2 Corinthians 10:1-2; Not After the Flesh But After the Spirit
2 Corinthians 10:1-2 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: 2 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.
Lenski observed well, “Paul begins the subject regarding his opponents in Corinth in a striking manner. He urges and begs the Corinthians not to put his courage to the test when he gets to Corinth, i.e., not to listen to his enemies who say that Paul is brave only when he is away from Corinth, brave only in his letters. It is very likely that some of these enemies even said that Paul was afraid to come to Corinth… And he literally begs the Corinthians not to become involved with these enemies, not to listen to them or in any way to take sides with them so that, when he comes and makes short work of these enemies, he will have to deal equally with any of the Corinthians.”
The way by which the Apostle Paul will handle the dissenters of the gospel will not be by any sinful way, as according to the flesh. He sought to do so by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. It must be pointed out as Lenski did, that our Lord “twice drove the traffickers out of the Temple. The woes with which he denounced the scribes and Pharisees to their very faces are no less than terrific (Matt. 23:13). Christ was also severe, scathing, fiery, and crushing. He was not an anaemic Jesus, whose every word was soft. The thunders of his denunciations are terrible. Yet this is true, he used severity only when he had to use it; he ever longed to use only gentleness.” He did not tolerate the desecration of the Temple because it is the house of prayer and not a den of thieves. For this reason, the money-changers were driven out so that the sanctity of God’s House may be preserved.
The Apostle Paul understood that the church in Corinth has been infiltrated with these dissenters to the gospel that is opposed to his ministry in their midst. As such, he sought a way forward in a righteous way, so that the progress of gospel work will not be impeded.
Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Amen.