Godly Wisdom (2 Cor. 10:1-6)

Today’s scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

Sometimes—actually, often—I read God’s word, and I’m almost overwhelmed by how much wisdom is contained in just a few verses. Today is no exception.

First, Paul writes about having the “meekness and gentleness of Christ” and being “bold with confidence.” While these terms seem contradictory, they are clearly Christ-like attributes. Our Savior was certainly meek—in the best sense of the word. My small group is going through a study on the beatitudes, and in the chapter on “Blessed are the meek” (Matthew 5:5), the author writes, “The Greek adjective translated ‘meek,’ means ‘gentle,’ ‘humble,’ ‘considerate,’ ‘courteous,’ and therefore exercising the self-control without which these qualities would be impossible” (John Stott, The Beatitudes: Developing Spiritual Character © 1998).

Yet as meek and gentle as Christ was, He was also bold to speak truth, never shying away from telling it like it is. Does the phrase “white-washed sepulchers” ring any bells?

We too need to be gentle and meek with others, yet be confident to share God’s truth whenever and with whomever we can.

Second, Paul writes about the war we face every day. Not a war against flesh, but one against the lies of the enemy. Satan is the “father of lies” (see John 8:44). While he’s lost the war with those of us who have committed our lives to Christ, he would like nothing more than to drag us down and to keep us from fulfilling God’s purpose through and in us. We need to be prepared—each and every day—as we take up our God-given armor (see Ephesians 6:10-18).

Finally, Paul writes of our taking “every thought captive to the obedience of Christ …” How often does our thought life translate into wrong actions? Seriously, that’s where sin starts, right? I think something before I do it, and so if I’m not careful about what I think, I’m going to more easily fall into sin.

We need to be diligent about this. Whenever a sinful thought creeps in (remember that “father of lies”?), we need to take it captive, asking the Holy Spirit to completely eradicate it from our minds. We can’t let sinful thoughts take even a toehold.

Well … so much wisdom. So much to think—and pray—about.

And that’s just from six short verses!