Weapons of Warfare
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4) For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5) We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-5
The apostle Paul’s relationship with the church in Corinth was strained. It shouldn’t have been. Paul was the Corinthian believers’ spiritual father. In the face of violent persecution, the apostle faithfully preached the gospel to them. He sacrificially served them for one-and-a half years at his own expense. Predictively, when Paul left Corinth for Ephesus, spiritual charlatans arrived to fill the void he left. Under the influence of these self-serving leaders, many in the church at Corinth turned against Paul. They foolishly gave heed to these so-called “super-apostles”—men who dismissed Paul as being no apostle at all. After all, Paul carried no letter of recommendation when he arrived to minister in Corinth (3:1-3). In contrast, the super-apostles’ paperwork was found to be in perfect order. In addition, they reminded the Corinthian church of the time Paul promised to visit but didn’t show up. This, they claimed, demonstrated Paul’s lack of integrity (1:16-17, 23-24). Most significantly, these self-appointed “authorities” challenged the notion that Paul himself could be an apostle on the basis that he was not—at least by this world’s standard—an impressive man. After all, they were trained orators! Paul, on the other hand, lacked flare (10:9-10; 1 Cor. 2:1). The “super-apostles” were prosperous and respected everywhere they went. In contrast, Paul was seldom well-received. In fact, Paul was constantly getting beat up, imprisoned, or run out of town (11:23-29). Why submit to him? Many in the Corinthian church decided not to.
In 2 Corinthians chapters 10 and 11 Paul rightly defends his ministry. He condemns the false-teaching fake apostles who were deceiving the Corinthian church (11:13). Here in chapter 10, Paul appeals to the Corinthian believers by specifically addressing their accusation that, while he was bold in the exercise of his authority when absent, he was weak and unimpressive when physically present. In verses 1-6, Paul challenges their misjudgment of him—a false judgment rooted in their worldly understanding of leadership and authority. Paul calls his spiritual children to repent and submit to his God-given authority rather than the self-serving demands of the false teachers they had foolishly embraced.
In verse 3, Paul answers the accusation that he ministers, not in God’s strength, but in the strength of his own flesh. Paul acknowledges that he does, in fact, “walk in the flesh”. In other words, the life Paul lives in this fallen world is the same life common to all humanity. Left to himself, Paul has nothing to offer them or God. But God did not leave Paul to himself. He dramatically saved Paul! God dramatically transformed Paul! As one “untimely born”, God appointed Paul to be an apostle (1 Cor. 15:8)! Because of this, Paul makes it clear. While he walks “in the flesh”, he is not “waging war according to the flesh” (verse 3). On the contrary, Paul’s strength—Paul’s spiritual authority—comes directly from God! He writes, “For” the weapons of our warfare (that is, spiritual warfare) are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God and take every thought captive to obey Christ” (verses 4-5).
Unlike the Corinthian “super-apostles”, the weapons Paul wielded in his ministry were not of this world. As a genuine apostle, Paul rejected reliance on entertaining oratory, personal charisma, self-promotion, a domineering style of leadership, or the manipulation of people and Scripture for the sake of popularity. As unimpressive as he seemed to the Corinthians, the primary weapon Paul wielded against anti-God arguments and human arrogance was the straight-forward preaching of God’s gospel (1 Cor. 1:17-18; 2:1-2) in the power of God’s Spirit (3:3-6; 12:9-10; 1 Cor. 2:4-5) accompanied by meekness (10:1-2), integrity (4:2), and the sharing of Christ’s sufferings (4:8-12; 11:23-28). This is the nature of real spiritual authority and life-transforming ministry.
Like Paul, we have been called to make disciples in the midst of our resistant, dying world. While we are not apostles, the “weapons” of our “warfare” remain the same. Our only effective response to this world’s anti-God arrogance and resistance to Truth is the straightforward proclaiming of God’s gospel in the power of God’s Spirit accompanied by humility, integrity, and a willingness to share in Christ’s suffering. May God grant us grace to answer his call.