Scripture: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6: "3 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete."
Our imaginations are pretty powerful tools. There is quite a lot that we can imagine, if we just set our mind upon it. Unfortunately, while our imaginations can be quite useful, we often get into a lot of trouble when we don’t guard them. We start off with a daydream, and end up with a novel. In this novel, God often isn’t the main character. See, we can naturally build a seemingly pretty good story without Him.
Our imaginations are the breeding grounds for doubt. You know, the kind of doubt that we write that says things like, “God must be so disappointed in me.” Or, “The worst is sure to happen. God won’t be there for me. I know that I just have a sore throat, but it is probably cancer that I’ll die from and then my family will be homeless.”
These “Saturday lies” aren’t too much different than what the disciples struggled with that day between the cross and the resurrection. The disciples were struggling to believe that God’s plan was still on track. Likewise, those “Saturday lies” that run through our heads are designed to bring the same sort of confusion and questions. “What if God won’t pull through this time? What if God has an ending to this story that I hate? What if I won’t experience any joy or happiness the rest of my life? What if?”
One of our greatest battles isn’t fought using the primary means of war. No fighter jets or bombers are involved. There are no physical guns or weapons. There’s not even a fist fight or a kung fu match. Nope, we are in a completely different kind of warfare that will require completely different weapons. Weapons that are out of this world.
Paul points out in our passage today that these weapons are not of the flesh. You can’t go and grab them at a store. You can’t buy them online. They are invisible and unseen. But their effectiveness? Oh, these weapons are something else. See, they have divine power to destroy strongholds. These weapons are so powerful and effective because they proclaim the power of the resurrected Christ.
Cities in the ancient world would construct strongholds as a defense against the enemy. But with a big enough army, these strongholds could be overcome. The proclamation of the gospel, empowered by Spirit, has divine power to overcome every single stronghold.
Paul doesn’t use strongholds here literally. He is using metaphorical language, perhaps referencing Proverbs 21:22, where the wise man is said to destroy the strongholds in which the ungodly trust. Here, Paul’s purpose is to destroy the defenses of self-confidence and self-exaltation that have been built. These strongholds have been created by those who are opposing the true gospel.
These strongholds are not people themselves, but are the kinds of thoughts and arguments that set themselves up against the knowledge of God. Paul doesn’t ridicule or mock them, but brings absolute destruction against them. Once these prideful and false thoughts are destroyed, Paul takes every thought captive to obey Christ. Paul doesn’t allow a single thought to escape or not be run through the grid of resurrection truth and the authority of Jesus.
This is where the passage becomes deeply personal. Because you and I have strongholds too. Entrenched ways of thinking we’ve rehearsed for years, like those ruts in a pasture. Doubt digs those tracks deeper and deeper. Fear reinforces them. Shame plays the melody over our heads.
But resurrection truth tears them down. Resurrection truth is simply this: Jesus is alive, and because He is alive, every lie must bow. The empty tomb is the ultimate demolition of every argument raised against the knowledge of God. It tells your fears, your shame, your assumptions, and your doubts, “You don’t get to define reality anymore!”
As we take thoughts captive, it isn’t as if we pretend like they don’t exist. But while they are real thoughts, they are not reality. So, we question each and every one. “Are you leading me to be more like Jesus? Are you true? Do you match the gospel? Are you reflecting resurrection truth?”
If not, these thoughts must fall and die. We can’t simply tolerate them but have to destroy and obliterate them with Christ’s resurrection power. After all, we have the One who conquered death on our side. There is no thought that is too great a match for Him.
What thought in your life needs to bow to the risen Christ today?
Pastor Josh
Which “Saturday lies” tend to take root in your imagination, such as the fear of the future, shame from the past, or assumptions about God’s character, and how does the resurrection directly confront those lies?
What stronghold of thinking has been hardest for you to tear down, and what makes it feel so “true” in the moment?
When you consider Paul’s command to “take every thought captive,” what does it look like for you to bring a specific thought under the authority of the risen Christ rather than trying to manage it in your own strength?
Identify one recurring thought this week that has been raising itself against the knowledge of God. Write it down, then write a specific resurrection truth that contradicts it. Pray that the Holy Spirit would help you submit that thought to Christ’s authority every time it appears.
