{"id":8401,"date":"2011-10-03T02:56:03","date_gmt":"2011-10-03T02:56:03","guid":{"rendered":"\/Jerri's-Blog\/2-Corinthians-10:6.aspx"},"modified":"2014-04-20T02:34:47","modified_gmt":"2014-04-20T02:34:47","slug":"2-corinthians-106","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hisriches.com\/2-corinthians-106\/","title":{"rendered":"2 Corinthians 10:6"},"content":{"rendered":"

“And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:6<\/strong><\/p>\n

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In 2 Corinthians 10:6<\/strong>, Paul is stating the authority the Lord gave him to punish the disobedient false apostle once the Corinthian believers have made this possible by their obedience. Paul has mentioned this before in his letter:
\n“The reason I wrote you was to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything.” 2 Corinthians 2:9
\n“And his affection for you is all the greater when he remembers that you were all obedient, receiving him with fear and trembling.” 2 Corinthians 7:15
\n“I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.” 2 Corinthians 10:2<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nCOMMENTARY EXPLANATION<\/p>\n

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“…once the church has become fully obedient, Paul will be in a position to deal punitively with the intruders into the community.” Crandall University Professor Barry D. Smith<\/em><\/p>\n

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 “Being in readiness to avenge all disobedience – Not only by spiritual censure, but miraculous punishments. When your obedience is fulfilled – When the sound part of you have given proof of your obedience, so that I am in no danger of punishing the innocent with the guilty.” Wesley’s Explanatory Notes<\/em><\/p>\n

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“We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:5-6
\n<\/strong>“5…we must give up our own understanding, and renounce the wisdom of the flesh, and thus we must present our minds to Christ empty that he may fill them. Now the form of expression must be observed, when he says, that he brings every thought into captivity, for it is as though he had said, that the liberty of the human mind must be restrained and bridled, that it may not be wise, apart from the doctrine of Christ; and farther, that its audacity cannot be restrained by any other means, than by its being carried away, as it were, captive. Now it is by the guidance of the Spirit, that it is brought to allow itself to be placed under control, and remain in a voluntary captivity.
\n6…Paul, however, speaks in general terms that he has vengeance ready at hand against all the disobedient.
\nWhen your obedience shall be fulfilled How prudently he guards against alienating any by excessive severity! For as he had threatened to inflict punishment upon the rebellious, that he may not seem to provoke them, he declares that another duty had been enjoined upon him with regard to them — simply that of making them obedient to Christ. And, unquestionably, this is the proper intention of the gospel, as he teaches both in the commencement and in the close of the Epistle to the Romans. (Romans 1:5<\/strong> and Romans 16:26<\/strong>.) Hence all Christian teachers ought carefully to observe this order, that they should first endeavor with gentleness to bring their hearers to obedience, so as to invite them kindly before proceeding to inflict punishment upon rebellion. Hence, too, Christ has given the commandment as to loosing before that of binding.” Calvin’s Commentary<\/em><\/p>\n

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Passages referred to in this quote by Calvin:
\n“Through him and for his name’s sake, we received grace and apostleship to call people from among all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith.” Romans 1:5
\n“but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey him—“ Romans 12:26
\n“If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, treat him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
\nI tell you the truth, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[e] loosed in heaven.
\nAgain, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” Matthew 18:15-19
\n<\/strong>“Again I say unto you, That if two of you … – This is connected with the previous verses. The connection is this: The obstinate man is to be excluded from the church, Matthew 18:17. The care of the church – the power of admitting or excluding members – of organizing and establishing it – is committed to you, the apostles, Matthew 18:18. Yet there is not need of the whole to give validity to the transaction. When two of you agree, or have the same mind, feelings, and opinion, about the arrangement of affairs in the church, or about things desired for its welfare, and shall ask of God, it shall be done for them. See Acts 1:14-26; Acts 15:1-29. The promise here has respect to the apostles in organizing the church. It cannot with any propriety be applied to the ordinary prayers of believers. Other promises are made to them, and it is true that the prayer of faith will be answered, but that is not the truth taught here.” Barnes’ Notes on the Bible <\/em>
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“Verse 18 is a comment by Christ indicating the authority granted to the leadership of the church in relation to establishing the final judgment against the sinning Christian who refuses to repent. Their decision was binding and their authority was just as great as if God had made the same decision in heaven.
\nVerse 19 – The AGREEMENT is in relation to the process employed in verses 15 through 17 that results in the decision to expel the sinning person from the fellowship. A decision was made after meeting with the sinning person by the TWO individuals who accompanied the first Christian to confront the sinning believer. Their decision was in regards to the disciplinary measures to be applied to the sinning believer. These TWO individuals then made a request, based on the decision that they made (verse 19), to the other TWO individuals mentioned in the text, the leaders of the fellowship, who are the ones that must AGREE (verse 19) about what the other TWO have ASKED in relation to what disciplinary measures should be taken against the sinning believer.
\nIt is the TWO Christians (who confront the sinning believer) who ASK, and it is the two DISCIPLES (the leadership of the church), who must AGREE as to what was asked by the other two. If the principles of discipline were followed correctly and the DISCIPLES (the leadership of the church) agreed as to what the request for discipline required, then the request was granted, applied and carried the same weight as if it had been spoken in heaven by God, based on the authority given to the DISCIPLES in verse 18, regarding the binding and loosening. The binding is the discipline applied and the loosening is the discipline removed when the sinning believer repents and is restored to the fellowship.
\nSo, it is the two or more Christians who ASK the leadership of the church to exercise a certain type of discipline against a sinning believer, and it is the leadership of the church who must AGREE as to how appropriate the request for discipline is, in relation to the sinning believer. If the leadership AGREES with what the two or more Christians ASK, then the discipline is applied.” Gary A. Hand<\/p>\n

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THE APOSTLE’S AUTHORITY<\/p>\n

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As an apostle Paul has the authority to punish disobedience. Following is an account of the authority of the apostle Peter:
\n“Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
\nThen Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
\nWhen Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
\nAbout three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
\n   “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
\nPeter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
\nAt that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.” Acts 5:1-11<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Paul (perhaps often) used this authority:
\n“They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus, who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said, “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord? Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun.”
\n“Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.” Acts 13:6-11<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Paul explains to the Corinthians the authority He has:
\n“For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it.” 2 Corinthians 10:8
\n“This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down.” 2 Corinthians 13:10<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nOUR OBEDIENCE NECESSARY:<\/p>\n

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Another way this verse could be applied is for us as Christians to be obedient so that God can do His will. For instance, a town was plagued with stealing, dishonesty, etc. The church prayed against it, but the town was still plagued. Someone asked, “Does everyone in your church tithe?”
\n“No.”
\n“Then you don’t have the authority to overcome this sin.”<\/p>\n

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What sins are we committing so that our prayers are hindered? Often we cannot recognize our own faults:
\n“Who can discern his errors? Forgive my hidden faults. Keep your servant also from willful sins; may they not rule over me.
\nThen will I be blameless, innocent of great transgression.” Psalm 19:12-13<\/strong><\/p>\n

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If we are sinning, either by what we do or do not do, it definitely affects our communication with God:
\n“If I had cherished sin in my heart, the Lord would not have listened; but God has surely listened and heard my voice in prayer.” Psalm 66:18-19
\n“If anyone turns a deaf ear to the law, even his prayers are detestable.” Proverbs 28:9<\/strong><\/p>\n

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The way we treat other people, especially those under our authority and our protection, is important:
\n“Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.” 1 Peter 3:7<\/strong><\/p>\n

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It is very important to obey God. Several years ago I memorized this passage:
\n“If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly would I subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes! Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him, and their punishment would last forever. But you would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.” Psalm 81:13-16<\/strong><\/p>\n

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I was repeating what I had memorized while I was walking, and suddenly I knew that the Lord was saying this to me. I wondered how I wasn’t obeying the Lord. About that time I was reading Me? Obey Him?<\/em> by Elizabeth Rice Handford. I realized I wasn’t obeying my husband completely. I changed because the Lord had spoken this verse to me.<\/p>\n

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Something miraculous happened. Thinking back on the situation I didn’t realize the danger of my disobedience. The Lord had saved me and many others. Soon after He gave me a ministry that I feel was a result of my obedience. How important to hear God and to obey!<\/p>\n

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The Lord had waited for the right time and had rebuked me gently. I repented. If we do not change when the Lord first rebukes us, He will use greater discipline—only as much as He has to. This is what Paul did for the Corinthians and what we should do for our children.<\/p>\n

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Jim and I are blessed to have children who obey the Lord. However, some parents have rebellious children, and sometimes, when children are older discipline must be left completely in the Lord’s hands. Even then, we can rejoice and believe because He knows exactly the balance between love and discipline that is needed for each individual.<\/p>\n

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When we obey we have to some extent the authority Paul had. For instance, all Christians have great authority in prayer:
\n“Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done.” Matthew 21:21
\n“If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you.” John 15:8
\n”This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.” 1 John 5:14-15<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\nWhen our obedience is complete, God will do His perfect will on our behalf. This is one reason the following verse should be our constant prayer:
\n“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.”  Psalm 19:14<\/strong><\/p>\n

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“And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:6   In 2 Corinthians 10:6, Paul is stating the authority the Lord gave him to punish the disobedient false apostle once the Corinthian believers have made this possible by their obedience. Paul has mentioned this before<\/p>\n

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