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 10:4-5
I really love The Passion Translation, which takes the original Greek and translates it into everyday English. In this new translation, the verse reads
“For although we live in the natural realm, we don’t wage a military campaign employing human weapons, using manipulation to achieve our aims. Instead, our spiritual weapons are energized with divine power to effectively dismantle the defenses behind which people hide. We can demolish every deceptive fantasy that opposes God and break-through every arrogant attitude that is raised up in defiance of the true knowledge of God. We capture, like prisoners of war, every thought and insist that it bow in obedience to the Anointed One.”
But what does this verse mean and how does it pertain to everyday life? First of all, this verse clearly lets us know that spiritual warfare is real, although it is not waged within our physical world. It is waged within the heavenly realms, inside the spirit world. We must access the spiritual world first and we do this through a relationship with God through His Son Jesus. It is this relationship that gives us access to His throne, as well as His power.
Matthew 10:1 says “And when He had called unto Him His twelve disciples, He gave them power against unclean spirits to cast them out and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease”. Luke 10 describes 70 disciples returning to Jesus overjoyed at the victory over the demonic forces and being able to heal people. This is Jesus’ response:
“While you were ministering, I watched Satan topple until he fell suddenly from heaven like lightning to the ground. Now you understand that I have imparted to you all my authority to trample over his kingdom. You will trample upon every demon before you and overcome every power Satan possesses. Absolutely nothing will be able to harm you as you walk in this authority. Luke 10:18-19
Our God-given authority, through Christ, takes Satan from the heavenly place and crushes his power, causing him to fall and eventually fail. Jesus said we have authority to trample over his kingdom. This is how we can bring down strongholds which our enemy uses against us.
Strongholds are areas in our lives where we have constant irritations, aggravations, recurrent issues, and problems.
Everyday examples of strongholds can be but not limited to:
Fear
Addiction
Chronic and/or inherited illness
Self-esteem or purpose
Recurrent financial problems or relationship issues
Do you feel unlucky, stuck, or cursed? Do you attract people or circumstances that are unhealthy? Are you in a constant cycle of bad relationships? All of these things are strongholds that must be dealt with in the spirit world.
Notice what the latter part of 2 Corinthians 10:5 says.“bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ”This is actually the first step. Our mindset is a purposeful yet powerful tool that moves us toward victory in any war.
It helps to know what God says in His word so that our weapons (the word of God) actually hit their intended mark in order to bring about victory. A great way of understanding God’s word and His heart regarding spiritual warfare is to understand the priestly breastplate. The priestly breastplate holds a roadmap of sorts and causes us to look at scripture more intently, with purpose. This clearer focus allows us to see how to use God’s word to bring victory in our lives over the strongholds that hinder us.
Want more information on the priestly breastplate? In my book, Dressing for the Battle, Armed to Win you can discover keys to overcoming every stronghold by using the Word of God as an energized weapon against the forces that fight against us in the heavenly realms.
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