Have you ever had a passage be so familiar to you that, in the “knowing”, you lose the meaning and the purpose for which the passage was written? That was the case for me as I read 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 this morning in one of the devotional plans I have been reading.
I think that as humans, we sometimes tend to approach Scripture through the lens of what we have already learned, instead of coming to the Living Word with the attitude of “Spirit of God, teach me more so I can become more like Jesus.” Let’s shed the former attitude and dig into this passage with the latter mindset.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh,
for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh,
but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing
raised up against the knowledge of God,
and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
~~2 Corinthians 10:3-5~~
The first thing that popped out to me was the contrast in the first two phrases. “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.” The first phrase addresses “where” we are presently, here on earth, but it also addresses “how” we live.
The word “walk” (peripateō) means to pass (one’s) life. Doesn’t that give you the impression that, being here on earth, we are just passing the time till we are with Jesus? If we didn’t take the first two phrases together, we would totally miss the point Paul was making in this passage.
The second phrase puts things into perspective. Though we are living each day here on earth, and though our lives are passing by on the daily, Paul is saying that living life here on earth is not a mere checking off the days on the calendar, but it is out right war.
“We do not war according to the flesh”
The word “war” (strateuō) indicates that we are serving in a military campaign. The reality of it is that we have an enemy who wants to take us down. We all know the fact that Jesus has won the war against sin and death, and frankly, Satan knows that too. But Satan is about causing as many casualties as he can until we are united with Jesus. Because of this ongoing threat, we need to view our time here on earth not just as a “passing of our lives”, but rather, as a time to live our lives with a “military stratagem” mindset.
“The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh”
When Paul stated that the weapons of our warfare are “not of the flesh”, he was telling us that we can’t fight a spiritual battle using human “weapons”. Our world is bombarded with a growing number of “self-help” books. We will never grow spiritually using that method. Battles aren’t fought and won without the power of God.
“But are divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses”
Paul was describing not only the power of God being necessary to fight the battles of life, but He was also describing a “process”.
There is a powerful word picture found in the word “fortress” (ochyrōma). In the Greek language it describes a castle. Castles are built to be strong and impenetrable. They are usually made of large hewn stones, placed strategically one upon another. The strength of the structure creates a strong barrier.
We want to live our lives with no barrier between us and God, because He is where we get the power to say “yes” to the Spirit and “no” to ourselves. In order to do that, we have to address the fact that we need to recognize and pull down each thought or feeling or stratagem that doesn’t align with the Word of God. How do we do that? Paul tells us in the next couple phrases. Let’s take a look at them separately.
“We are destroying speculations…”
The words “we are destroying” (kathaireō) means destroying or pulling down, but what is particularly important to note is that it is written in the participle mood, which means that it is an ongoing action. It’s not a one-and-done.
Looking at what we are to be pulling down, the first thing that Paul mentions is “speculations” (logismos) which describes computations or reasoning (of conscience or conceit). Well, if that doesn’t pack a punch, huh? How often have you seen or heard something, and thought, “well, something just doesn’t add up here”. That’s computation – it’s how you look at the surface of something and figure out what you think is going on. That addresses our prideful inclination to try to figure things out on our own. If I’m not mistaken, I think that this is what caused Eve to choose the fruit over trusting God’s direction.
“Every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God”
To understand the impact of this command, we need to identify what a “lofty thing” is. A “lofty thing” (ypsōma) is a barrier, a wall, a solid wall. Paul further expounds on the lofty thing by describing it as “raised up against the knowledge of God”. “Raised up” (epairō) is also in the participle mood (an ongoing action, not one-and-done), and it means to be lifted up. It is used in this passage to describe the exalting of “self” or poising yourself in the position of master of your own life.
The word “against” (kata) is powerful in its meaning, as it describes rebelling, fighting, or prevailing. How more readily would we rein in our thoughts if we viewed them as rebellion against God? That was a big ouch to me. “The knowledge of God” (gnōsis) is the act of knowing and is used here to refer to the act of knowing what God offers to us in the Gospel.
Think this through with me. I know that God has offered me grace through all that His Son accomplished for me on the cross. I can’t be saved without the grace of God. That’s a wonderful truth, but so many people stop there. There’s so much more to the Gospel of Jesus salvation and avoiding hell. The truth is that just like I can’t be saved without God’s grace, neither can I grow in Him without His grace. Without the grace of God through Jesus, I can’t wage war against my flesh.
Paul is saying that we need to ditch the “me do” mentality. Like it states in Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” Without the divinely powerful weapons of God, when it comes to the battle against satan and the flesh, we are toast.
“We are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ”
The last phrase of this passage speaks of the “stones of thought” that we stack one upon another, creating the barrier between myself and God’s truth. It’s easy to step over one stone, but to create a barrier, like the castle wall, it takes many stones.
The phrase “we are taking” (aichmalōtizō) is also in the participle mood (ongoing action, not one and done). If I don’t take every thought captive, and bring it under the control of the Spirit, then before you know it, I won’t just be stepping over a stone, but I will be building a high castle wall, stone by stone, thought by thought, that will separate me from hearing the Spirit’s voice.
In 1 Kings 19:11-12, it tells of an encounter of Elijah with God. “Then the LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain before the LORD. Behold, the LORD is about to pass by.” And a great and mighty wind tore into the mountains and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a still, small voice”.
If the thoughts I think — thoughts that are not aligned with God’s truth — are not death with, then they we are choosing to allow them to build a barrier between me and God. How well will I be able to hear His still, small voice through the thick fortress the wrong kind of thoughts will built in my mind? Sobering, isn’t it?
We are told not to “Quench not the Spirit of God” (1 Thessalonians 5:19). If we are to be obedient to this command (and it is a command, not a suggestion), we need to be actively, ongoingly dealing with our thoughts, pulling them down “stone by stone”, so our thoughts don’t form a barrier that blocks us from hearing the still, small voice of God’s Spirit.
Wanna win your battles? Start tearing down the wall your errant thoughts have created.