Read 2 Corinthians 10 at Bible Gateway.
2 Cor 10:1-11 chiastic structure:
1a) 2 Cor 10:1-2a, Paul’s lowly presence (as Christ) and bold absence, but bold against some when present if needed;
1b) 2 Cor 10:2b-3, Paul considered according to the flesh / authority to wage warfare (not according to the flesh);
central axis) 2 Cor 10:4-6, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled;”
2b) 2 Cor 10:7-8, Do you look according to appearance? / We have this authority to edify and not destroy;
2a) 2 Cor 10:9-11, Powerful in letters, weak in presence, but bold in deed when present if needed.
How does a person use the weapons of our warfare that have been given to us by God, to pull down strongholds, cast down arguments, and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ? When I was a young mother, the enemy had brought so much oppression to bear against me, that if I didn’t learn what these things meant, I wouldn’t be here today. This is not something I learned in one week, one month, or one year, but something the Father patiently taught me from circumstance to circumstance, from trial to trial, and Scripture to Scripture, as I continued in my daily Bible study. The series Training to believe and feel truth is linked through to its conclusion. Along the way we learn just what are strongholds, exactly, how to recognize our strongholds of belief, whether true or false, and how we pull down the false ones using the weapons of our warfare, and build up the true ones, likewise.
2 Cor 10:12-18 chiastic structure:
1a) 2 Cor 10:12a, We do not compare ourselves with those who commend themselves;
1b) 2 Cor 10:12b, They are not wise who compare + measure themselves by themselves;
1c) 2 Cor 10:13, Not boasting beyond their sphere / they have been appointed to their sphere by God;
central axis) 2 Cor 10:14, We are not overextending our authority, since we came to you with the gospel of Christ;
2c) 2 Cor 10:15a-16, Not boasting beyond their sphere / hope that their sphere will be extended to regions beyond;
2b) 2 Cor 10:17, He is wise who glories in the Lord (and not himself);
2a) 2 Cor 10:18, For not he who commends himself is approved, but whom the Lord commends.
Earlier studies in 2 Cor 10:
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