2 Cor 10:3-5 JBP For I am afraid otherwise that I shall have to do some plain speaking to those of you who will persist in reckoning that our activities are on the purely human level. The truth is that, although of course we lead normal human lives, the battle we are fighting is on the spiritual level. The very weapons we use are not those of human warfare but powerful in God’s warfare for the destruction of the enemy’s strongholds. Our battle is to bring down every deceptive fantasy and every imposing defense that men erect against the true knowledge of God. We even fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ.
1 Cor 10:3-5 The world is unprincipled. It’s dog-eat-dog out there! The world doesn’t fight fair. But we don’t live or fight our battles that way—never have and never will. The tools of our trade aren’t for marketing or manipulation, but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture. We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.
Observation
The church in Corinth was splitting. There was a faction that were faithful to Paul’s teaching and spiritual authority and an opposing group who denied Paul’s authority. Chapters 10-14 are Paul’s reply to those who accuse him of operating “on the purely human level.”
We need that reminder, too. We can’t choose to battle on a purely human level. Our human tendency is to let what we see – the immediate results or circumstances – be signs of great victory or defeat. However, this short-sighted view will distract us from the rest of the war, keeping our participation and prayer focused narrowly on our own wants and needs. We will find ourselves expecting God to bless our approved plan for fixing and the acceptable final results. This is likely contrary to God’s battle plan. Warriors don’t always know why they are fighting a particular battle, having nothing personal to gain, but they trust their superiors to determine that it is a worthwhile fight toward winning the war.
“The very weapons we use are not those of human warfare but powerful in God’s warfare for the destruction of the enemy’s strongholds.” Because the really important, eternal battles are spiritual, unseen, and outside our human comprehension, we should not be surprised that the unfathomable power of the weapons for battling in the spiritual realm is also incomprehensible to us. We must remember that all we can humanly do is powerless compared to what Christ can do in and through us – if we will conform ourselves to His plan and direction. Just obedience, doing what He teaches us to do, rather than following our flesh, what we want to do, has a high impact in the spiritual realm. If we will really be so gracious and forgiving as to turn the other cheek rather than strike back out of offense, the enemy has lost his power and control over us in that place!
Impact On Me
“Our battle is to bring down every deceptive fantasy and every imposing defense that men erect against the true knowledge of God. We even fight to capture every thought until it acknowledges the authority of Christ.” So, I see from this that much of the battle is in my mind, what I believe, what I hear and accept, how I hold the line against anything that opposes the authority of Christ. When Jesus walked this earth, He did this by filling His mind with the Word of God and doing only what He saw His Father do. This was the weapon He used very effectively against the tempter in the wilderness. I have never gone wrong by following His example.
I must remember that human weapons are powerless against spiritual enemies, useless in eternal battles. Jesus tells me that His word and my trusting obedience, regardless of my circumstances or experience, what I can see or hear, the Goliath size challenge that I face, are far more powerful, even capable of “demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture…for smashing warped philosophies, tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God, fitting every loose thought and emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.” The challenges I face in this world, this culture, this life, would be overwhelming without the structure of life shaped by Christ in me.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, Father God, Amazing Holy Spirit, teach me to war with Your weapons. Let my hope be in love, peace, grace, mercy and Your power in and through me to bring down everything in my life that is not rooted in the true knowledge of You. Cause me to choose You to be my Commander. I want to be faithful and accountable to you in all things. Help me be intentional in the weapons I choose for each battle, led and guided by You in how I fight, when I fight, and the battles I choose to fight. In Jesus’ name, make it so.
Pressing On In His Footsteps 