2 Corinthians 10:1, commentary and pictures

Paul appeals by the meekness and gentleness of Christ as he prepares to speak decidedly in defense of his self-denying course of humbling himself to support himself by manual labor against criticism judging by outward appearance. That meekness and gentleness invoked is the model for Christian conduct in sharing and defending the truth. It is not gained by human strength but must be learned daily through submission, divine power, and the continual baptism of the Holy Spirit with constant renewal, daily conversion, and purification of heart. It is the manner in which all authority and appeal are to be exercised, with no controlling or self-serving dominion, and the pattern for leading, disciplining, and laboring together in humility, unity, and mutual respect. It is also the spirit for presenting truth and laboring for souls, putting self out of sight and reaching others with sympathy, patience, and practical godliness rather than by theory, argument, or love of fighting.

Paul's Situation and Appeal

The verse is Paul vindicating his course of preaching the gospel in disinterested love by supporting himself through tentmaking and by teaching his fellow laborers to work with their hands. To be base in presence means that he humbled himself among the Corinthians to do mechanical work, with his lowliness in person standing in contrast to his boldness when absent. That self-denying course drew criticism, for some ministering brethren said that such labor cheapened his influence as a teacher of the gospel. He therefore appeals by the meekness and gentleness of Christ as he prepares to speak decidedly in defense of that course against criticism and judgment by outward appearances.

The appeal invokes the meekness and gentleness of Christ, pointing to Christ's meekness as the model for Christian conduct. That model governs the sharing and defending of the truth, which is to be done with gentleness, patience, and love, even when instructing those who oppose it.

Meaning of Meekness and Gentleness

The meekness and gentleness of Christ temper force of will and natural energy, and in the life of Christian parents these qualities are to shape character and actions. His gentleness bows the heart into willing submission to the Saviour, so that truth binds the soul to Christ without forcing it. His meekness is the open, teachable spirit in which light must be received no matter by whom it is sent.

That teachable spirit opens the heart to a controverted point and admits it when well sustained instead of resisting with question after question, acting as one who truly wants light. It receives the Holy Spirit day by day, walks in the light of God's countenance, and remains a learner in the school of Christ. His meekness is humility of mind and humble trust to be cherished and needed, drawing believers closer and nearer to Jesus and giving peace and rest. It keeps them clinging to God, trusting Him wholly, and of good courage without faintness of spirit or distrust.

His meekness is the characteristic of the Christian and the mark of all truly connected with God. It is shown in benevolence, kindness, mercy, and love, which come from wisdom and from infinite wisdom, and His Spirit working in the heart creates harmony, peace, love, and unity so that those so connected are not at variance with one another. The opposite fruit — continual contradiction, strife, envy, and jealousy as ruling elements — is the unholy fruit of a heart not in harmony with Jesus Christ and the working found in the children of Satan, and the fruit a person bears reveals which condition is present.

Receiving Christlike Character

The gentleness of Christ is an education that must be learned, meaning control of the spirit and careful selection of words. It requires putting away hardness of voice and the habit of unkind speaking, and this change must take place before entering the kingdom of glory.

The meekness and gentleness of Christ are to be learned daily through the art of faith and the grace of submission. They cannot be gained by human strength but require divine power and the continual baptism of the Holy Spirit, bringing Christ's sweet peace to the soul. Representing them requires placing oneself on the Lord's side at the beginning of each day, with constant renewal of divine grace, daily conversion of mind and heart, and daily purification of thoughts and affections, without which the heart cannot be kept sweet and pure. Because Christ paid the ransom for the soul, every power of soul, body, and mind is to be given wholly to the Lord in drawing near to know God and Jesus Christ whom He sent.

The meekness and gentleness of Christ are to be asked of the Lord with day and night intercession and to be longed for in every conflict. Longing for that gentleness is evidence that the Spirit of God is working in the life. It is a most precious attribute that all must have to obtain the victory, and all who ask in faith will be granted it abundantly, for the Saviour loves to give of His abundance to those who seek Him in faith. It is to be kept in the heart together with the abiding peace of God and being clothed with His righteousness, sustaining a life of speaking the words God gives as more than meat and drink with continual thankful praise. Yet it means laying aside lightness, carping criticism, pride of spirit, eager seeking of worldly friendship and applause, passionate temper, and un-Christlike words, since cruel words wound and bruise righteous souls. To cherish those things and then pray for humility, heavenly affections, and the meekness of Christ is profitless and is not watching unto prayer, and such prayer goes unanswered for lack of the faith that works by love and purifies the soul.

Christians are to have Christ's meekness and gentleness as self dies, pride leaves the soul, and Christ is formed within through vital connection with God. This character belongs to those living in the closing scenes of this earth's history who have that vital connection and not merely a form of godliness or a theoretical hold of truth. It belongs to close students of the Bible who see the solemn position of the last days and feel their own inefficiency and weakness. They do not rest until Christ is formed within as the hope of glory, with self dead and pride expelled from the soul.

The gentleness of Christ is to be sought from God and cultivated until a person is filled with it in order to be right with Him. It means having the precious love and pitying tenderness that dwelt in Jesus, laying aside suspicion and jealousy, and letting God remove all rough edges and harsh surface. It forbids reproving, making cutting remarks, reining others up to one's own standard, and making a man an offender for a word. It makes a person a blessing and a comfort who lives in the hearts of the brethren.

Meekness in Leadership and Unity

The meekness and gentleness of Christ are the manner in which authority and appeal are to be exercised, to appear in all that is said and done. No unwise authority is to be exercised over those who accept the truth, and no controlling, dictating, or self-serving authority, for they belong to Christ and not to a minister. A worker who sets self aside and serves in Christ's lowliness can labor successfully for God.

That same meekness and gentleness are the pattern for speaking and acting toward others, requiring those who are mistaken to be treated with patience and love even when they oppose the truth, since some, like Paul before his conversion, may believe they are serving God. Such meekness is compatible with firm and earnest work, acting quietly and without boasting or self-sufficiency while faithfully carrying out the sacred trust to preach the word with diligence, earnestness, and fervor. In leading and disciplining others the pattern holds firmly to what is right while showing humility, consideration, and gentleness. Hardness, criticism, injustice, and unfeeling hardness toward fellow workers undermine love and respect and must be avoided, especially in maintaining discipline in institutions.

Among laborers working together, Christ's meekness keeps strong traits in check and shows humility, love, confidence, and respect with mutual counsel instead of stubborn self-confidence and acting in opposition to one another. It allows no rivalry, jealousy, or seeking for supremacy, but weaves no self into the work, hides in Jesus, exalts Christ, works with fidelity in harmony, and walks in the path God's providence opens, so that the worker will at last hear Well done from the lips of the Master. When received, that meekness enables a worker to labor in His lines, to carry out the Lord's plans in His way, to give right counsel in unison with brethren, and to stand with them in harmony, so that influence as a laborer together with God tells decidedly for the truth and accomplishes a grand work.

The meekness and lowliness of Christ always lead to unity and hence to strength in united action. This requires self-restraint and submission of personal judgment, ideas, plans, and notions to preserve unity of action, instead of acting alone or holding firmly to peculiar views that draw apart, which reveals crookedness of character and danger of being deceived in interpreting Scripture and duty. However large a claim to knowledge and wisdom, unless under the teaching of the Holy Spirit one is exceedingly ignorant of spiritual things and must realize danger and inefficiency and place entire dependence upon Christ, who alone is able to keep souls committed to His trust, imbue them with His Spirit, and fill them with unselfish love for one another, so that those truly converted press together and bear witness that God has sent His Son into the world to save sinners.

The meekness of Christ is the spirit for correcting one who is doing wrong, guarding one another's interests by going directly to the person and telling him what it is to be a Christian. It forbids going to others who know nothing of the matter, repeating hearsay, swelling differences and concealing points of agreement, and thus strengthening him in the wrong way and breaking up union among believers, and this direct, meek labor is the work of those who must give an account. It is the model for Christian service itself, in which ministers go out humbly and meekly, relying on Christ as their source of strength.

Meekness in Witness and Service

Teachers, ministers, and physicians are to represent the meekness and gentleness of Christ, letting His meekness appear and His gentleness be seen. Hearts melted with tenderness in telling of God's love for a fallen world belong to that representation, with Christ's methods and Christ's spirit in schools and in every church. Teaching the truth instead of censuring, with more guidance of the Holy Spirit and less confidence in human power, is required because a reformatory work is needed in the very closing scenes of this earth's history.

The meekness of Christ must be evidenced in all churches, and hiding self in Jesus enables the solemn work committed to God's people to be done intelligently. The work is essential and the time to accomplish it is short, demanding earnest preparation for the coming conflict because Satan's armies are marshalling for the last great struggle. Letting light shine in words and deeds reveals that truth is cherished in the heart.

Presenting the truth means doing so in the meekness of Jesus rather than by theory or argument, putting self out of sight and getting out of self. All seeking for supremacy must cease and a higher standard be reached, with practical godliness taught and woven into life so actions show the impress of the Divine, Christ working for and with believers and God in their midst. Having the Spirit and power of God and the love of Jesus as a channel for good alone can reach people. Opening truth to those in darkness must be controlled by that meekness, rejecting a love of fighting and carrying the great and solemn work forward in wisdom, with well-chosen words and a deportment that recommends the truth by its sanctifying power upon character.

Believers must cultivate the meekness of Christ in order to properly represent the unpopular truth they hold. That representation stands firm in confession of the truth even unto persecution and death. The meekness of Christ is the spirit for labor for the salvation of souls, set against being wrapped up in selfish interests and being self-important.

That labor is expressed in deeds of sympathy and benevolence and in sacred and social ministering to the needy, the oppressed, and the suffering, working wherever labor can be done. For those who have partaken of heavenly benefits and have seen and heard the evidences of truth, it means acting to give the truth to others who lack those privileges in papers and tracts. As individual reapers gathering souls where fields are ripe for harvest, all need that meekness, putting away all self-sufficiency and self-importance, tearing every cherished idol from the soul temple, and cooperating with the divine.

The gentleness of Christ must be cherished toward all, winning many by kindness and conforming them in well-doing by persevering care and manifested interest and love. Taking pains to encourage the young and those of all ages to find the channel of light where pure influences flow from human words and human actions is part of that gentleness, for this is the fruit Christians will bear. That same gentleness cures the unkind faultfinding of professed Christians who grieve Christ's heart by blighting and cutting souls like desolating hail, taking His holy name yet pointing out and dwelling upon defects in others while blind to their own weakness and errors. In its place it gives holy and pure character, departing from all iniquity and honoring the truth in words and example.

The meekness and lowliness of Christ is the pattern to copy, and learning it requires being imbued with the Holy Spirit, with church members needing a larger measure of the Spirit to gain it. This meekness fits believers for efficient work through the grace and love of Christ, especially to reach the needy classes in the South through personal care that gives them work to do, cultivates ability and ingenious minds, teaches faithfulness and diligence, and uses human thought and clear discernment to comprehend needs rather than doing everything by machinery. The lowliness and gentleness of Christ reveal the sanctification of the Spirit, and working in the simplicity of Christ brings the knowledge of the truth with converting power to those who need it. Those who carry responsibility must place a lower estimate on human wisdom and esteem more highly that sanctified lowliness and gentleness, letting the Holy Spirit control the will and sanctify the tongue so that converted soul, mind, body, strength, and desires become working agencies educated to speak His words and do His works. Labor done in Christ's meekness brings God's blessing.

Meekness in Daily Life

The gentleness of Christ is to be revealed in the way husband and wife treat one another, for love dies unless it is kept alive by words of encouragement.
His meekness and gentleness are His character to be imitated as preparation for eternal life and readiness for the Lord's coming. Everything is to be done in the spirit of meekness, with certainty of possessing the gentleness of Jesus. This means moving carefully, watching and praying, believing to see the salvation of God, doing thorough work under the Holy Spirit to fit character for eternal life, and helping one another bear burdens in love and peace.

The meekness of Christ is a Spirit to be breathed in and lived out. The one who has it remains subject to human infirmity, yet is pardoned for mistakes by the compassionate, loving Saviour when pardon is asked from love for Jesus. Such a one becomes a light in the home through conversation seasoned with grace and prayers pervaded by holy unction, with the Lord working with such efforts so that His righteousness goes before and His glory is the rear guard.

The meekness of Christ is the way God teaches people to walk, together with wisdom and discretion. Taking a right view of individual responsibility to make influence a Christian influence leads God to teach this meekness. He then makes the person a blessing, a missionary to help those who associate with him, and a light in the world through loving God and keeping His commandments, being of good courage in the Lord and looking to Him in faith and trust.