The day you were born again you entered a spiritual battle. 2 Corinthians 10:4 says: The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. Well, if we are to demolish strongholds, the obvious question is: What is a stronghold?
What makes it difficult to answer that question is that the word ‘stronghold’ does not appear anywhere else in the New Testament. It would be great if we could see how it is used in other verses but that is simply not possible. There is, however, a solution. As I often tell people, when you don’t understand a phrase or verse in the Bible, step back and read the whole paragraph. You will be amazed at how often the solution is right there in the text. You see it in the progression of thought as the writer makes his point. Let’s read verses 3-6 as a unit and see if we can find some clarity..
2 Corinthians 10:3-6: Though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [Then Paul elaborates]. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. Comparing a verse in different translations is also sometimes helpful. In the NLT verse 4 is rendered: We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
So, We are given several helpful clues
- Although we live in the world, we do not fight the same way the world fights.
- Our weapons are not physical. Rather than guns and tanks, we use the armour of God, for example: truth, righteousness, faith, God’s Word, prayer, etc. (see Ephesians 6:10-20).
- Our power comes from God.
- Through us, God intends to demolish strongholds.
So: What are these strongholds?
In verse 5 Paul explains his own metaphor, by adding: “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” The “arguments” are the philosophies, reasonings, and schemes of this sinful world. The “pretensions” have to do with anything proud or man-centred, any time people have too much confidence in their own human abilities. These arguments and pretensions had crept into the church at Corinth, so Paul is teaching the believers how to combat them in the right way.
Here’s the picture:
An enthusiastic Christian sets out to ‘conquer the world for Jesus’, but he soon finds there are obstacles in his way. The enemy (Satan) has erected strong barriers (strongholds) to resist the truth and to prevent other people from coming to know Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
- There is the stronghold of human reasoning, reinforced with arguments and the pretence of logic. We see this often in areas like evolution, abortion, sexuality, etc.
- There is the stronghold of people’s inner desires, fueled by lust, pleasure, and greed. Increasingly people are focused on themselves, their rights, and their individual pleasures.
- And there is the stronghold of pride, in which the human heart revels in thoughts of its own excellence and sufficiency. Ultimately this is a rejection of God, an attempt to be the one in control. It’s been our downfall since Adam and Eve took matters into their own hands.
Some of these strongholds have been in place for thousands of years, presenting a solid wall of resistance to the Truth. However: None of this deters the faithful Christian warrior. Using the weapons that God has provided (prayer, faith, the Bible, etc.), he attacks the strongholds, and by the miraculous power of God, the walls of sin and error come tumbling down. The victorious Christian then enters the ruins and takes captive every false theory and every man-made philosophy that has proudly asserted its independence from God. By the way, there isn’t enough time here to examine it, but the Battle of Jericho, during which the walls came tumbling down, is an excellent physical illustration of this spiritual principle (Joshua 6).
Personal attack
Of course, sharing the Gospel is not the only time we face opposition. We can also face strongholds in our own personal lives, in our families, and even in our churches, as was the case in Corinth. Anyone who has fought an addiction, struggled with pride, or overcome lust, knows that these can be very strong strongholds. They are difficult to overcome, difficult that is, for us, but not for God.
Jesus is building His Church, and the “gates of hell will not overcome it” (Matthew 16:18). What we need are committed Christian soldiers, men and women who are totally surrendered to the will of God, and who will use the weapons He provides to spread the Gospel and to overcome the strongholds we have mentioned (and I am sure there are many others). As Psalm 20:7 reminds us: Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.