1. I, Paul, am begging you with the gentleness and the kindness of Christ. Some say that I am bold when I am writing you from a distance, but not when I am there with you.
2. They think our motives for what we do are like those of the world. I plan to be very bold against those people when I come. I hope I will not need to use that same boldness with you.
3. We live in this world, but we don’t fight our battles in the same way the world does.
4. The weapons we use are not human ones. Our weapons have power from God and can destroy the enemy’s strong places. We destroy people’s arguments,
5. and we tear down every proud idea that raises itself against the knowledge of God. We also capture every thought and make it give up and obey Christ.
6. We are ready to punish anyone there who does not obey, but first we want you to be fully obedient.
7. You must look at the facts before you. If you feel sure you belong to Christ, you must remember that we belong to Christ the same as you do.
8. It may seem as though we boast too much about the authority the Lord gave us. But he gave us this authority to strengthen you, not to hurt you. So I will not be ashamed of whatever boasting we do.