Day 158, 2 Corinthians 10
Now Paul comes to the heart of their dispute with him. Mistakenly, they see him as weak and gentle in person but bold and outspoken when he writes. They are disparaging him with implications of hypocrisy and substandard spirituality while comparing him with their own “super spiritual” heroes.
Paul rightly diagnoses their error as a spiritual stronghold. Comparison, and its offspring, criticism and judgment, are all part of the stronghold of pride, which is as old as sin itself.
By exposing the stronghold, Paul dismantles it. He then issues a rallying cry to anyone who truly loves Jesus to step back into obedience to God (and by implication to Paul too).
In the middle of the chapter, notice Paul’s maturity as he doesn’t throw his weight around, but simply states that there is going to be no difference between what he says in a letter and what he does in person. (Side note: written communication is easily misunderstood because it carries no tone of voice, body language, or emotional interaction. This may be why the Corinthians were misunderstanding Paul so terribly).
Finally, Paul moves back into hyperbole to introduce his correction to those who compare and rank by their own standards. He exposes this self-delusion, and corrects it with the true measure of spirituality: the fruit of the work. This measure comes directly from Jesus, through the Holy Spirit, and is our only true grounds for boasting.
Let’s make Jesus famous through our obedience and thanksgiving!
Have a great day!
Mark.