2 Corinthians 10:1 - Homilies By E. Hurndall

How different was Christ to

I. THE MEEKNESS OF CHRIST . Illustrated in:

1 . His lowly birth . The manger prefigured the whole life.

2 . His humble station . Highest in heaven, lowliest on earth.

3 . His obedience to Joseph and Mary . Obedience was new to him. He was the Ruler, and yet he submitted to be ruled.

4 . His manual toil . The Jews looked for a conqueror and saw a carpenter.

5 . His endurance of scorn and insult . Scorn and insult were much more to him than they ever can be to us. Remember he was the adored of heaven!

6 . His earthly poverty . He possessed all things, and yet bad nothing—not even a place where to lay his head.

7 . His bearing before the Sanhedrim, Pilate, Herod, the soldiers, etc. How little and mean they must have seemed to him! and yet he did not crush them.

8 . His submission on the cross . The infinitude of meekness! Nothing could transcend this. This was the culmination of a meekness which shone throughout the marvellous earthly life.

"Ride on, ride on in majesty;

In lowly pomp ride on to die;

Bow thy meek head to mortal pain;

Then take, O Christ, thy power and reign."

9. His burial . He went, not only to death, but to the grave. He lay in a borrowed sepulchre.

II. THE GENTLENESS OF CHRIST . Exhibited in:

1 . His treatment of children . How immortal have those words become! how typical they are of the Christ heart, "Suffer the little children, and forbid them not, to come unto me" ( Matthew 19:14 )!

2 . His conduct towards the poor, the sick, the bereaved, the penitent . What compassion and tenderness! "A bruised reed shall he not break" ( Isaiah 42:3 ).

3 . His words . "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street" ( Isaiah 42:2 ). Well might they marvel at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.

4 . His forbearance towards his disciples . Few things illustrate his gentleness more strikingly than this. How much had he to bear from those nearest to him! How gentle he was to the impulsive, blundering, often almost insolent, Peter! How gentle even to Judas!

5 . His dealing with sinners . Except to the hopelessly hardened, upon whom gentleness would have been thrown away, and to whom it would have been an evil rather than a good. His general attitude towards the sinful is expressed by those memorable words, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls" ( Matthew 11:29 ).

6 . His care of his mother . History has no more touching incident than that at the cross, "Woman, behold thy son!" ( John 19:26 ).

III. THOUGH SO MEEK AND GENTLE , CHRIST WAS FULL OF POWER AND MAJESTY , NO student of his life can question this; enemies and friends alike confess it. Force and noise are not synonymous. Silent forces are often mighty. To be meek is not to be weak. Simplicity, tenderness, humility, are marks of the truly great. These flowers grow upon the top of the mountain. A man who is ever anxious to "assert himself" usually shows how very little he has to assert.

IV. THOSE WHO BEAR CHRIST 'S NAME SHOULD PARTAKE OF CHRIST 'S NATURE . It is for us to be meek and lowly followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. When the apostle would be most forceful to the Corinthians, he claimed for himself these attributes of his Master. We are strongest when we are most like Christ. We shall be better, live better, worship better, work better, if we possess the "meekness and gentleness of Christ."—H.

2 Corinthians 10:4 - "Our weapons."

I. THEY ARE FOR USE IN THE GREATEST OF ALL CONFLICTS

1 . Not a physical conflict. These are poor, of comparative unimportance, often very contemptible, can effect little.

2 . Not for the destruction of men. What labour, thought, skill, genius, are expended by man for man's destruction!

3 . Not a mere mental conflict. Intellectual battles are not chief.

4 . A spiritual conflict.

5 . A conflict in which the honour and glory of the Eternal are contended for.

6 . A conflict in which man's highest interests are sought.

7 . A conflict against evil in every form.

II. THEY ARE HERE DESCRIBED .

1 . Negatively . They are not carnal.

(a) cunning and trickery in order to secure converts. Some unwisely think that, if converts be obtained, it is no matter how. But Paul desired to "strive lawfully" ( 2 Timothy 2:5 ).

(b) Nor did he rely upon human eloquence. He came not with "wisdom of words" ( 1 Corinthians 1:17 ).

(c) Nor upon human reason. Philosophical subtleties he discarded. He had a revelation, and, whilst willing to demonstrate to human intelligence that this was a Divine revelation, he then employed it, and hoped for victory only as the Divine Spirit blessed his efforts. The apostle preached the gospel by his words, by his deeds, by his spirit, by his life; and using these weapons he relied pre-eminently upon that supreme weapon, Divine power, to secure the victory.

2 . Positively . Carnal weapons seem strong. They impress men. Paul's weapons, which are ours, are apt to excite ridicule on the part of fleshly men, who judge by outward appearance. But the apostle contends that these weapons are mighty. They have done what all others have failed to do.

III. WE SHOULD RELY ONLY UPON THESE WEAPONS IN THE GREAT CONFLICT . Our strength is here. There are many temptations to use others. The devil loves to furnish us with weapons wherewith to attack his kingdom ! With what strange weapons has the Church fought! No wonder the strife has so often gone against her. With what weapons are we fighting?

IV. WE SHOULD SEEK SKILL IS THEIR USE , 'Tis not enough to have good weapons, we must know how to employ them. The best weapons are the worst in unwise hands. We must enter the military school of Christ.—H.

2 Corinthians 10:7 - Judging from appearances.

I. A VERY EASY WAY OF JUDGING . A sound judgment often involves hard labour. Many jump to conclusions because the jump is so easy and so soon over. But a judgment lightly got may generally be lightly valued. Few things are more difficult than terming accurate judgments. The importance of correct judgment is, however, so all important that we should spare no pains to secure it.

II. A VERY COMMON WAY OF JUDGING . Surface judgments are popular. Many people are fatally prejudiced by appearance, whether good or bad; of the former they will hear no blame, of the latter no praise. We need remember this when we estimate human judgments generally.

III. A VERY PERILOUS WAY OF JUDGING . It leads to constant errors and evils. Note one or two.

1 . Gentleness is mistaken for weakness . This was the case with the apostle. That which was kindest and best in him was esteemed a fault.

2 . The physical and external are over estimated . The voice, manner, appearance, language of a preacher are unduly regarded. The "outward appearance" often goes for much more than the inward grace and power.

3 . The flashy and dazzling are more esteemed than the solid and weighty . Sensational religion triumphs in the realm of shallow judgment,

4 . The religious life suffers in comparison with the worldly . The deep, quiet, permanent joys of the former are unconsidered. The pleasures of the latter are thought to be as great as they seem: a fatal blunder.

5 . God ' s dealings with us are misunderstood . He is often kindest when he seems most unkind. God's "No" is often a far greater good than God's "Yes" could be; but a hasty superficial judgment does not perceive this. We often complain most when we have most cause to bless.

6 . The more striking forms of Christian worship and work eclipse other and more important . The shallow judgments of Corinth were all for speaking with tongues. "Prophecy" was little accounted of. "Giving money" is often attractive when true charity is not. The grand choral service is more popular than quiet consistent living. To be a "great preacher" is the object of ambition rather than to be a real teacher of men.

7 . Christ was rejected and is today by those who judge according to the outward appearance . He is "a root out of a dry ground" to such; they have no spiritual insight. The Gospels which speak of him are full of inconsistencies to those who will not examine them. Yea, the Bible itself, which is one revelation of him, must be rejected by these weak surface judges. But what said he? "Judge not according to appearance, but judge righteous judgment" ( John 7:24 ).—H.