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:
yea, I beseech you, that I may not when present show courage with the confidence wherewith I count to be bold against some, who count of us as if we walked according to the flesh.
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh
(for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the casting down of strongholds),
casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;
and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience, when your obedience shall be made full.
Ye look at the things that are before your face. If any man trusteth in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again with himself, that, even as he is Christ’s, so also are we.
For though I should boast somewhat abundantly concerning our authority (which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for casting you down), I shall not be put to shame.
Let us look to the Lord in prayer.
Our Father, we do praise and thank Thee that we may gather in Thy presence to hear Thy Word. We just ask, O Lord, that Thou wilt open our ears and our hearts to Thy voice. We pray that, as Thy Word is given, Thou mayest speak to our hearts.
Thou mayest do the work which Thou hast been doing, and art doing, in the midst of Thy people, that Thy name may be honored and glorified. We commit this time into Thy hand and trust Thee, in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.
Some time ago, we were in this second letter to the Corinthians, and I wonder whether we remember anything. We know that this second letter to the Corinthians is a very unique book. Why? Because it is considered as Paul’s autobiography.
Here we find a man in Christ, and this man in Christ is characterized by spirituality. In 1 Corinthians, we find that the church in Corinth is characterized by carnality; but in 2 Corinthians, we find this man marked by spirituality.
If you take the whole book of 2 Corinthians, you may roughly put it this way:
In the past, we have had fellowship a little bit on what spiritual life is and on what spiritual ministry is. I remember that, a long time ago, we did enter into this matter of spiritual giving. So we will not go back to that again. God willing, we would like to continue with the last four chapters in 2 Corinthians.
The last four chapters in 2 Corinthians concern the spiritual man. Now, of course, brothers and sisters, if you read a biography, you will find that a biography is usually composed of two things: life and service, or ministry.
Usually, when you read a biography, you find that what is mentioned in that book concerns a person’s life and his work, or his ministry, because a biography is mainly composed of these two things. We have already touched upon life and ministry, but there is so much more in Paul that you find in the last four chapters—something more concerning that man in Christ, that spiritual man.
First of all, you find it is said, “I know a man in Christ.” Now, brothers and sisters, let us remember that what God wants is man. God is not after angels, nor is He after spirits. God wants men.
In the very beginning, God created man according to His own image. God made man with a capacity for God, that God may dwell in man and be united with man, and that man may manifest the glory of God.
But Adam sinned. Even after Adam sinned, you find God did not give up man. He came to the garden of Eden and said, “Adam, where are you?” That is, “Man, where are you?” God has been, and He is still, seeking man, because that is God’s original purpose.
God wants men, but men after His own heart. When you read the Old Testament, you find that here and there God found some men. We find some glimpses of the man that God is after: in Abel, in Enoch, in Abraham, in Isaac, in Jacob, in Joseph, in Moses, in David, in Daniel, and in all these people in the Old Testament.
You find glimpses of the man that God is really after. But all these men are only parts and fragments of the man that God really has in His heart. It is not until we come to the New Testament that we find the Man of God’s own heart, even our Lord Jesus Christ.
That is the reason why, in the New Testament, when our Lord Jesus was on earth, the heavens were opened again and again and again, and said, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom is My delight. I am well pleased. I am really satisfied.” God has found His Man in Christ.
But this Man is a corporate Man. Our Lord Jesus is not only a personal Man; our Lord Jesus is a corporate Man. He is not just a man. He is the federal Head of a new mankind.
That is why, through the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, God is able to bring into Christ many men patterned after Him: the new man, corporately speaking, and men in Christ, individually speaking. That is what God is really after.
First of all, brothers and sisters, let us remember that what God is really looking for is man. He wants us to be men according to God’s own heart—not angels, not spirits. He does not want spirits; He wants men: human, and yet divine.
We are human beings, and yet we have divine life in us. The divine life in us has to transform us, that His divine life may be expressed through this human life. This is what God really wants.
Now, number two: God wants men. That is to say, God’s desire is not for babies; His desire is for grown-ups. Of course, we have to begin as babies, but God’s ultimate purpose is manhood.
In the church in Corinth, you find that there were many babies. There is a place and a time for babyhood. Paul says, “When I was with you, I treated you as children, as babes in Christ,” and that is what it ought to be.
But after so many years, Paul says, “I still had to treat you as babes in Christ.” Why? Because you have not grown up. God wants men, not just babies. After we are born again, after we have gone through a period of babyhood, we ought to grow into maturity—grown-ups.
That is what you find in Ephesians 4: that we may all arrive at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, as a full-grown man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; that we may no longer be babes, tossed about by every wind of doctrine.
In malice, be babes; but in mind, be grown up. We need to stand up like men—grown up, matured in Christ.
When you go into the Old Testament, you find that when God commanded Moses to build the tabernacle, it was built with curtains, but these curtains were supported by boards. In Exodus 26, you find these boards were made of acacia wood—strong wood.
They were ten cubits high and one-and-a-half cubits wide. The Bible says they stood upright. These boards stood upright, so they became the frame of the tabernacle. There is responsibility there, and that is the reason why they have to stand up.
Of course, we know ten speaks of responsibility. Why one-and-a-half? It shows that any one board is not complete in itself. You have to be joined together with another board, and that is the reason why you have the house there. But, anyway, you find what God really desires is men grown up, matured in Christ Jesus.
We cannot remain in babyhood all the time. Now, babies—we all like babies because they are so innocent. But if, after a number of years, they still remain as babies, then something must be wrong.
We should be childlike, but certainly we should not be childish. If we continue to be childish like babies, then it really hurts the heart of the parents.
So, secondly, you find God wants men grown up. That is the reason why we have to grow in grace. We have to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. We have to grow in faith. We have to grow in the experience of our Lord Jesus, and not just remain as when we were first saved.
Number three: God wants men. God wants grown-ups. God wants men in Christ—not just any kind of men, but God wants men and women in Christ, not in Adam, not in ourselves, but in Christ.
By God, we are put in Christ, and Christ has become our wisdom, righteousness, holiness, and redemption. A man in Christ is a man who is filled with Christ. Christ has become his life. Christ is his Alpha and his Omega. Christ has been formed in him.
That is the reason why, when people come in touch with that man, they come in touch with Christ, because he is a man in Christ, and Christ is being expressed through that man. This is the kind of man that God is really after.
Dear brothers and sisters, the Corinthian believers were men in Adam. Even though they were saved, in their daily life their condition was such that they were still dwelling in Adam. That is why what they expressed, either in their individual life or in their life together, was Adamic in nature. It was natural; it was carnal.
But here is a man called Paul, and this man is a man in Christ. Whatever is expressed through that man, you find it is not Paul; it is Christ. This is the man that God is really after.
You know, brothers and sisters, we do not really know a person until that person is put under pressure. In ordinary days, when there is no pressure, when nothing is happening, everybody can be very spiritual—or at least can appear very spiritual.
But it is when we are put under pressure that the reality of what we are begins to appear. Whether we are men in Christ, spiritual, or whether we are still carnal, is manifested in our reaction.
That is the reason why the last four chapters of 2 Corinthians are so precious. Why? Because in these last four chapters, you find a man, Paul, put under tremendous pressure.
Some commentators think that 2 Corinthians is Paul’s defense of his apostolic authority. In Corinth, there were some people who doubted the apostleship of Paul. There were some people who opposed Paul in such a way that they tried to put him down and even denied that he was an apostle. Paul was thus put under tremendous pressure.
But when such pressure was put upon Paul, brothers and sisters, notice how he reacted. A reaction will tell what kind of a person you are.
The Corinthian believers thought they were dealing with a baby. They despised Paul. They thought nothing of Paul. They said that when Paul was among them, his personal presence was weak; he was nobody.
But if you read the last four chapters of 2 Corinthians, you find they met a man. Paul is not a babe in Christ; he is a man in Christ. And what a man he is.
Even though he has authority, he says, “I plead with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ.” Yet, on the other hand, you find he is bold as a lion. He is not weak at all.
If you read the last four chapters, you find such words as the meekness and gentleness of Christ, powerful before God, the obedience of Christ, the truth of Christ, and the power of Christ. You find Christ. You do not find Paul, really.
His reaction is Christ. His reaction to pressure is Christ. It is not Paul himself. In this respect, you realize what a spiritual man he is.
How do we measure our spiritual stature? Not in peaceful days, but when we are under pressure—when we are being misunderstood, when we are being attacked, when we are being neglected, or when something is done to us. How do we react?
Does our reaction speak of Christ, or does our reaction speak of ourselves? That is the way to show our spirituality, or to reveal and expose our carnality.
In these last four chapters, you find that when Paul is under tremendous pressure, he reacts as a man in Christ. We do not see Paul; we see Christ in all his reactions. I do look to the Lord that it may be true with all of us.
These last four chapters show us what a spiritual man really is. This morning, probably we will just touch upon one point, and maybe, God willing, later on we can touch upon the other points. First of all, you find a spiritual man is a man with authority.
Now, dear brothers and sisters, we are not very happy with the word authority. We are afraid of authority. We think that authority is the opposite of freedom.
We want to be free, and thank God, we are free. We are free in Christ Jesus. But in our mentality, we always put authority and freedom at opposite poles.
We think that if there is freedom, then it should be free for all, with no authority and no order whatsoever. Everyone just does what he or she thinks best. It is just like we find in the last sentence of the book of Judges: every man does what is good in his own eyes because there is no king. A king is authority.
When there is no authority, everyone does what he sees best. It is free for all. When this is the case, you find there is no order, no unity, no strength, and no building up.
The whole nation at that time was scattered, weak, oppressed, and open to the assaults of the enemy. Why? Because there was no king. There was no authority.
We think that when authority comes in, freedom goes out. Dear brothers and sisters, probably this is true with worldly authority, but certainly this is not true with spiritual authority.
Why? Because there is nothing that builds the body of Christ more than authority. Paul says, “God gives me authority not for overthrowing, not for destroying, not for tearing down, but God gives me authority for building up.”
In other words, authority is given for the purpose of building up the body of Christ. Where there is no authority, there is no building up. How can you build if there is no authority? How can you put the stones together if there is no authority?
If everyone wants to be king, how can you cement all these living stones together and build them up into a three-dimensional building? If there is no authority, all you have will be just a plane. Everybody is equal, and everybody does what he thinks is right. There will be no beauty at all.
Therefore, in the Scripture, you find authority has a very large place in the body of Christ. Authority does not interfere with freedom. As a matter of fact, authority guarantees freedom.
Here is a man, a man in Christ. He is a man with authority. But what is authority?
Spiritual authority is very different from worldly authority. You remember when our Lord Jesus was on earth, even among His few disciples—only twelve of them—they were always trying to maneuver for the place of authority.
Of course, they dared not take the place of Christ, but at least they wanted to be next to Christ. Throughout the three years in which they followed the Lord, they were always struggling and fighting with each other, trying to maneuver for the place next to Christ—at His right hand and at His left.
Why? Because they thought authority was a matter of position. If they could get to a certain position, then they could have certain authority. They thought that, by means of authority, they could rule over other people, lord it over other people, give orders, command, and be above others.
That is the idea in this world, and so far as the world is concerned, this is true. But the Lord Jesus said, “This is not so among you.”
Among you, if you want to be first, you should be last. If you want to be the head, then you must be the one who serves. The Son of Man came into this world not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many.
In other words, spiritual authority is life, not position. There is no authority but God. In Romans 13, you find that all authority comes from God. There is no authority except from God.
To put it another way, God is the authority of the universe. Why is He the authority of the universe? Because He created the universe. The whole universe belongs to Him. He is the Owner of everything. Therefore, He has authority over all things.
Our Lord Jesus has authority over all things. He has the first place in all things. Why? Because all the fullness of the Godhead dwells in Him bodily. He is the Redeemer; therefore, He is the Head of the new creation. He has authority over the new creation because He is its Head and Redeemer.
There is no authority but God. There is no authority but Christ.
If God should delegate His authority to any person, it is because He has given Himself to that person. Authority is not something that you claim. Authority is Someone with Whom you are filled.
You cannot claim authority. But if you are filled with Christ, there is authority vested in you. It is the measure of Christ in your life that is the measure of the authority delegated to you by God.
That is the reason why all the members of the body of Christ have some authority in them.
In Ephesians 5, there is a portion we often read during marriage: Ephesians 5:22–33. But, unfortunately, we do not start with verse 21: “Subjecting yourselves one to another in the fear of Christ.” Then, wives; then, husbands.
In other words, we need to submit to one another in the fear of Christ. As the body of Christ, as members of the body of Christ, every member has some of Christ in him or in her. At least we are saved; we have Christ in us.
Therefore, everyone has a measure of Christ, however small it may be. Because every member has a measure of Christ in him, we have to submit to one another in the fear of Christ.
When I submit to my brother, I submit to him because of Christ. In the fear of Christ—that is to say, when I see Christ in him, I submit to the Christ that is in him. The Christ in him is the authority to me.
The same thing is true with you. We submit to one another in the fear of Christ. We submit to one another, not in the things that belong to you or to me, but in the things that belong to Christ. It is Christ in you; it is Christ in us, to Whom we submit.
If that is the case, submission is not that difficult. If only we can see Christ in our brothers and sisters, then we know to whom we shall submit.
Sometimes Christ may be expressed through a little brother or a little sister. When that is the case, the bigger members have to submit. Of course, those bigger members who have a larger measure of Christ probably should be submitted to more by other people. Why? Because Christ is more manifested in them.
First of all, let us remember: a spiritual man is not a person without authority. You cannot be a spiritual man if there is no authority. But this authority is not something you grasp. This authority is something born and given to you because Christ is incorporated in your life to a larger measure.
It is Christ. Let us remember: no matter how much God may delegate His authority to you, you are not an authority—never. You are just a channel for the authority of God. That does not make you an authority.
When you become so foolish as to think that, because you have been used by God and have been given authority, you are now an authority and can do things by yourself, dear brothers and sisters, that is your downfall.
That has been the downfall of many of God’s people throughout the centuries. God used them before. God’s authority was manifested in their lives. But they became mad with the thought that they were now authorities, and that was the end of it.
We are never authorities. We are only channels of God’s authority. Without God, there is no authority whatsoever.
God’s authority in us is measured by life—that is, by the spiritual life in us. How much of Christ is really incorporated in our life? That measure of Christ is the measure of spiritual authority that is in us.
I remember a dear brother, Watchman Nee, said to us, “When you go to the church, the first thing that you need to learn is to recognize authority.”
Think of it. As God’s people come together as a church, as a corporate body, the first thing that we need to know is to recognize authority. To whom should we submit?
The problem with God’s people today is that God’s people do not recognize authority. We want democracy. Now, democracy is good for the nations of this world, but the kingdom of God is a theocracy, not a democracy.
In the kingdom of God, we cannot afford to be without authority. We have to learn to recognize authority.
Probably the first thing when you come to the church is freedom. You want freedom. You find that in this world, in organizations, you do not have freedom. Whether it is a company, a home, or a school, there is authority, and you find that you are somewhat limited.
Therefore, you come to the church and hope that in the church you can have freedom—you can do anything that you like. Brothers and sisters, you have come to the wrong place.
If you come to the church, the first thing that you need to know is to recognize authority. You need to recognize Christ as the authority. You have to put yourself under the headship of Christ.
Then, secondly, you have to submit yourself to your brothers and sisters as you see Christ in their lives. It is only when we recognize authority that we are able to be built up together.
Authority is necessary for building up. I remember another brother said there are two things that the church needs most: one is life, and the other is authority. But, of course, we know life is authority and authority is life.
But look at Paul. Here is a man who has such a large measure of Christ in him. Therefore, he is a man with authority—apostolic authority. Yet you find how reluctant he was to use his apostolic authority.
So far as an apostle is concerned, he could very easily exercise his apostolic authority over the Corinthian believers. He said, “If I am not an apostle to other people, at least I am an apostle to you.” Why? Because their very being in Christ was through his ministry.
Paul certainly was an apostle to the Corinthian believers. He could order them and command them what they should do. But he said, “I would rather persuade you.”
Therefore, you find at the beginning of these last four chapters, as Paul—some people say—defends his apostolic authority, the first thing he mentions is the meekness and gentleness of Christ: not strength, not severity, but the meekness and gentleness of Christ.
You see how reluctant Paul was to use his apostolic authority. Where there is authority, there will be restraint. Where there is no authority, people like to use it.
There is a very great difference between spiritual authority and being authoritative. We like to be authoritative, but being authoritative is very different from having authority.
If you really have spiritual authority, you do not need to be authoritative. You must be authoritative because you have no authority and try to make it look like you have.
Paul did not need to be authoritative. On the contrary, you find that he exercised authority with great restraint and great reluctance. He said, “I do not want to come with the severity of the authority that God has given to me.”
In the meekness of Christ, those who have spiritual authority will exercise it with restraint. But that should not be considered weakness, because it can easily be misunderstood as weakness.
That is how the Corinthian believers misunderstood Paul. They thought Paul was weak. Why? Because he was not authoritative; he was not commanding or demanding. He pleaded with the meekness and gentleness of Christ.
Spiritual authority comes by way of obedience. You do not come to authority by striving and struggling. You come to authority by way of the cross.
You remember what the Lord Jesus said to the two sons of Zebedee: “Are ye able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? Are ye willing to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?”
“You must drink the cup that I drink. You must be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized. But to sit on My right hand and on My left is not for Me to give; it is for My Father Who is in heaven to give.”
In other words, the way to authority is by way of the cross. The cup means the will of the Father—obedience to the Father’s will. The baptism is the cross. So the way to authority is by way of the cup, by way of baptism, by way of the cross, by way of obedience.
In Philippians 2, you find that even though our Lord Jesus was equal with God—and it was not something to be grasped, because He was God and He is God—yet He emptied Himself. He took the form of a man, and He further humbled Himself, becoming obedient to the Father even unto death, yea, the death of the cross.
Because of that, the Father highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord.
In other words, how did Christ come to the place of supreme authority? By way of obedience, by way of emptying, by way of humility, and by way of the cross. So, the way to authority is by way of obedience.
Dear brothers and sisters, if we learn more how to obey one another, instead of trying to lord it over one another, we will be given more authority from above.
Furthermore, authority and love go together. In other words, authority must be exercised in love.
Look at Paul. He is a man full of authority, and yet how full he is of love. In these last four chapters, you can see his love for the Corinthian believers.
He said, “Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is caused to stumble, and I burn not?” He said, “I am willing to spend and be spent for you, even if the more I love you, the less I am loved. Yet I am willing to give myself for you completely.”
“I am willing to see that you are strong and I am weak; you are in honor, and I am in disgrace. I am willing to do that.” In other words, there is such love in Paul’s heart. When authority is exercised in love, it is very effective.
Or may I put it another way? Love is authority. If there is love, there will be authority.
Authority is not demanding. It is not lording it over others. Authority is to set an example. Authority is to serve, to minister, and to give oneself for others. Dear brothers and sisters, where there is love, you find authority manifested.
So here you find a man in Christ. He is a spiritual man. He is a man with authority. What kind of authority? You find that, as you touch this authority, you touch Christ.
Because of this, if anyone should resist that authority, Paul says there will be severity there. It is a serious thing when we resist the authority of Christ.
This morning, I think I will just share this much: we need to recover before God this matter of authority in the church.
Never, never think that the church is a place where everyone can do just whatever he or she likes. Remember, the church is the place where we learn to recognize authority, where we learn to submit to one another, and where we learn to exercise authority in love.
As a matter of fact, when things go on in the way that God wants them to be—or, to put it another way, when the Spirit of God has His hand over His people—you find authority is hidden.
It is only when things go wrong that authority becomes manifest. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. When the Spirit of the Lord is in control, you have freedom; you have liberty, and authority seems to be hidden.
Why? Because the authority is there. The authority of the Holy Spirit is there. But when people are not moving with the Spirit, when there is disorder, then authority is manifested. This is the way you find it in the Scripture.
Now, brothers and sisters, God wants men—grown-ups, men in Christ. He wants to see that there is spirituality there; that is, He Himself is there.
If He Himself is there, authority is there, and submission is there. There you find God’s people will really be built up together, and each will fit in with the other according to the place that God has put him.
You remember Paul, even in chapter 10, mentioned this matter of the rule of measure. God has a rule; He has a measure. He measures to everyone a certain measure, and we need to keep within our measure and not overstep it.
Paul said, “I am not going beyond my measure.” If everyone is kept within his measure, you find how we fit with one another. This is authority. This is authority.
May the Lord help us and bless us, and lead us into true liberty when we recognize authority. Shall we pray?
Our heavenly Father, as we touch upon this matter, we ask that we may see it in the way that Thou seest it; that we may not take it in the sense of worldly meaning, but may really see that Thou art the God of authority.
Thou art the Head of Thy church, and Thou hast put Thy life and authority in the body. Thou dost use that to build us up together, that we may be a corporate expression of Thyself.
So, Lord, we just ask Thee to have mercy upon us, that we may really recognize authority and may really enter into the liberty that is of the Spirit; that we may be built together instead of destroying each other.
We ask in the name of our Lord Jesus. Amen.