2 Corinthians 10:4

Contextual Overview

¹ I, Paul, am begging you with the gentleness and the kindness of Christ. Some say that I am bold when I am writing you from a distance, but not when I am there with you. ¹ I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ--I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold to you when I am away! -- ¹ I Paule my silfe beseche you by the mekenes and softnes of Christ which when I am present amoge you am of no reputacio but am bolde towarde you beinge absent. ¹ Now I Sha'ul, myself, entreat you by the humility and gentleness of Messiah; I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am of good courage toward you. ¹ Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! ¹ I, Paul, am begging you with the gentleness and the kindness of Christ. Some people say that I am easy on you when I am with you and bold when I am away. ¹ Now I Paul myself entreat you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am of good courage toward you: ¹ Now I Paul myself beseech you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence [am] base among you, but being absent am bold towards you: ¹ I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!— ¹ Now I Paul, myself, entreat you by the humility and gentleness of Christ; I who in your presence am lowly among you, but being absent am of good courage toward you.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

the weapons: 2 Corinthians 6:7, Romans 6:13, *marg. Romans 13:12, Ephesians 6:13-18, 1 Thessalonians 5:8

our: 1 Timothy 1:18, 2 Timothy 2:3

mighty: 2 Corinthians 3:5, 2 Corinthians 4:7, 2 Corinthians 13:3, 2 Corinthians 13:4, Judges 7:13-23, Judges 15:14-16, 1 Samuel 17:45-50, Psalms 110:2, Isaiah 41:14-16, Zechariah 4:6, Zechariah 4:7, Acts 7:22, 1 Corinthians 1:18-24, 1 Corinthians 2:5, 2 Corinthians 13:3, Hebrews 11:32, Hebrews 11:33

through God: or, to God

to the: Joshua 6:20, Isaiah 30:25, Jeremiah 1:10, Hebrews 11:30

Reciprocal: Numbers 4:3 - enter Numbers 8:24 - wait upon Numbers 32:27 - armed Joshua 6:5 - and the wall Judges 7:2 - too many Judges 7:15 - Arise 1 Samuel 17:39 - put them off Psalms 144:1 - teacheth Ecclesiastes 12:11 - as goads Song of Solomon 6:4 - terrible Isaiah 25:12 - the fortress Isaiah 41:15 - thou shalt Jeremiah 3:17 - walk Jeremiah 23:29 - like as Lamentations 2:2 - he hath thrown Ezekiel 32:27 - their weapons of war Ezekiel 38:20 - steep places Daniel 2:45 - without hands Zechariah 9:10 - I will Zechariah 9:14 - blow Zechariah 10:4 - of him came forth Zechariah 10:5 - as Matthew 20:26 - it Matthew 26:51 - General Luke 4:32 - General Luke 22:38 - It Luke 22:50 - General John 2:15 - he drove John 18:11 - Put Acts 13:12 - being Romans 1:5 - for obedience to the faith Romans 1:16 - for it is Romans 15:18 - to make 1 Corinthians 1:17 - not 1 Corinthians 1:27 - General 1 Corinthians 4:20 - General 1 Corinthians 9:7 - goeth 2 Corinthians 10:3 - we do Galatians 3:5 - worketh Ephesians 3:7 - by Ephesians 6:11 - the whole 1 Thessalonians 1:5 - but 2 Timothy 2:24 - must Hebrews 4:12 - is quick

Cross-References

Numbers 24:24
But ships shall come from Kittim and shall afflict Asshur and Eber; and he too shall come to utter destruction."

Numbers 24:24
Those who go out from the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; And he also will perish forever.

Numbers 24:24
But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, And they shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, And he also shall come to destruction.

Numbers 24:24
Ships will sail from the shores of Cyprus and defeat Assyria and Eber, but they will also be destroyed."

Numbers 24:24
Ships will come from the coast of Kittim, and will afflict Asshur, and will afflict Eber, and he will also perish forever."

Numbers 24:24
And ships [shall come] from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Ashur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.

Numbers 24:24
But ships [shall come] from the coast of Kittim, They shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber; He also shall come to destruction.

Numbers 24:24
"But ships shall come from the coast of Kittim, And shall afflict Asshur (Assyria) and Eber; So they (the victors) also will come to destruction."

Numbers 24:24
Thei schulen come in grete schippis fro Ytalie, thei schulen ouercome Assiries, and thei schulen distrie Ebrews, and at the last also thei hem silf schulen perische.

Numbers 24:24
And -- ships [are] from the side of Chittim, And they have humbled Asshur, And they have humbled Eber, And it also for ever is perishing.'

Gill's Notes on the Bible

For the weapons of our warfare,.... By "warfare" is here meant, not that which is common to all believers, who are enlisted as volunteers under the captain of their salvation, and fight his battles, and are more than conquerors through him; but what is peculiar to the ministers of the Gospel; and designs the ministerial function, or office, and the discharge of it. So the Levitical function, or the ministerial service of the Levites, is called העבדה

צבא, "the warfare of the service", Numbers 8:25. The ministry of the word is so styled, because that as war is waged in defence of men's rights, properties, and liberties, and for the weakening of an enemy's power and possessions, and for the enlargement of kingdoms and dominions; so this is in defence of the truths and liberty of the Gospel, that they may continue and abide; for the weakening of Satan's kingdom, by delivering the lawful captives, taking the prey from the mighty, turning souls from the power of Satan to God, and translating them from the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Christ Jesus; and so for the enlargement of his kingdom, by spreading the Gospel far and near. The "weapons" with which this warfare is managed are the Scriptures of truth, the sword of the Spirit, the word of God; and which indeed are an armoury, out of which may be taken weapons of all sorts, both offensive and defensive; such as serve both to establish and secure the doctrines of the Gospel, and to refute the errors of the wicked: to which may be added all those gifts which Christ has received for, and gives to men, qualifying them for the work of the ministry, and for the understanding of the sacred writings; together with all those means made use of by them for their improvement in spiritual knowledge; such as diligent reading the word of God, and the labours of his faithful servants, frequent meditation thereon, and earnest prayer to God for more light and experience. Also the various graces of the Spirit, with which they are endued, may be taken into the account; such as the breast plate of faith in Christ, and love to himself, his people, word, ordinances, cause, and interest; the helmet of salvation, hope, the girdle of truth and faithfulness, and the excellent grace of patience to endure all hardships, reproaches, insults, afflictions, and persecutions, cheerfully; and finally, all the acts of their ministration, such as preaching, prayer, the administration of ordinances, and laying on of censures, with the consent of the church. Now these weapons

are not carnal; such as the men of the world fight with, not the temporal sword; for Christ sent forth his apostles without that, naked and unarmed amidst their enemies, his kingdom not being of this world, and so not to be defended and propagated in such a way; or as the weapons the false apostles used, such as natural eloquence, fleshly wisdom, carnal reason, cunning craftiness, the hidden things of dishonesty, and great swelling words of vanity; or they were not weak and impotent, which is sometimes the signification of "flesh"; see Genesis 6:3

but mighty through God: powerful and effectual through the blessing of God, and the influences of his grace and Spirit for the conversion of sinners, the edification of saints, the defence of truth, the confutation of error, the destruction of Satan's kingdom, and the enlargement of Christ's: for these weapons are not powerful of themselves; they are passive instruments, which are only efficacious when used by a superior hand; when the Gospel ministration is attended with "the demonstration of the Spirit, and of power"; and then they are serviceable

to the pulling down of strong holds. The allusion seems to be to the falling of the walls of Jericho, at the sound of ram's horns, which must be ascribed not to those instruments, which were in themselves weak and despicable, but to the power of God that went along with the sound of them. By strong holds are meant, the strong holds of sin and Satan; such as unbelief, pride, hardness of heart, c. with which the heart of man is walled (so קירות לב, "the walls of the heart", Jeremiah 4:19) against God and Christ, and the Gospel of the grace of God, and by which Satan fortifies himself, and keeps the palace and goods in peace, until the everlasting doors are thrown open, which were bolted and barred and these walls of defence are pulled down by the King of glory, who enters in, which is usually done by the power of God, in the ministry of the Gospel: so sins are called strong holds, fortresses, and bulwarks, by the Talmudists k, who give this as the sense of Ecclesiastes 9:14

"a little city, this is the body; "and few men in it", these are the members; "and there came a great king against it, and besieged it", this is the evil imagination, lust, or concupiscence; and built against it

מצודים, "great bulwarks", or fortresses, אלה עונות, "these are iniquities".''

And so Philo the Jew l speaks of τα βεβαιατης κακιας ερεισματα, "the firm munitions of vice" being broken down. Or else by them may be meant the fortresses of a man's own righteousness, holiness, good works, and moral duties, in which he entrenches, and thinks himself safe: which the Spirit of God, in the ministry of the word, blows a blast upon, and which are cast down by it, that revealing a better righteousness, even the righteousness of Christ; or else the fleshly wisdom, rhetorical eloquence, and sophisms of false teachers, with which they endeavoured to fortify themselves against the doctrines of the Gospel, but in vain.

k T. Bab. Nedarim, fol. 32. 2. l De Confusione Linguarum, p. 335.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

For the weapons of our warfare - The means by which we hope to achieve our victory.

Are not carnal - Not those of the flesh. Not such as the people of the world use. They are not such as are employed by conquerors; nor are they such as people in general rely on to advance their cause. We do not depend on eloquence, or talent, or learning, or wealth, or beauty, or any of the external aids on which the people of this world rely. They are not such as derive advantage from any power inherent in themselves. Their strength is derived from God alone.

But mighty through God - Margin, “to.” They are rendered mighty or powerful by the agency of God. They depend on him for their efficacy. Paul has not here specified the weapons on which he relied; but he had before specified them 2 Corinthians 6:6-7, so that there was no danger of mistake. The weapons were such as were furnished by truth and righteousness, and these were rendered mighty by the attending agency of God. The sense is, that God is the author of the doctrines which we preach, and that he attends them with the agency of his Spirit, and accompanies them to the hearts of people. It is important for all ministers to feel that their weapons are mighty only through God. Conquerors and earthly warriors go into battle depending on the might of their own arm, and on the wisdom and skill which plans the battle. The Christian goes on his warfare, feeling that however well adapted the truths which he holds are to accomplish great purposes, and however wisely his plans are formed, yet that the efficacy of all depends on the agency of God. He has no hope of victory but in God. And if God does not attend him, he is sure of inevitable defeat.

To the pulling down of strongholds - The word rendered here as “strongholds” (ὀχύρωμα ochurōma) means properly a fastness, fortress, or strong fortification. It is here beautifully used to denote the various obstacles resembling a fortress which exist, and which are designed and adapted to oppose the truth and the triumph of the Christian’s cause. All those obstacles are strongly fortified. The sins of his heart are fortified by long indulgence and by the hold which they have on his soul. The wickedness of the world which he opposes is strongly fortified by the fact that it has seized on strong human passions; that one point strengthens another; that great numbers are united. The idolatry of the world was strongly fortified by prejudice, and long establishment, and the protection of laws, and the power of the priesthood; and the opinions of the world are entrenched behind false philosophy and the power of subtle argumentation. The whole world is fortified against Christianity; and the nations of the earth have been engaged in little else than in raising and strengthening such strongholds for the space of 6,000 years. The Christian religion goes forth against all the combined and concentrated powers of resistance of the whole world; and the warfare is to be waged against every strongly fortified place of error and of sin. These strong fortifications of error and of sin are to be battered down and laid in ruins by our spiritual weapons.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 2 Corinthians 10:4. The weapons of our warfare — The apostle often uses the metaphor of a warfare to represent the life and trials of a Christian minister. See Ephesians 6:10-17; 1 Timothy 1:18; 2 Timothy 2:3-5.

Are not carnal — Here he refers to the means used by the false apostle in order to secure his party; he calumniated St. Paul, traduced the truth, preached false and licentious doctrines, and supported these with sophistical reasonings.

But mighty through God — Our doctrines are true and pure, they come from God and lead to him, and he accompanies them with his mighty power to the hearts of those who hear them; and the strong holds-the apparently solid and cogent reasoning of the philosophers, we, by these doctrines, pull down; and thus the fortifications of heathenism are destroyed, and the cause of Christ triumphs wherever we come; and we put to flight the armies of the aliens.