Spiritual Warfare: Understanding God’s Mighty Weapons

Posted on by korgrocker

“We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NLT

If the word “war” is mentioned to a random person we meet in the street, they will immediately associate the word with conflicts such as the current wars between Russia and Ukraine, or the war between the US and Iran. A veteran might refer to a more recent spat, such as the Falklands war, and there are even a few brave men who can remember the Second World War. The earliest mention of such a human conflict in the Bible occurred in Genesis 14, and was between four Mesopotamian kings and five Canaanite kings, and it took place in the valley of the Dead Sea. The account was recorded in Genesis because Abram’s nephew Lot was involved, and we find the first mention of Melchizedek, “the priest of God Most High”, who blessed Abram with bread and wine. 

But these are all human conflicts waged by humans against humans, and such wars have been a feature of human life since the beginning. Paul was careful to point out, however, that the wars he waged were not like these. Instead, his weapons were not of the worldly variety but were “God’s mighty weapons”. And the foe was not another army or nation, but strongholds such as “human reasoning” and “false arguments”. Paul’s account in 2 Corinthians 10 began with the addressing of false conclusions about him being considered by the church in Corinth. Paul appealed, even begged, the Corinthians to sort themselves and their thinking out because he didn’t want to have to be bold with those who thought he was driven by human motives. False thinking, he was going to address, if he had to, using “God’s mighty weapons”, weapons that would be totally foreign to worldly people. 

Those of us familiar with Ephesians 6 will know that Paul wrote about items of armour and their spiritual equivalents, no doubt inspired by the Roman soldier he was chained to in prison. These items are mostly defensive, but they all have their place in God’s armoury. We read about truth and righteousness, the Gospel, faith, and salvation, and the one offensive “weapon”, the “sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God”. The next verse in Ephesians mentions another weapon – prayer – and it adds another thought about being alert and persistent with the prayers offered. A soldier for Christ, equipped in this way, will be able to overcome even the strongest enemy in heavenly places. But echoing the words in 2 Corinthians, Paul wrote, “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12). These were the “soldiers” of a foreign “army” but without any strategy or power capable of overcoming the well-equipped spiritual soldiers, pilgrims such as ourselves. 

“The human heart is the
most deceitful of all things“

When he returned to Corinth, Paul was prepared “to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments”. The human mind, as we know, has a tendency to delude itself with wrong thinking, driven by a false logic, or human thoughts. After all, we know the Scripture from Jeremiah 17:9, “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” A human “heart” is the seat of thinking, emotions, and all the “false arguments” and “human reasoning” mentioned by Paul, and many people can be found who delude themselves in this way. Paul, in his letter to the Romans, warned them of something similar: “Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires” (Romans 13:14). 

So, when next in Corinth, Paul warned the believers there that he had spiritual weapons at his disposal that would be able to resolve the wrong thinking about him that had developed there. We pilgrims, too, have the same weapons available to us, and by prayer and God’s Word, we have the ability to destroy the strongholds in which our enemy thinks he is invincible. Isaiah wrote, “But in that coming day no weapon turned against you will succeed. You will silence every voice raised up to accuse you. These benefits are enjoyed by the servants of the Lord; their vindication will come from me. I, the Lord, have spoken!” (Isaiah 54:17). That day is with us now. With the spiritual weapons at our disposal, we are overcomers in the Lord.

Dear Father God. Thank You for Your many blessings and for Your Word, the Bible. We turn our thoughts today to Heavenly places and not to the worldly and sinful ways we can so easily lapse into. Please help us to be overcomers today and every day. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

A Sweet Perfume

Posted on by korgrocker

“But thank God! He has made us his captives and continues to lead us along in Christ’s triumphal procession. Now he uses us to spread the knowledge of Christ everywhere, like a sweet perfume. Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing. To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom. But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume. And who is adequate for such a task as this?”
2 Corinthians 2:14-16 NLT

In the days of the Roman Empire, victory parades were commonplace. A Roman general and his soldiers would return to their base city, march through the streets, parade their captured enemies, and burn incense. So, the crowds lining the streets would see and smell the victory. Paul often used the analogies of his experiences of the Roman army and soldiers in his letters. In Ephesians 6, written while in prison awaiting trial, he used the analogy of the Roman soldiers guarding him, relating the separate pieces of their armour to the spiritual armour we have as believers. So we read about the belt of truth that secures the rest of the armour and protects against lies. The breastplate of righteousness protects the heart and soul through God’s righteousness. Then we have the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace, which provide stability and readiness through the Good News about Jesus. There is a shield of faith, a large shield used to extinguish the “fiery darts” of the enemy, his lies and accusations. The helmet of salvation protects the mind and thoughts, and the only offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, represents the Word of God. Ever since, Paul’s helpful analogy has been a strength and support for believers everywhere and ever since. 

So, we pilgrims are caught up in a victory parade, but not as the victorious soldiers but as captives of Christ. Surely that is what we are, because we have been “captured” from the enemy, and rescued from the domain of evil and sin. Imagine the scene in Heaven, where our souls will be paraded before angels, as the saved ones, those who have believed in Jesus here on earth, and have been rescued from the kingdom of darkness, and brought into God’s Kingdom of Light. 

The victorious procession was also marked by the burning of incense, producing a sweet smell as the captives marched past. As we pilgrims “march” around society, getting on with our lives, what sort of smell do we leave behind in people’s nostrils? The word ”smell” is an analogy for the impression we leave on others. This is where things can get challenging, because we’ve all experienced relief when an objectionable person leaves our company. That loud-mouthed bigot. That person who is intent on sharing their own particular Godless and warped ideology. That person in the office who is always sharing smutty stories or gossiping about their colleagues. They leave a bad smell in people’s intellectual nostrils when they leave. 

I got into a lift the other day, and there was a strong residual smell of perfume lingering behind. The person who left it there was probably totally unaware of this, but it serves as a reminder that we, too, will leave a smell behind. Will it be a nasty odour that discredits Jesus, or will it be a “Christ-like fragrance rising up to God”? We Christians can turn out to be objectionable to unbelievers around because of the way we portray ourselves and the way we present what we believe. “Objectionable” Christians are generally defined by actions or beliefs that are perceived as hypocritical, harmful, intolerant, or unloving by critics, secular observers, and sometimes other Christians. These examples often centre on behaviour that violates the perceived core tenets of Christianity (such as love and compassion) or on extreme, dogmatic stances. Ouch!

Paul wrote that the fragrance we leave is the “dreadful smell of death and doom” to those who are heading for a lost eternity. But those people who are unbelievers, with their resistance to the Gospel and Jesus’ message of eternal life, will just bat away the thoughts of salvation, even if they are still lingering in their spiritual nostrils. Not for them the wonderful fragrance of Jesus. As we come into contact with those around us, do we leave a nice smell, a fragrance that lingers and brings a touch of Heaven into their lives? Or do we leave nothing worthy of note from the encounter, smell or otherwise? It is a challenge for all of us pilgrims, because one day we will be asked to account for the times when we used the wrong perfume.

Dear Heavenly Father. We want to leave the right impression on those around us, because when they see us, they must see Jesus. If we’re doing anything wrong, or nothing at all, to create a nice perfume, please point out to us the error of our ways. For Jesus’ sake. Amen.