FOR THOUGH WE WALK IN THE FLESH:  en sarki gar peripatountes (PAPMPN): (cp 2Cor 4:7, 16, 5:1; Gal 2:20; 1Pe 4:1,2)

Note: Hold mouse pointer over underlined links for pop up of Scripture (which stays open and can be copied).

Ephesians 6:10
Ephesians 6:11
Ephesians 6:12
Ephesians 6:13
Ephesians 6:14
Ephesians 6:15
Ephesians 6:16
Ephesians 6:17
Ephesians 6:18

James 1:13
James 1:14
James 1:15

Exposition of 1Peter 5:8
Exposition of 1Peter 5:9

MISCELLANEOUS

Cyberhymnal Hymns on Topic of Spiritual Warfare (scroll down)

2 Chronicles 20:1-25 Ambushing Satan with Song - John Piper

THE METAPHOR OF THE CHRISTIAN SOLDIER

Soldier Illustrations

Exposition of 2 Timothy 2:3-4
Three Kinds of Soldiers - Ten Principles of Warfare
Roman Soldier by Edward Gibbon (Decline & Fall of Roman Empire)
The Roman Soldier - Description from Jewish Historian Josephus
A Few Soldier Stories and Sermons

THE AMALEKITES: A PICTURE OF PERSISTENT SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Jehovah Nissi: Exposition of Exodus 17:8-16

In this section Paul uses several terms drawn from the realm of military and warfare. Remember Paul was familiar with the Roman soldiers (eg, Acts 22:24, 25, 26, 23:10, 24:23, 27:1, 28:16) and thus Paul knew the Roman army well and knew how to accurately use a military metaphor. We do well as to believers to remember that just as accurate knowledge is crucial to survival in real warfare, a similar mindset is just as important in the unseen warfare of the spiritual realm, where lives (souls) hang in the balance not just for time (this mortal life) but for eternity ("immortality" in heaven or hell)!

In 2Corinthians 10 Paul changes the subject rather abruptly and begins to write some of the strongest language found in either of his letters to the Corinthians (See Rob Morgan's message which describes this context in more detail - 2Corinthians 10:5 Every Thought Captive). And although there are sharp words in this section, we note that they are addressed, not at the church as a whole but against a special group of false teachers. And thus this section is vitally important to the modern church, for we too have many false teachers. Some of these false teachers are very overt in the error they propound and thus are easy to recognize but others are not. We do well to remember that every congregation has at least a few members who have been (or are being) influenced by false teaching and false teachers. But whether they are overt or subtle, each of these false teachers have in common the fact that our Adversary the devil is using them as his nefarious tool in an attempt to derail that local body of believers and steal their joy and the freedom available in Christ. These evil masqueraders seek to undermine the power of the gospel with their unsound doctrines of demons. It is these (and similar anti-God) thoughts that Paul says believers are to wage war against.

In this section Paul gives some practical instruction on how believers can win the spiritual battle in our hought life. Don't think that you cannot win these battles because you can if you use God's provision of divinely powerful weapons.

2Corinthians 10:3,4,5 is in the context (see importance of context in accurate interpretation) of Paul's defense of his ministry against the enemies of the gospel. In regard to application this passage teaches a powerful principle that is relevant to every believer's spiritual life (especially if it is to be a "victorious" life in Christ), for all believers are actively engaged in a spiritual war whether they know it or not. The important point that Paul is teaching in this section is that one can control the thoughts that come into our mind. We do not have to be helpless victims of thoughts, words, speculations, fiery missiles, human reasoning, vain imaginings, etc that assault our mind. What Paul teaches is the Biblical way of dealing with these thoughts, be they fiery missiles of accusation or temptation or whatever their genesis (pathogenesis).

Ryrie has this note on the context of chapters 10-13...

In spite of Paul’s general satisfaction with the Corinthian church, there were still some there who challenged his apostolic authority and followed certain leaders whom Paul calls “false apostles” (1Co 11:13). These leaders were apparently Jewish Christians (1Co 11:22) who claimed higher authority than Paul’s (1Co 10:7) and who lorded over the church.

In these passages we learn that...

(1) The battle is spiritual, not physical

(2) The battlefield is our mind and our thought life.

(3) The battle ultimately is over truth, the truth of God versus "truth" as man interprets and propounds it.

Commenting on the for at the beginning of this passage, Charles Hodge writes that it indicates that...

This verse is linked either with the middle clause of the previous verse (“I am determined to be bold toward the opponents of the truth, for though I live in the world, I do not wage war as the world does”), or, as is often the case in Paul’s letters, the for refers to a thought that is omitted: “Some think that I live as the world does—that is not true—for though I live in the world, I do not wage war as the world does.” The latter seems the more natural and forcible. Paul did indeed live in the world; he was a man, and a mere man, not only having a body, but being subject to all the infirmities of human nature. But he did not wage war as the world does. What was human and worldly neither determined his conduct, nor was the ground of his confidence. (Hodge, Charles. 2 Corinthians. Crossway Pub or E-book from Logos.com)

We walk in the flesh - Walk refers to how one orders his or her steps, and is a metaphor (metaphor) for how we live or conduct our life. Flesh in this context refers to physical flesh ("flesh and blood"), but even in this same sentence, the meaning of the second use of flesh shifts to that of the evil nature that indwells all men, that ungodly nature J I Packer picturesquely refers to as "anti-God energy". In short, to be sure believers. like all mankind, are only human, but unlike all the rest of mankind, are not to fight this spiritual war in a human way!

WE DO NOT WAR ACCORDING TO THE FLESH: ou kata sarka strateuometha (1PPMI): (2Cor 10:4; Ro 8:13; 1Ti 1:18; 2Ti 2:3,4; 4:7; Heb 12:1)(1Co 1:17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25; 2:1, 2, 3, 4)

We do not war - Notice the word "not" which in Greek is the strongest way one can negate what follows in the sentence. In this case Paul is saying we absolutely do not wage war according to the flesh. In context Paul is speaking of waging war against lies, half truths and overt error and against all that is opposed to the Gospel.

According to the flesh - As noted above, here the context dictates that flesh refers to the evil disposition is intended. In other words, believers are not to fight this spiritual struggle in dependence upon "anti-God energy". They are not to fight in the spiritual realm with fleshly weapons, guided by the commonly accepted principles of unregenerate men, who act solely under the influence of their old nature. This is absolutely not the way to wage spiritual war. Instead believers are to be filled, controlled, guided and governed by  the Spirit, in continual reliance upon His enablement.

Calvin speaking of the servants of Christ rightly reminds us that...

They bear about an incomparable treasure in clay jars (cp 2Cor 4:7). Therefore, although they are compassed with infirmities, nevertheless the spiritual power of God is resplendent in them.

Spurgeon comments on the weapons as not fleshly but mighty in God...

"The weapons of our warfare are not carnal"; yet the spiritual weapons which can be wielded by the Christian minister, and indeed by every Christian man, are not to be despised, for while not fleshly, they are mighty through God. God is in them; God is with those who use them. The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, the arrows of truth which pierce the consciences of men, the weapon of all prayer, the influence of the Holy Ghost-that divine power-such weapons as these are by God's power made mighty to the overthrow of spiritual principalities and powers. Truth and holiness are the appointed engines for the pulling down of the castles of evil. Blessed is he who in every conflict for God takes heed to use none other weapons than those which the Lord hath hung up in the tower of David, builded for an armoury, wherein do hang a thousand bucklers, all shields of mighty men (mentioned in his sermon on Mt 10:16). Those only can fight the Lord's battles successfully who come to him to be armed for the fight, and reject all fleshly force. The spiritual shall be victorious, but others must fail. (From 2Corinthians 10:5 Forts Demolished and Prisoners Taken) (See related resource - The Greatest Fight in the World)

David Guzik (ref) has some excellent comments on this section writing that...

The carnal (Ed: Pertaining to flesh; fleshly; sensual; opposed to spiritual; describes that which is like the natural, unregenerate state) weapons Paul refuses were not material weapons like swords and spears. The carnal weapons he renounced were the manipulative and deceitful ways his opponents used. Paul would not defend his apostolic credentials with the carnal weapons others might use.

In Ephesians 6 (see notes Eph 6:10ff), Paul lists the kind of spiritual weapons he did use: the belt of truth (Ep 6:14), the breastplate of righteousness (Ep 6:14), the shoes of the gospel (Ep 6:15), the shield of faith (Ep 6:16), the helmet of salvation (Ep 6:17), and the sword of the Spirit (Ep 6:17). To rely on these weapons took faith in God instead of carnal methods. But truly, these weapons are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds!

The Corinthian Christians tended to rely on and admire carnal weapons for the Christian battle.

Instead of the belt of truth, they fought with manipulation.

Instead of the breastplate of righteousness, they fought with the image of success.

Instead of the shoes of the gospel, they fought with smooth words.

Instead of the shield of faith, they fought with the perception of power.

Instead of the helmet of salvation, they fought with lording over authority.

Instead of the sword of the Spirit, they fought with human schemes and programs.

Jesus relied on spiritual weapons when He fought for our salvation. Philippians 2:6-7, 8 describes this:

who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.

This kind of victory through humble obedience (cp 1Sa 15:22, 23, Lk 1:52, 18:14, 14:11, James 4:6, 1Pe 5:5, 2Co 12:9,10) offended the Corinthian Christians because it seemed so "weak."

The carnal, human way is to overpower and dominate and manipulate and out-maneuver.

The spiritual, Jesus-way is to humble yourself, die to yourself (Mark 8:34, "daily" Lk 9:23), and let God show His resurrection power (Php 3:10) through you.

Our spiritual weapons are scorned by the world, but feared by demonic powers. When we fight with truth, righteousness, evangelism, faith, salvation, the Word of God, and prayer, no principality or power can stand against us.

"As the spittle that comes out of a man's mouth slayeth serpents, so doth that which proceedeth out of the mouths of God's faithful ministers quell and kill evil imaginations, carnal reasonings, which are the legion of domestic devils, that hold near intelligence with the old serpent." (Guzik comments -- "A wonderful observation by John Trapp; if I only knew what he meant!"). (Reference)

Ed comment: In an attempt to explain Trapp's remark I search the web and here is a related entry - "I certify that I have many times killed serpents by moistening in a slight degree, with my spittle, a stick or a stone, and giving them a slight blow on the middle of the body, scarcely sufficient to produce a small contusion. January 19, 1757. Figuier, Surgeon.” The above surgeon having given me this certificate, two witnesses, who had seen him kill serpents in this manner, attested what they had beheld. Notwithstanding, I wished to behold the thing myself; for I confess that, in various parts of these queries, I have taken St. Thomas of Didymus for my patron saint, who always insisted on an examination with his own hands. For eighteen hundred years this opinion has been perpetuated among the people, and it might possibly be even eighteen thousand years old, if Genesis had not supplied us with the precise date of our enmity to this reptile. It may be asserted that if Eve had spit on the serpent when he took his place at her ear, a world of evil would have been spared human nature.

Lucretius, in his fourth book, alludes to this manner of killing serpents as very well known: Spit on a serpent, and his vigor flies, He straight devours himself, and quickly dies. (Further comment: I would not recommend this method if confronted by a venomous reptile, spiritually speaking or real. In the former I would suggest James 4:7, 1Pe 5:9. In the latter I would suggest your legs and feet be quickly mobilized)  (Reference)

Alan Redpath former pastor at Moody Bible Church, Chicago, writes (ref) that...

Paul's concern for the church at Corinth (as it would indeed be for us) is simply that the imagination of the mind, the process of thinking, the way of reasoning, the method of logic, the understanding of things which a man adopted in his unconverted days, become projected into the fellowship of the church, and the church begins to fail in its spiritual battle because it adopts carnal procedures.

The process of victory which our Lord taught His disciples was this: that if you cease to resist in the realm of carnality, then you are resisting automatically in the realm that is spiritual, and in this way you overcome the enemy. Resist, counterattack, deal with the situation upon the same level that the world deals with it, and you are defeated. But refuse to follow that principle of life; take up rather the principle of the cross (1Co 1:18) and by non-combat in carnal levels you are combating the enemy in spiritual levels and therefore you will overcome (Jn 16:33, 1Jn 5:4, 5).

To illustrate this, turn to Simon Peter and the incident in which the Lord Jesus began to show to him is principle of the Cross (Mt 16:21, 22, 23). Christ spoke to him about the cross, about the blood, about the way of sacrifice and death. He had spoken earlier about the corn of wheat falling into the ground and dying and if it die, it brings forth much fruit, but if it did not die it would abide alone (Jn 12:24); and Peter's answer was, "Not so, Lord, not that way, not the way of the cross and death!" (cp Mt 16:22)

Christ's reply was shattering: " Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men." (Mt 16:23, cp Mt 16:24)

But Peter did not learn his lesson. In the Garden of Gethsemane up goes his sword, out goes his arm, and off goes the man's ear (Jn 18:10, Mt 26:51, 52, 53, 54, Mark 14:47 cp Lk 22:33, 49, 50, 51!). He is still resisting the principle of the cross, still following the procedure of carnality, and taking the line of resistance instead of the line of meekness and submission (Php 2:3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). He did not learn his lesson until after Pentecost (and it took him some time then, cp Acts 2:15, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41), but this is the lesson which the Lord Jesus sought to teach him, and the very lesson which Paul is bringing to bear upon the church at Corinth.

You find this principle today in the church in terms of the theological outlook upon the Bible, though I have no wish to get involved in a controversial issue. The difference between what we call today the fundamentalist or the conservative evangelical and all others in their approach to the Book is that we as conservative evangelicals submit ourselves to the criticism of the Word of God, whereas all others submit to their own criticism. This is the basic difference of approach to the whole subject of theology, so much so that, in some circles it is said that if you are orthodox you are out-of-date; you are an obscurantist, and it is an impossible position to hold in the light of modern theology and modern science.

These are some of the high things that Paul said exalt themselves against the knowledge of God, and because the evangelical con­servative holds to a position in which he submits all his criticisms and life to the authority of Scripture, and refuses to move from that position, while he is only too glad to discuss and consider all en­lightenment upon the Book, he is therefore called out-of-date.

Now this I believe is the form of carnality in the church which stems from corruption of the mind not necessarily moral corruption, but the mind which insists in submitting the Word of God to its own criticism and only accepting that which the human intellect can understand and believe. This corruption of mind leads to carnality in the church and to captivity of spirit, for by that means there is that which exalts itself against the knowledge of God. That, in the theological area, is exactly the modern counterpart of our verse.

I wish to come much closer home than that, as I bring this right down to where we live.

The Principle of Carnality
versus
The Principle of Spirituality

What is the nature of this conflict? It is the battle which goes on in the personal life of every one of us in ordinary, everyday, down-to-earth, practical living—the battle to forsake the principle of carnality and to accept the principle of spirituality. It is the battle to take the line of refusing to resist along the human level, and by so doing, resisting in terms of spiritual warfare, and therefore overcoming. This is something which works itself out in terms of our relationships with one another, as well as in terms of our relationship with God.

If, therefore, it is true that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, if God in calling us to be His followers and to live the Christian life here and now on exactly the same principle as that which was followed by His disciples—in other words, the line of non-resistance, of meekness and crucifixion and death, the line of submission one to another in the fear of God—what then are the weapons a Christian must use, and how does he use them?

I remind you of words which Paul wrote in his letter to the church at Ephesus. We must arm ourselves, because in paraphrase he says,

the weapons of our warfare, though they are not carnal, are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

In other words, there is a way of life, there is an armor, there are weapons which the Christian church (and by that I mean any group of Christians) can use today in ordinary everyday life which will be so invincible that, to quote the words of our Lord Jesus, " . . . the gates of hell shall not prevail against them." (Mt 16:18)

If this is true, then it behooves us surely to give very prayerful attention to this fact, because the fact of the matter is that apart from a mighty awakening and revival in the church, we are fighting a losing battle because we are resisting on carnal levels. This is not something you settle at denominational headquarters or in the high courts of the ecclesiastical world. It is something you begin to settle here and now that causes the tide of Holy Spirit power and life to flow once again through the church, which has been blocked because we as individual believers have rejected God's principles.

What then are the weapons which are mighty through God?

take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand...your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;...your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;...taking the shield of faith,...And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, ...for all saints" (Ephesians 6:13, 14, 15,1 6,17, 18)

Here is the Christian armor. Now will you please notice this : it is not armor to protect the body, for it is not designed to keep the Christian from physical harm, but it is armor designed to protect him against all spiritual attack. It is not something with which he clothes his body, but something with which he clothes his soul. It is hidden from the outward scrutiny of others, but its existence in the realm of a man's soul will be revealed in his daily life. That is why Paul says "though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh . . ." (2Cor 10:3). Yet our whole activity and our actions in the flesh, in the body, in daily conduct, are governed by this inward clothing, the armor of the spirit.

Let a man neglect putting on this armor and he will soon reveal carnality to everybody else in his conduct and behavior. But let him go into the robing room each day with God in the name of the Lord Jesus, and let him there in prayer put on the whole armor of God —truth, righteousness, faith, peace, the helmet of salvation, the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit, and the armor of all-prayer, clothing that the world cannot see—and it will soon be evident to all by his daily conduct in his daily life that he has clothed himself with the whole armor of God (cp Ro 13:11, 12, 13, 14-notes). The absence of a time he takes to clothe himself with the armor of God is revealed in his approach to the Bible, in his criticism of everything, in his refusal of every authority, in his hesitancy to accept the Word of truth, and in his carnality of daily behavior. Here, then, is the answer to the area within the church where the greatest battles are to be fought, in the weapons of our warfare that are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

The Mind...
The Thought Life

You may ask, how do they work? They work in the realm of the mind. How is the victory won? It is won in the realm of the thought-life. Does this mean merely asking God to do something while we do nothing at all ourselves? No, indeed. What then is the secret of it? Jesus said, "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he," and it is our leisure thoughts, our meditative life, that decides our conduct.

Alas, how much time we give to the life as it appears before men, and how little do we give to the life that appears before God! Yet it is that life that shines through everything, it is that life which is lived with the Lord Himself and which is clothed with heavenly armor that reveals itself in spirituality. It is that life, when it is lacking, that displays itself in carnality (cp John 6:63). The world, you see, sees the expression on a man's face, hears the tone of his voice, studies his actions whether they are selfish or unselfish, and by these he is judged inevitably and rightly. In spite of all his efforts to hold it all in check, he is conveying transparently to other people that his Christianity is all in the shop-window, and he is painfully lacking in being clothed with the armor of God in the soul.

To be specific, it works something like this. Somebody says an unkind word about you, or you are accused falsely of something you have not done, or somebody is spiteful in his comments and critical in his attitude. You begin to think about it, you repeat it to yourself over and over again with increased indignation, and because it begins to fill your mind, you tell your friends (with additions of course) until at last, by frequent repetition, you have been insulted twenty times instead of one. You have determined to counterattack, to retaliate, to answer back, to vindicate yourself, and to prove that they are wrong and you are right. This is the carnality in the life which has happened because of corruption in the mind, because in the thought-life you have been defeated before you have to counterattack.

The Law of Exclusion

What then is the answer? As a Christian engaged in this conflict, knowing that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds, there is the law of exclusion. How does it operate? When the thought comes and the person is reported to have said what he has said, and the unkindness has been passed over to us, and the criticism has been made, whereas carnality would say, "Counterattack!" spirituality has the mind which was in Christ Jesus (1Cor 2:16) and humbles itself and recognizes that nothing that any person could ever say about any of us is really one hundredth part as bad as the truth if he only knew it. Therefore, we have no reason to counterattack, but one good reason to submit and to forget. That is the law of exclusion.

The Law of Attention

But there is the law of attention

"whatsoever things," says Paul, writing to the church at Philippi, "are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsover things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things." (Php 4:8-note)

When carnality arises in our hearts, causing us to answer back, to retaliate, and to fail to follow the principle of discipleship laid down by the Master, then at that moment we must think on these things, and answer the enemy by saying, "I'm sorry, my house is full, I have no room for you and I have no time to listen to you." That is the law of attention.

I quote some lovely words from that wonderful book, The Imitation of Christ  by Thomas a Kempis:

Many thoughts have risen up against me, and great terrors which afflict my soul. How shall I pass through them without hurt? How shall I break them in pieces before me? I will go before Thee, 0 Lord, and I will bring low the proud boasters of the earth and I will open the gates of the prison and reveal to Thee the hidden secret. Do, Lord, as thou saidst and let all wicked thoughts flee from before Thy face. This is my hope and only consolation—to put my trust in Thee, to call on Thee from my inmost heart, and to wait patiently for Thy help and for thy strength."

Yes, truly, the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but they are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; and they cast down imaginations and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bring into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. That is the principle upon which the church was founded; that is the principle that was followed by the Master when He stepped from the throne to the manger and from the manger to the cross. That is the obedience He expects from each of His followers. But let us confess with shame, today in the realm of the intellect, the mind, the thought-life, the church—that is, you and I as believers in Christ—has followed the carnal method, and therefore she has divested herself of spiritual power.

God grant that you and I everyday may go into our personal robing room alone with Him, and put on all the armor of God which is mighty to the pulling down of strongholds of the enemy.

Apart from a mighty awakening and revival in the church, we are fighting a losing battle because we are resisting on carnal levels. This is not something you settle a denominational headquarters or in the high courts of the ecclesiastical world. It is something you begin to settle here and now that causes the tide of the Holy Spirit power and life to flow once again in the church, which has been blocked because we as individual believers have rejected God's principles. (Redpath, A: Blessings out of Buffetings. Studies in Second Corinthians. 1984. Revell).

Torrey's Topic
Warfare of saints

Is not after the flesh -2 Corinthians 10:3

Is a good warfare -1 Timothy 1:18,19

Called the good fight of faith -1 Timothy 6:12

IS AGAINST
The devil -Ge 3:15; 2Co 2:11; Ep 6:12; James 4:7; 1Pe 5:8; Re 12:17
The flesh -Ro 7:23; 1Co 9:25, 26, 27; 2Co 12:7; Ga 5:17; 1Pe 2:11
Enemies -Ps 38:19; 56:2; 59:3
The world -Jn 16:33; 1Jn 5:4,5
Death -1Co 15:26; Heb 2:14,15

Often arises from the opposition of friends or relatives -Mic 7:6; Mt 10:35,36

TO BE CARRIED ON
Under Christ, as our captain -Hebrews 2:10
Under the Lord’s banner -Psalms 60:4
With faith -1 Timothy 1:18,19
With a good conscience -1 Timothy 1:18,19
With steadfastness in the faith -1Co 16:13; 1Pe 5:9; Heb10:23
With earnestness -Jude 1:3
With watchfulness -1 Cor 16:13; 1 Peter 5:8
With sobriety -1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Peter 5:8
With endurance or hardness -2 Timothy 2:3,10
With self-denial -1 Corinthians 9:25, 26, 27
With confidence in God -Psalms 27:1, 2, 3
With prayer -Psalms 35:1-3; Ephesians 6:18
Without earthly entanglements -2 Timothy 2:4

Mere professors do not maintain -Jeremiah 9:3

SAINTS
Are all engaged in -Philippians 1:30
Must stand firm in -Ephesians 6:13,14
Exhorted to diligence -1 Timothy 6:12; Jude 1:3
Encouraged in -Isaiah 41:11,12; 51:12; Micah 7:8; 1 John 4:4
Helped by God in -Psalms 118:13; Isaiah 41:13,14
Protected by God in -Psalms 140:7
Comforted by God in 2 Corinthians 7:5,6
Strengthened by God in Psalms 20:2; 27:14; Isaiah 41:10
Strengthened by Christ in -2 Corinthians 12:9; 2 Timothy 4:17
Delivered by Christ in -2 Timothy 4:18
Thank God for victory in Romans 7:25; 1 Corinthians 15:57

ARMOUR FOR
Girdle of truth -Ephesians 6:14
Breastplate of righteousness -Ephesians 6:14
Preparation of the gospel -Ephesians 6:15
Shield of faith -Ephesians 6:16
Helmet of salvation -Ephesians 6:17; 1 Thessalonians 5:8
Sword of the Spirit -Ephesians 6:17
Called armour of God Ephesians 6:11
Called armour of righteousness -2 Corinthians 6:7
Called armour of light -Romans 13:12
Not carnal -2 Corinthians 10:4
Mighty through God -2 Corinthians 10:4,5
The whole, is required -Ephesians 6:13
Must be put on -Romans 13:12; Ephesians 6:11
To be on right hand and left -2 Corinthians 6:7

VICTORY IN, IS
From God -1 Corinthians 15:57; 2 Corinthians 2:14
Through Christ -Ro 7:25; 1Co 15:27; 2Co 12:9; Re 12:11
By faith -Hebrews 11:33-37; 1 John 5:4,5
Over the devil -Romans 16:20; 1 John 2:14
Over the flesh -Romans 7:24,25; Galatians 5:24
Over the world -1 John 5:4,5
Over all that exalts itself -2 Corinthians 10:5
Over death and the grave -Is 25:8; 26:19; Ho 13:14; 1Co 15:54,55
Triumphant -Romans 8:37; 2 Corinthians 10:5

THEY WHO OVERCOME IN, SHALL
Eat of the hidden manna -Revelation 2:17
Eat of the tree of life -Revelation 2:7
Be clothed in white raiment -Revelation 3:5
Be pillars in the temple of God Revelation 3:12
Sit with Christ in his throne -Revelation 3:21
Have a white stone, and, in it a new name written -Re 2:17
Have power over the nations -Revelation 2:26
Have the name of God written upon them by Christ -Re 3:12
Have God as their God -Revelation 21:7
Have the morning-star Revelation 2:28
Inherit all things -Revelation 21:7
Be confessed by Christ before God the Father -Re 3:5
Be sons of God -Revelation 21:7
Not be hurt by the second death -Revelation 2:11
Not have their names blotted out of the book of life -Re 3:5

Illustrated -Isaiah 9:5; Zechariah 10:5

WE ARE DESTROYING SPECULATIONS AND EVERY LOFTY THING RAISED UP AGAINST THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD: kathairountes (PAPMPN) logismous kai pan hupsoma epairomenon (PPPNSA) kata tes gnoseos tou theou: (Destroying - Lk 1:51; Acts 4:25,26; ; 1Co 1:19,27, 28, 29; 3:19; Speculations - Ex 5:2; 9:16,17; 2Ki 19:22,28; Job 5:13, 40:11,12; 42:6; Ps 10:4; 18:27; Is 2:11,12,17; 60:14; Ezek 17:24; Da 4:37; 5:23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30; Acts 9:4, 5, 6; Ro 1:21, 1Co 3:20, Php 3:4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9; 2Th 2:4,8)

Henry Morris writes that...

Judicious use of our spiritual weapons—especially the one offensive weapon, “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:17)—will result in opening the blinded “minds” (note II Corinthians 4:4) of those who have rejected God and His Word, and capturing them for Christ. Thus, we are not to use such carnal weapons as bullets—or even ballots—in our battle for the human mind, but the mighty spiritual weapons in “the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11). (Morris, Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing)

Tony Evans emphasizes that the...

The reason so many Christians are losing the (spiritual) battle is that they are trying to beat the devil using the world’s weapons. They are looking to the secular world to help them with their spiritual need. If your problem, your struggle, your need is induced and orchestrated by your spiritual enemy, your flesh can’t win the fight.

Unless you choose a spiritual response, all the time, effort, and resources you spend trying to fix the problem will ultimately be a waste of time, a Band-Aid on the situation.

Paul says our methods are not of the flesh because our enemy is not of the flesh. Some of us have been wrestling with things day in and day out for years. Those are battles, no matter what other name we may give to them. And if God speaks to it, it is a spiritual battle. And if your battle is a spiritual battle, it needs a spiritual cure. You don’t fight cancer with skin lotion. You don’t fight a brain tumor by taking two aspirin and lying down. Those kinds of problems demand another kind of help. So do spiritual problems...

Satan targets his attacks on our minds. We know that because Paul talks about “speculations,” “the knowledge of God,” and “taking every thought captive” (2Co 10:5)

Where do speculations come from? The mind. Where is knowledge rooted? In the mind. Where do thoughts come from? The mind. It is all in the mind. So the Christian who wants to trade his or her spiritual POW status for freedom must learn to think differently.

When Satan attacks a Christian’s mind, he starts building what Paul calls “fortresses” (“strongholds,” niv and kjv). The devil builds a place from which he can operate, and he means for that fortress to be permanent. He plans to take up residency there.

Satan makes himself at home, in other words, and he gets a grip on the mind until people begin thinking there is no way to overcome this problem, no way to save this marriage, no way to unify this church, no way to make a difference in our world.

Whenever you hear a Christian saying, “No way, it can’t be done. I’ve tried everything, and it just doesn’t work,” you’re looking at somebody who has allowed Satan to build a fortress in the mind. However that fortress got there, it was constructed by the Evil One.

A fortress or stronghold is a mind-set that holds you hostage. It makes you believe that you are hopelessly locked in a situation, that you are powerless to change. That’s when you hear people saying, “I can’t, I can’t, I can’t.”

The only reason you say, “I can’t,” when God says, “You can” is that Satan has made himself at home in your head. In computer terms, he has you operating by the old information that was on the hard drive of your mind before you became a Christian.

See, the Bible says before we were saved, we were operating by a godless way of thinking, a thought system that was vain and empty. Satan controlled the keyboard that entered data into our minds and put it on the screen of our lives to be lived out.

But when we came to Jesus Christ, He gave us a new drive in our minds with new data to control the way we live. Every believer has this new data, but many of us are still living by the old data that will not be erased completely until we get to heaven. Even though we are on our way to heaven, we are still being programmed by the enemy in some areas.

That’s why Paul had to write this passage in 2 Corinthians. He wanted to help believers who had become trapped into thinking the enemy’s way—which all of us have done at one time or another. (Evans, A. T. 1998. The Battle is the Lord's : Waging Victorious Spiritual Warfare. Chicago, Ill.: Moody Press or as an E-book from Logos.com)

Destroying (2507) (kathaireo from kata = down + haireo = to take for oneself) means to cause something or someone to be lowered. To take or bring down (Of our Lord Jesus from the Cross - Mark 15:36, 46, Lk 23:53, Acts 13:29; of buildings - Lk12:18) or to bring something down from one point to another.

Figuratively kathaireo speaks of bringing down rulers (Lk 1:52 - overthrowing them, taking away their power) or destroying evil nations (Acts 13:19), evil idols (Acts 19:27) or evil thoughts (2Co 10:4).

TDNT writes that kathaireo has...

four main senses a. “to take down,” b. “to tear down,” c. “to destroy,” and d. “to dethrone.” The LXX uses it in all these senses for various Hebrew equivalents, e.g., taking down the brazen sea, tearing down houses etc., destroying cities, and dethroning rulers.

The participle "destroying" is present tense which speaks of continuous activity.

There are only 9 uses of kathaireo in Scripture, all in the NT...

Mark 15:36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, "Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down."

Mark 15:46 And Joseph bought a linen cloth, took Him down, wrapped Him in the linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb.

Luke 1:52 "He has brought down rulers from their thrones, And has exalted those who were humble.

Luke 12:18 "And he said, 'This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods.

Luke 23:53 And he took it down and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb cut into the rock, where no one had ever lain.

Acts 13:19 "And when He had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, He distributed their land as an inheritance-- all of which took about four hundred and fifty years.

Acts 13:29 "And when they had carried out all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the cross and laid Him in a tomb.

Acts 19:27 "And not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship should even be dethroned from her magnificence."

2 Corinthians 10:4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.

Speculations (3053) (logismos from logizomai = process of careful study or reasoning and arriving at a conclusion) represents the product of cognition and thus means consideration, reasonings, reflections, calculations. The Greeks used logismos to describe the consideration and thought which preceded and determined one's conduct.

In the present context logismos speaks of reasonings (sophistries) that are contrary to or hostile to the truth of God.

Logismos is used 2 times in the NT here and Romans 2:15

(For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves,) 15 in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness, and their thoughts (logismos) alternately accusing or else defending them -- Note: here the logismos or thoughts are personified as both a prosecution attorney and a defense attorney!

There are 25 uses of logismos in the Septuagint (LXX) - Esther 1:1; Ps. 33:10, 11; Pr 6:18; 12:5; 15:22, 26; 19:21; Eccl. 7:27, 29; 9:10; Is 66:18; Je 11:19; 18:11, 18; 29:11; 49:20, 30; 50:45; 51:29; Ezek 38:10; Da 11:24, 25; Mic. 4:12; Nah 1:11.

Webster's 1828 Dictionary (resource) says speculation is a mental view of any thing in its various aspects and relations; contemplation; intellectual examination. It is a train of thoughts formed by meditation (Ex: From him Socrates derived the principles of morality and most part of his natural speculations.) Mental scheme; theory; views of a subject not verified by fact or practice. This globe, which was formerly round only in speculation, has been circumnavigated. The application of steam to navigation is no longer a matter of mere speculation. (Ex: Speculations which originate in guilt, must end in ruin. -- R. Hall).

Morris has this note regarding speculations

The spiritual panoply of weapons ordained by God may not appear impressive outwardly to a humanistically oriented society, but it is only these that can pull down the strong holds of Satan in this world, casting down the humanistic “reasonings” (literal meaning of “imaginations”) of the leaders of this world’s educational and political systems. Otherwise the enemy will “spoil” us—that is, defeat us and despoil us of the carnal weapons we have tried to use (Col 2:8-note). (Morris, Henry: Defenders Study Bible. World Publishing)

In short, speculations as used in this verse refer to  suppositions, theories, or opinions arrived at through speculating or conjecturing without knowing the complete facts or having firm evidence, especially the firm footing of being Scripturally sound.

Recall that in the context every lofty thing was directed against the gospel, Jamieson writing that...

Such were the high towers of Judaic self-righteousness, philosophic speculations, and rhetorical sophistries, the "knowledge" so much prized by many (opposed to "the knowledge of God"), which endangered a section of the Corinthian Church. (2Corinthians  10)

Lofty thing (5313) (hupsoma from hupsoo = to elevate, lift up, raise high) literally meant height, high place, something elevated. Hupsoma ("the exaltation") was a term in Greek which referred to the sphere above the earth. It is used of “a height,” as a mountain or anything definitely termed a “height".

 Thayer says hupsoma referred to an elevated structure, a barrier, a rampart, or a bulwark. Chrysostom says it meant something like "towering fortress". 

The figurative meaning of hupsoma in the present passage is that of an arrogant or proud obstacle which pictures these thoughts as "high towers". In the Septuagint it conveyed the idea of arrogance.

Zodhiates says hupsoma is used here...

Figuratively of a proud adversary, a lofty tower or fortress built up proudly by the enemy (Zodhiates, S.. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament: AMG Publishers )

There are only 3 uses of hupsoma in Scripture...

Job 24:24 (LXX) "They are exalted a little while, then they are gone; Moreover, they are brought low and like everything gathered up; Even like the heads of grain they are cut off.

Romans 8:39 (note) nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Comment: No dimensions of any kind can separate us from the love of God.)

2Corinthians 10:5 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,

TDNT says that here in 2Cor 10:5 hupsoma is used by Paul to present

the image of a “fortress with high towers” for the attitude which proudly resists the true knowledge of God but which the apostle overcomes with the gospel.

Raised up (1869) (epairo from epi = upon + airo = to lift up) means literally to lift up, to raise or to elevate (as in 1Ti 2:8, Acts 27:40). In the present passage, epairo is used in the passive voice and means to offer resistance to, to be in opposition to or to rise up against -- the knowledge of God.

James Butler describes some lofty thoughts raised up against the knowledge of God...

The atheist Robert Ingersol in his lectures used to demand that God prove His existence by striking Ingersol dead in a stated five minute period at the close of an Ingersol lecture. When the five minutes were over, Ingersol claimed that his still being alive proved God did not exist. But God did not have to prove His existence on Ingersol's terms, for adequate proof already existed concerning God's existence. Ingersol simply would not believe the proof already given. The call for more proof only reflected unbelief. Plenty of proof is already available. "He showed himself alive after his passion [crucifixion] by many infallible proofs" (Acts 1:3). "God commendeth [proved, exhibited, demonstrated] his love toward us, in that, while we were sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). Mankind does not need more proof; he simply needs more faith. (Studies of the Savior)

Jamieson comments on against the knowledge of God that...

True knowledge makes men humble. Where there is exaltation of self, there knowledge of God is wanting [Bengel]. Arrange the words following thus: "Bringing every thought (that is, intent of the mind or will) into captivity to the obedience of Christ," that is, to obey Christ. The three steps of the apostle's spiritual warfare are: (1) It demolishes what is opposed to Christ; (2) It leads captive; (3) It brings into obedience to Christ (Ro 1:5; 16:26). The "reasonings" ("imaginations") are utterly "cast down." The "mental intents" ("thoughts") are taken willing captives, and tender the voluntary obedience of faith to Christ the Conqueror. (2Corinthians  10)

Knowledge (1108) (gnosis) is the comprehension or intellectual grasp of something and speaks of information acquired through experience or education. It can describe experiential knowledge rather than a mere passing acquaintance. Gnosis can reflect only intellectual comprehension without affecting one's character.

Gnosis was a favorite word of the Gnostics,  the most formidable enemy of the Church of the second century. The Gnostics claimed a superior knowledge peculiar to an intellectual caste and specifically  they claimed a superior, private knowledge over and above that of the Bible. Certainly the Gnostics were arrogantly opposed to the knowledge of God, and sadly modern day counterparts have subtlety infiltrated the church of Jesus Christ. 

Vincent writes that Gnosticism

took its name from gnosis knowledge, since it claimed for a select few the possession of a superior acquaintance with truth. Its tendencies were thus exclusive and aristocratic. The Gnostics denied the direct creation of the world by God, because God would thus be shown to be the creator of evil. God’s creative energy was thwarted by the world of matter, which is essentially evil, in eternal antagonism to God, and with which God could not come into direct contact without tainting His nature. Hence creation became possible only through a series of emanations from God, each successive emanation being less divine, until the point was reached where contact with matter became possible. These emanations were called aeons, spirits, or angels; and to these worship was rendered with an affectation of humility in approaching the lower grades of divinity, instead of venturing into the immediate presence of the Supreme. The evil of matter was to be escaped either by rigid abstinence from the world of sense, or by independence of it. The system therefore tended to the opposite extremes of asceticism and licentiousness. (From Vincent's Introduction to the letter to the Colossians)

How do we discern these "anti-God" thoughts (speculations, lofty things)? Of course the best way is be surrendered to and controlled by the Holy Spirit and taking the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, comparing the "invading thoughts"  with the Word of Truth. This underscores how important it is for believers to be Word saturated, continually "marinating" their minds and hearts with sound (healthy) doctrine found only in the Word of Truth and Life. Since most of us have not memorized Genesis-Revelation, an excellent "abbreviated" filter that can facilitate recognition of these "anti-God" thoughts is the spiritual "grid" of Philippians 4:8...

Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things. (see note)

If the thought that is seeking entry into your mind fulfills one or more of these "criteria", then it is allowed "to pass go", but if not it is captured and taken to Christ.

Hodge has a lengthy note explaining that lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God is...

a metaphor for thoughts, not people. It is everything that the pride of human reason exalts against the knowledge of God—that is, God’s revelation of himself in the Gospel (1Cor 3:18, 19, 20). The conflict that Paul refers to here is that between truth and error, between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world. When the Gospel was first proclaimed, it found itself in conflict with all the forms of religion and philosophy then prevailing among mankind. To the wise of this world the Gospel appeared as foolishness. It was, however, the wisdom and power of God. The conflict then begun has continued ever since and is now as deadly as at any former period. Scientists and philosophers are as confident in their conclusions and as much disposed as ever to exalt themselves or their opinions against the knowledge of God. There is no doubt as to the ultimate outcome of this contest. It is a contest between God and man, in which, of course, God must prevail.

The instructive lesson that the apostle wants to teach here is that the advocates of the Gospel must not conduct this warfare with worldly weapons. They must not rely on their own resources and attempt to overcome their enemies by argument. They must not become philosophers and turn the Gospel into a philosophy. This would be to make it a human conflict on both sides. It would be human reason against human reason, the intellect of one person against another. Paul told the Corinthians in his first letter that he did not appear among them as a philosopher but as a witness; he came not with words of worldly wisdom; he did not rely for success on his powers of argument or of persuasion, but on the demonstration of the Spirit. The faith that he labored to secure was not to be based on human wisdom, but on God’s power; not on arguments addressed to the understanding, but on the testimony of God. That testimony reveals the truth to the mind and conscience as self-evident; and therefore it cannot be resisted.

A rationalistic Christian, a philosophizing theologian, therefore lays aside the divine for the human, God’s wisdom for human wisdom, the infinite and infallible for the finite and fallible. The success of the Gospel depends on its being presented not as our word but as God’s Word; not as something to be proved, but as something to be believed. It was on this principle that Paul acted, and hence he was not at all intimidated by the number, the authority, the ability, or the learning of his opponents. He was confident that he could cast down all the proud pretensions because he relied not on himself but on God whose messenger he was. (Hodge, Charles. 2 Corinthians. Crossway Pub or E-book from Logos.com)

AND WE ARE TAKING EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE TO THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST: kai aichmalotizontes (PAPMPN) pan noema eis ten hupakoen tou Christou: (Mt 11:29,30; Ro 7:23) (Every thought - Ge 8:21; Deut 15:9; Ps 139:2; Pr 15:26; 24:9; Is 55:7; 59:7; Je 4:14; Mt 15:19; Heb 4:12) (Obedience-Ps 18:44; 110:2,3; Ro 1:5; 16:26; Heb 5:9; 1Pe 1:2,14,15,22)

TAKING CONTROL OF
YOUR THOUGHT LIFE

The charge for God's children to take control of their thought life permeates both testaments. We need to hear and heed the warnings for if not we will...

Sow a thought, reap an action.
Sow an action, reap a habit.
Sow a habit, reap a character.
Sow a character, reap a destiny.

Moses in the context of instructions on debt cancellation, warns Israel to guard their thought life in this area, commanding them...

Beware (imperative), lest there is a base thought (Lxx translates it as a hidden or "secret thought" - but not to God!) in your heart, saying, 'The seventh year, the year of remission, is near,' and your eye is hostile toward your poor brother, and you give him nothing (Note: Thought precedes Action. Bad thoughts lead to bad actions!); then he may cry to the LORD against you, and it will be a sin in you. (Deut 15:9)

In Jeremiah, Jehovah says...

Wash your heart from evil, O Jerusalem, that you may be saved. How long will your wicked thoughts lodge (figuratively - literally this verb pictured "spending the night". Paul says kick these rascals out, giving them over to Christ!) within you? (Jeremiah 4:14)

The writer of Hebrews reminds us that the Word of Truth is a "scalpel" which the Great Physician uses to probe and explore deep within our soul and spirit, exposing, analyzing and judging our "thought life"...

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge ("critique", analyzing not just the facts but even the motives of) the thoughts (reflections, considerations, imaginations) and intentions (in relation to behavior speaks of our resolutions - which represent a mental conception following consideration or deliberation) of the heart. (Heb 4:12 -note)

In Romans 13, Paul, in light of the urgency of the times (the night or darkness of this present evil age is almost at its terminus, Ro 13:11, 12, 13), charges believers to...

put on (aorist imperative) the Lord Jesus Christ, and make (present imperative = with a negative as in this case, the idea is "Stop making provision") no provision (Literally = a thought before = thoughtful planning to meet a need, plan a way to provide) for the flesh in regard to its lusts.  (Ro 13:14 - note) (It is easier to resist the first evil desire than to satisfy all the ones that follow!)

Paul gives three successive commands to the believers at Thessalonica that relates to this important topic of taking every thought captive...

(Do not quench the Spirit) But examine (present imperative = testing is not an isolated action, but is our settled rule and continuing practice. Be alert!) everything carefully; hold fast  (present imperative = keep holding firmly) to that which is good; abstain (apechomai in the present imperative = command to be continually "put some space" between yourself and) from every form (eidos  = literally that which is seen or visible = external appearance, shape, structure. Men if you are disciplining themselves for godliness [1Ti 4:7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12-note], ponder Job 31:1 and Ps 101:3!) of evil. (1Th 5:21, 22- see notes)

Ray Stedman writes that in this section Paul...

points out a final "wall" against good. It is the very personal matter of thoughts which come into our own minds and hearts, the imaginings of our minds. These refer to fantasies which we indulge in, endless day dreams of power and accomplishment, lusting by which we attempt to satisfy inward sexual desires by feeding upon pornography, mentally, if not openly. You will never win the battle against sin as long as you allow yourself to indulge in these kinds of fantasies. That is why the apostle, with all realism, faces us with the fact that we must bring these things captive unto Christ and no longer permit them to engage our minds and hearts. They, too, can be conquered by truth, by love, by faith, by righteousness, by prayer and service, the weapons of our warfare. Now once these imaginings are conquered, once we really face up to them and no longer permit them to govern our lives, because of the truth that God has shown us, then we must be quick and alert to deal with the return of any of them. (Reference)

Taking...captive (163) (aichmalotizo from aichme = a spear + halotós = to be taken or conquered) was a military term which mean to take captive as a prisoner or be led away captive (eg Lk 21:24). Paul uses this verb figuratively to describe the power of indwelling Sin to take one captive or make them a prisoner in a spiritual sense (Ro 7:23-note). This verb is used by Paul in 2Ti 3:6 (note) to refer to subjecting or captivating "weak women" by teaching unsound doctrine (error).

In this verse the figurative meaning of aichmalotizo is to subjugate, bring under control or take control of ALL thoughts that are in our mind (cp "fiery missiles of the evil one" Eph 6:16-note) subjecting them to Christ. In context the thoughts we are to bring to Christ are all "anti-God" thoughts.

The present tense calls for this activity to be our habitual practice, because we live in an "anti-God" world, ruled by an evil Adversary, and are constantly being bombarded with fiery missiles of "propaganda" in the form of temptations, lies, half-truths, etc. Spiritual warriors get no furloughs in this life. Beloved, don't let your mind go "A.W.O.L." (Absent With Out Leave)!

Character is shaped by what the mind takes in and/or what you refuse to "toss out".

Thought (3540) (noema from noeo = perceive in turn from noús = mind) is literally the result of the activity of the "nous" or mind, that part of man which thinks. Noema means that which is thought (a thought), perceived with the mind (a mental perception), understood, pondered, or considered. A thought is that which one has in mind as product of an intellectual process. Thought is either the act or operation of the mind, when attending to a particular subject or thing, or it is the idea consequent on that operation.

You must rid your mind of everything that violates God’s truth and will. By cultivating an intimate love relationship with Christ, you will desire what He desires; then whatever you ask, you will receive. The psalmist said, “Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4). When you delight completely in the Lord, His desires become your own. And they will never go unfulfilled. (MacArthur, J. Welcome to the Family : What to expect now that you're a Christian) or as an E-book from Logos.com)

Obedience (5218) (hupakoe from hupó = under + akoúo = hear) (Click study of related verb hupakouo) literally means "hearing under", that is, listening from a subordinate position in which compliance with what is said is expected and intended.  

To the obedience of Christ - This literally reads “into the obedience of Christ.” The UBS Handbook says that "In this context the idea is that people will come to obey Christ in the way that they think... One may say something like “the thoughts of people are like enemies that we capture. We take every one of them prisoner and make them obey Christ.""

Hodge notes that...

In keeping with the metaphor, obedience to Christ is conceived as a place or fortress into which the captive is led. We must renounce dependence on our own understanding and submit implicitly, as obedient children, to the teaching of Christ. Anyone who wants to be wise must become a fool (1 Corinthians 3:18). (Hodge, Charles. 2 Corinthians. Crossway Pub or E-book from Logos.com)

John MacArthur writes that...

There aren’t any fleshly techniques or words that can win a spiritual war. We must depend on spiritual weaponry and a spiritual battle plan. Our sufficiency in Christ includes weapons that are divinely powerful, that can destroy the fortresses of the spirit world and all its lofty thoughts that are raised up against the knowledge of God. What are those weapons? They are not mystical phrases or verbal formulas. They are not the power to scold or command demons. There’s nothing secret or mysterious about these weapons. They are not tricky or complicated. What are they? Ephesians 6:13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 is perhaps the most familiar text on the Christian’s spiritual weaponry...observe carefully the nature of this arsenal. The pieces of armor are all spiritual commodities: truth, righteousness, faith, the gospel, God’s Word, and prayer. They are not cryptic formulas, but the simple assets every believer inherits in Christ. How can we use those weapons? Technique is not the issue; personal character is. Look once again at 1Timothy 1:18, 19... That sheds some light on how we are to fight the devil. Rather than chasing demons around, trying to figure out their names and shooing them away, Paul told Timothy to focus on keeping the faith (sound doctrine) and a clear conscience (righteous living so the conscience cannot accuse). Again, in 2Ti 2:3, 4, (describes) another very crucial principle for success in the war against the powers of darkness: disentangle yourself from worldly things, and commit yourself to doing the will of the Commander.

Do you see what Scripture is saying? If we do not use the truth, live the truth, believe the truth—if we do not have clear consciences that come from holy living, and if we are not disentangled from the world, doing the will of God—it doesn’t matter what we say to the powers of darkness. Winning against Satan is not a question of claiming some kind of imagined authority over him; we simply need to pursue righteousness, avoid sin, and stand firm in the truth. Satan cannot defeat any believer who lives that way. Conversely, weak doctrine and sinful living will make a person vulnerable no matter what verbiage he may spit into the air thinking Satan is listening. (MacArthur, J. Our Sufficiency in Christ or as an E-book from Logos.com)

David Guzik comments that taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ practically means...

To battle against the carnal way of thinking and doing, our thoughts must be brought captive and made obedient to Jesus. Whenever we begin to think in the carnal way, we must stop our thoughts (Ed: enabled by the indwelling Spirit, alert to falsehood, error and lies because we have a clear knowledge of the Word of Truth), take dominion over them in Jesus, and not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind (Romans 12:2).

Paul's first application (Ed: in the context of these verses) is towards the carnal, worldly thinking of the Corinthian Christians that made them despise Paul and his "weakness," doubting his apostolic credentials. But Paul's principle has a much broader application (see topic Application).

We are not helpless victims
or recipients of our thoughts.

We can choose to stop our thoughts, and bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Thoughts of lust, thoughts of anger, thoughts of fear, thoughts of greed, bitter thoughts, evil thoughts -- they are part of every thought that may be... must be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.

Someone might object: "I don't want my thoughts to be captive to anyone. I don't want my thoughts to be captive to Jesus. I want my thoughts to be free." This is wrong on at least two points. First, you belong to someone no matter what; ultimately, we either serve Jesus or Satan. Second, if you are a Christian, you are a purchased possession of Jesus Christ. You belong to Him. (see 1Co 6:19, 20) (Commentary Notes)

Rob Morgan gives us some practical application of 2Corinthians 10:5...

As I said earlier, all the temptations we face come to us via our thoughts.  We think about lying before we do it.  We think about adultery before we do it.  We think about secret sins and lustful behavior before we commit it.  We think covetous thoughts before we make that unwise purchase.  We think those angry thoughts before we say those angry words.
 
There is a wonderful story in a book entitled The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr., which was based on Dr. King’s speeches and writings.  On one occasion he told of growing up in Atlanta, Georgia: 

I remember another experience I used to have in Atlanta.  I went to high school on the other side of town—to the Booker T. Washington High School.  I had to get the bus in what was known as the Fourth Ward and ride over to the West Side.  In those days, rigid patterns of segregation existed on the buses, so that Negroes had to sit in the backs of buses.  Whites were seated in the front, and often if whites didn’t get on the buses, those seats were still reserved for whites only, so Negroes had to stand over empty seats.  I would end up having to go to the back of that bus with my body, but every time I got on that bus I left my mind up on the front seat.  And I said to myself, "One of these days, I’m going to put my body up there where my mind is. (Clayborne Carson, ed., The Autobiography of Martin Luther King, Jr. (New York:  Warner Books, Inc., 1998), p. 9.)

And he did.  Our bodies and our lives always end up where our minds are.  A few months ago I delivered a Sunday morning message about the perils of pornography, and it’s very easy to have a pornographic brain.  Or it’s easy to have a brain that thinks depressed thoughts all the time.  It’s easy to have a greedy, materialistic mind.  All our temptations and sins come to us via our brains.
 
So how do we take every thought and make them captive to Christ?  I have four important prescriptions.
 
Starve
First, you have to starve your mind.  The temptations and sins inside your brain thrive on what you feed them, and if you cut off their food supply, they’ll begin to gradually wither up.  I know a man who, when he checks into the hotel on business trips, asks that they disconnect the television because he doesn’t want to be tempted.  A lot of the trouble you’re having with your thought life would clear up if you’d stop feeding your sin with salacious materials.
 
Feed
Second, feed your mind.  Find Bible verses to memorize and start pushing out the wrong thoughts with the right ones.  Choose some verses having to do with the mind and with the thoughts, and commit them to memory.
 
Isaiah 26:3, 4 says, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee.”
 
Romans 12:1, 2, which I’ve already referred to, tells us to yield our bodies as living sacrifices and to be transformed by the renewing of our minds.
 
Philippians 2:5 says, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
 
Romans 8 says,  “Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.  The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace.”
 
There’s tremendous power in memorizing these verses and meditating on them; and whenever tempting thoughts float through your brain, train yourself to refuse them by quoting Scripture to them.  That’s the way Jesus defeated Satan in Matthew 4, and you can do the same.  Starve the bad thoughts and feed the good ones.
 
The biography of Geoffery Bull, the British missionary to Tibet who was captured and imprisoned by Chinese Communists, tells of how his captors took Bull’s possessions from him, threw him in a series of prisons, robbed him of his Bible, made him suffer terribly at their hands for three years.  In addition to extreme temperatures and miserable physical conditions, coupled with bodily abuse and near starvation, Bull was subjected to such mental and psychological torture that he feared he would go insane.
 
He had no Bible now, but he had studied the Bible all his life.  So he began to systematically go over the Scriptures in his mind.  He found it took him about six months to go all the way through the Bible mentally.  He started at Genesis, and recalled each incident and story as best he could, first concentrating on the content and then musing on certain points, seeking light in prayer.  He continued through the Old Testament, reconstructing the books and chapters as best he could, then into the New Testament and on to Revelation.  Then he started over again.  He later wrote, “The strength received through this meditation was, I believe, a vital factor in bringing me through, kept by the faith to the very end.”  (Geoffrey T. Bull, When Iron Gates Yield (Chicago:  Moody Press, n.d.), passim.)
 
So many people have IPod’s now, and I want to encourage you to find biblical lectures and sermons and download them.  Instead of listening to some of the music or talk radio that usually blares from the car radio, listen to scripture and sermons and Bible lectures.  (Check out the podcasts on our www.donelson.org website.)  Feed your mind.
 
Take Control
Third, take control of this area of your life.  I had a letter recently from a man in Illinois who told me that after he got out of the service he spent a great deal of his time driving tour buses for various groups.  As a result, he said, he was often on the road driving through the night.  Everyone else was asleep, and he couldn’t listen to the radio and he had no one to talk to; and he was tempted during his long hours at the wheel to fantasize and think lustful thoughts.  But, he said, I developed a plan.  It had three parts.  For the first third of my time, I forced my mind to meditate on Scripture passages that I had read or learned or studied or memorized.  The middle portion of the time was spent in prayer and I took my time in bringing to the Lord every item of praise and prayer that I had on my heart.  The last third of the time was in quietly singing to myself the great hymns of the faith.  I found that when I followed this pattern, the devil never had a chance with my thoughts.
 
Report In
It’s important for most of us to report in, to have someone with him we can be honest about areas in which we need accountability.  I’ve spoken about that recently, and I think most of us realize that this is often a very helpful tool.
 
We live in a twisted world of temptation; and Christians are being bombarded from every direction.  The Lord Jesus wants control of our minds.  He wants us to be pure of mind.  He wants us to be renewed in our minds. He wants every thought captive to Him.  Starve, feed, take control, and report in.  Keep a healthy, positive, clean mind.
 
And let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, for Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on Thee. (See his excellent message 2Corinthians 10:5 Every Thought Captive) see also Complete Listing of Excellent Resource - "Pocket Papers")

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F B Meyer writes about bringing every thought captive - THE apostle is planning a campaign; his words glow with the fire of military enthusiasm: but, as one has eloquently said, the weapons of his warfare are not carnal; the standard under which he fights is a more sacred sign than that of Caesar; the territory he invades is more difficult of conquest than any which kept the conquerors of the world at bay. He sees rising before him the loftly fortresses of hostile error; they must be reduced or razed. Every mountain fastness to which the enemy can retreat must be scaled and destroyed; and every thought of the soul, which is hostile to the authority of the Divine Truth, must become a prisoner in the camp of Christ.

Be sure to distinguish between the proper use of the intellect by the man who recognizes its necessary limitations and uses it in the humble and reverent inquiry after truth, and that undue exaltation of the intellect, which sets itself on high as the ultimate judge of truth, or which roams wildly, unheeding the Divine control. There are vain thoughts, sensual thoughts, cynical and self-reliant thoughts, skeptical thoughts, proud thoughts, wandering and wayward thoughts; but the apostle says that, however strongly they fortify themselves against Christ, they should and must be brought into captivity. Paul once thought he ought to do many things contrary to Jesus, but became His humble disciple.

The intellect has its province, but faith has hers; and while the intellect tends to exalt man, faith humbles him and leads him captive in the chains of love. We must come with absolute obedience to Christ, that every vail may be torn away, and whatever blurs the clear surface of the mirroring intellect may be removed. (F. B. Meyer. Our Daily Homily)

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Diadochos, a fifth-century writer included in The Philokalia, writes that

those pursuing the spiritual way must always keep the mind free from agitation in order that the intellect, as it discriminates among the thoughts that pass through the mind, may store in the treasuries of its memory those thoughts which are good and have been sent by God, while casting out those which are evil and come from the devil

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Taking Music "Captive" - Music can clearly impact our minds and therefore must be included among those thoughts we take "captive...to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). What should be our "filter"? Ultimately  the music should inspire a greater love for God and appreciation for what He has done and if it fails to do so take it "captive". When you hear a song, ask yourself if the lyrics fulfill the criteria in Phil. 4:8. This will cause you to reject many songs because their lyrics are untrue, dishonorable, impure, etc. Second, how does the thoughts generated by the music affect your mind and heart? Some music for example may stimulate the memory of an unhealthy past experience and thus must be taken captive.

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Timothy Warner - Satan is also called "the accuser of our brothers" (Rev 12:10). He accuses us to God and he accuses us to ourselves. God convicts us of sin by showing us how to deal with it through the Cross. Satan accuses us to discourage us and make us want to give up. He will sometimes put an evil thought in our minds and then say, "And you say you are a Christian—look what you're thinking!" I've talked with ministers and missionaries who've struggled with this. It's one of the reasons Paul tells us to "take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2Cor. 10:5). (Discipleship Journal)

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C H Spurgeon - Faith's Checkbook - "For the LORD your God is He that goeth with you, to fight for you against your enemies, to save you" (Deuteronomy 20:4).

We have no enemies but the enemies of God. Our fights are not against men but against spiritual wickednesses. We war with the devil and the blasphemy and error and despair which he brings into the field of battle. We fight with all the armies of sin -- impurity, drunkenness, oppression, infidelity, and ungodliness. With these we contend earnestly, but not with sword or spear; the weapons of our warfare are not carnal. Jehovah, our God, abhors everything which is evil, and, therefore, He goeth with us to fight for us in this crusade. He will save us, and He will give us grace to war a good warfare and win the victory. We may depend upon it that if we are on God's side God is on our side. With such an august ally the conflict is never in the least degree doubtful. It is not that truth is mighty and must prevail but that might lies with the Father who is almighty, with Jesus who has all power in heaven and in earth, and with the Holy Spirit who worketh His will among men. Soldiers of Christ, gird on your armor. Strike home in the name of the God of holiness, and by faith grasp His salvation. Let not this day pass without striking a blow for Jesus and holiness.
 

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Ruth Myers - The spiritual battlefield is within us, in our minds and hearts. Years ago, a friend shared with us an approach that helps win inner battles, whether they come as subtle temptations or traumatic struggles. He based his plan on 2Cor 10:3, 4, 5, where Paul speaks of "taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."

You can remember this plan through an acrostic, ACT. ACT gives you an on-the-spot way to take up your shield of faith and your mighty sword—your main weapons when you're in the thick of the battle. Here's the approach in a nutshell:

Acknowledge what you are thinking that gives Satan an advantage, that fits in with his purposes; acknowledge also the feelings that come with these thoughts. To cast something down, we must first acknowledge it's there. Confess sin if you have welcomed and fed these thoughts. As time permits, pour out your heart to the Lord, letting Him in on what you feel (Psalm 62:8).

Choose against these false, negative, or impure thoughts. And choose not to drain your inner strength by nurturing the disruptive feelings that accompany these thoughts. Make this a decisive choice. Shout it to yourself if necessary: "This is not the way I'm going to think."

Think the truth, with thanksgiving. This brings your thoughts under Christ's authority. Have in mind ahead of time a specific truth, a specific Scripture, that will work for each battle that is common in your life. If the false or troubling thought has played over and over in your mind, like a broken record, you may need to create a new thought pattern by thinking the truth over and over. Truth is a powerful sword, a light that dispels darkness. Thanksgiving and praise help release the power of truth within you and devastate the enemy's purposes. (Discipleship Journal)

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David Terry (Discipleship Journal) - Sinful thoughts are a cancer, and if not operated upon they will spread. We can't allow the thoughts of sin to exist and grow. Evil thoughts are evil works in embryo form, and they must be eradicated. But what about evil thoughts that seem to recur regardless of what we do? What are we to do with these sinful thoughts that repeatedly molest us?

When indwelling sin has been entrenched by repetition over a long period of time, it takes the power of God's promises to win victory over them. Attack a sinful thought with a contrasting promise. If you place Phil. 4:13-"I can do everything through him who gives me strength" alongside the thought I can't do anything right, you will defuse the power of the negative thought. Instead of being impotent and depressed, you will barely lose stride in your service of the King. So cover an evil thought with a promise from God, then pray that whenever the sinful thought comes to your mind the promise will come also, thus diffusing the power of the thought. Temptations do recur. But good habits are as hard to break as bad habits. God's word punishes thoughts by exposing them, starving them, and choking them with truth.

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George Sanchez - As a counselor I have had people tell me about struggles they're having in their minds with temptations and lusts and so on, and they say, "I just can't do anything about it." Now I could answer that I understand, it's not as bad as it seems, and so forth. But I can't say that because the Bible says we can do something about it. No one forces us to think these things. We think about them because we choose to. It is our responsibility to make these thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ. God's Spirit and his word will help us do it.

In exercising this responsibility I must first be willing to change. Knowing that my mind is the control center of who I am, I must guard it. When I get up in the morning, what am I thinking? What controls my thoughts during the day? Am I thinking the way God wants me to?

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Theodore Epp - How to Mind Your Mind View - 2 Corinthians 10:1-6

We must depend on the Spirit's power to control our thoughts. Here is what the Scriptures have to say on that point: "The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God [the indwelling Holy Spirit].... bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ" (2Co 10:4,5).

Only the Spirit of God can make this possible in our lives, and He does it only when we are under His complete control.

When an evil thought comes to our mind, what are we to do? We should turn it over to the Spirit and ask Him to take charge. I have personally done this for years. It is the only method that works for me.

I cannot help it when a thought comes, whether it is good or bad. I do not, however, have to dwell on that thought. So the moment a wrong thought comes, I ask the Holy Spirit to take over, for that is His responsibility.

When I give Him control, He gives me victory. I have experienced this thousands of times.

Thoughts that come to our mind can also be the Holy Spirit's reminder to pray. In I Thessalonians 5:17 we are told to pray without ceasing. Can we possibly do that? Only by letting the Holy Spirit control us.

As He dwells in us and we continue to give Him control so that no sin hinders His working in our hearts, He reminds us of the things He wants us to pray about.

"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind" (Ep 4:23). (Back To The Bible - To see list of all Theodore Epp's devotionals click here)

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C H Spurgeon prays...

Great Captain of salvation, thou canst achieve the victory. We have compassed this Jericho these many days, but still the walls fall not. Up, thou mighty man of war, for thou art such, and come thou to the battle and then the battlements of sin will fall. "The Lord is a man of war: Jehovah is his name." (Ex 15:3) Awake, awake, put on strength, O arm of the Lord; awake as in the ancient days, in the generations of old. Art thou not it that hath cut Rahab and wounded the dragon? (Is 51:9) Because of truth and righteousness, ride forth in thy majesty. (Ps 45:4) For peace on earth and glory to God in the highest, come forth in the glory of thy might with the everlasting gospel, "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."

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One successful minister opens every service with an exercise based on Paul's words in 2 Cor. 10:5: "Bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." He urges his congregation to offer this prayer, in part:

"My dear Lord, I submit my thought processes to the control of Your Holy Spirit. Free me from the monopoly of unimportant thought. Rescue me from the blinding whirl of anxious thoughts. Slow me in pursuits that are my own; quicken me in pursuits that are of Your choosing. Wind me down, quiet me, warm me, speak to me, teach me. Amen." (from Encyclopedia of 15,000 Illustrations)
 

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D. G. Kehl addressing the challenge of sexual purity (including in our thought life) in an impure world says...

We do not fall in a moment; the predisposition to yield to sin has been forming, building, germinating—but not necessarily consciously so (cp Heb 3:13). Sin has both a cumulative and a domino effect. Satan plants subtle stimuli, often subliminal ones (cp Ep 6:16); he influences an attitude; he wins a "minor" victory (e.g., Ep 4:26, 27)—always in preparation for the "big" fall, the iron-bound habit.
 

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A W Tozer (from Tozer on the Holy Spirit) - Anyone who wishes to check on his true spiritual condition may do so by noting what his voluntary thoughts have been over the last hours or days. What has he thought about when free to think of what he pleased? Toward what has his inner heart turned when it was free to turn where it would?

When the bird of thought was let go did it fly out like the raven to settle upon floating carcasses or did it like the dove circle and return again to the ark of God? Such a test is easy to run, and if we are honest with ourselves we can discover not only what we are but what we are going to become. We'll soon be the sum of our voluntary thoughts. BAM046-047

The best way to control our thoughts is to offer the mind to God in complete surrender. The Holy Spirit will accept it and take control of it immediately. Then it will be relatively easy to think on spiritual things, especially if we train our thoughts by long periods of daily prayer. Long practice in the art of mental prayer (that is, talking to God inwardly as we work or travel) will help to form the habit of holy thought. BAM044, 046-047

It is possible to have our whole life so possessed by the Holy Spirit that our very thoughts and intuitions will come to us in quietness and simplicity, with the consciousness that they have been touched by His thoughts and illumined by His light, that we are walking continually with our Father, and receiving constantly the testimony that we please God. CTBC, Vol. 2/093

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Randy Alcorn - What we permit to reach our mind through our senses will greatly influence our thought life, whether we want it to or not. Every immoral image carelessly taken in, every thought not under control, programs the mind for immorality.

As a Christian, I must examine myself. Is my mind an open manhole into which anything can fall? Is it a drain that indiscriminately sucks in everything? An "open mind" can be a virtue—but a mind open to whatever a godless world has to dump into it is not a mind under the lordship of Christ.

But isn't it inevitable that our senses will be exposed to some ungodly input? Yes. Does this automatically produce ungodly minds? Not necessarily.

It is possible to establish a grid, a filter composed of strong biblical convictions and Christ-centered thoughts (1Co 2:16, cp Pr 4:23, 22:5, 28:26). Such a filter can allow us to examine carefully, sort out, and deal with ungodly input (1Th 5:21, 22- see notes)

We may not be able to prevent rust and foreign particles in our water pipes, but by installing a filter we can still have fresh water. Likewise, a filter of Christian purity can protect us from the immoral stimuli that bombard us. In Martin Luther's terms, "You can't keep the birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from making a nest in your hair." (Discipleship Journal)
 

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THOUGHT CONTROL- Philippians 4:8 (see note) - When a preacher visited a young couple, the wife said to him, "We're new Christians, and although I'm saved I've lived a worldly life - swearing, partying, and all those things. The past keeps coming back to haunt me. It's destroying my peace of mind."

The pastor replied, "When something like that comes to mind, analyze it and recognize its evil source. Then, with God's help, reject it and put it out of your life. Finally, replace it by saturating your mind with His truth."

She took his advice and learned to control her thoughts. A few months later she testified. "I'm not being defeated by my past anymore."

What we think about is important, for our words and actions reflect our personal musings and meditations. The Scripture says, "For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Mt 12:34). An evil idea once fixed in the mind may surface without warning. If we allow ungodly thoughts to dominate our minds, our character will become warped.

When sinful ideas pop into your head, refuse to concentrate on them. Quote a Scripture verse, sing a hymn, or pray. With God's help, you will gradually bring "every thought
into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2Cor 10:5). - Henry G. Bosch (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved)

Search me, O God, my heart discern;
Try me, my inmost thoughts to learn.
Help me to keep from sin, I pray,
Guarding my mind throughout this day. -Anon.
(cp Ps 139:23,24)

In public, guard your tongue;
In private, your thoughts!