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Today's Pathway: II Corinthians 10:2-4 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. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Yesterday we saw Paul going on the offensive against those false teachers who have infiltrated the church at Corinth. They accused him of not being "bold" when he was in their presence, and Paul responded in verse 2 that they needed to change some things so that he did not have to be bold the next time he arrived. He writes in II Corinthians 13:10,

"Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction."

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth."

One of the things that needed to change was the accusation that Paul's life and ministry were based upon his flesh. This was not the view of the entire church, but there were some who were trying to turn the congregation against Paul with these statements. Perhaps these false teachers were accusing him of being as they were: selfish, prideful, and motivated by worldly pleasure and gain. Paul's response in verses 3-4 is that he may walk in the flesh, but he does not war after the flesh. What he means by this is that he is still a human being, and has to live in this world and deal with the problems that he confronts on a daily basis. Yet, he wants to make it clear that he does not fight his spiritual warfare with carnal weapons. He does not respond to issues like an unsaved man would do. He does not trust his intellect, or his oratorical powers, or his physical strength. He places his trust in the Lord. Paul was in a spiritual battle every day. He had concern for the churches (II Corinthians 11:28). the unsaved (Romans 9:3, 10:1). and for the backslidden, as in Corinth. He had to deal with his own physical needs and emotional struggles. Therefore, he needed divine strength to be able to wage this war effectively. He needed to "walk in the Spirit" so that he would not fulfill the "lusts of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16). He needed to put on "the whole armor of God" so that he could "withstand in the evil day" (Ephesians 6:13). If he were in a battle against a human enemy, then fleshly weapons might work, but Paul's battle, and the battle of all believers, is a spiritual one, and therefore only spiritual weapons will suffice.

Philip Hughes applied this principle this way:

"Only spiritual weapons are divinely powerful for the overthrow of the fortresses of evil. This constitutes an admonition to the church and particularly to her leaders, for the temptation is ever present to meet the challenge of the world, which is under the sway of the evil one, with the carnal weapons of this world—human wisdom and philosophy, the attractions of secular entertainment, the display of massive organization. Not only do such weapons fail to make an impression on the strongholds of Satan, but a secularized church is a church which, having adopted the standards of the world, has ceased to fight and is herself overshadowed by the powers of darkness....And what precisely are these mighty weapons? They are the weapons scorned by the world and yet most feared by the powers of darkness: truth, righteousness, evangelism, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer, as enumerated by Paul in Ephesians 6:14-18."

We will look at this further tomorrow. For today, the question is: are you fighting your spiritual battle with fleshly weapons, or with the armor and power of God?