True Ministry and Spiritual War

Introduction - The S.S. United States

In 1952, the fastest ocean liner ever built slid into the Atlantic. She was called the SS United States, and she was a marvel. Her top speed was a classified military secret. Her engines were designed for aircraft carriers. Her hull was compartmentalized like a battleship. Her designer was so obsessed with making her indestructible that almost nothing on board could burn — the only wood on the entire ship was the butcher's block in the kitchen and the pianos. He actually asked Steinway to build him an aluminum piano. They said no.

Now here's what most people don't know. The United States government paid for most of that ship. Fifty million dollars — two-thirds of her cost — and they paid it for one reason: she was built for war. Written into her design was a requirement that within days she could be converted into a troopship carrying fourteen thousand soldiers ten thousand miles without refueling. That's why she was that fast. That's why she was that strong. That's why she couldn't burn. She wasn't built to be impressive. She was built to be deployed.

[Pause.]

She never carried a single soldier. Not one. Not once. Instead, for seventeen years, the ship built to move armies moved celebrities. She carried four presidents, the Duke and Duchess of Windsor, Marilyn Monroe, Marlon Brando, Bob Hope. First-class dining rooms. Ballrooms. Photographers at the dock. All of that war-fighting capability — the speed, the strength, the range — spent hauling luxury back and forth across the Atlantic.

And then the world changed. The jet airplane came along, and nobody needed a fast ship anymore. In 1969 — just seventeen years in — she was retired. Her owners stripped her interiors and auctioned them off. And then she sat. For twenty-eight years she rusted at a pier in Philadelphia — eleven years longer than she ever sailed — a gutted shell that people drove past on the interstate without knowing what she was.

Do you know where she is right now? She's in Mobile, Alabama, waiting for the federal government to sign the paperwork — so she can be towed into the Gulf of Mexico and deliberately sunk. They're going to send her to the bottom to become the world's largest artificial reef. [Adjust tense if she has been sunk by the time you preach.]

And here is the sentence I can't shake: nobody sank the SS United States. No enemy ever touched her. No storm ever beat her. She was fireproof, but she wasn't purpose-proof. She didn't go down in battle. She just stopped mattering.

“Nobody sank that ship. She just stopped mattering. And I believe that's exactly the danger facing the church in America today.”

There are a lot of churches in America, but how many matter?

There are a lot of church services today, but how much life transformation?

There are many Christians today, but how many are fully devoted?

There are a lot of church buildings, but how many contain troops ready for spiritual warfare and how many contain members expecting services to their liking?

What makes many churches popular in society today may very well be that which makes them irrelevant for the Kingdom tomorrow.

(I’m not church bashing, no church is perfect, and any church that commits themselves fully to be faithful to the gospel I believe will ultimately see fruitfulness. I do believe recognizing these hard truths gives us a mirror by which we can check the effectiveness of the ministry of our church as well as the faithfulness for ministry of our heart)

What is true for the church is true for our church is true for our heart.

Paul founds the Corinthian church - AD 50–52

“Previous Letter” (lost) - AD 53–54

1 Corinthians written (from Ephesus) - AD 54–55

Painful visit - AD 55

Severe letter (lost) - AD 55

2 Corinthians written (from Macedonia) - AD 55–56

Final recorded visit to Corinth - AD 56–57

2 Corinthians:

Chapters 1-7 - Paul reconciles with the Corinthians

Chapters 8-9 - Paul calls the Corinthians to participate in generosity

Chapters 10-13 - Paul explains true ministry by defending his own

Chapter 10:

Paul takes a more direct tone and defense of God’s ministry through him.

Paul is not defending himself personally. He is defending the work of the gospel through him.

Word “boast” shows up 20? times in 2 Corinthians - 6 times in chap 10

The boast is not in himself but in God’s work in the gospel through him.

2 Corinthians 10:17–18 “17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” 18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”

Chap 1-7 deal with reconciling the past, and Chap 10-13 deal with preparing for Paul’s ministry with them in the future.

Three accusations against Paul in chap 10:

Bold in his letters but weak in person

(1:1) I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away!

2. Lives according to the world’s standards

(1:2) some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh

3. Unimpressive in form and speech

(10:10) “10 For they say, “His letters are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech of no account.””

1- 6 - True Ministry is a Spiritual War

7-11 - True Ministry comes with Spiritual Authority

12-18 - True Ministry is Measured Spiritually

*think on a couple of levels - church and personally

2 Corinthians 10:1–6 “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!— 2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh.

1-6 - True Ministry is a Spiritual War

Paul was accused of using worldly methods to do his ministry -

3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh.

Ministry in church and in your home is a spiritual war

If you are a believer, you are engaged in spiritual warfare

The word “warfare” in verse 4 means “campaign” - a long war

Paul faced attacks at Corinth in a larger effort to destroy the truth of God among the people and we face the same today - at church, at home, and in our hearts.

Now. Some of you walked in here this morning at war. You know exactly what I mean. There's a sin you cannot shake. An anger that keeps winning. An addiction, a bitterness, a fear, a marriage that feels like a battlefield, a darkness pressing on your home. You are at war — Scripture says so plainly: 'We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness' (Eph. 6:12).

Ephesians 6:10–12 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

How to engage in spiritual warfare:

Submit to Christ as King

This is an implicit but foundational truth.

(5) and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

If you engage in a war, you should know who you’re fighting for.

Jesus is king.

You cannot fight against and expect to win against Christ’s enemies if you do not have all of your life submitted to him.

Jesus is either Lord of all or not Lord at all.

We are not used to this ownership of our lives.

ILLUST - John Guest - Episcopalian pastor - visited a Revolutionary War-era tavern in Boston or Philadelphia - in the tavern over the tables was a sign that read, “We serve no sovereigns here” Individual freedom is prized by Americans and may unknowingly inform our Christian walk.

Have the heart of Jesus

1 I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—

Paul did not fight with anger or pride - these are the weapons of the enemy that bring self-inflicted wounds.

Meekness of Jesus was not weakness of Jesus

The hear of Jesus was also bold and courageous.

2 I beg of you that when I am present I may not have to show boldness with such confidence as I count on showing against some who suspect us of walking according to the flesh.

Paul is not afraid to be bold and speak the truth that the Corinthians need to hear to combat the lies of the enemy.

Fight with gospel truth

4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds.

2 Corinthians 1. Preparations for Paul’s Coming Visit (10:1–11)

“To wage war according to the flesh” (NIV, “to wage war as the world does”) means that one relies on flimsy human resources that are void of any divine power and that one is likely to resort to shameful, underhanded means to gain the desired victory. Paul’s methods are not fleshly methods. He does not rely on cunning or deception to insure that he will win. His power is God’s power, which means that he fights according to God’s rules of engagement. He has an arsenal of powerful, divine weapons at his disposal. In what follows, Paul appeals to the three stages of the campaign in ancient siege warfare (strateuometha with three dependent participles): destroying defensive fortifications, taking captives, and punishing resistance when the city is finally brought to submission.63 He may walk weakly, but he fights strongly.64

For true change to happen we must not fight with the weapons of the world.

ILLUST - Fighting a different way

In the spring of 1775, the most professional army on the face of the earth marched out of Boston. The British Army had conquered on battlefields all over the world, and it fought the way great European armies had always fought. Long, straight lines of soldiers in red coats, shoulder to shoulder, marching in step across open fields. Volleys fired on command — soldiers weren't even trained to aim at individual men; they were trained to fire together, reload in twenty seconds, and advance with the bayonet. There were rules. There were conventions. Gentlemen did not shoot at officers. Armies did not fight in winter. War had a way it was done, and the British were the best in the world at doing it that way.

And on the very first day of the war, the Americans refused to play.

After the fighting at Lexington and Concord, the British column formed up and marched back toward Boston in perfect order — and the colonial militia did not form a line to meet them. Farmers and shopkeepers fired from behind stone walls. From behind trees. From barns and hedgerows, for mile after mile. By the time the British reached safety, the finest army in the world had lost nearly three times as many men as the amateurs — because the amateurs refused to stand where the British wanted them to stand.

It went on like that for eight years. The British carried smoothbore muskets built for massed volleys at eighty yards; American frontiersmen carried long rifles that could pick a man off at two hundred and fifty. British officers rode into battle assuming no gentleman would target them; at Saratoga, Daniel Morgan's riflemen deliberately shot General Simon Fraser out of his saddle, the British line collapsed, and France entered the war. Armies were supposed to sleep through the winter; Washington crossed an ice-choked river at night, in a storm, and attacked Trenton at dawn the day after Christmas — and resurrected a revolution that was three days from dying. In the Carolina swamps, Francis Marion struck the British supply lines and vanished; the story goes that the British colonel chasing him swore the Devil himself could not catch that old fox.

[Slow down here — this is the hinge.]

Now hear this carefully, because here's what the Americans understood. It wasn't that they were braver than the British, and it wasn't that they were cleverer. It's that they knew they could not win the enemy's kind of war. If they lined up in an open field and traded volleys with the British Army, they would lose — every time. Their only hope was to fight a different kind of war: the war that fit their country, their cause, and their weapons. And even Washington's grand strategy came down to one unglamorous word — endure. Keep the army alive. Refuse the battles you cannot win. Outlast the enemy until his will breaks.

ILLUST - David refusing Saul’s armor and taking on the enemy with only the power of God.

Waging a fleshly battle involves deploying worldly methods and human-centered strategies rather than relying on God’s power. Human weapons can never destroy spiritual enemies.

worldly weapons include human eloquence, manmade devices, magnetic personalities, and showmanship, as well as slander, gossip, and hearsay1. Christians and churches often attempt God’s work through means that appeal to the flesh—great organizations, Christian entertainment, human wisdom and philosophy, beautiful facilities, and glamorous advertising. These represent substituting human ingenuity and appeal for divine authority.

More fundamentally, waging war according to the flesh means using the judgments and wisdom of the flesh, accommodating oneself to the world, avoiding the dangers of religious confession, bending doctrine to rational judgment, and pursuing human freedom and worldly advantages This approach prioritizes comfort, acceptance, and pragmatism over spiritual conviction.

The world would say. . .

Ephesians 6:10–17 ESV

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

The New Bible Commentary 10:1–6 An Earnest Entreaty

False arguments need to be demolished, so that people might yield to the truth of the gospel and find life under the lordship of Christ.

That was the war strategy

Now for the battle plan

3 stages of spiritual battle

Paul uses battle imagery to describe the spiritual battle

[We] have divine power to destroy strongholds.

5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

Destroy strongholds / arguments

Strongholds used one time in NT = fortress

the battleground for Paul and the false teachers was the mind of the believers at Corinth

Paul reminds them it is not just Paul vs false teachers, it is a spiritual battle

Our minds (and hearts) are spiritual battlegrounds

What are lies that have been fortified in your mind?

1st step in destroying strongholds is identifying and assessing them

before you think - I can’t do it - you’re right - but we have DIVINE POWER against Satan’s lies

“Once the walls in the mind have been torn down, the door to the heart can be opened.” - Warren Wiersbe

Illust - Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was a 96-mile guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from August 1961 to November 1989. Built by the Communist government of East Germany, its primary purpose was to stem mass defections to the democratic West.

Take thoughts captive

this is both in the stronghold and running around

check their papers - do they align with the gospel? No, then expel them

Align everything to Christ the King

being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

The New Bible Commentary 10:1–6 An Earnest Entreaty

Finally, he says he will be ready to punish every act of disobedience (to the gospel on the part of the opponents) once your obedience is complete (i.e. once the Corinthians acknowledge again Paul’s authority and the truth of his gospel).

conclusion

have you been engaged in spiritual warfare this past week or simply sailing along?

Have we. ..

We tend to get engaged only when under attack

What stronghold needs to come down.

What lie needs to be confronted with truth?

7-11 - True Ministry comes with Spiritual Authority

It may look as though Paul does not have authority but only as they understand authority.

Paul talks a big game when he’s gone, but he’s timid when he is here with us.

Paul was given authority by Jesus himself to build up the church not tear other people down - as the false teachers spent their time doing

12-18 - True Ministry is Measured Spiritually

2 Corinthians 10:12 “12 Not that we dare to classify or compare ourselves with some of those who are commending themselves. But when they measure themselves by one another and compare themselves with one another, they are without understanding.”

External comparison is a false measurement - Internal transformation is true

our church doesn’t look like that church. My family doesn’t look like that family.

Legalism demands external compliance. Grace celebrates internal change

True ministry is:

Where God calls you

2 Corinthians 10:13 “13 But we will not boast beyond limits, but will boast only with regard to the area of influence God assigned to us, to reach even to you.”

2. For God’s glory

2 Corinthians 10:17 “17 “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””

3. Approved by God

Not by man

2 Corinthians 10:18 “18 For it is not the one who commends himself who is approved, but the one whom the Lord commends.”