2Cor 10:2 Cross References

2 Corinthians 10:2

2: I hope it won't be necessary, but when I come I may have to be very bold with those who think we act from purely human motives.

I am writing this to you before I come, hoping that I won't need to deal harshly with you when I do come. For I want to use the authority the Lord has given me to build you up, not to tear you down.

I have already warned those who had been sinning when I was there on my second visit. Now I again warn them and all others, just as I did before, that this next time I will not spare them.

The only thing I didn't do, which I do in the other churches, was to become a burden to you. Please forgive me for this wrong!
Now I am coming to you for the third time, and I will not be a burden to you. I don't want what you have; I want you. And anyway, little children don't pay for their parents' food. It's the other way around; parents supply food for their children.
I will gladly spend myself and all I have for your spiritual good, even though it seems that the more I love you, the less you love me.
Some of you admit I was not a burden to you. But they still think I was sneaky and took advantage of you by trickery.
But how? Did any of the men I sent to you take advantage of you?

You used to live just like the rest of the world, full of sin, obeying Satan, the mighty prince of the power of the air. He is the spirit at work in the hearts of those who refuse to obey God.
All of us used to live that way, following the passions and desires of our evil nature. We were born with an evil nature, and we were under God's anger just like everyone else.

So I advise you to live according to your new life in the Holy Spirit. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.
The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict.
But when you are directed by the Holy Spirit, you are no longer subject to the law.
When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, your lives will produce these evil results: sexual immorality, impure thoughts, eagerness for lustful pleasure,
idolatry, participation in demonic activities, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, divisions, the feeling that everyone is wrong except those in your own little group,

I know that some of you have become arrogant, thinking I will never visit you again.
But I will come--and soon--if the Lord will let me, and then I'll find out whether these arrogant people are just big talkers or whether they really have God's power.
For the Kingdom of God is not just fancy talk; it is living by God's power.
Which do you choose? Should I come with punishment and scolding, or should I come with quiet love and gentleness?

And when I was with you and didn't have enough to live on, I did not ask you to help me. For the brothers who came from Macedonia brought me another gift. I have never yet asked you for any support, and I never will.
As surely as the truth of Christ is in me, I will never stop boasting about this all over Greece.
Why? Because I don't love you? God knows I do.
But I will continue doing this to cut the ground out from under the feet of those who boast that their work is just like ours.
These people are false apostles. They have fooled you by disguising themselves as apostles of Christ.

Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit.

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