Revised Common Lectionary (Semicontinuous)

The battle for the mind

10 Think of the Messiah, meek and gentle; then think of me, Paul—yes, Paul himself!—making his appeal to you. You know what I’m like: I’m humble when I’m face to face with you, but I’m bold when I’m away from you! ² Please, please don’t put me in the position of having to be bold when I’m with you, of having to show how confident I dare to be when I’m standing up to people who think we are behaving in a merely human way. ³ Yes, we are mere humans, but we don’t fight the war in a merely human way. ⁴ The weapons we use for the fight, you see, are not merely human; they carry a power from God that can tear down fortresses! We tear down clever arguments, ⁵ and every proud notion that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. We take every thought prisoner and make it obey the Messiah. ⁶ We are holding ourselves in readiness to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.

⁷ Look at what’s in front of your face. If anyone trusts that they belong to the Messiah, let them calculate it once more: just as they belong to the Messiah, so also do we! ⁸ For if I do indeed boast a bit too enthusiastically about the authority which the Lord has given me—which is for building you up, not for pulling you down!—I shan’t be ashamed. ⁹ I wouldn’t want to look as if I were trying to frighten you with my letters. ¹⁰ I know what they say: “His letters are serious and powerful, but when he arrives in person he is weak, and his words aren’t worth bothering about.” ¹¹ Anyone like that should reckon on this: the way we talk in letters, when we’re absent, will be how we behave when we’re present.