true, however, that not only all ministers,but all Christians are engaged in a warfare; and it is equally true that they do notmaintain their conflict after the flesh, or on the principles which govern thepeople of this world. The warfare of Christians relates to the following points:(1) It is a warfare with the corrupt desires and sensual propensities of the heart;with eternal corruption and depravity, with the remaining unsubdued propensitiesof a fallen nature.(2) With the powers of darkness; the mighty spirits of evil that seek to destroy us;see Eph_6:11-17.(3) With sin in all forms; with idolatry, sensuality, corruption, intemperance,profaneness, wherever they may exist. The Christian is opposed to all these, and it isthe aim and purpose of his life as far as he may be able to resist and subdue them.He is a soldier enlisted under the banner of the Redeemer to oppose and resist allforms of evil. But his warfare is not conducted on worldly principles. Muhammedpropagated his religion with the sword; and the people of this world seek for victoryby arms and violence; The Christian looks for his conquests only by the force andthe power of truth, and by the agency of the Spirit of God.7. Gill, For though we walk in the flesh,.... The apostle removes the calumny ofwalking after the flesh, by owning that they were in the flesh, in the body, in a stateof imperfection, attended with many weaknesses and infirmities, and surroundedwith a variety of afflictions and sorrows; in this sense they were, and lived andwalked in the flesh; but then he denies the charge exhibited against them,we do not war after the flesh: every Christian's life is a warfare with Satan, and hisprincipalities and powers, with the world, the men and lusts of it, and with thecorruptions of their own hearts; and much more is the life of a minister of theGospel, who is called forth to meet the adversary in the gate; to stand in the hottestplace of the battle, and sustain the whole fire and artillery of the enemy; to fight thegood fight of faith, endure hardness as a good soldier of Christ, and with theweapons he is furnished with to war a good warfare: which is not done after theflesh; in such a manner as the men of the world wage war with one another; orupon carnal principles; or with carnal selfish views; or in a weak way and manner;but in a spiritual way, with all simplicity and disinterested views, with great courage 13. and intrepidity of mind.4.The weapons we fight with are not the weaponsof the world. On the contrary, they have divinepower to demolish strongholds.1. Guzik, In Ephesians 6, Paul lists the kind of spiritual weapons he did use: thebelt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel, the shield offaith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. To rely on these weaponstook faith in God instead of carnal methods. But truly, these weapons are mighty inGod for pulling down strongholds! Pulling down strongholds: Strongholds in thiscontext are wrong thoughts and perceptions, contradicting the true knowledge ofGod and the nature of God. These strongholds are expressed in arguments andevery high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.Redpath writes of a practical way to battle with spiritual weapons and break downa stronghold: When the thought comes and the person is reported to have saidwhat he has said, and the unkindness has been passed over to us, and the criticismhas been made, whereas carnality would say, 'Counterattack!' spiritualityrecognizes that nothing that any person could ever say about any one of is really onehundredth part as bad as the truth if he only knew it. Therefore, we have no reasonto counterattack, but one good reason to submit and to forget.Arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God:Carnal, worldly ways of thinking and doing are arguments against the mind andmethods of God. They want to debate God, saying they have a better way. Theyexalt themselves against the knowledge of God. They think of themselves as smarter,more sophisticated, more effective, more powerful than God's ways. Carnal, worldlyminds think they know more than God does!We must remind ourselves that Paul is speaking to carnal, worldly thinking amongChristians. He isn't talking about the world here, but the Corinthian Christians.They were the ones with the strongholds in their minds and hearts. They made thearguments against God's mind and methods. They held on to every high thing thatexalts itself against the knowledge of God. We miss it entirely if we think the love of 14. manipulation the image of success, smooth words, the perception of power, lordingover authority, and human schemes and programs are just problems with the world.Paul was dealing with this heart and mind in the church.When we start to think in this carnal way, we must stop our thoughts, takedominion over them in Jesus, and not be conformed to this world, but be transformedby the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).Paul's first application is towards thecarnal, worldly thinking of the Corinthian Christians that made them despise Pauland his weakness, doubting his apostolic credentials. But Paul's principle has amuch broader application. We are not helpless victims or recipients of our thoughts.We can choose to stop our thoughts, and bring every thought into captivity to theobedience of Christ. Thoughts of lust, thoughts of anger, thoughts of fear, thoughtsof greed, bitter thoughts, evil thoughts they are part of every thought that may be,must be brought thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.2. Clarke, The apostle often uses the metaphor of a warfare to represent the lifeand trials of a Christian minister. See Ephesians 6:10-17 ; ; 1 Timothy 1:18 ; ;2 Timothy 2:3-5 . Are not carnal. Here he refers to the means used by the falseapostle in order to secure his party; he calumniated St. Paul, traduced the truth,preached false and licentious doctrines, and supported these with sophisticalreasoning. But mighty through God. Our doctrines are true and pure, they comefrom God and lead to him, and he accompanies them with his mighty power to thehearts of those who hear them; and the strong holds-the apparently solid and cogentreasoning of the philosophers, we, by these doctrines, pull down; and thus thefortifications of heathenism are destroyed, and the cause of Christ triumphswherever we come; and we put to flight the armies of the aliens.3. Jamison, A confutation of those who try to propagate their creed by force andpersecution (compare Lu 9:54-56 ). weapons--for punishing offending members(2Co 10:6; 1Co 4:21; 5:5, 13 ); boldness of speech, ecclesiastical discipline (2Co 10:8;2Co 13:10 ), the power of the word, and of the sacraments, the variousextraordinary gifts of the Spirit. carnal--Translate, fleshly, to preserve theallusion to 2Co 10:2, 3 . mighty through God--Greek, mighty to God, that is,mighty before God: not humanly, but divinely powerful. The power is not ours, butGod's. Compare fair to God, that is, divinely fair (Ac 7:20 , Margin). Also above(2Co 2:15 ), unto God a sweet savor. The efficacy of the Christian religion provesits truth [BEGEL].pulling down--As the Greek is the same as in 2Co 10:5 , translate, casting down.Compare Jer 1:10 : the inspired servants of God inherit the commission of the OldTestament prophets. strongholds-- (Pr 21:22 ); namely, in which sinners entrenchthemselves against reproof; all that opposes itself to Christ; the learning, andeloquence, and philosophical subtleties on which the Corinthians prided themselves.So Joshua's trumpet blast was mighty under God to overthrow the walls of 15. Jericho.4. Calvin, For the weapons of our warfare. The warfare corresponds with the kindof weapons. He glories in being furnished with spiritual weapons. The warfare,accordingly, is spiritual. Hence it follows by way of contraries, By an argumenttaken (as the expression is) from things contrary. that it is not according to the fleshIn comparing the ministry of the gospel to a warfare, he uses a most apt similitude.The life of a Christian, it is true, is a perpetual warfare, for whoever gives himself tothe service of God will have no truce from Satan at any time, but will be harassedwith incessant disquietude. It becomes, however, ministers of the word and pastorsto be standard-bearers, going before the others; and, certainly, there are none thatSatan harasses more, that are more severely assaulted, or that sustain morenumerous or more dreadful onsets. That man, therefore, is mistaken, who girdshimself for the discharge of this office, and is not at the same time furnished withcourage and bravery for contending; for he is not exercised otherwise than infighting. For we must take this into account, that the gospel is like a fire, by whichthe fury of Satan is en-kindled. Hence it cannot but be that he will arm himself for acontest, whenever he sees that it is advanced.But by what weapons is he to be repelled? It is only by spiritual weapons thathe can be repelled. Whoever, therefore, is unarmed with the influence of theHoly Spirit, however he may boast that he is a minister of Christ, willnevertheless, not prove himself to be such. At the same time, if you would havea full enumeration of spiritual weapons, doctrine must be conjoined with zeal,and a good conscience with the efficacy of the Spirit, and with other necessarygraces. Let now the Pope go, and assume to himself the apostolic dignity Lethim assume to himself, as much as he pleases, the title of Apostolic dignity.What could be more ridiculous, if our judgment is to be formed in accordancewith the rule here laid down by Paul!Mighty through God. Either according to God, or from God. I am of opinion, thatthere is here an implied antithesis, so that this strength is placed in contrast with theweakness which appears outwardly before the world, and thus, paying no regard tothe judgments of men, he would seek from God approbation of his fortitude. Thusthe meaning would be, that, disregarding all the judgments of men, he would directhis view God-ward to have approbation of his fortitude. At the same time, theantithesis will hold good in another sense that the power of his arms dependsupon God, not upon the world.In the demolishing of fortresses. He makes use of the term fortresses to denotecontrivances, and every high thing that is exalted against God, 758 758 The wordhere rendered strongholds ( ) means properly fastnesses,fortresses, or strong fortifications. It is here beautifully used to denote the variousobstacles, resembling a fortress, which exist, and which are designed and adapted to 16. oppose the truth and the triumph of the Christians cause. All these obstacles arestrongly fortified [...] The whole world is fortified against Christianity; and thenations of the earth have been engaged in little else, than in raising andstrengthening such strongholds for the space of six thousand years. The Christianreligion goes forth against all the combined and concentrated powers of resistance ofthe whole world; and the warfare is to be waged against every strongly fortifiedplace of error and of sin. These strong fortifications of error and of sin are to bebattered down and laid in ruins by our spiritual weapons. Barnes. Ed. as towhich we shall find him speaking afterward. It is, however, with propriety andexpressiveness that he so designates them; for his design is to boast, that there isnothing in the world so strongly fortified as to be beyond his power to overthrow. Iam well aware how carnal men glory in their empty shows, and how disdainfullyand recklessly they despise me, as though there were nothing in me but what ismean and base, while they, in the mean time, were standing on a lofty eminence. Buttheir confidence is foolish, for that armor of the Lord, with which I fight, willprevail in opposition to all the bulwarks, in reliance upon which they believethemselves to be invincible. ow, as the world is accustomed to fortify itself in atwofold respect for waging war with Christ on the one hand, by cunning, bywicked artifices, by subtlety, and other secret machinations; and, on the other hand,by cruelty and oppression, he touches upon both these methods. For by contrivanceshe means, whatever pertains to carnal wisdom.The term high thing denotes any kind of glory and power in this world. There is noreason, therefore, why a servant of Christ should dread anything, howeverformidable, that may stand up in opposition to his doctrine. Let him, in spite of it,persevere, and he will scatter to the winds every machination of whatever sort. aymore, the kingdom of Christ cannot be set up or established, otherwise than bythrowing down everything in the world that is exalted. For nothing is more opposedto the spiritual wisdom of God than the wisdom of the flesh; nothing is more atvariance with the grace of God than mans natural ability, and so as to other things.Hence the only foundation of Christs kingdom is the abasement of men. And to thiseffect are those expressions in the Prophets:The moon shall be ashamed, and the sun shall be confounded,when the Lord shall begin to reign in that day; (Isaiah 24:23 .)Again,The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the high looks of mortals shallbe abased, and the Lord alone shall beexalted in that day.(Isaiah 5:15 , and Isaiah 2:17 )Because, in order that God alone may shine forth, it is necessary that the gloryof the world should vanish away. 17. And bring into captivity I am of opinion, that, having previously spoken moreparticularly of the conflict of spiritual armor, along with the hinderances thatrise up in opposition to the gospel of Christ, he now, on the other hand, speaksof the ordinary preparation, by which men must be brought into subjection tohim. For so long as we rest in our own judgment, and are wise in our ownestimation, we are far from having made any approach to the doctrine ofChrist. Hence we must set out with this, that he who is wise must become a fool,(1 Corinthians 3:18 ,) that is, we must give up our own understanding, andrenounce the wisdom of the flesh, and thus we must present our minds toChrist empty that he may fill them. ow the form of expression must beobserved, when he says, that he brings every thought into captivity, for it is asthough he had said, that the liberty of the human mind must be restrained andbridled, that it may not be wise, apart from the doctrine of Christ; and farther,that its audacity cannot be restrained by any other means, than by its beingcarried away, as it were, captive. ow it is by the guidance of the Spirit, that itis brought to allow itself to be placed under control, and remain in a voluntarycaptivity.And are in readiness to avenge. This he adds, lest insolent men shouldpresumptuously lift themselves up in opposition to his ministry, as if they could doso with impunity. Hence he says, that power had been given him not merely forconstraining voluntary disciples to subjection to Christ, but also for inflictingvengeance upon the rebellious, Upon the rebellious and obstinate. and that histhreats were not empty bugbears, To frighten (as they say) little children. but hadthe execution quite in readiness to use the customary expression. ow thisvengeance is founded on Christs word whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall bebound also in heaven. (Matthew 18:18 .)For although God does not thunder forth immediately on the ministerspronouncing the sentence, yet the decision is ratified, Firm and stable. and willbe accomplished in its own time. Let it, however, be always understood, that it iswhen the minister fights with spiritual armor. Some understand it as referring tobodily punishments, by means of which the Apostles inflicted vengeance uponcontumacious and impious persons; as for example, Peter struck Ananias andSapphira dead, and Paul struck Elymas the sorcerer blind. (Acts 5:1-10 , and Acts13:6-11 .) But the other meaning suits better, for the Apostles did not make use ofthat power invariably or indiscriminately. Paul, however, speaks in general termsthat he has vengeance ready at hand against all the disobedient.When your obedience shall be fulfilled How prudently he guards against alienatingany by excessive severity! For as he had threatened to inflict punishment upon therebellious, that he may not seem to provoke them, he declares that another duty hadbeen enjoined upon him with regard to them simply that of making them 18. obedient to Christ. And, unquestionably, this is the proper intention of the gospel, ashe teaches both in the commencement and in the close of the Epistle to the Romans.(Romans 1:5 , and Romans 16:26 .) Hence all Christian teachers ought carefully toobserve this order, that they should first endeavor with gentleness to bring theirhearers to obedience, so as to invite them kindly before proceeding to inflictpunishment upon rebellion. Before proceeding to threaten them, and denounceupon them the punishment of rebellion. Hence, too, Christ And for this reasonJesus Christ himself. has given the commandment as to loosing before that ofbinding. Calvin manifestly alludes here to John 20:23 , in commenting on which hesays, As the embassy of salvation and of eternal life has been committed to theApostles, so, on the other hand, they have been armed with vengeance against all theungodly, who reject the salvation offered to them, as Paul teaches. ( 2 Cor. 10:6 .)But this is placed in last order, because it was proper that the true and real design ofpreaching the gospel should be first exhibited. That we are reconciled to Godbelongs to the nature of the gospel; that believers are adjudged to eternal life may besaid to be accidentally connected with it. For this reason, Paul, in the passage whichI lately quoted, when he threatens vengeance against unbelievers, immediately adds after that your obedience shall have been fulfilled; ( 2 Cor 10:6; ) for he means,that it belongs peculiarly to the gospel to invite all to salvation, but that it isaccidental to it that it brings destruction to any. Calvin on John, vol. 2, p. 273 . Ed.6. Barnes, For the weapons of our warfare - The means by which we hope toachieve our victory. Are not carnal - ot those of the flesh. ot such as the people ofthe world use. They are not such as are employed by conquerors; nor are they suchas people in general rely on to advance their cause. We do not depend on eloquence,or talent, or learning, or wealth, or beauty, or any of the external aids on which thepeople of this world rely. They are not such as derive advantage from any powerinherent in themselves. Their strength is derived from God alone.But mighty through God - Margin, to. They are rendered mighty or powerful bythe agency of God. They depend on him for their efficacy. Paul has not herespecified the weapons on which he relied; but he had before specified them 2Co_6:6-7, so that there was no danger of mistake. The weapons were such as were furnishedby truth and righteousness, and these were rendered mighty by the attendingagency of God. The sense is, that God is the author of the doctrines which wepreach, and that he attends them with the agency of his Spirit, and accompaniesthem to the hearts of people. It is important for all ministers to feel that theirweapons are mighty only through God. Conquerors and earthly warriors go intobattle depending on the might of their own arm, and on the wisdom and skill whichplans the battle. The Christian goes on his warfare, feeling that however welladapted the truths which he holds are to accomplish great purposes, and howeverwisely his plans are formed, yet that the efficacy of all depends on the agency of 19. God. He has no hope of victory but in God. And if God does not attend him, he issure of inevitable defeat.To the pulling down of strongholds - The word rendered here as strongholds( ochuroma) means properly a fastness, fortress, or strongfortification. It is here beautifully used to denote the various obstacles resembling afortress which exist, and which are designed and adapted to oppose the truth andthe triumph of the Christians cause. All those obstacles are strongly fortified. Thesins of his heart are fortified by long indulgence and by the hold which they have onhis soul. The wickedness of the world which he opposes is strongly fortified by thefact that it has seized on strong human passions; that one point strengthens another;that great numbers are united. The idolatry of the world was strongly fortified byprejudice, and long establishment, and the protection of laws, and the power of thepriesthood; and the opinions of the world are entrenched behind false philosophyand the power of subtle argumentation. The whole world is fortified againstChristianity; and the nations of the earth have been engaged in little else than inraising and strengthening such strongholds for the space of 6,000 years. TheChristian religion goes forth against all the combined and concentrated powers ofresistance of the whole world; and the warfare is to be waged against every stronglyfortified place of error and of sin. These strong fortifications of error and of sin areto be battered down and laid in ruins by our spiritual weapons.7. Gill, For the weapons of our warfare,.... By warfare is here meant, not thatwhich is common to all believers, who are enlisted as volunteers under the captain oftheir salvation, and fight his battles, and are more than conquerors through him;but what is peculiar to the ministers of the Gospel; and designs the ministerialfunction, or office, and the discharge of it. So the Levitical function, or theministerial service of the Levites, is called , the warfare of the service,um_8:25. The ministry of the word is so styled, because that as war is waged indefense of men's rights, properties, and liberties, and for the weakening of anenemy's power and possessions, and for the enlargement of kingdoms anddominions; so this is in defense of the truths and liberty of the Gospel, that they maycontinue and abide; for the weakening of Satan's kingdom, by delivering the lawfulcaptives, taking the prey from the mighty, turning souls from the power of Satan toGod, and translating them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of ChristJesus; and so for the enlargement of his kingdom, by spreading the Gospel far andnear. The weapons with which this warfare is managed are the Scriptures oftruth, the sword of the Spirit, the word of God; and which indeed are an armory,out of which may be taken weapons of all sorts, both offensive and defensive; suchas serve both to establish and secure the doctrines of the Gospel, and to refute theerrors of the wicked: to which may be added all those gifts which Christ hasreceived for, and gives to men, qualifying them for the work of the ministry, and forthe understanding of the sacred writings; together with all those means made use ofby them for their improvement in spiritual knowledge; such as diligent reading theword of God, and the labors of his faithful servants, frequent meditation thereon,and earnest prayer to God for more light and experience. Also the various graces ofthe Spirit, with which they are endued, may be taken into the account; such as the 20. breast plate of faith in Christ, and love to himself, his people, word, ordinances,cause, and interest; the helmet of salvation, hope, the girdle of truth andfaithfulness, and the excellent grace of patience to endure all hardships, reproaches,insults, afflictions, and persecutions, cheerfully; and finally, all the acts of theirministration, such as preaching, prayer, the administration of ordinances, andlaying on of censures, with the consent of the church. ow these weaponsare not carnal; such as the men of the world fight with, not the temporal sword; forChrist sent forth his apostles without that, naked and unarmed amidst theirenemies, his kingdom not being of this world, and so not to be defended andpropagated in such a way; or as the weapons the false apostles used, such as naturaleloquence, fleshly wisdom, carnal reason, cunning craftiness, the hidden things ofdishonesty, and great swelling words of vanity; or they were not weak and impotent,which is sometimes the signification of flesh; see Gen_6:3but mighty through God: powerful and effectual through the blessing of God, andthe influences of his grace and Spirit for the conversion of sinners, the edification ofsaints, the defence of truth, the confutation of error, the destruction of Satan'skingdom, and the enlargement of Christ's: for these weapons are not powerful ofthemselves; they are passive instruments, which are only efficacious when used by asuperior hand; when the Gospel ministration is attended with the demonstration ofthe Spirit, and of power; and then they are serviceableto the pulling down of strong holds. The allusion seems to be to the falling of thewalls of Jericho, at the sound of ram's horns, which must be ascribed not to thoseinstruments, which were in themselves weak and despicable, but to the power ofGod that went along with the sound of them. By strong holds are meant, the strongholds of sin and Satan; such as unbelief, pride, hardness of heart, c. with whichthe heart of man is walled (so , the walls of the heart, Jer_4:19) againstGod and Christ, and the Gospel of the grace of God, and by which Satan fortifieshimself, and keeps the palace and goods in peace, until the everlasting doors arethrown open, which were bolted and barred; and these walls of defense are pulleddown by the King of glory, who enters in, which is usually done by the power ofGod, in the ministry of the Gospel: so sins are called strong holds, fortresses, andbulwarks, by the Talmudists (k), who give this as the sense of Ecc_9:14a little city, this is the body; and few men in it, these are the members; andthere came a great king against it, and besieged it, this is the evil imagination, lust,or concupiscence; and built against it , great bulwarks, or fortresses, , these are iniquities.''And so Philo the Jew (l) speaks of , the firm munitions of vice being broken down. Or else bythem may be meant the fortresses of a man's own righteousness, holiness, goodworks, and moral duties, in which he entrenches, and thinks himself safe: which theSpirit of God, in the ministry of the word, blows a blast upon, and which are cast 21. down by it, that revealing a better righteousness, even the righteousness of Christ;or else the fleshly wisdom, rhetorical eloquence, and sophisms of false teachers, withwhich they endeavoured to fortify themselves against the doctrines of the Gospel,but in vain.8. Henry, gHe asserts the power of his preaching and his power to punish offenders.1. The power of his preaching, 2Co_10:3, 2Co_10:5. Here observe, (1.) The work ofthe ministry is a warfare, not after the flesh indeed, for it is a spiritual warfare, withspiritual enemies and for spiritual purposes. And though ministers walk in the flesh,or live in the body, and in the common affairs of life act as other men, yet in theirwork and warfare they must not go by the maxims of the flesh, nor should theydesign to please the flesh: this must be crucified with its affections and lusts; it mustbe mortified and kept under. (2.) The doctrines of the gospel and discipline of thechurch are the weapons of this warfare; and these are not carnal: outward force,therefore, is not the method of the gospel, but strong persuasions, by the power oftruth and the meekness of wisdom. A good argument this is against persecution forconscience' sake: conscience is accountable to God only; and people must bepersuaded to God and their duty, not driven by force of arms. And so the weaponsof our warfare are mighty, or very powerful; the evidence of truth is convincing andcogent. This indeed is through God, or owing to him, because they are hisinstitutions, and accompanied with his blessing, which makes all opposition to fallbefore his victorious gospel. We may here observe, [1.] What opposition is madeagainst the gospel by the powers of sin and Satan in the hearts of men. Ignorance,prejudices, beloved lusts, are Satan's strong-holds in the souls of some; vainimaginations, carnal reasoning, and high thoughts, or proud conceits, in others,exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, that is, by these ways the devilendeavors to keep men from faith and obedience to the gospel, and secures hispossession of the hearts of men, as his own house or property. But then observe, [2.]The conquest which the word of God gains. These strong-holds are pulled down bythe gospel as the means, through the grace and power of God accompanying it as theprincipal efficient cause. ote, The conversion of the soul is the conquest of Satan inthat soul. h9. Intervarsity Press, The exercise of discipline is never an easy matter. Because ofthe painful nature of the process, there is the temptation to put as much distance aspossible between yourself and the person receiving the discipline. Written, asopposed to verbal, communication can be a less directly confrontational route, andhence more appealing. Where the tongue might get away from us in a face-to-faceexchange, a letter permits a certain degree of perspective and objectivity. Butavoidance of a face-to-face encounter can leave one open to the charge ofcowardice--a charge that Paul tackles head-on in chapter 10: I, Paul, who amtimid when face to face with you, but bold when away! Paul is quoting theopposition, as the quotation marks around the terms timid and bold indicate (IV,Phillips, REB). The word for timid (tapeinos) is commonly used in Hellenistic Greekto indicate a low social status, but it can also refer, as here, to the cringing, 22. subservient attitude that sometimes accompanies humble circumstances. The LivingBible's afraid to raise his voice when he gets here catches the thought. But whenPaul addresses the Corinthians at a distance (in writing), he becomes bold.Tharreo (bold) was used earlier to speak of Paul's cheerfulness in the face of death(5:6, 8) and his confidence in the Corinthians (7:16). In this verse it connotes self-confidenceor self-assurance of an unwarranted kind. In essence, Paul's critics aresaying that he talks big in his letters (e.g., the severe letter) but is weak-kneed inperson (e.g., the painful visit).Indeed, in the minds of Paul's critics to resort to the pen is to live by the standards ofthis world (v. 2). The phrase is literally to walk according to the flesh. Walk(peripateo) is one of Paul's favorite expressions to describe the Christian life (itoccurs thirty-one times). Here it denotes a settled pattern of behavior. This patternof behavior is described as flesh, a term that ranges in meaning from what isphysical, mortal or human to what is sinful or even sexual in nature. In this contextit refers to a purely human way of doing things--which, for Paul's opponents,amounted to a weak way of doing things. They, by contrast, claimed to be spiritualpeople, boasting of their extraordinary experiences (visions and revelations, 12:1)and Spirit-empowered ministry (signs, wonders and miracles, 12:12). This wouldappeal to a congregation like Corinth, whose members thought they had arrivedspiritually (they are full, rich, even kings--1 Cor 4:8). Paul's critics alsoasserted that he adopted human strategies of warfare (wage war as the world does,10:3). Strateuomai means to advance with an army or fleet (Liddell, Scott andJones 1978). His rivals claimed to fight with the armies of the Spirit, while Paul, theymaintained, relied purely on ineffective, beggarly methods and resources to carryout his ministry. Cowardly, weak and ineffectual--not an appealing pastoral portraitby any stretch of the imagination, and one that Paul dismisses out of hand. Hisintroductory statement deserves careful attention. He begins with a warning. Yet itis a warning phrased in terms of a request, rather than a command: I appeal to you .. . that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be (vv. 1-2). The verb(parakaleo) is one commonly used by someone who has the authority to commandbut chooses not to.5. We demolish arguments and every pretensionthat sets itself up against the knowledge of God,and we take captive every thought to make itobedient to Christ.1. Jamison, imaginations rather, reasonings. Whereas thought expresses 23. mens own purpose and determination of living after their own pleasure [Tittmann].high thing So it ought to be translated (Rom_8:39). A distinct Greek word fromthat in Eph_3:18, height, and Rev_21:16, which belongs to God and heaven fromwhence we receive nothing hurtful. But high thing is not so much height assomething made high, and belongs to those regions of air where the powers ofdarkness exalt themselves against Christ and us (Eph_2:2; Eph_6:12; 2Th_2:4).exalteth itself 2Th_2:4 supports English Version rather than the translation ofEllicott, etc., is lifted up. Such were the high towers of Judaic self-righteousness,philosophic speculations, and rhetorical sophistries, the knowledge so muchprized by many (opposed to the knowledge of God), which endangered a sectionof the Corinthian Church. against the knowledge of God True knowledge makesmen humble. Where there is exaltation of self, there knowledge of God is wanting[Bengel]. Arrange the words following thus: Bringing every thought (that is, intentof the mind or will) into captivity to the obedience of Christ, that is, to obey Christ.The three steps of the apostles spiritual warfare are: (1) It demolishes what isopposed to Christ; (2) It leads captive; (3) It brings into obedience to Christ (Rom_1:5; Rom_16:26). The reasonings (English Version, imaginations) are utterlycast down. The mental intents (English Version, thoughts) are taken willingcaptives, and tender the voluntary obedience of faith to Christ the Conqueror.2. Clarke, Casting down imaginations . Reasoning or opinions.The Greek philosophers valued themselves especially on their ethic systems, in whichtheir reasoning appeared to be very profound and conclusive; but they were obligedto assume principles which were either such as did not exist, or were false inthemselves, as the whole of their mythologic system most evidently was: truly, fromwhat remains of them we see that their metaphysics were generally bombast; and asto their philosophy, it was in general good for nothing. When the apostles cameagainst their gods many and their lords many with the OE SUPREME andETERAL BEIG, they were confounded, scattered, annihilated; when they cameagainst their various modes of purifying the mind-their sacrificial and mediatorialsystem, with the LORD JESUS CHRIST, his agony and bloody sweat, his cross andpassion, his death and burial, and his glorious resurrection and ascension, they sunkbefore them, and appeared to be what they really were, as dust upon the balance,and lighter than vanity.Every high thingEven the pretendedly sublime doctrines, for instance, of Plato, Aristotle, and theStoics in general, fell before the simple preaching of Christ crucified.The knowledge of GodThe doctrine of the unity and eternity of the Divine nature, which was opposed by theplurality of their idols, and the generation of their gods, and their men-made deities.It is amazing how feeble a resistance heathenism made, by argument or reasoning,against the doctrine of the Gospel! It instantly shrunk from the Divine light, andcalled on the secular power to contend for it! Popery sunk before Protestantism in 24. the same way, and defended itself by the same means. The apostles destroyedheathenism wherever they came; the Protestants confuted popery wherever theirvoice was permitted to be heard.Bringing into captivity every thoughtHEATHEISM could not recover itself; in vain did its thousands of altars smokewith reiterated hecatombs, their demons were silent, and their idols were proved tobe nothing in the world. POPERY could never, by any power of self-reviviscence,restore itself after its defeat by the Reformation: it had no Scripture, consecutivelyunderstood; no reason, no argument; in vain were its bells rung, its candles lighted,its auto da fe's exhibited; in vain did its fires blaze; and in vain were innumerablehuman victims immolated on its altars! The light of God penetrated its hiddenworks of darkness, and dragged its three-headed Cerberus into open day; themonster sickened, vomited his henbane, and fled for refuge to his native shades.The obedience of ChristSubjection to idols was annihilated by the progress of the Gospel among theheathens; and they soon had but one Lord, and his name one. In like manner thedoctrines of the reformation, mighty through God, pulled down-demolished andbrought into captivity, the whole papal system; and instead of obedience to the pope,the pretended vicar of God upon earth, obedience to Christ, as the sole almightyHead of the Church, was established, particularly in Great Britain, where itcontinues to prevail. Hallelujah! the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth! h3. Barnes, gCasting down imaginations - Margin, reasonings. The word is probablyused here in the sense of device, and refers to all the plans of a wicked world; thevarious systems of false philosophy; and the reasonings of the enemies of the gospel.The various systems of false philosophy were so intrenched that they might be calledthe stronghold of the enemies of God. The foes of Christianity pretend to a greatdeal of reason, and rely on that in resisting the gospel.And every high thing ... - Every exalted opinion respecting the dignity and purityof human nature; all the pride of the human heart and of the understanding. All thisis opposed to the knowledge of God, and all exalts itself into a vain self-confidence.People entertain vain and unfounded opinions respecting their own excellency, andthey feel that they do not need the provisions of the gospel and are unwilling tosubmit to God.And bringing into captivity ... - The figure here is evidently taken from militaryconquests. The idea is, that all the strongholds of paganism, and pride, and sinwould be demolished; and that when this was done, like throwing down the walls ofa city or making a breach, all the plans and purposes of the soul, the reason, theimagination, and all the powers of the mind would be subdued or led in triumph bythe gospel, like the inhabitants of a captured city. Christ was the great Captain inthis warfare. In his name the battle was waged, and by his power the victory waswon. The captives were made for him and under his authority; and all were to be 25. subject to his control. Every power of thought in the pagan world; all the systems ofphilosophy and all forms of opinion among people; all the purposes of the soul; allthe powers of reason, memory, judgment, fancy in an individual, were all to comeunder the laws of Christ, All doctrines were to be in accordance with his will;philosophy should no longer control them, but they should be subject to the will ofChrist. All the plans of life should be controlled by the will of Christ, and formedand executed under his control - as captives are led by a conqueror. All the emotionsand feelings of the heart should be controlled by him, and led by him as a captive isled by a victor. The sense is, that it was the aim and purpose of Paul to accomplishthis, and that it would certainly be done. The strongholds of philosophy, paganism,and sin should be demolished, and all the opinions, plans, and purposes of the worldshould become subject to the all-conquering Redeemer. h4. Gill, gCasting down imaginations,.... Or reasonings; the carnal reasonings ofthe minds of natural men against God, his providences and purposes, against Christ,and the methods of salvation, and every truth of the Gospel; which are alldisproved, silenced, and confounded, by the preaching of the word, which thoughreckoned the foolishness and weakness of God, appears to be wiser and strongerthan men; and whereby the wisdom of the wise is destroyed, and the understandingof the prudent brought to nothing:and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God; every proudthought of the heart, every great swelling word of vanity, every big look, even all thelofty looks and haughtiness of men, with every airy flight, and high toweringimagination, reasoning, and argument advanced against the Gospel of Christ; whichis here meant by the knowledge of God, and so called, because it is the means ofleading souls into the knowledge of God, even into a better knowledge of him thancan be attained to, either by the light of nature, or law of Moses; to a knowledge ofhim, and acquaintance with him in Christ the Mediator, in whom the light of theknowledge of the glory of God is given; and with which knowledge of God eternallife is connected, yea, in this it consists; it is the beginning of it, and will issue in it.And bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; or carryingcaptive the whole understanding; that is, so illustrating it with divine light, that itclearly sees Christ to be the alone, able, willing, full, and suitable Saviour, and sobecomes obedient to him, both as a Saviour and a King; such an enlightened soullooks to him alone for life and salvation, ventures on him, and relies upon him, andis desirous and willing to be saved by him in his own way; he receives and embracesall his truths and doctrines with faith and love, and obeys them from the heart, andcheerfully and willingly submits to all his commands and ordinances; for though heis taken by the grace of God, and all his strong holds, reasonings, and high thoughtsare demolished by the power of God in the Gospel, and he himself is carried captive,yet not against, but with his will, to be a voluntary subject of Christ, and cheerfullyto submit to the sceptre of his kingdom. 26. 6. And we will be ready to punish every act ofdisobedience, once your obedience is complete.1. Clarke, And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience - I amready, through this mighty armor of God, to punish those opposers of the doctrine ofChrist, and the disobedience which has been produced by them.When your obedience is fulfilled - When you have in the fullest manner,discountenanced those men, and separated yourselves from their communion. Theapostle was not in haste to pull up the tares, lest he should pull up the wheat also.All the terms in these two verses are military. Allusion is made to a strongly fortifiedcity, where the enemy had made his last stand; entrenching himself about the walls;strengthening all his redoubts and ramparts; raising castles, towers, and various enginesof defense and offense upon the walls; and neglecting nothing that might tend to renderhis strong hold impregnable. The army of God comes against the place and attacks it; thestrong holds , all the fortified places, are carried. The imaginations, ,engines, and whatever the imagination or skill of man could raise, are speedily taken anddestroyed. Every high thing, , all the castles and towers are sapped, throwndown and demolished; the walls are battered into breaches; and the besieging army,carrying every thing at the point of the sword, enter the city, storm and take the citadel.Every where defeated, the conquered submit, and are brought into captivity,, are led away captives; and thus the whole government is destroyed.It is easy to apply these things, as far as may be consistent with the apostles design.The general sense I have given in the preceding notes.2. Jamison, gTranslate, Having ourselves (that is, being) in readiness to exactpunishment for all disobedience, c. We have this in store for the disobedient: itwill be brought into action in due time. when your obedience, c.--He charitablyassumes that most of the Corinthian Church will act obediently; therefore he saysYOUR obedience. But perhaps some will act otherwise; in order, therefore, togive all an opportunity of joining the obedient, he will not prematurely exactpunishment, but wait until the full number of those gathered out to Christ has beencompleted, and the remainder have been proved incorrigible. He had actedalready so at Corinth (Ac 18:6-11 ; compare Ex 32:34; Mt 13:28-30 ).3. Henry, gThe apostle's power to punish offenders (and that in an extraordinarymanner) is asserted in 2 Corinthians 10:6 . The apostle was a prime-minister in thekingdom of Christ, and chief officer in his army, and had in readiness (that is, hehad power and authority at hand) to revenge all disobedience, or to punish offendersin a most exemplary and extraordinary manner. The apostle speaks not of personal 27. revenge, but of punishing disobedience to the gospel, and disorderly walking amongchurch-members, by inflicting church-censures. ote, Though the apostle showedmeekness and gentleness, yet he would not betray his authority; and thereforeintimates that when he would commend those whose obedience was fulfilled ormanifested others would fall under severe censures. h4. Barnes, gAnd having in a readiness ... - I am ready to punish all disobedience,notwithstanding all that is said to the contrary; see the notes on 2Co_10:1-2. Clothedas I am with this power; aiming to subdue all things to Christ, though the weaponsof my warfare are not carnal, and though I am modest or timid 2Co_10:1 when I amwith you, I am prepared to take any measures of severity required by my apostolicoffice, in order that I may inflict deserved punishment on those who have violatedthe laws of Christ. The design of this is, to meet the objection of his enemies, that hewould not dare to execute his threatening.When your obedience is fulfilled - Doddridge renders this: gnow your obedience isfulfilled, and the sounder part of your church restored to due order andsubmission. h The idea seems to be, that Paul was ready to inflict discipline when thechurch had showed a readiness to obey his laws, and to do its own duty - delicatelyintimating that the reason why it was not done was the lack of entire promptness inthe church itself, and that it could not be done on any offender as long as the churchitself was not prepared to sustain him. The church was to discountenance theenemies of the Redeemer; to show an entire readiness to sustain the apostle, and tounite with him in the effort to maintain the discipline of Christ fs house. h5. Gill, gAnd having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience,.... ot with thetemporal sword, as the civil magistrate, but with the spiritual one; meaning eithercensures and excommunication, which a faithful minister of the Gospel, with thesuffrage of the church, has at hand, and a power to make use of, for the reclaimingof disobedient persons; or rather that extraordinary power which was peculiar tothe apostles, of inflicting punishments on delinquents, such as what was exercised byPeter upon Ananias and Sapphira, by the Apostle Paul on Elymas the sorcerer, theincestuous person, and Hymenaeus and Philetus, and which still continued withhim; it was ready at hand, he could exercise it whenever he pleased, he only waited aproper time:when your obedience is fulfilled: till they were thoroughly reformed from theseveral abuses, both in doctrine and practice, they had fallen into, and were broughtinto a better order and decorum, and appeared to have been in all things obedient tothe directions he had given; being unwilling, as yet, to use the awful authority hehad from Christ, lest any of the dear children of God, who were capable of beingrestored by gentler methods, should suffer with the refractory and incorrigible. h 28. 7. You are looking only on the surface of things. Ifanyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, heshould consider again that we belong to Christjust as much as he.1. Clarke, g Do ye look on things after the outward appearance?Do not be carried away with appearances; do not be satisfied with show and parade.If any man trust to himself that he is Christ'sHere, as in several other places of this and the preceding epistle, the , any orcertain, person, most evidently refers to the false apostle who made so muchdisturbance in the Church. And this man trusted to himself-assumed to himself thathe was Christ's messenger: it would not do to attempt to subvert Christianity atonce; it had got too strong a hold of Corinth to be easily dislodged; he thereforepretended to be on Christ's side, and to derive his authority from him.Let him of himselfWithout any authority, certainly, from God; but, as he arrogates to himself thecharacter of a minister of Christ, let him acknowledge that even so we are Christ'sministers; and that I have, by my preaching, and the miracles which I havewrought, given the fullest proof that I am especially commissioned by him.2. Guzik, gDo you look at things according to the outward appearance? Pauldiagnoses the problem with the Corinthian troublemakers. They are looking only atthe outward appearances, and by outward appearances, Paul was weak andunimpressive. By outward appearance, it seems that Paul was indeed unimpressive.This is a description of Paul from an early Christian writing, perhaps from aboutthe year 200: a man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a goodstate of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked. (Cited in Kruse)Hardly magnetic good looks!But this knew Paul only on an outward, surface level. 29. The people who criticized Paul, and said that there were two Pauls, one reflectedin his letters and one evident in person, really didn't know Paul, except on a surfacelevel.So we are Christ's: Paul is saying, If you claim to belong to Jesus, look at yourself.You may not be mighty in outward appearance, yet you belong to Jesus. Well, so weare Christ's as well. one of us want to be judged on mere outward appearance.We often want people to see our heart. Yet the Corinthian Christians would notgrant to Paul what they wanted for themselves. Paul doesn't say that it is wrong totest an apostle's credentials, but that the Corinthians were using the wrong test.They were judging only by outward appearance. h3. Calvin, gThat are according to appearance. In the first place, the clause accordingto appearance, may be taken in two ways: either as meaning the reality itself, visibleand manifest, or an outward mask, An outward mask and appearance. thatdeceives us. The sentence, too, may be read either interrogatively or affirmatively:nay more, the verb may be taken either in the imperative mood, orin the subjunctive. I am rather of opinion, however, that it is expressive of chiding,and that the Corinthians are reaproved, because they suffered their eyes to bedazzled with empty show. gYou greatly esteem others who swell out with mightyairs of importance, while you look down upon me, because I have nothing of showand boasting. h For Christ himself contrasts the judgment that is according toappearance with righteous judgment. (John 7:24 , and John 8:15 .) Hence hereproves the Corinthians, because, contenting themselves with show, or appearance,they did not seriously consider, what kind of persons ought to be looked upon as theservants of Christ.If any one trusteth in himselfan expression that is full of great confidence, forhe takes it, as it were, for granted, that he is so certainly a minister of Christ,that this distinction cannot be taken from him. gWhoever, h says he, gis desirousto be looked upon as a minister of Christ, must necessarily count me in alongwith himself. h For what reason? gLet him, h says he. gthink for himself, forwhatever things he may have in himself, that make him worthy of such anhonor, the same will he find in me. h By this he hinted to them, that whoeverthey might be that reviled him, ought not to be looked upon as the servants ofChrist. It would not become all to speak thus confidently, for it might certainlyhappennay, it happens every day, that they same claim is haughtily advancedby persons, that are of no reputation, and are nothing else than a dishonor toChrist. A band of profligates. Paul, however, affirmed nothing respecting 30. himself but what he had openly given proof of by clear and sure evidencesamong the Corinthians. ow should any one, while destitute of all proof of thereality, recommend himself in a similar manner, what would he do but exposehimself to ridicule? To trust in one fs self is equivalent to assuming to one fs selfpower and authority on the pretext that he serves Christ, while he is desirous tobe held in estimation. h4. Henry, gIn these verses the apostle proceeds to reason the case with theCorinthians, in opposition to those who despised him, judged him, and spoke hardlyof him: Do you, says he, look on things after the outward appearance?2 Corinthians 10:7 . Is this a fit measure or rule to make an estimate of things orpersons by, and to judge between me and my adversaries? In outward appearance,Paul was mean and despicable with some; he did not make a figure, as perhaps someof his competitors might do: but this was a false rule to make a judgment by. Itshould seem that some boasted mighty things of themselves, and made a fair show.But there are often false appearances. A man may seem to be learned who has notlearned Christ, and appear virtuous when he has not a principle of grace in hisheart. However, the apostle asserts two things of himself:--I. His relation to Christ: If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, even so are weChrist's, 2 Corinthians 10:7 . It would seem by this that Paul's adversaries boastedof their relation to Christ as his ministers and servants. ow the apostle reasonsthus with the Corinthians: Suppose it to be so, allowing what they say to be true(and let us observe that, in fair arguing, we should allow all that may be reasonablygranted, and should not think it impossible but those who differ from us very muchmay yet belong to Christ, as well as we), allowing them, might the apostle say,what they boast of, yet they ought also to allow this to us, that we also are Christ's.ote, 1. We must not, by the most charitable allowances we make to others whodiffer from us, cut ourselves off from Christ, nor deny our relation to him. For, 2.There is room in Christ for many; and those who differ much from one another mayyet be one in him. It would help to heal the differences that are among us if wewould remember that, how confident soever we may be that we belong to Christ,yet, at the same time, we must allow that those who differ from us may belong toChrist too, and therefore should be treated accordingly. We must not think that weare the people, and that none belong to Christ but ourselves. This we may plead forourselves, against those who judge us and despise us that, how weak soever we are,yet, as they are Christ's, so are we: we profess the same faith, we walk by the samerule, we build upon the same foundation, and hope for the same inheritance.5. Jamison, gDo ye regard mere outward appearance (mere external 31. recommendations, personal appearance, voice, manner, oratory of teachers presentface to face, such as they admired in the false teachers to the disparagement of Paul,2Co 10:10; see on 2Co 5:12)? Even in outward bearing when I shall be present withyou (in contrast to by letters, 2Co 10:9) I will show that I am more really armedwith the authority of Christ, than those who arrogate to themselves the title of beingpeculiarly Christ's (1Co 1:12). A Jewish emissary seems to have led this party.let him of himself think this again--He may of himself, without needing to betaught it in a more severe manner, by thinking again, arrive at this conclusion,that even as, c. Paul modestly demands for himself only an equal place withthose whom he had begotten in the Gospel [BEGEL]. h6. Barnes, gDo ye look on things after the outward appearance? - This is addressedevidently to the members of the church, and with reference to the claims which hadbeen set up by the false teachers. There can be no doubt that they valued themselveson their external advantages, and laid claim to special honor in the work of theministry, because they were superior in personal appearance, in rank, manners, oreloquence to Paul. Paul reproves them for thus judging, and assures them that thiswas not a proper criterion by which to determine on qualifications for the apostolicoffice. Such things were highly valued among the Greeks, and a considerable part ofthe effort of Paul in these letters is to show that these things constitute no evidencethat those who possessed them were sent from God.If any man trust to himself ... - This refers to the false teachers who laid claims to bethe followers of Christ by way of eminence. Whoever these teachers were, it isevident that they claimed to be on the side of Christ, and to be appointed by him.They were probably Jews, and they boasted of their talents and eloquence, andpossibly that they had seen the Saviour. The phrase gtrust to himself, h seems toimply that they relied on some special merit of their own, or some special advantagewhich they had - Bloomfield. It may have been that th