To Encourage You

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.”

Spiritual warfare: there’s much written and spoken about it today.  So often discussions on this topic divert into the mystical. There’s talk about casting out or “binding” Satan. There are those commanding the devil and demons to do or not do this or that. Some claim that they can sense spiritual darkness and then “fight against it” with various words and practices.  So, is that what spiritual warfare looks like in the Bible, for the Bible certainly addresses this topic? 

One such place is in the verses above. With these words, Paul informs us that believers are definitely in a war.  The Christian life includes spiritual fighting.  It involves weapons and it even involves prisoners of war, spiritually speaking.  So, what is this war?  How does it work?  What’s involved in fighting it?  For these answers, we turn to “the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Ephesians 6:17).  We are told that the weapons the believer fights with are not flesh. They aren’t physical in nature.  They aren’t designed to cause physical harm.  In a word, this battle is all about words.  They are called strongholds, i.e., arguments and opinions that are raised up against the knowledge of God.  That means they are not easily overthrown. They are positions that have gained a strong foothold in the minds of men and women. They may be arguments, opinions, and philosophies that, over the years, have created large followings and worldwide systems and customs. One form of such “lofty opinions” raised against the knowledge of God which has huge superstructures and millions of adherents is false religion.  There are all kinds of religions outside the Christian church which have massive followings, entrenched systems of laws, hierarchical leadership, and that hold sway over entire countries. Islam comes to mind here, as well as Buddhism, and other religions which so many follow.  These systems enslave people to futility and lies.

So, how are people rescued from them?  It is only through the Truth of the Word of God.  There is only one God and there is only One Word of God. As we share its truth with those enslaved in other philosophies and systems of belief, the Holy Spirit comes alongside us and empowers that Word to give life- as the old hymn says – to rescue the perishing and care for the dying. 

But this warfare is not just waged by sharing God’s truth with others who are enslaved by lies.  It is also waged in our own life in a battle against lies that have gained a foothold in our own mind.  It’s a warfare against beliefs we’ve always taken for granted because that’s how we were raised, that’s what all our friends believe, that’s what our professors told us, or that’s what “everyone” thinks as we are told by the media.  And it’s a warfare against accusing thoughts that may come to us from within our own thought life or from the words of others around us whose source is nothing more than “the accuser of our brothers” (Revelation 12:10).  But as we prayerfully spend time in and meditate on God’s Word, we realize that it is “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). It is the Word of God that is the most powerful tool of spiritual warfare against “the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11).  These wiles are just that, i.e., very subtle suggestions or everyday common systems of thought that are taken for granted as true.  As we test “every thought” against the thoughts of God recorded for us in His Word, we are freed from the lies that have established a stronghold in our thought life.  Just as Jesus spoke the Word of God to Satan when he came to tempt Him in the wilderness with his lies and half-truths, so we can follow our Lord’s example and win this battle as well, as we submit our thinking to His Word, proclaim it, and believe it. 

May God help us to realize the spiritual war that we as believers are in, and may he help us to win this war with the armor and weapons He has provided to us by way of  His all-powerful spiritual sword.