Devotion: 2 Corinthians 10:6

2 Corinthians 10:6 And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

Today we start with a little history to get an understanding for what the verse is actually referring to.

This book of the New Testament was written by Paul to the church in Corinth. In Corinth there were many other practices and religions being shared, including from those who tried to preach to the Christians in the city – false teachers. Their preaching was only partially based on the teachings of the Apostles and they were causing quite a mess in the Corinthian church. This is why Paul was writing to the church. He was aware of the struggles they had, the false teachers who were leading people astray with faulty, incorrect teachings, and he wanted to encourage and correct the believers there. They were caught up in some severe spiritual warfare and Paul wanted to help them win the battle for their minds.

Paul assures them that they will be ready to punish the false teachers. This does not mean he was going to come and have them arrested or have them beaten for their actions. But he was prepared to deal with these people. I like how BibleRef.com puts it: “Using the weapons of God in God’s power, Paul and his companions were fully equipped to destroy the impressive-sounding arguments of his opponents against the knowledge of God.” Paul was ready to preach the truth, which was in stark contrast to the false teachings of those in the city. His punishment was to be the correction of their false theology and wrong teachings, putting them in their place with the Word of God. It meant they would have some type of spiritual punishment, most likely removal from the church.

The verse continues though, focusing on the believers who were faithful. He encouraged them to be obedient. But what was he referring to when he said “once their obedience was complete?” This means each person fully submits to the teaching of the apostles and walks in faith alongside fellow believers in the church as they follow these teachings.

It is also important to remember that we are to take all thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. We want to be sure we are following the truth and not false teachings. We are to walk in obedience, following God’s Word and the teachings we read about in the Bible, not teachings of those in the world. That means we need to be IN the Word and reading it actively so that we can identify those false teachings when they present themselves.

Are you spending time in the Word regularly? Where do you get your spiritual feeding?

Prayer: Lord, Help me to identify false teaching when it arises and know how to combat it with the Truth, Let my Bible reading prepare me to be safe from spiritual warfare. Amen

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