2 Corinthians Chapter 10
Showing all 18 verses for 2 Corinthians Chapter 10.
The People's Bible is written by people, for the people. Each verse below shows:
"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: "
"Paul himself now makes a personal appeal, in the same gentle and humble spirit that Christ showed - even though people say he's timid and unimpressive face-to-face, but bold and forceful only when writing from a distance."
I chose gentleness, not because I lacked power, but because power used gently protects people rather than crushing them. Don't mistake someone's calm, humble manner for weakness - it may be the harder, stronger path.
"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. "
"Paul begs them not to force him into being as confidently forceful in person as he can be, since some people think he and his team operate by purely worldly, self-interested motives."
I don't want conflict, but I won't be pushed into pretending I have no backbone. There's a difference between avoiding a fight and being a pushover - know that difference in your own life.
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: "
"Even though Paul lives an ordinary human life in the body, he doesn't fight his battles the way ordinary human conflicts are fought."
You can be fully human, with all your limitations, and still refuse to fight dirty. Choose your methods as carefully as you choose your cause.
"(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) "
"The weapons Paul fights with aren't ordinary human weapons - they carry God's power, strong enough to demolish fortified strongholds of thought and belief."
Real, lasting change in a person's life comes from reaching their mind and heart honestly, not from forcing them into line. Fight ideas with truth, not with domination.
"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; "
"He tears down arrogant arguments and every proud notion that sets itself up against a true knowledge of God, capturing every thought and bringing it in line with obedience to Christ."
Examine your own thoughts honestly, especially the proud ones. Real freedom comes from holding your thinking to a standard higher than your own ego.
"And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled. "
"He's ready to deal firmly with disobedience, but only once the wider church's loyalty and obedience have been confirmed first."
Don't act rashly against people who've wronged you or others. Give the wider situation room to become clear before you respond firmly.
"Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ’s, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ’s, even so are we Christ’s. "
"Are you judging by outward appearances? If anyone is confident they belong to Christ, they should also recognise, on reflection, that Paul belongs to Christ just as much as they do."
Don't judge people - or yourself - by first impressions or surface performance. Look for what's actually true underneath.
"For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: "
"Even if Paul boasts a bit more about the authority the Lord gave him - authority meant to build people up, not tear them down - he wouldn't be ashamed of it."
Whatever influence or authority you have, use it to build others up, never to tear them down. That's the test of whether power is being used rightly.
"That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. "
"He clarifies he doesn't want to come across as though he's trying to frighten them with his letters."
Be mindful of how your words affect people, even when your intentions are good. Clarify yourself rather than assuming good motives are obvious.
"For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. "
"He quotes what people are actually saying about him: 'his letters are weighty and powerful, but in person he's unimpressive and his speaking is contemptible.'"
Don't let other people's shallow judgements about your appearance, voice, or delivery define your worth. What you carry inside matters more than how impressive you look on the surface.
"Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present. "
"Let such a person understand: what he is in his words by letter when absent, he will be in action when he's actually present."
Integrity means your private and public self line up. Live so that people never have to wonder if you'll actually do what you say.
"For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise. "
"Paul says he wouldn't dare rank or compare himself with those who go around praising themselves - because when people measure themselves only against themselves, and compare themselves only to each other, that's simply not wise."
Don't measure your worth by comparing yourself to people who are themselves just comparing to each other. That's a spiral with no honest floor - find a truer standard.
"But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you. "
"Paul won't boast beyond his proper scope - only within the assignment God has actually given him, a scope that genuinely includes reaching the Corinthians."
Know your own lane and stay grounded in what you've genuinely built or earned, rather than reaching for credit or status that belongs to someone else.
"For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far as to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ: "
"He isn't stretching beyond his proper scope, as though he'd never actually reached them - he genuinely was the first to bring them the good news about Christ."
Be honest about your actual contribution to something, and don't let others claim credit for work they didn't do.
"Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men’s labours; but having hope, when your faith is increased, that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly, "
"He doesn't boast about things beyond his own work, that is, about other people's labours - instead he hopes that as their faith grows, his relationship with them will properly expand too, within his own proper scope."
Hope for real, mutual growth with people rather than grabbing credit for what others have built. Patience earns more trust than claiming.
"To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man’s line of things made ready to our hand. "
"His aim is to preach the good news in regions further out beyond them, not to boast about work already made ready by somebody else's efforts."
Seek out new ground where you can genuinely contribute, rather than fighting over turf others have already built.
"But he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. "
"But whoever boasts, let them boast in the Lord."
Hold your achievements with open hands. Gratitude, not ego, is the healthier way to carry your own success.
"For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. "
"For it isn't the person who praises himself who is approved - it's the person the Lord approves."
Don't try to prove your own worth by talking yourself up. Live in a way that lets the truth about you speak for itself over time.