2 Corinthians 11.7-12

⁷ Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge? ⁸ I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. ⁹ And when I was with you and needed something, I was not a burden to anyone, for the brothers and sisters who came from Macedonia supplied what I needed. I have kept myself from being a burden to you in any way, and will continue to do so. ¹⁰ As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, nobody in the regions of Achaia will stop this boasting of mine. ¹¹ Why? Because I do not love you? God knows I do! ¹² And I will keep on doing what I am doing in order to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about.

The college life in Iowa City can be so wonderful, but at the same time harmful to each persons Christian essence. In Paul’s 2nd letter to the Corinthians, he makes light of this issue. He refuses to accept any riches for his teaching and he is distinctly different from those that have come before and those that surround him. He strives to preserve that which makes him different. As a servant of Christ, you need to commit to preserving your essence that makes you distinctly different. It is easy to think you can live the “Christian” life while also balancing a “college party” life. People living what looks to be a perfect life are similar to the false apostles that Paul mentions in his letter. These individuals can be parasitic to our faith; we must guard ourselves and help those who are in need of change.

2 Corinthians 11.1-6

¹ I hope you will put up with me in a little foolishness. Yes, please put up with me! ² I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him. ³ But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. ⁴ For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the Spirit you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough. ⁵ I do not think I am in the least inferior to those "super-apostles." ⁶ I may indeed be untrained as a speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.


"Do you take this man, forsaking all others, to be your husband." We've all heard words like this at nearly every wedding that we have ever attended. Vows taken by the bride to remain true to the one that they are uniting with. Words that are meant to last for a lifetime.

As we; the bride of Christ, look at our relationship with Jesus; the bridegroom, are we willing to take him, forsaking all others, no matter what? There are some who will use their cunning to lead us astray from those vows. Others will try to steer our devotion to others. Still others will try to cause us to betray our commitment to Christ by belittling the ones who introduced us to Him.

Remember that day you took your vow? Remember when you said yes to Jesus? Hang on to that promise, hang on to that devotion. Replacing him with anything or anyone else would be foolishness.

2 Corinthians 10.12-18

¹² We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise. ¹³ We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the sphere of service God himself has assigned to us, a sphere that also includes you. ¹⁴ We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ. ¹⁵ Neither do we go beyond our limits by boasting of work done by others. Our hope is that, as your faith continues to grow, our sphere of activity among you will greatly expand, ¹⁶ so that we can preach the gospel in the regions beyond you. For we do not want to boast about work already done in someone else's territory. ¹⁷ But, "Let those who boast boast in the Lord." ¹⁸ For it is not those who commend themselves who are approved, but those whom the Lord commends.


Where does your pride stem from? What causes you to boast about certain things? You might boast about a sports team, a test score or even your faith. In Corinth false teachers were behaving as though there is no standard ofcomparison higher than themselves. Paul, however, “boasts only in the Lord.” Through proper boasting in the Lord the gospel was being able to be spread into greater regions of the world. What things do you boast about? How is your boasting influencing others? But, “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.” What things has Christ done in your life that you can boast about? Align your yourself with God’s will and He will share in your boasting.

“For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom
the Lord commends.”

2 Corinthians 10.7-11

⁷ You are judging by appearances. If anyone is confident that they belong to Christ, they should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as they do. ⁸ So even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than tearing you down, I will not be ashamed of it. ⁹ I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters. ¹⁰¹¹ Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present. For some say, "His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing."


Authority is a valuable commodity. Many seek to gain it and become leaders, and those who do achieve it feel its heavy burden, for better or worse. Within the church at Corinth were those who questioned Paul’s authority as an apostle. They questioned his right to collect funds from them to help those in Jerusalem suffering from a famine. They mocked his short stature and unimpressive appearance. They took offense at his forceful letters. They did not accept his authority over them. Paul seeks to expose and refute their foolishness. He says that it is the way of the world to be concerned with such things, not the way of God. He points out that he has used his authority to build his charges up and encourage them rather than to criticize them and tear them down (as these would-be leaders are trying to do to him). He also explains that we he is with the people, he leads by example, using deeds more than words. However, when he is too far away for the people to see his deeds, he uses his words to encourage them and spur them on and to reprimand them when they need it. He implies that this is the proper way for a leader to use his authority.

CCF encourages college students to become leaders in the faith community. When given authority, how do we use it? Do we build others up or tear them down? Do we lead by example? Are our words forceful and profitable to the community? Also, do we respect our leaders? Consider your thoughts and actions concerning your thoughts and actions toward authority. Ask God to lead you to the correct attitudes and practices.

2 Corinthians 10.1-6

¹ By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am "timid" when face to face with you, but "bold" toward you when away! ² I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. ³ For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. ⁴ The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. ⁵ We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. ⁶ And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.


“This is your brain. This is your brain on drugs. Any questions?”
“The mind is a terrible thing to waste.”
When I was a child, these were two of the more popular slogans appearing in media, one for the Partnership of a Drug-free America and the other for the United Negro College Fund. Each ad emphasized the importance of the mind. Think about it. Okay, now think about what I just ask you to do. I asked you to use your mind to think about your mind. How fascinating, right? And, of course, you’re using your mind to think about how fascinating your mind is when contemplating its ability to think about itself. Mind blowing?
Paul here touches on the mind’s power by likening it to a prison. He undoubtedly knows that most thoughts are in the mind to stay and that if they’re not taken captive they may be taking captive. So, take inventory. Are you Alcatraz or does your prison need to be renovated?