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.