2 Corinthians 10:4–5: “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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,”

June 6th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

As believers, it is important for us to realize that we are at war. It is an all-out, life-and-death conflict for our spiritual lives. This war is one that begins in the mind, but if allowed, will spread to other areas of our lives. Spiritual warfare requires spiritual weapons. Paul lists these weapons—which he tells us are powerful through God—in his letter to the Ephesians. He refers to them as the “armor of God” (Eph. 6), likening them to a Roman legionnaire dressed for battle: the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the belt of truth, the shoes of the gospel, the shield of faith, and the sword of God’s word.

The Corinthians could easily relate to the idea of strongholds because their city, Corinth, had a huge fortress on top of a hill south of the city. And Paul was saying that the weapons God has given us are powerful enough to even pull down something as strong as a fortress. In fact our weapons are designed “for pulling down strongholds.” They pull down “arguments,” or as another translations says “imaginations,” which are man-made ideas, speculations, and false religious arguments that men barricade themselves behind against God. They can be seemingly intelligent opinions, but in reality they are just man-centered, arrogant attitudes. Since the spiritual battlefield is in our minds, our thought life is critical. We must guard our minds today by filling it with the word of God, “for as [a man] thinks in his heart, so is he” (Prov. 23:7).

“LORD, we desire to walk with You and keep our minds on You this day. Please help us to keep our thoughts and actions right before You.”