OUR SPIRITUAL WEAPONS "Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you: But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Cor 10:1-6) " . . . you, but being absent am bold toward you." -- Tomorrow:
Devotion 15 of 44
Other versions read, "but bold toward you when absent" (NASB), "but 'bold' when away" (NIV), "but being absent am of good courage toward you" (ASV), "without fear when I am away from you" (BBE), "brave toward you when absent" (NAB), "but full of boldness at a distance" (NJB), "bold in my letters" (NLT), "Paul's letters are bold enough when he is away" (LIVING), "when absent am fearlessly outspoken in dealing with you" (WEYMOUTH), "forceful toward you when I am away" (ISV), and "but bold (fearless and outspoken) to you when [I am] absent from you!" (AMPLIFIED).
Whatever the Corinthians thought about Paul in person, certainly did not apply to the letters that he wrote. By way of comparison, modern day preachers and teachers are too silent when they are "absent." Of course, they do not carry the burden for the churches that Paul did (1 Cor 11:28).
The Corinthians had to admit that Paul's letters were "weighty and powerful," or "weighty and forceful" (2 Cor 10:10, NIV). One thing you have to say about brother Paul, he did not write storybooks for children, or elementary primers for the unlearned. Peter said of Paul's writings, "And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (2 Pet 3:15-16). To this day men haggle about Paul's writings on election (Rom 9:11; 11:5-7,28; 1 Thess 1:4), predestination (Rom 8:29,30; Eph 1:5, 11), faith (Rom 3:22,27,28); , justification (Rom 3:24,28; 4:2,25; 5:1; Gal 2:16-17; 3:24), the imputation of righteousness (Rom 4:6,11, 22-24), and the raging warfare within the believer (Rom 7:15-25). With such a low level of Scriptural literacy among professed believers, Paul's writings are even more difficult to understand now than they were during the first century.
Paul's demands by writing, the Corinthians reasoned, were more weighty than when he was face-to-face with them. How directly he spoke to them when he wrote: "For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?" (1 Cor 3:3), and "When ye come together therefore into one place, this is not to eat the Lord's supper" (1 Cor 11:20). How demanding he was: "But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person" (1 Cor 5:13), and "Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Cor 5:7). These were certainly not the words of a timid and fearful man, such as some in Corinth had judged Paul to be.
The Corinthians had to admit that Paul's writings were very impressive, and that they stirred up all manner of thought among them. They could not conceive of him being this way if he was actually in their presence. They knew they could not write like Paul, but felt sure they could successfully contend with him face to face. How wrong they were! Their belligerent attitude was stirring up the lion in Paul, for, as it is written, "The wicked fleeth when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion" (Prov 28:1).
Care must be taken not to mis-assess a man who is full of faith, walks with God, and has an uncommon understanding of the Person and purpose of the God of heaven. Should someone prove to really be his adversary, rather than a mere fledgling believer, he will soon find that there is a Divine arsenal reserved for such foes.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to be gentle when it is appropriate, and bold as a lion when the occasion so demands.