Chapter 10
V1 prospon translated ‘presence’ is Greek for ‘face’. Tapeinos translated ‘base’ means lowly in spirit, humble, depressed. Paul was parakaleo/summoning the Corinthians with the gentleness, fairness and humility of Messiah. Face to face with them he exhibited a humble state of lowliness in spirit, but away from them he had the courage to be more forthcoming in speech towards them.
V2 deomai also translated as ‘beseech’ differs from parakaleo in v1. It means to desire or beg. Paul desired not to be overtly courageous in the presence of the Corinthians, especially concerning the boldness required to confront the fleshly among them, lest he be deemed just as fleshly as they in his deportment. A good leader of the congregation will from time to time be confronted by flared tempers, fights, anger, wickedness and so forth within the ecclesia. He must never be sucked into the temptation by the enemy of reacting in a soulish brutish manner. Great exercise in patience and temperance is required to avoid falling for the wiles of Satan. Paul is stating that he needed to exhibit a fine balance in conduct, where although his letters to the Corinthians were bold and severe against wickedness in the ecclesia, he had to be meek and gentle amongst them. Severe, harsh face to face scolding of them was likely to cause some to accuse him of fleshly behaviour cf Matt 10:16
V3 Indeed we are terrestrial beings, constantly wrestling against carnal desires which lead unto sin, yet must focus on the spiritual warfare. This is the estate of the demonic and evil angelic realm, who work through our fleshly inclinations, and whom we wrestle against.
V4 -5 Our weapons of spiritual warfare are mightier than any physical weapon on earth, BUT only operate through Elohim. We cannot fight Satan’s kingdom alone. We fight through Elohim the potentate cf Lam 2:2. Kathairesis translated ‘pulling down’ diminishes the true sense of ‘destruction or demolition’. Ochuroma/ Greek for castle, fortress, stronghold operates in the mind and thoughts. We are to demolish these and any hostile logismos/reasonings within our mind. Elevated thoughts that are contrary to holiness and knowledge of Elohim are to be razed to the ground. This is achieved by the Holy Spirit dwelling in our hearts, to purge all wickedness, and renew our minds through elimination of toxic thoughts in the metacognitive subconscious levels of our mind.
New holy thoughts are then filtered through our cognitive conscious mind, learned and reinforced to be stored permanently in our metacognitive subconscious levels cf Pro 15:26. It is a process that does not take place overnight, but the strongholds and vain imaginations can be cast out immediately by the power of Elohim in the name of Yeshua the Messiah cf Matt 18:18. Every noema/thought, mental perception no matter how small, must fall in line with and be obedient to Yeshua the Messiah for we shall be accountable for every single outcome of these thoughts on the day of judgement Ecc 12:14; Matt 12:36; Isa 55:7.
V6 we should have no mercy for evil. We are to punish Satan’s kingdom and pray for the worst outcome for them. As for members of the ecclesia who deliberately conduct themselves in a wicked manner, in full knowledge of truth, like Paul we should not mince our words against such cf 1 Cor 5:5; 1 Tim 5:20. Note that only the obedient have the mandate to avenge disobedience, to avoid hypocrisy in the ecclesia.
V7 As Christians let us not judge a book by its cover. There are many who through hypocrisy behave as if they are holy and righteous, yet are far from it cf 2 Tim 3:5. Rather we are to take some introspection and examine ourselves to line ourselves up with Messiah, as Paul had also convinced himself of such through examining himself. We must never forget that this Christian walk is an individual one. Focusing on how others are walking, instead of concentrating on perfecting our own, severely compromises our standing with Messiah.
V8-9 Although Paul had the mandate to glory in the authority given him directly by Yeshua Himself, he felt it prudent to carefully and humbly use this authority unto building up the ecclesia, and not destroying it through unbearably severe letters of condemnation. Such misuse of the authority given him, would only lead to shame cf 1 Cor 14:12. His letters of chastisement were somewhat brutal against evildoers in the ecclesia, yet ultimately were for edification of the members, since if left unpunished, these wicked members amongst the saints such as the man sleeping with his father’s wife in 1 Cor ch5, would bring great destruction to the congregation. Pastoring a congregation can be a tightrope that requires fine balance and temperance in order for holiness to prevail.
V10 The carnal members within the ecclesia who failed to understand this fine balance in pastoral conduct on Paul’s behalf, were quick to judge him as somewhat duplicitous. They regarded his letters to be unabashedly stern and powerful, yet in person he seemed feeble in speech and demeanour.
V11 However, Paul addresses his detractors and warns them not to be fooled. He assures them that the tone in his letters does surely reflect his conduct in person. They were clearly taking for granted his meek and gentle nature which was as that of Messiah, foolishly believing that he was a weakling in person. Spiritually mature saints tend to be of a meek and softly spoken nature. Garrulous, haughty preachers tend to be truly fleshly in nature and unfortunately attract fleshly praise from carnally minded members of the ecclesia. This is the template used by many a televangelist, and has brought great success for the kingdom of Satan. Hence why Paul stresses for us not to go by outward appearance. What matters is the substance emanating from the heart of the preacher, not the volume of his voice, nor bodily appearance.
V12 Paul describes what we are typically witnessing in our current epoch. Church has become aligned with sports and entertainment, whereby preachers compete and vie for people’s attention through self-praise, pomp and theatrics, at the most grave expense of the gospel. Churches are condoning and filling up their seats with homosexuals, transgenders, fornicators, gangsters, pimps, prostitutes, drunkards, murderers and the like, seeking their praise and contents of their wallets above all else. It is despicable. Mega churches can never provide a personalised gospel of grace to its members, but rather in most cases lead swathes of unrepentant, deluded souls on the broad path of destruction.
V13 Instead of vainglory, Paul would rather glory in that which is not outside the realm of the capabilities and gifts apportioned unto him by Elohim, for the edification of the ecclesia. The charlatans we see parading the pulpits of today, tend to exaggerate their so-called ‘anointing’ of the Holy Spirit, and make outlandish claims of power to perform all manner of miracles, most of them contrary to scripture, and demonic in nature. Black magic and dark arts are utilized to hoodwink the docile congregants bereft of any scriptural knowledge, and no edification whatsoever is instilled within these churches cf 1 Pet 4:10; Eph 4:7
V14 Paul reiterated again that he, together with his associates were not prepared to extend beyond the prescribed boundaries of gifts bestowed upon them and permitted by the Holy Spirit, in edifying the ecclesia. We must never fall into the temptation of claiming power that we lack, and be honest to the congregants when faced with a situation that we may not be enlightened to yet in our spiritual growth. We are simply vessels through which the Holy Spirit operates, each of us being given different measures of gifts according to our faith. Conversely, we must never through pride withhold knowledge of others who may be able to assist a member in need, and refer them where need be. The gospel of Messiah is not to be transformed and presented as an occult, enigmatic knowledge reserved for an elite cabal, but rather preached freely within the boundaries of light revealed to each individual by the Holy Spirit cf Gal 1:6-8; Rom 15:18-19.
V15 Additionally we are admonished not to hijack and claim glory for ourselves, where others have performed the duty of Elohim. Instead wait upon the Holy Spirit in expectation so that when faith is increased unto greater works, through the ecclesia, we may then glory in the immense magnification of our ministry of the gospel. Note that we cannot intrinsically increase our own faith. Only the Holy Spirit does so, of which faith is a gift. Whatever that measure of increase of faith to perform signs and wonders may be, it must all be done within the new area of increase of boundaries bestowed upon us. A born-again Christian does not suddenly become endowed with all gifts of the Holy Spirit at once, nor are they given a gift in full measure immediately. It would be akin to arming a toddler with a loaded gun. We need to mature in our walk and level of commitment, and in so doing are gradually given increase in gifts proportionate to our distance in the turbulent Christian walk of life cf 2 Thes 1:3.
V16 The Greek word kanon which means boundary or a definitely bounded or fixed space within the limits of which one's power of influence is confined. It is the same word translated as ‘rule’ in v15 and ‘line’ and ‘things’ in v 16. Paul repeats ad nauseum the need not to exceed the boundaries of enlightenment and power bestowed upon us through grace by the Holy Spirit. This was also valid when preaching in other lands, where we should not claim glory that belongs to others i.e. where another man has already laid the foundation of the gospel cf 1 Cor 3:5-11.
V17-18 Ultimately let us not seek vain praise from men when carrying out the duties of Elohim. The power is not ours to boast in anyway. Rather let us praise Elohim for having allowed such worthless vessels as us to be entrusted with His precious gospel and power to edify others cf Jer 9:23-24; Lk 16-15