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Intro:
Tonight as we continue our series on 2 Corinthians, entitled, [Matters of the Heart], I want to speak on the subject of [Understanding the Unseen].
In many cartoons I watched as a kid, there would be a time when the main character had to make a decision to do the right or wrong thing.
To illustrate the difficulty in making the decision, the character would have two beings appear on their shoulders.
On one side a cartoon angel would appear and on the other a cartoon demon.
The angel would give the angel good advice and the demon would give bad advice.
The outcome of the show depended on whose advice the character took.
While I have not seen this confirmed in scripture, there is an unseen realm that we cannot see with the naked eye.
Behind the veil of humanity, there is a realm of good and evil, light and darkness, God and Satan.
When we only compare the two entities, there is no comparison.
Good should always overcome evil.
Light will always extinguish the darkness.
And God will ALWAYS defeat Satan.
What then is the problem in this unseen universe?
We are! God has all power and Satan will never beat or conquer God.
However, with humanity in the mix, there is potential for problems.
Paul experienced this in his ministry to the Corinthians.
As we have studied, Paul dealt with many problems concerning the Corinthians.
They had struggles with matters of the authority, matters of morality, and matters of a Spiritual nature.
Why did these problems occur?
The fault does not lie with God nor does the fault lie solely with the devil.
The Corinthians had to accept some responsibility.
For they allowed the false teachers to sway them.
Paul understood this problem, which is why he was patient with them.
Think of all Paul covered in this letter.
Paul addressed his own heartache.
He explained the importance of trusting in Christ’s return.
He reminded them to live a holy life.
He stirred their hearts to continue a lifestyle of faithfulness in giving.
On the surface, he should have come and scolded the Corinthians and confronted them for their many mistakes.
Instead, he took the painstaking process of explaining the spiritual matters behind the issues.
It is not that the Corinthians were wicked evil people.
It is that they did not understand the nature of spiritual warfare.
In our text we read of the difference between the flesh and the spirit.
The flesh describes what we can see, while the spirit describes what is unseen.
Paul said it this way in:
In many instances the Corinthians had been pitted against one another.
There was competition between those:
Led to the Lord by Paul and those led to the Lord by Appolos
Between those who operated in the gifts of the Holy Spirit and those who did not
Between those with money and those who struggled
All throughout 1 Corinthians and now 2 Corinthians Paul had to bring unity between opposing parties.
What was the problem?
They did not understand the unseen.
Working behind the scenes, the enemy did all he could to bring division, disunity, dissension, and discouragement.
Did he work alone?
No, he had willing participants.
There were those within the church, namely the Judaizers, who worked feverishly to undo the good work God did through Paul.
I love chapter ten, because it has helped me many times.
I am convinced if we begin to understand the unseen, we will learn the source of our problems.
The enemy works behind the scenes to get people pitted against each other.
He does this by allowing disagreements to get out of hand.
Paul helps us understand the unseen by showing us three things we possess: [An Unseen Support], [An Unseen Stature], and [An Unseen Status.]
Let’s begin
1.
An Unseen Support
With the absence of Paul, false teachers called the Judaizers infiltrated the Corinthian church with criticisms of Paul.
Many people were swayed by this critical spirit.
They accused Paul of being weak.
It is as though they explained, “Paul is meek when he is with us, but he writes bold letters when he is far from us.
He is two-faced.
Which one is it Paul, are you weak or bold?
Are you nice or mean?”
Though the Judaizers made the negative claims, where did they originate?
They came from the enemy.
James
There is a difference between genuine concern between two friends.
When a friend or spouse comes with a concern or even a constructive criticism, it is for the purpose of helping and leading them to be the best they can be.
That was not what the Judaizers did.
They were purposefully sowing seeds of discord.
But here is where we need to understand the unseen.
The Judaizers were the vessels of negativity, but the source was the enemy.
He wanted to use these people to destroy the church.
Thankfully Paul knew the difference.
The attacks that Paul faced were from the flesh, but the support was spiritual.
Our carnal nature, the flesh, says, they gossiped about you, gossip about them.
But people of the Spirit cannot fight fire with fire.
Instead, we have spiritual weapons that will pull down the strongholds!
With these Spirit-empowered weapons, we are able to cast down arguments and every obstacles that keep people from knowing God!
One author (Swindoll) explains, “In biblical days, cities constructed defenses to protect them from enemy invasions.
These included fortresses, elevated places with lookout towers, and lofty, sturdy walls to prevent invaders from gaining easy access.”
The lies and criticisms of the Judaizers should not be able to discourage or distract when we understand the unseen.
It is as though the weapons of our warfare are the lookout towers that tell us the enemy is trying to build strongholds of hurt and confusion in our lives.
When we stay close to the Lord, He provides unseen support through His Spirit.
He helps us see attacks for what they are.
Instead of getting discouraged and defeated by people’s words, we will tear down the strongholds with God’s help!
When the enemy brings anything to us that opposes God’s will, our God empowered weapons, which are unseen, will destroy the strongholds of the enemy.
What are these God-empowered weapons?
Prayer, fasting, praise, worship, or scripture.
We cannot destroy the enemy’s attacks with human means.
It requires unseen support from the Lord.
2. An Unseen Stature
10:7-11
Though we know much about Paul, we have never seen Paul.
Knowing what Paul had to endure, I view Paul as a strong man, tall, a picture of perfect health.
When I think of his speaking abilities, I imagine he was an excellent orator.
I view him as a preacher everyone wanted to hear.
Ancient histories say the opposite, “Paul was, ‘a man small in size, bald headed, bandy-legged, well built, with eyebrows meeting, rather long nosed, and full of grace.”
As a smaller man, one with who was meek, his enemies and the enemy confused him as a week man.
As one author explains, meekness is not weakness, it is strength under control.
Like all bullies, those who opposed Paul thought they could attack and stop him because of his outward appearance.
Obviously they forgot what God told Samuel when he anointed David:
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