Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's. For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed: That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters. For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful; but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible. Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present. 2 Corinthians 10:7-11
What does a Christian look like? Many of us have this preconceived notion a Christian should look like A, B, and C. However if we are judging people by their outward appearances , then we are not being edified by the Holy Spirit. All of us have a past, all of us were sinners that became regenerated, because we can use the story of our past for Gods glory
Think about when God chose David to be the King of Israel, when the prophet Samuel asked Jesse to show him his sons, he showed him all of them except David. They made the assumption, God could never use a young shepherd boy, but God said to Samuel "Don't consider their height or appearance, People look outward appearances but God looks at the heart" (1 Samuel 16:7)
It's easy for us as humans to be judgemental based on looks, but we don't know what heart the person has. As we know we are all given a New heart (Ezekiel 36) by the Holy Spirit, we need to be careful not to dismiss God's servants because of our poor judgment, we need to be patient and allow the fruits of the Holy Spirit to be demonstrated over time (Matthew 7, Galatians 5)
This is where the Church comes in, as the Apostle Paul says here "For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which The Lord has given us for edification and not for destruction" Paul is revealing his Apostolic authority given to him by Christ, however this authority is for the edification of the Church and not to control people.
As we talked about previously , there is order and an authority structure within a Church, but we are not to abuse this authority for our flesh, We are to use this for the edification of the Church. As new converts come into the body of Christ, they need discipleship, they need to be taught and shown the ways of The Lord. This is part of our purpose and function as the Church, to edify and not abuse
Speaking of appearances, Paul says "By my letters some of you think I'm terrifying", however his bodily presence is weak" This is a good example of prejudging someone. Many in the Church felt that Paul was going to be intimidating , however when they met him in person, he was a small weak man. As we know Paul is a mighty warrior for The Lord, however if we just judged him based on appearances we would miss his heart, Amen!
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