The Weapons of Warfare
We are in the midst of fighting a spiritual war in this world. To fight that war, we need to have the right weapons. The weapons of the flesh will not work, they will only make it impossible to win the fight. Instead, the only way to fight a spiritual battle is with spiritual weapons. What they are and how we can avoid catastrophe in our spiritual lives is what this chapter will explore. Our example is the Corinthian church, who is ready to compromise on many levels. Instead of spiritual weapons, they settle for weapons of the flesh instead.
Vs. 1-6 Now I, Paul, make a personal appeal to you by the gentleness and graciousness of Christ—I who am humble among you in person but bold toward you when absent. I beg you that when I am present I will not need to be bold with the confidence by which I plan to challenge certain people who think we are behaving in an unspiritual way. For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ. And we are ready to punish any disobedience, once your obedience has been confirmed.
Paul starts out this section with a little more irony. The Corinthian church had accused Paul of being meek in person but bold in his letters. He lets them know that, while he doesn’t wish to be bold when he comes to them in person, he will have no problem doing so if need be. From the beginning of this letter, he has been dealing with a few specific people in the church who have allowed the enemy to gain certain strongholds in their lives, while the rest of the church has allowed it. The church as a whole has been behaving in an “unspiritual way” and, if they didn’t get their act together, Paul was going to challenge and confront them. He wasn’t going to do it with weapons of the flesh, but with spiritual weapons.
So what are those spiritual weapons? We can find Paul’s wonderful list in Ephesians 6:10-18: “Finally… Put on the full armor of God so that you can stand against the tactics of the Devil. For our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens… Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist, righteousness like armor on your chest, and your feet sandaled with readiness for the gospel of peace. In every situation take the shield of faith, and with it you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is God’s word. Pray at all times in the Spirit with every prayer and request, and stay alert in this with all perseverance and intercession for all the saints.” These are the spiritual weapons we need to have to fight the enemy. But instead, the Corinthian church was relying on weapons of the flesh to win these battles. Instead of the belt of truth, they wanted to use manipulation to get what they wanted. Instead of the breastplate of righteousness, they believed their personal successes would win the day,, covering up their lack of truth. Instead of the sandals of the gospel of peace, they used polished and clever words to explain away their sin. Instead of the shield of faith, they covered themselves with perceived power. Instead of the helmet of salvation, they acted like they were superior to everyone around them. And finally, instead of the sword of the Spirit, they used their human intellect and developed programs to fight off the enemy. Does any of this sound familiar? Not only have I seen these tactics be used, I have to admit that there have been times when I have used some of them myself. It is so easy to get caught up in our own “knowledge” and self righteousness. It’s easy to put together another program for the church or think we can talk our way in and out of problems. It’s easy to fall for polished and cleaver words. But these will not win a spiritual war. Paul says we must “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” The Greek word for take captive is aichmalótizó, which means to subdue, and the Greek word for obey is hupakoé, which means to submit to what is heard. So, instead of subduing the enemy with wit, slick speech and charm, we must subdue our own thoughts and intellect and submit to what we hear from Christ. Winning a spiritual battle is not about my own offensive tactics and advances. It is about submitting to the one who has already won the battle.
Vs 7-11 Look at what is obvious. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should remind himself of this: Just as he belongs to Christ, so do we. For if I boast some more about our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up and not for tearing you down, I am not ashamed. I don’t want to seem as though I am trying to terrify you with my letters. For it is said, “His letters are weighty and powerful, but his physical presence is weak, and his public speaking is despicable.” Such a person should consider this: What we are in the words of our letters when absent, we will be in actions when present.
To understand this passage better, we must go to the Greek. The word for obvious in this passage is prosópon, which means face, appearance or the surface. Paul is saying, you are looking at the surface, or the outward appearance, instead of what is inside and unseen. The church judged Paul by what he looked like on the outside. According to Onesiphorus, a friend of Paul (see 1 Timothy 1:16), Paul was “a man small of stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked, full of friendliness; for now he appeared like a man, and now he had the face of an angel.” Paul wasn’t so impressive to look at from the outside. But, Paul reminds them that He, like them, belongs to Christ. It is so easy to get caught up in outward appearances. We are attracted to those who have polished speeches and good looks, not realizing that, if they are not led by the spirit, they can be manipulative and only interested in the power they can wield. Throughout history, many have been attracted to these same people with magnetic personalities who end up leading many astray. Some have even followed these people to their death. Paul and others warn us to look out for these false prophets. Instead, we need to look beyond the outside appearance and listen to the content of their message.
Vs 12-18 For we don’t dare classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. But in measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves to themselves, they lack understanding. We, however, will not boast beyond measure but according to the measure of the area of ministry that God has assigned to us, which reaches even to you. For we are not overextending ourselves, as if we had not reached you, since we have come to you with the gospel of Christ. We are not bragging beyond measure about other people’s labors. But we have the hope that as your faith increases, our area of ministry will be greatly enlarged, so that we may proclaim the good news to the regions beyond you, not boasting about what has already been done in someone else’s area of ministry. So the one who boasts must boast in the Lord. For it is not the one commending himself who is approved, but the one the Lord commends.
Paul tells us that it’s all about what we use to measure ourselves and others. The Greek word for measure is métron. It is a word describing the standard by which we determine something to be acceptable or unacceptable. Paul showed the church at Corinth that they were measuring themselves by the wrong standard. Their standard was inadequate and inferior. If we measure ourselves or others by an inferior standard, we will find it easy to follow sub par mentors or models. Then we find ourselves making excuses for their inadequacies. “He/She isn’t all that bad,” or “Nobody’s perfect,” or “He/She is better than so and so,” etc. When it comes to equipping ourselves for the spiritual battle, we cannot compromise and allow inferior mentors and models to guide us. We cannot make excuses for people and allow their influence in our lives. We need to follow those who follow Christ.
In order to proclaim the good news of the Lord, we must be ready with our weapons of the spirit. We must submit to Christ and hear and follow His voice. We must look beyond mere appearances and witty words into the heart of those who we would follow. And finally, we must use the right standard to measure our mentors and models. We want to follow those who follow Christ. In that way, we will win the battles against the enemy and see God’s kingdom expand.
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