Spiritual Abuse Verses

[JJ]

Originally Posted by JJ

2 Corinthians 11:20 (linked here in its context https://biblehub.com/bsb/2_corinthians/11.htm) is a great verse for anyone thinking it is better to “turn the other cheek” to an abusive church leader. It simply isn’t! Turn away! Don’t put up with it.

The apostle Paul is this verse is shaming the Corinthians regarding “many who boast in their flesh” saying “you gladly tolerate fools, since you are so wise. In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or exalts himself or strikes you in the face.” And he compares himself and his coworkers who are meek and gentle among them as setting the right example from chapters 11-14 in a long discourse.

When the apostle Paul finally was severe it was after multiple warnings and his reasons were “For I fear lest perhaps having come, I may not find you such as I wish, and I might be found by you such as you do not wish; lest perhaps there may be quarreling, jealousy, anger, contentions, slander, gossip, conceit, disorder; lest of my having come again, my God should humble me as to you, and I should mourn over many of those having before sinned and not having repented of the impurity, and sexual immorality, and sensuality that they have practiced.”

In contrast to this, according to Witness Lee Watchman Nee was “edified and perfected” first by Dora Yu who dismissed him from her training school for being lazy without confronting him about it and by Margaret E. Barber who frequently administered strict discipline on the young people she trained (words from Watchman Nee a Seer of the Divine Revelation in the Present Age by Witness Lee).