Tag: 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Powerful spiritual weapons
Scripture reading for August 11: 2 Corinthians 10
“For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
Paul desired that those he had led to a relationship with Jesus Christ would live a life of holiness and victory over Satan and their sinful flesh. He plainly told them that each believer was in warfare, not against other people but evil forces of darkness. The wicked spiritual forces came to kill them, steal from them, and ultimately destroy them. Satan uses our fleshly appetites and desires and our worldly thinking to accomplish his destructive plans. All believers are in the world and live in a body of flesh that can be manipulated by our evil enemy to hold us in sin and disobedience.
But God has not left us without spiritual weapons to combat the forces of darkness and our flesh. These weapons have divine power to destroy strongholds of sin and fleshly thinking. God’s Word brings a knowledge of God and truth that sets us free. God’s Gift of the Holy Spirit living in us brings power to recognize sin and flee temptation and to live by faith in Christ’s righteousness. Through the Word and Spirit, we destroy arguments and prideful thinking that tries to exalt the flesh and block God’s knowledge. We are enabled to bring our thought life under God’s control. God’s power through the Holy Spirit destroys Satan’s strongholds of fear, addiction, and bondage to flesh. Understanding the warfare and our powerful weapons allows us to walk in victory through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Have you ever felt pushed around by thoughts, feelings, and emotions that demand actions that are selfish, hateful, or harmful? Have you discovered the spiritual weapons that God has provided to give you victory? What excuses have you made to accommodate your flesh and worldly thinking?
Prayer: Father God, thank You for giving me powerful weapons of truth and righteousness through faith. Thank You for giving me the ability to recognize spiritual attacks in my flesh and mind through the indwelling Holy Spirit. By faith, I bring every thought captive into the obedience of Christ. Amen.