2 Corinthians 10:10; Not a Difference

2 Corinthians 10:10 For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

What the Corinthians have read from his letters was exactly who the Apostle Paul was. He stood by what he wrote. What he wrote was true to who he was. It had been alleged that his ordinary physical appearance does not gel with the spiritual strength of the letters that he wrote. Therefore, the letters have been called to question. How could such a weak person write such powerful letters!

The power of those letters was Spirit-led writing. As the Apostle Peter would have rightly put it in 2 Peter 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” The Apostle Peter’s spiritual authority came from the Lord Jesus Himself as he testified in 2 Peter 1:17-19 “For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts:” Just as it was with the Apostle Paul as recorded our Lord’s conversation with Ananais in Acts 9:15-16 “But the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel: For I will shew him how great things he must suffer for my name’s sake.” This was exactly the work the Apostle Paul was doing. It was the Lord’s work through this weak vessel!

Emily May Grimes (1868-1927) speaks well of the power of Spirit-led words when she wrote so beautifully:

Speak, Lord, in the stillness
While I wait on Thee;
Hush’d my heart to listen,
In expectancy.

Speak, O blessed Master,
In this quiet hour;
Let me see Thy face, Lord,
Feel Thy touch of pow’r.

May the Lord bless His good Word for the strengthening of the faith of the saints. Amen.