“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.
Being a Pilgrim 