I found myself considering the ‘war’ language that Paul uses to make his point in verses 3-6. War is fighting, combat, a life and death struggle for the soldier and even more so for the town, nations, or ethnic groups who are at war with each other. War is serious business; no one laughs about war. Paul, therefore, must be making some significant comments because he is using dramatic language.
For 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. 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 (3-6).
The battle inferred is that of the world verses God’s Kingdom. Paul notes that we use weapons the world does not have. The world kills, maims, persecutes, destroys, imprisons. The world still uses these weapons. Every year brothers and sisters are martyred for their faith.
Christ-followers on the other hand use different weapons. I found myself making a list. We use:
The authority of Christ,
Gifts of the Spirit,
Love in the face of evil,
Prayer,
We bind and loose in Jesus’ name,
And so my list grew.
The enemy cannot access these weapons because the enemy is not connected to Jesus. These weapons are reserved for Jesus and His army.
With these we demolish arguments and every pretension … against the knowledge of God. I find it intriguing that our battle isn’t against people, but the forces that motivate the people against the ways of God. I remember a visiting missionary to Muslims, who lived in a land where Muslims perpetrate violence against Christians, saying, “We do not hate nor are we against Muslims. Our battle is against the evil one who has blinded their eyes and is causing them to do these evil things.” Well said. That I sense is Paul’s understanding, too!
The goal is to take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. I generally personalize this, and I am sure that I am to make everyone of my thoughts captive to Christ. However, in this context, Paul seems to be saying that we are to take everyone of these ‘anti-kingdom of God’ thoughts that are motivating people to battle against God and take them captive so that the people will be freed from the tyranny of these lies! Again, we are in a battle for the salvation of lives in Jesus’ name!
God is reminding me this morning that advancing the
Lord God –Father, Son and Holy Spirit- as I start today, I don Your armor (Eph 6) and I check my weapons to make sure I have maintained them in good working order. Am I living obediently and listening to Your instructions so that I have access to Your authority when needed? Am I open to the voice of the Spirit that I might have His gifts in the moment of need and necessity? Do I love others, including my enemies, like Christ loved? Are my channels of communication (prayer) open and am I ready to answer when You call? This is even more important than having You on ‘speed dial’ when I am in need! Do I understand the power of Your authority and trust Your authority when I am engaged with the enemy?
Lord, I pray so… I pray so. Amen.
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