2nd Corinthians chapter 10 if you turn with me. 2nd Corinthians 10 verse 1. now i paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of christ who in presence and base among you but being absent and bold toward you that 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 strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought, to the obedience of Christ.

Let's pray. Lord, thank you for the great privilege it is to meet in your name and be part of your family here for this night. What a gift, Lord, it is to have this time to come apart from this world and think on things above, see in your word what's real, what's true, what matters. Show us, Lord, the beauty of your Son tonight in your gospel. May we see that the whole purpose of everything is to bring us to the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ. And may we long to be there Get glory to your name, Lord, through everything. Use us for that glory. In Christ's name we ask, amen.

Now let's look back at verse one in 2 Corinthians 10. Now, I, Paul, myself, beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence and base among you, but being absent and bold toward you.

Now, he begins with an exhortation, I beseech you. And this is gonna come out throughout the text that we'll look at tonight, what his exhortation is. And he does it by, by way of considering something, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. It's not just rhetoric. He says that for a reason. And he presents himself, he introduces himself here in this part of his letter to them as being base among them in presence. but bold in his letters. So we'll see through this chapter why everything in verse one is there.

There were those false teachers in the church at Corinth who criticized and slandered Paul as being bold in his letters, but mild and weak in person, that he talked a big game when there was distance between them. But when he came, you know, and we know People like that, that's not a characteristic that's foreign to us. We understand that. You know, people can talk boldly until you get nose to nose with them and then they melt. And that's what they were saying about Paul, that there's really nothing to him. The only boldness he can muster up is when he's not in our presence. And he was contemptible in that regard.

Look at verse 10. the context here, for his letters say they, this is what these false teachers say, and we know that's what they are by the context also as we go through this chapter, for his letters say they are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak and his speech contemptible. And this is not just a joking criticism. It's not just a light and harmless making fun of somebody. Like I'm sure I've been, you know, if you laugh at somebody, well, you know, they're funny looking or they got big ears or something, you know, that's harmless. But they were saying this about him as proof that he had no authority from God. We see that in verse 2. This was not joking. This was an accusation that Paul was a false preacher. Look at verse 2 again. 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. In other words, had no spiritual understanding or authority from God. That's what they're accusing us of, not just some funny thing that, you know, let's face it, we all make fun of each other, right? I know y'all make fun of me. I make fun of you too when you're not around. That's not what this is. That's not what this is. This was a serious matter in the church. They accused him of not having the authority from God that he claimed to have as an apostle.

So Paul's initial response to this was to mention how that the Lord Jesus Christ himself was meek and gentle. You see how he comes into this, I'd say, rebuke and explanation of this situation that was occurring in the church, But he says, I beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ. I beseech you to see this for what it is in the name of him who was meek and gentle in his presence among his people, but was the very son of God that had power to cast in hell, kill and cast in hell if he pleased. He had all authority in heaven and in earth. but he was meek and gentle. And so you see, he's already correcting the error. And what greater argument is there than to show that the Lord Jesus Christ was meek and gentle among his people as well, and despised, had contempt poured on him He wasn't impressive. The Lord wasn't impressive to the flesh in any way at all. He was meek and gentle. There was no beauty about him that men should desire him. You know, people paint these pictures of some handsome man with long hair and a beard. That's not the way it was. He wasn't attractive to the flesh in any way. He was a Nazarene, of which it was said, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? There was nothing about his earthly presence or heritage or anything that would make anybody think anything of him. And that's what Paul is referring to here.

And like the tabernacle in the wilderness, our Lord The Son of God tabernacled among men in a drab covering like the badger skins that were upon the tabernacle in the wilderness that covered that most holy place that pictured Christ. But also, like that tent, within our Lord was all the fullness of the Godhead, the very glory of God contained in an earthen vessel. And Paul said that about us. that preach the gospel. We have this treasure, this priceless, immeasurably wonderful treasure in earthen vessels. The Lord's preachers are not impressive men. They don't have compelling personalities. They're not eloquent. They're not blustering. You know, you see these guys, now it's popular to stomp around a stage and shout as loud as you can. to try to impress people that way, in lieu of really having anything to say, that's what they offer instead. It's something that's impactful, you know, to people's perception. There's nothing impressive about God's preachers. There never has been.

2 Corinthians 4, 6, For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. God has given us light to see his very glory in the face of his son. And that light shines through us to others. Let your light so shine that they may do what? Glorify your father. He shined in our hearts so that the glory of God would be seen and acknowledged. That God would be, the father would be glorified. And that happens. But, verse seven, the next verse, but we have this treasure in earthen vessels. that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us." So you see what he's saying? What you're saying about me, so be it. I'm weak. I came to you in weakness and fear and trembling. So be it, because it's not about me. Your hope is not in me.

He rebuked strongly this very church for making a big deal about who their preacher was. He said, are you not carnal? You speak as those who don't know Christ when you say that. I'm of Paul, I'm of Apollos, I'm of somebody, I'm of... Paul determined not to be intelligent among them, and he was. He had a brain, he had training too. But he was determined to be an idiot about everything else except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Literally to not know any of it. To not have any regard for any other knowledge. He could have argued people into a fetal position crying for their mama. But that wasn't the method. That's not preaching the gospel. You don't argue people into believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Look at verse two of our text. I beseech you, and again, the whole context of this chapter shows that he's beseeching them to understand the truth of the matter. He was being belittled and criticized and said to not be who he claimed to be, called an imposter because he was not impressive to the flesh when he was with them. So he's beseeching them to understand that it's not about that. Why would that be necessary? Why would that be something you would look for? Why would you want to be? That's not how we fight this fight. That's not how we win. this battle, that 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."

They think of us, an apostle of Jesus Christ, as being somebody that's not even a spiritual authority at all. Now Paul had authority, As an apostle and special powers, the 12 apostles had special powers that the Lord gave them to handle poisonous snakes and to do miracles. And they had the power to pass on those abilities. But the people that they passed on those miraculous abilities to did not have the power to pass them on. And that's clearly outlined in scripture. So when the apostles died, And those to whom they passed those powers on died. No more special powers. They didn't pass on beyond that. And so those who claim to have that now are imposters. They're idiots. They're liars. They're blasphemers.

But what he's saying here, and he doesn't elaborate on what his authority is, he mentions that he has authority, that he has confidence in that which they denied that he had, but he doesn't elaborate on it, but implies very strongly that if he used that authority or power, that those who opposed him in this would not like it very much. He said, I beseech you now, I'm telling you, you don't want me to be the way you're criticizing me for not being. You don't want me to be that way. Especially considering they were calling him an imposter. The apostle Paul commended someone to Satan in another place. They had power. an authority from Christ himself that he could have used that would not have been pleasant for these people. He said, I've thought about it. I've been of a mind to, but you don't want me to. You don't want me to. And so I beseech you rather than prove you wrong by some fleshly act. by some abuse of that authority to prove you wrong, I beseech you to understand what's really at stake here, how God's kingdom operates, and that's what we're gonna get into next. But he had that, he's beseeching or pleading his case with them in a gracious way rather than proving them wrong by a display of what they denied that he had, authority from the Lord.

Now, he had thought about it, but he was restrained because of what he said in verse four. Notice verse four again, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. You don't need me to be impressive. You don't need to be impressed with my flesh. I don't need to or want to conduct myself in your presence in such a way that you're impressed with me and say, oh, he's from God because of the way he conducts himself. We're not interested in that. The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they're mighty through God, not us. And they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God."

You see, that's not how we fight error, by improving and putting forth our flesh in an impressive way. Or they were always asking for a sign of some kind. That's not how we fight the powers of darkness. That's not how we do it through fleshly things. And religion absolutely does do that. They absolutely do that. They do everything they can to be impressive to the flesh, don't they? They walk a certain way. They smile a certain way. They wear certain clothing. Their buildings look a certain way. all of it outward. They're whited sepulchers, the Lord Jesus said, who appear beautiful on the outside, but inside are full of corruption and vile, disgusting heresy and godlessness.

It's not by fleshly displays of aggression, of, you know, onward Christian soldiers, you know, or whatever. That's not how the spiritual warfare of the gospel is won. That's not how we defeat our enemies. God does that, and he's given us a part in that that has nothing to do with the flesh. In fact, the flesh has got to constantly be denied. It's got to constantly be beat down. If I start to desire it, and I know that in no way whatsoever am I an impressive human being, but if I desire that and I start making an effort to be that, God forbid it, may it be far from me to even attempt it. That's not how the spiritual warfare is one, the captain of our salvation, who hath chosen us to be his soldiers. He teaches a different discipline than what this world adheres to.

Look at verse 3. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. We are confined to this flesh. We are limited by this flesh. Weakness, fear, and trembling because of this flesh. But that's not how we fight in the army of Christ.

It's okay. It's fine. He's not saying, I came to you in fear and weakness and trembling and I regret that. No, He deliberately came that way. He came that way because there's no choice for a servant of God but to come any other way.

Because we are weak and we do fear. We do reverence God in this thing because without Him we can do nothing. Without Him we will fail. Without Him we will... We will blaspheme His name, we will besmirch Him, we will not only fail in our flesh, but we will disgrace the very God of heaven. That's why we come with fear and trembling.

He wasn't saying that because he regretted it. He was saying that's the way God's preachers come. And it's deliberate, but also it's not our choice. It's just that way. We can't come any other way when we serve a God like the God we serve.

We're creatures of flesh, and the flesh is weak. The flesh is weak. That's what you're seeing when you see me, that the flesh is weak, but don't miss the treasure by looking at the box, the vessel. God hath chosen the weak.

The flesh is weak, but God chose those who are weak to confound the mighty. He chose those who are foolish to confound the wise. We read a minute ago why God has done that, that the excellency of the glory may be of Him and not of us.

And we say, not unto us, O Lord. You know, to confess Christ, we saw that word confess means to say what he says, to imitate, to say what he, we say what he says. He says no glory for you and we say no glory for us, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, oh Lord.

However, however, we don't war after the flesh now. We don't war after the flesh. If it was up to our flesh, we would fail. But it's not up to our flesh, is it? It's not up to our flesh. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter two. 1 Corinthians chapter two and verse one. And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. It wasn't fleshly wisdom. It had nothing to do with it, for I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified."

When people bring up, where did Cain get his wife and what's going to happen? You know, during the apocalypse, we're not here to talk about that. And we're determined to not. We're determined to not get caught up in the fleshly trappings of religion. We're not going to put a big chart, a timeline, you know, what's going to happen, the rapture and then this, the scorpions are going to come sting people or something. I don't know what they're talking about. I determined not to know anything among you. And this is also saying nobody else is getting any glory but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Nobody else gets any recognition. Nothing else will occupy our time. We're not going to have a Christmas cantata this year. I know you're going to be disappointed. We're not going to have one. We'll just have to watch TV and watch, you know, Frosty the Snowman or something this year, because we're not going to have a Christmas cantata.

You see what the difference between religion and Paul? Paul said, we don't, that's not our purpose. That's not how we do things. That's not the way the Lord has sent us. That's not what he trained us to, how he trained us to operate. I'm determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and Him crucified, what He did for sinners. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom."

That's exactly what he was being criticized for by this church. for not speaking intelligently, you know, and having great swelling words of rhetoric because his oratory skills were lacking. He said, that's how the gospel comes. Look at it. It was not with enticing words of man's wisdom. And that word enticing is critical because the gospel is not trying to get people to do anything. That's the flesh. But in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men. That's what they wanted. They wanted somebody, an impressive man that they could trust, that they could be proud to be associated with. You're not going to find that here, Paul said. nor here, but in the power of God. What's the power of God? The gospel. I'm not ashamed of the gospel, Romans chapter one. Why? Because it's the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes on Christ. That's the power of God, his gospel, his son.

How be it? How be it? I said a while ago, however, however, we're weak. We tremble, we're foolish, we don't know anything, we can't half-talk. Albeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, among them that know the Lord, that are mature, Those that are, it's not perfection in the sense of perfect holiness, it's maturity. It's somebody, the context here says it's somebody that understands the truth, right? If you don't know Christ, then oh, Paul is contemptible. He's not much of a speaker, is he? His letter, he gets all bold and everything in his letter, but when he's here, there's really not much to him. But if you know the Lord Jesus Christ, you would listen to Paul and say, bless God, thank God for his mercy. What a gospel, what a savior. You see what he's saying there?

But it's not the wisdom of this world, the last part of verse six, nor of the princes of this world that come to naught. I've heard people say, You know, my preacher is so impressive. He's so smart, we can't even half understand what he's talking about. Then why are you going there? That comes to nothing. Man's wisdom is impotent when it comes. In fact, it's worse than that. It's counterproductive to the preaching of the gospel. That's why God doesn't choose smart people, because smart people are useless in the ministry. It's just the truth of it. And if he does choose somebody smart, Solomon was a wise man, Paul had a lot of education and was a smart person. But that smart person, once the Lord gives them something to say, they will confess themselves to be fools, for Christ's sake.

We speak the wisdom of God in a mystery. Even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory So the flesh is weak. However, we don't operate in the flesh. What we preach is the power of God in the saving of sinners. And so both are critical to understand. What they were accusing Paul of, he said, true, so be it. But understand this, you're not gonna hear from God any other way. than through a weak vessel.

Look at verse four, and this is so clear and just, I think timely. I think timely. Verse four, for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds. Whatever your refuge of lies is, and however strong, however well studied and fortified it is, it don't stand a chance when the truth comes of Christ. And that has nothing to do with fleshly, with being impressed with flesh in any way whatsoever. God's got to open your heart and speak to your heart and reveal himself in your heart. And he does that through weak, pathetic, unimpressive people. Is that all right with y'all? Is that all right with me?

Casting down imaginations and every high thing, verse five, that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God. You see, those that exalt themselves in the flesh and promote the flesh and impress it in the flesh, they're part of the problem. They've got to be torn down. And bringing into captivity. Here's where it all culminates. Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience or that word, if you look it up, it means submission. bringing into captivity every thought to the submission of Christ. What did Paul say in chapter 10 of Romans? The Jews have a form of godliness. They go about to establish their own righteousness, but what have they not done? Submitted. Submitted to Christ.

The Israelites did not bring down the walls of Jericho with pickaxes and sledgehammers, but by a clear piercing sound which the Lord had instructed them to make, to clearly ring forth and to do it over and over and over again. And that's still how strongholds are pulled down. By God's instruction, by God's word, by God's means, by the clear, plain, piercing sound of his gospel. Through God. Notice the words through God in the text here. Not the imaginations of man's religion.

Man has invented all kinds of stuff, haven't they, to impress people in the flesh. Mickey and I were watching something the other day, and there was this huge cathedral. And it was impressive. It was made from this old stone, and it probably had a 30-foot ceiling in it, vaulted up. And the architecture was just wonderful in there. And the so-called priest that was in there said to somebody else there, it's hard to be in this place and not feel his presence, isn't it?

That's why they do it. That's why they build them. Because in lieu of the actual presence of Christ, where two or three, he said, meet together in my name, there I am. And whether it be a cave, or an old broken down house that's leaking everywhere a house can leak, or somewhere nobody would even think of that a church might meet, or a beautiful building like this, If Christ is here, if the presence of the Son of God is among us, then that's worship. It's not going to happen any other way. How impressive the building is has nothing to do with it. And we have to guard against that, don't we?

Because I was impressed. I'm impressed by that. It looks so comfortable and so, you know, it looks worshipful in there. But without Christ, who are they worshiping? Who are they worshiping? Through God, how God said, not by fleshly persuasion, not by entertaining the flesh, not by bribing with heaven and threatening with hell, but by the clear soul-piercing sound of the gospel of Christ and what he accomplished on Calvary.

We don't have vaulted ceilings, but we have an exalted Savior. We don't have gold and silver, but God's riches in glory by Christ Jesus. We don't appeal to sinners to make decisions for Jesus, but declare unto sinners what Christ accomplished when he died on Calvary.

The disciples were so enamored. You remember in Luke chapter 21. It's been a while since we've been through that, but I've referred to it a few times that the disciples were so enamored like like the flesh is with these huge buildings, the temple. Look at the architecture of it. Look how beautiful it is. It'd be so comforting to go in there, you know, and and go through the motions of religion. It seems like a refuge. It's so peaceful and impressive. And they even thought that the Lord would be impressed when they showed it to the Lord. Look at this. Look how beautiful it is. And you remember what the Lord Jesus said to them? I'm going to destroy this place. So until not one stone is left on top of another. And listen, and then he told them as that earthly temple would be destroyed, he taught them that when the very foundations of this earth are broken up, and men's hearts are failing them for fear. Don't run into a sanctuary of stone, but look up, lift up your heads for your redemption draweth nigh. Look to the one who bled for you on Calvary and washed your robes white in his precious blood. That's the weapons of our warfare. That's how we fight this battle. We look to the captain of our salvation and by his grace do what he said do.

It's not impressive. It's not going to get crowds. Can we learn from this that no earthly refuge or security is real? That our hope, the only hope we have, is that we've been bought with a price. Look up because your redemption draweth nigh. Don't worry about what's going on on this earth. Don't worry about everything that men have trusted in. that men have looked to, that men have put their confidence in when it's all breaking up and turning to dust and ashes. You've been bought with a price. That's where your focus is on the one that bought you and washed you from your sins in his precious blood.

Our one and only refuge sanctuary and hiding place from the wrath of God is the cleft of the rock. hidden there by the very hand of God Almighty, the Rock of Ages, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul said, you might well think me weak in the flesh, but don't miss the treasure for the vessel. You're missing the point. You're missing Christ because you're disappointed in a man. It's by the simplicity and plainness of the gospel. of the successful victorious Savior that the strongholds of your self-righteousness will be pulled down. If they're going to be, it's only by looking to Calvary. If you ever see Him and what He did on Calvary now, your self-righteous walls will be pulled down. The casting down of your imaginations of pleasing God by your works by your will, by your decisions, your soul damning, going about to establish your own righteousness, that will be cast down one way, by the gospel, which is the power of God that saves sinners who look anywhere else but Him.

Not by eloquence, not by shouting or a persuasive personality, but by telling in the simplest of terms of Him who is a just God and a Savior, who is just and the justifier of sinners like us. By the foolishness of preaching, God will cast down all knowledge that is against the knowledge of God. Not by debates, not by arguments, not by discord and fighting, but by this very arrangement right here. God gives some sinners the good sense to sit down and shut up. And he teaches us the gospel by these, what the world would call foolish means. This man has no degree. He doesn't know anything. If I was preaching my opinions, that would make a big difference. It'd be important that I was smart. That's not what we have to say. I determined to know nothing among you. Save Jesus Christ. and Him crucified.

You know what that tells you? What's it talking about everything that exalts itself above the knowledge of God? What is that? Everything but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. All of it. Anything that's not Christ is against the knowledge of God.

Notice that the final result of what we do through God, by the power of his might, the gospel we preach, the work of Christ's ministry, it all results in all of our thoughts, all of our thoughts being in submission to Christ. We're brought to his feet. Think how many people were transformed from darkness into his marvelous light in the scriptures at his feet, at his feet. I'll tell you this, in spiritual terms, all of them were, all of them were. No thought in my head that does not bring me to the feet of the Son of God should be tolerated." You'll find that the plain teaching of scripture that we are hopelessly and helplessly vile in the sight of God by nature, hopeless and helpless, no hope and nothing we can do about it, If it's ever brought home to our hearts by the Holy Spirit, you know where we'll wind up? At His feet.

You'll find that the plain teaching of Scripture that salvation is of the Lord. That simple. Salvation's of the Lord. The Lord alone, that it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that striveth, but of God that showeth mercy. When that truth comes home to your heart and faith is mixed with the preaching of his gospel, that will bring you right upside down in Thomas at the feet of God's son, confessing he's my Lord and he's my God.

Not trying to get you to quit anything or make any resolutions. Not trying to get you to do anything. But I want to tell you who Christ is and what he accomplished for sinners. That the Lord himself might bring you to his feet because that's where mercy is found. That's where God's glory is seen. That's where sinners are saved.

God has a world because he's saving sinners. When he gets done saving sinners, it's all done. Even so, Lord, come quickly, come quickly. Amen.