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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Paul more confident in writing? | NT general Archive 1 | crayoncrz | 192199 | ||
Does anyone know where in the Bible that the apostle Paul talks about finding it easier to write letters than to speak face to face with others? | ||||||
2 | Paul more confident in writing? | NT general Archive 1 | jlhetrick | 192200 | ||
Crayon- Welcome to the Forum. You might be thinking about the following passage. If so, you might reconsider what it is actually saying. 2 Co 10:1-2 (NASB) Now I, Paul, myself urge you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am meek when face to face with you, but bold toward you when absent! 2I ask that when I am present I need not be bold with the confidence with which I propose to be courageous against some, who regard us as if we walked according to the flesh. My understanding here is NOT that Paul found it "easier" to write than to speak face to face. Rather, He had customarily been in his greatest strength (that is the strength of Christ) in his face to face dealings with the church at Corinth. That is, he had acted in "meekness"- Christ's meekness. In the face of adversity my thoughts are that a very few Christians truly act in meekness. No, most (as I have experienced it) behave rather defensively and even irrationally (guilty as charged). In this passage, Paul is being bold in his writing and basically warning of the potential that he may not be so meek face to face, as had been the case, on the next face to face meeting. It was being said of Paul that he and those with him walked in the flesh and that Paul's motives were not spiritual as represented by his "bark" being without "bite" in the opinion of some. Furthermore, it was by the standards of the flesh that some judge Paul. In other words- the arrogance and self-confident way that some others presented was considered as strong and authoritative. Not at all what the Christ-reliant Paul presented. 1 Co 2:1-5 (NASB) 1And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God. 2For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. 3I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling, 4and my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. Oh how the church might benefit today from more who are willing to forfeit their own accomplishments to rely fully on that of our Lord. Paul's presentations had been NO PAUL and ALL Christ crucified. Others were apparently drawn too and impressed by the apparent wisdom of men and their boasting. Read the following chapter of the same book. I don't get Paul weak in person and strong on paper. I get Paul admonishing those who favored the impressions of men over the presentation of Christ in true humility. In any case- Paul was more than qualified in every respect and apparently found it necessary to boast in the flesh as a way of demonstrating that his worldly qualifications ranked with any and superseded most. His true strength was in counting all of that as nothing and relying on the power and authority of Christ alone. He was, in a sense, a parent correcting a child. Those who would receive his letter and consider it prayerfully would be no doubt ready to receive him in love and thus all would be spared the conflict of a face to face confrontation that might never be resolved. Hope this helps, Jeff |
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Questions and/or Subjects for NT general Archive 1 | Author | ||
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sqkeener1955 | ||
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Joaquin | ||
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plthomas | ||
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restate | ||
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justme | ||
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seaching | ||
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pbp | ||
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crayoncrz | ||
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jlhetrick | ||
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JohnDiscipleship | ||
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nevah |