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We will not boast about things done outside our area of authority. We will boast only about what has happened within the boundaries of the work God has given us, which includes our working with you. ¹⁴ We are not reaching beyond these boundaries when we claim authority over you, as if we had never visited you. For we were the first to travel all the way to Corinth with the Good News of Christ.

Nor do we boast and claim credit for the work someone else has done. NLT

In Christian work it is important, I believe, to have a sense of the sphere (or spheres) to which God has called you. No-one can be everywhere and do everything. Paul was aware that Corinth was a part of his calling, and although there were teachers who were seeking to wean the Corinthians off their loyalty to Paul, he asserted that he still had apostolic authority in the church by virtue of the territory God had given him. He was not over-stepping God-appointed boundaries.

‘Founding the church in Corinth was part of the job God gave Paul to do…If there’s any measuring to be done, any assessment of who’s who in the story of the Corinthian church, you simply can’t take it away from Paul: he was the one who went there and announced the good news of the Messiah. Whatever else has happened since, that’s what he did; it was his commission that he should do so; and (he implies) the fact that there’s a church there to this day is testimony to the fact that the Lord has commended him for doing it…What he is most concerned about…is that he shouldn’t be thought to be poaching on someone else’s patch, and that other people shouldn’t claim to have the status of ‘founding apostle’ on territory that God had given to him.’ Tom Wright.

It is important to say that, in all of this, Paul isn’t boasting, as we will see next time. But there is a legitimate desire for people to recognise his God-given role in the founding of the church at Corinth – and its ongoing implications.

We aren’t making outrageous claims here. We’re sticking to the limits of what God has set for us. But there can be no question that those limits reach to and include you. We’re not moving into someone else’s “territory.” We were already there with you, weren’t we? We were the first ones to get there with the Message of Christ, right? So how can there be any question of overstepping our bounds by writing or visiting you?

We’re not barging in on the rightful work of others, interfering with their ministries, demanding a place in the sun with them. The Message

Oh, don’t worry; we wouldn’t dare say that we are as wonderful as these other men who tell you how important they are! But they are only comparing themselves with each other, using themselves as the standard of measurement. How ignorant! NLT

In Romans 12:3 Paul writes:

”For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment…”

However, In Corinth, he was being undermined by some self-important critics. They felt vastly superior to Paul. At least, they gave that impression.

Comparisons can be odious. When we compare ourselves with others we face at least two dangers:

a.) That of feeling inferior. They are so much more better than us, we imagine: more gifted, more able more…everything really!! (This can also feed poisonous weeds of jealousy in the soil of our hearts, causing them to grow and gain a stranglehold);

b.) That of feeling superior. Inwardly, we look down on others from a great height. We may successfully hide these attitudes from them, but we can never hide from God.

‘…if three small people stand side by side, they can convince themselves that they are all really quite tall – until a really tall person comes into the room. Or, again, I might imagine to myself that I am really seven feet tall; but if there’s a rule on the wall that I can measure myself by, an objective standard, marked out in feet and inches (or metres and centimetres), I will soon learn my mistake.’ Tom Wright

Similarly, I may think that I am very good at a particular sport – say badminton, for example. But then I get to play a true pro, and that puts me firmly in my place. The benchmark shows how low my level actually is.

‘There is only one measurement, one standard, by which we should measure ourselves; and that is the standard of Jesus Christ. Only when we compare ourselves with Christ will we be able to measure ourselves accurately. And when we compare ourselves with Christ, how unworthy we appear!’ Tom Hale

‘

Look at the obvious facts. Those who say they belong to Christ must recognize that we belong to Christ as much as they do. ⁸ I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority.

⁹ I’m not trying to frighten you by my letters. ¹⁰ For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” ¹¹ Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away. NLT

Remember, Paul combined ”the gentleness and kindness of Christ” (1) in his ”appeal” to the Corinthians. In his general approach he had balanced toughness and tenderness, but this had led to the charge that Paul was one thing in his letters, but another thing entirely in person. However, he makes it clear that when he visits the church again, he will not hesitate to use his God-given authority if he has to. But he also shows us, in this chapter, that church discipline is essentially constructive and not destructive. The authority he has is for building people up and not tearing them down. Amidst, at times, necessary disciplinary procedures, Jesus goes on building His church, through His people who stay fully loyal to Him.

” For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down.” 2 Corinthians 13:10 ESVUK.

This is pastoral authority. It is essentially constructive. It is always the authority of the servant.

 We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. ⁴ We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. ⁵ We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. ⁶ And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient. NLT

In this passage Paul shows that the battle for repentance (the struggle against wrong thinking; the fight to capture every thought and make it obey Christ) is to be waged not only outside the church, but also within it. He makes it clear that he is ‘all in’: fully committed to the purity of the church, and therefore to discipline.

‘The battle for the mind remains central to the church’s task, in this and every age. But it doesn’t just have to be fought by Christians against those outside the church. It has to be fought inside the church as well, and that’s what Paul is beginning once more to do in this section of the letter. He now knows that the church as a whole is well disposed towards him (7.5-16). But there are still some teachers who might be inclined to rebel, to say about him what they’d always said: that he wasn’t half as good a speaker as he was a writer, and that, though he sounded imposing when he was far away, he was actually insignificant in person. He was, in any case, just another human being doing what all human beings do, not a truly ‘spiritual’ person as some of them claimed to be.

The point of this present passage is to say: if that’s the challenge, I’m ready to take it on. My whole ministry, after all, is all about opposing proud arguments that set themselves up against the true knowledge of God. If that’s my speciality in my teaching towards outsiders, do you suppose I won’t do the same if I’m confronted by people in the church itself?’ Tom Wright

…and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. NIVUK

In Romans 5:6,7 Paul writes:

 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. ⁷ For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 

However, as we saw last time, Christianity starts with repentance, and repentance entails, we might say, taking captive enemy thought soldiers. But repentance is not a one-off thing, where you can exclaim, ‘There we are, done and dusted!’ Not at all. Repentance must become a lifestyle because hostile thought soldiers are constantly lifting their heads above the trenches, and seeking to invade our lives; lives which are now Christ’s territory. So we have to capture them, and bring them under the Lordship of Jesus. Every Christian will testify to the reality of this ongoing battle – one that does not diminish with the passing of years. It may change, but we may also find that in certain ways it intensifies.

So repentance must be proclaimed in evangelism. But the need for it is always right here among us in the church. Tom Hale writes helpfully, as always:

‘Let us ask ourselves: Have all our thoughts been ”Taken captive” and brought under the control of Christ? Perhaps outwardly we obey Christ; but do we obey Him in our thoughts?

Everyone agrees that to speak evil thoughts is wrong. But to keep such thoughts in our minds is also wrong. We can hide our thoughts from other men, but we cannot hide them from God.

But from time to time evil thoughts come suddenly into our minds. How can we get rid of these thoughts? We can ”take them captive.” That is, we can bring them under the control of Christ. Evil thoughts are Satan’s soldiers. We can overcome these with the spiritual weapons…For example, these evil thoughts-thoughts of anger, jealousy, greed, unrighteousness, worry, etc. – are like birds flying around our heads. We can’t stop the birds from flying over our head, but we can certainly stop them from building nests in our hair!’

 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ…ESVUK

Our battle is to bring down every deceptive fantasy and every imposing defence that men erect against the true knowledge of God. J.B. Phillips

I seem to remember a well-known Bible teacher saying that, ever since the time of John Wesley, holiness teachers have tended to emphasise the need for a clean heart; but the New Testament majors on the necessity of a clean mind.

Both within and without the church, the battle for the mind rages. But using our divinely appointed weapons, we can burst the balloons of godless philosophies. If repentance is a change of mind, leading to a change of behaviour, then this battle for the mind is fundamental. There can be no conversion/salvation without repentance

‘We can say that, in a sense, the mind of natural man is Satan’s ”stronghold,” and the thoughts of natural man are Satan’s messengers and soldiers. Only with God’s spiritual weapons can Paul demolish Satan’s strongholds and take captive (bring under control) man’s evil thoughts.’ Tom Hale

”Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Rom.12:1,2: NIVUK.

 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. NIVUK

The very weapons we use are not those of human warfare but powerful in God’s warfare for the destruction of the enemy’s strongholds. J.B. Phillips

‘It is useless to fight Satan with weapons that only work against men.’ Tom Hale

Paul writes about these spiritual weapons elsewhere: e.g. in Rom.13:12; 2 Cor.6:7; Eph.6:13-18. The important thing for us is to recognise – to really believe – that they are powerful and effective, and use them! They are no use if kept locked away in a weapons cupboard.

Wear the armour, and use the armoury provided.

Someone writing about Eph.6 entitled his chapter, ‘What to wear to the war.’

‘There is a battle going on. Keep your eyes open and your sword sharp.’

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. NIVUK

The truth is that, although of course we lead normal human lives, the battle we are fighting is on the spiritual level.  J.B. Phillips

Here are three incontrovertible facts:

1. Christians are at war;
2. Christians have to fight in the world;
3. Christians don’t (or shouldn’t) fight in worldly ways.

So, Christians are at war! Warren Wiersbe said, ‘The Christian life is a battle ground, not a playground.’ Don’t we feel the truth of this – painfully – at times?

But it is a battle fought out in the world. Jesus, in His prayer for His disciples, in John 17 says: ”My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one” (v.15).

I once heard a sermon that began something like this: ‘When you become a Christian you make at least two discoveries: ‘The first is that you have made a whole lot of new friends – and that’s good; the second is that you have made a whole lot of new enemies – and that’s not so good!.’

But our enemies are spiritual, rather than physical. Although some people may seem to be our enemies, they aren’t really (see Eph.6:10). So we don’t fight with tanks, bombs, bullets etc (or even things like slander and character assassination).

This is good news, as we will see in the next reading.

And now a personal but most urgent matter; I write in the gentle but firm spirit of Christ. I hear that I’m being painted as cringing and wishy-washy when I’m with you, but harsh and demanding when at a safe distance writing letters. Please don’t force me to take a hard line when I’m present with you. Don’t think that I’ll hesitate a single minute to stand up to those who say I’m an unprincipled opportunist. Then they’ll have to eat their words. The Message.

Paul’s ”meekness and gentleness” were not to be misunderstood. There were people who were saying, in effect, ‘Oh that Paul can sound tough in his letters, but when you’re face to face with him you find he’s a bit of a mouse.’ So Paul wanted to be understood. His gentleness did not mean he was unwilling to confront and discipline church members where necessary. Let no one doubt that he was ready to take any necessary action. The truth matters, and lies must not be permitted to prevail.

In verses 8-11 he goes on to say ” I may seem to be boasting too much about the authority given to us by the Lord. But our authority builds you up; it doesn’t tear you down. So I will not be ashamed of using my authority.

I’m not trying to frighten you by my letters.  For some say, “Paul’s letters are demanding and forceful, but in person he is weak, and his speeches are worthless!” ¹¹ Those people should realize that our actions when we arrive in person will be as forceful as what we say in our letters from far away.” NLT

Gentleness is not incompatible with rebuke, as good parents certainly know.

” Love precedes discipline” – John Owen

”Discipline is difficult, painful, and often heartrending. It is not that we should not love the offenders, but that we should love Christ, His church, and His Word even more. Our love to the offenders is not to be sentimental tolerance but correcting love” – John MacArthur