ABEL DAMINA BUTCHERS 2 CORINTHIANS 5:16

By Akin Ojumu

As someone totally committed to the fidelity of Scripture, I find it difficult to avert my gaze whenever I see a preacher wreak havoc to the Gospel. I don’t know about you, but for me, turning a blind eye on the violation of the sanctity of the Word of God is an impossible posture for me to assume. 

Even when I try to ignore the nonsensical gibberish being spewed from the pulpits, my heart burns with the fire of indignation. All my attempts at burying my head in the “see no evil, hear no evil” sand of indifference and aloofness always prove abortive.

So, you’ll understand how I felt when I heard Abel do violence to 2 Corinthians 5:16.

“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.”

Interpreting this verse, Abel Damina makes the following profoundly outrageous assertion:

“What does he mean to know Christ after the flesh? Paul never saw Jesus in the flesh because even the church in Corinth never saw Jesus in the flesh except for those who had been in Jerusalem. So, know him no more after the flesh is talking about knowing him after the account of the four Gospels. The four Gospels were the flesh account of Jesus, the eyewitness rendition, or eyewitness account of Jesus given to us. Now, we don’t know him that way. The next statement says “if any man be in Christ…” So, the born-again man cannot be found in the four Gospels. You can never know yourself in the four Gospels because the four Gospels is man after the flesh and henceforth know we know no man after the flesh. We used to know Christ after the flesh but from henceforth we know no more the Christ after the flesh. There is a risen Lord, and the man today is in the risen Christ. I’m teaching good here…”

No, Abel Damina, you are not teaching good, you are teaching gobbledygook nonsense. This is a gross distortion of what 2 Corinthians 5:16 actually means. The damage this man is doing to this passage is so severe, it is beyond belief.

So, what does Apostle Paul mean when he wrote, “We know no man after the flesh?”

Knowing no man after the flesh, simply put, is Apostle Paul’s way of conveying to the Corinthian Christians that his assessment of people changed the moment he became a Christian. Since he encountered the risen Christ on the road to Damascus, his priorities and perspectives became dramatically transformed. No longer does he evaluate people based on outward appearance, but, rather, based on what’s on the inside. Ever since he became a follower of Christ, Paul ceased to judge people according to external, human, worldly standards. 

Just as his view of people changed, his view of the Lord Jesus Christ changed as well. Before his conversion, Paul regarded the Lord Jesus not only as a mere man, but a blasphemer who equated Himself with God and deserving of death by crucifixion. When he met the risen Christ, however, this fallible, human assessment of Jesus changed. He came to the realization that Christ is the Son of God, the Messiah. 

Here’s how the good folks at BibleRef describe it:

Instead of looking at the outer appearance, the important question that must be answered about each person is spiritual. While every person is valuable, and worthwhile, their value is not found in physical things or worldly wealth. Nor can it be judged by shallow appearances. And, their greatest “need” is not for physical things, but for reconciliation with their Creator, through Christ.

Paul came to this understanding when he came to faith in Christ. He once thought of Christ only from a human perspective. Before his conversion, Paul viewed Christ as a mere man and His death as a just punishment for heresy. After his conversion, Paul came to know Christ as the Son of God and the substitute for human sin.

The understanding that everyone can be forgiven from sin and transformed through faith in Christ has changed how Paul regards every other person on earth. His primary concern, now, is whether another person is in Christ or still in their sin? Are they reconciled to God through faith in Jesus or not? As shown in the following verses, this is not about Paul deeming people “good” or “bad” on account of their faith. Rather, it reflects his deep desire to see people saved through faith.

2 Corinthians 5:16 is not a difficult text to understand. All Abel Damina ought to have done was read the verse in other translations. Here’s the same verse in the English Standard Version and New Living Translation.

2 CORINTHIANS 5:16 (ESV)

“From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.”

2 CORINTHIANS 5:16 (NLT)

“So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer.”

The fact that Abel Damina doesn’t even understand this simple Bible text should make you wonder how in the world anyone even considers this man a serious preacher of the Gospel. 

Gosh!