2 Corinthians 10:3-5
All Christians fight in a deadly, sinister war. The war is between God and Satan, and the battleground is your mind.
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
This is a warning, but also an encouragement, because when you were born again, you were born to win. “Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ” (2 Corinthians 2:14a). God’s plan for you is victory—including in your thought life.
Know Your Spiritual Enemy
A deadly array of invisible demonic hosts is dedicated to destroying your thought life, under the authority of the prince of darkness. (See Ephesians 6:12.) Satan desires to control your thought life, then to make your thoughts a citadel from which he can war against God.
Paul wrote to the Corinthian Christians like a father watching over his daughter, trying to keep her pure. “For I am jealous for you with godly jealousy. For I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2-3). The word simplicity means purity, sincerity, single-minded devotion. The devil wants to corrupt your mind from single-minded devotion to Christ.
But God also wants your mind, because it is through your mind that He communicates to you, changes you, and controls you. (See Romans 12:2.)
Acknowledge Your Weakness
“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh” (2 Corinthians 10:3). Your flesh, your natural state, does not have what it takes to have the right thought life. But we do not fight with flesh and blood, because we are not fighting against flesh and blood. (See Ephesians 6:12.)
The battle for the mind will not be won with education, legislation, or a change in environment—all of these are carnal, fleshly methods that people use without Christ. “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal” (2 Corinthians 10:4a).
Defend Your Mind
What then are our weapons?
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The sovereignty of our Commander. We belong to Christ. (See 2 Corinthians 10:7.) Jesus said, “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out” (John 12:31).
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The authority of our commission. Authority is the legal right to act on behalf of another. Jesus, who has won the war, has given us authority. (Read Luke 10:19-20.)
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The certainty of our courage. Paul says, “Because Christ has won the battle for me and given me authority, I have courage, and I will win.”
Once you take back the fortress of your mind, set a guard. “Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
If you are thinking about what’s right, you can’t be thinking about what’s wrong. And as you think, so will you be. (See Philippians 4:8.) Center your mind upon the Lord Jesus. Stay in love with Christ, and there won’t be room for those filthy, wicked, lustful, prideful thoughts that bombard us all.
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