away in captivity to another land. The long strings of prisoners
on Assyrian and Egyptian monuments show how familiar an experience this
was. It may be noted that perhaps our text regards the obedience of
Christ as being the far country into which 'every thought was to be
brought.' At all events Paul's idea here is that the end of the whole
struggle between 'the flesh' and the weapons of God is to make men
willing captives of Jesus Christ. We are Christians in the measure in
which we surrender our wills to Christ. That surrender rests upon, and
is our only adequate answer to, His surrender for us. The 'obedience of
Christ' is perfect freedom; His captives wear no chains and know nothing
of forced service; His yoke is easy, not because it does not press hard
upon the neck but because it is lined with love, and 'His burden is
light' not because of its own weight but because it is laid on us by
love and is carried by kindred love. He only commands himself who gladly
lets Christ command him. Many a hard task becomes easy; crooked things
are straightened out and rough places often made surprisingly plain for
the captives of Christ, whom He leads into the liberty of obedience to
Him.

IV. Fate of the disobedient.

Paul thinks that in Corinth there will be found some stiff-necked
opponents of whom he cannot hope that their 'obedience shall be
fulfilled,' and he sees in the double issue of the small struggle that
was being waged in Corinth a parable of the wider results of the warfare
in the world. 'Some believed and some believed not'; that has been the
brief summary of the experience of all God's messengers everywhere, and
it is their experience to-day. No doubt when Paul speaks of 'being in
readiness to avenge all disobedience,' he is alluding to the exercise of
his apostolic authority against the obdurate antagonists whom he
contemplates as still remaining obdurate, and it is beautiful to note
the long-suffering patience with which he will hold his hand until all
that can be won has been won. But we must not forget that Paul's
demeanour is but a faint shadow of his Lord's, and that the weapons
which were ready to avenge all disobedience were the weapons of God. If
a man steels himself against the efforts of divine love, builds up round
himself a fortress of self-righteousness and locks its gates against the
merciful entrance of convictions of sin and the knowledge of a Saviour,
and if he therefore lives, year in, year out,