What Is “The Obedience Of Christ”? (2 Corinthians 10:5)

In 2 Corinthians 10:5, the Apostle Paul tells us that we Christians should be “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”:

2 Corinthians 10:5 NKJV
casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,

Some have asserted that this does not mean that we are to make all our thoughts obey Christ, but instead means that we should always be mindful of Christ’s obedience at the cross. Now, while I do believe that Christ’s obedience at the cross is of crucial importance (since that is how we were saved, cf. Romans 5:19; Philippians 2:8), I do not think that this is what Paul was trying to convey here.

The mistake made by those who hold to the Christ’s-obedience-not-ours view is to assume that the “of” necessarily indicates that Christ is the one doing the “obedience” mentioned here. However, this is not the case. Consider the following verse, where Jesus talks about “the blasphemy of the Spirit”:

Matthew 12:31
Because of this, I say to you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy of the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Take a look at the phrase “blasphemy of the [Holy] Spirit.” Does the “of” here necessarily indicate that the Holy Spirit is the one doing the “blasphemy,” and that he will not be forgiven? Of course not, especially considering what Jesus himself says in the very next verse:

Matthew 12:32
And if someone speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him, but if someone speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age nor in the coming one.

So, it is clear that the phrase “blasphemy of the Spirit” does not refer to the Holy Spirit doing the “blasphemy,” but someone else speaking against the Holy Spirit. Thus, the phrase “obedience of Christ” in 2 Corinthians 10:5 does not necessarily refer to Christ’s obedience at the cross, but could instead refer to our obedience to Christ.

Another mistake made by those who hold to the Christ’s-obedience-not-ours view is that they take 2 Corinthians 10:5 out of its context. We must remember that chapter and verse divisions were not part of the original text of the Bible, but were added later on by man. Therefore, we should not let chapter and verse divisions blind us to the surrounding text of the verse. Let us now read verse 5 together with the very next verse:

2 Corinthians 10:5–6 NKJV
... bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.

The Apostle Paul was telling the Corinthian Christians to captivate their every thought to obey Christ—why?—so that they would be “ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” By the way, in the Greek text, the word “your” is in the primary position of emphasis.

Thus, by reading 2 Corinthians 10:5 in the entirety of its context, it is clear that the “obedience of Christ” here refers not to Christ’s obedience at the cross (important as that may be), but to the Corinthian Christians’ (and our) obedience to Christ. He was essentially saying the same thing that Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 7:3–5 NKJV
And why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the plank in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me remove the speck from your eye’; and look, a plank is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Notice that Jesus was not against us correcting our brothers. He was saying that we should first make sure that we have corrected that sin in ourselves, so that then we would we be able to effectively correct our brothers. Likewise, the Apostle Paul wanted the Corinthian Christians to be “bringing every thought into captivity to obey Christ” so that once their obedience was fulfilled, they would then be in a proper position to correct the disobedience of others.