2 Corinthians 10 (2)

Pray Psalm 33.1-5
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!
For praise from the upright is beautiful.
Praise the LORD with the harp;
Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.
Sing to Him a new song;
Play skillfully with a shout of joy.
For the word of the LORD is right,
And all His work is done in truth.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.

Sing Psalm 33.1-5.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
Sing with rejoicing in the LORD, for praise becomes His righteous ones!
With harps and songs raise grateful words, and let new songs of praise be sung!

Joyfully shout! His Word is true; He does His work in faithfulness.
His love prevails the whole world through; the LORD loves truth and righteousness.

Read 2 Corinthians 10.1-6; meditate on verses 4-6.

Preparation
1. How do we as Christians “walk”?

2. What is the goal of our “warfare”?

Meditation
Here Paul describes the disciplining of the mind, which is the duty of every believer.

The lie—whatever denies the knowledge of God (Rom. 1.18-32)—and its attendant evils are pervasive in our world, as they were in Paul’s. Nothing escapes the discoloration and distortion the lie causes, as people suppress the truth about Christ and His Kingdom by their unrighteous ideas, words, and deeds.

Because all things are thus garbed in a cloud of untruth and wrong belief, nothing can realize its full potential of beauty, goodness, truth, and the glory of God and blessing of the world. This is true of everything—relationships, communications, work, study, art, science, and all disciplines and vocations. Only Christ can redeem all things, reconcile them to God, and renew them in His Kingdom power. And He does this through His people, who possess the mind, Word, Spirit, and power of Christ for making all things new.

And the weapons of spiritual warfare which are indispensable to daily life.

We must learn to identify the lie in all areas of life, whether its presence be great or small, and to expose and dismantle it, replacing it with the teaching of Christ for all things. For this we must be well trained in the use of all the weapons of our warfare, (Eph. 6.10-20) and become skilled in directing them at every dark redoubt of the lie in every area of human life and interest.

Every thought captive for obedience to Christ. It’s part of our calling to the Kingdom and glory of God.

Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162.
We utilize the mind of Christ, which is ours to use because we belong to Him, and are “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”—when our “obedience is fulfilled” (2 Cor. 10.4-6). There’s always a catch!

We will only properly wield the weapons of spiritual warfare when we are obedient to God. But look at the power of just being obedient to His Law: “Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but such as keep the law contend with them” (Prov. 28.4). There is power in keeping God’s Law—we are taking a vital stand against evil merely by doing so.

In our own house, in our neighborhood, in our work, in our worship, in our use of commerce, in everything that pertains to our life—we are caped crusaders against evil. By keeping God’s Law. Impressive.

But imagine for a moment, that we might get an opportunity like Elijah did, to physically cast down foolish arguments against the knowledge of God. His work that day, with the prophets of Baal, must have been fearful and exhausting, and yet invigorating!

What great lines he was allowed to utter: “So it was at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, ‘Cry aloud, for he is a god; either he is meditating, or he is busy, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is sleeping and must be awakened’” (1 Kgs. 18.27).

The prophets were getting no answer from their non-god Baal. They sought to exalt a god that was not a god at all. And Elijah with great wit and wisdom was able to cast down their stronghold, and through the power of God, convincingly burn up the sacrifice. “Then the fire of the LORD fell and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench” (1 Kgs. 18.38).

And after all those astonishing pyrotechnics the real miracle occurred: ‘Now when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, ‘The LORD, He is God! The LORD, He is God!’” (1 Kgs. 18.39). The power point and wonder of it all.

Elijah had some slow days, and some amazing days, but he dressed for battle every day (Eph. 6.10-20). He was always ready to pull and cast down anything that vaunted itself against the knowledge of God. He was obediently ready.

And we have the mind of Christ, Who was also always ready for the fray.
When we walk with Jesus, obey His Word, and take all our own thoughts captive to His grace, then He will use us in the most exciting ways—days slow and amazing—yet always full of His glory.

What a life!

For reflection
1. Where are you challenged in your Personal Mission Field to take every thought captive for obedience to Christ?

2. What can we do to improve in using the mind of Christ?

3. In which of the weapons of our spiritual warfare do you need to improve (Eph. 6.10-20)?

… we must give up our own understanding, and renounce the wisdom of the flesh, and thus we must present our minds to Christ empty that he may fill them. John Calvin (1509-1564), Commentary on 2 Corinthians 10.1-6

Pray Psalm 33.13-22.
Call on the Lord to give you the mind of Christ for all your activities today, that you may think like Jesus does and act as He would in every situation and at every opportunity.

Sing Psalm 33.13-22.
(Truro: Shout, for the Blessed Jesus Reigns)
God from His throne looks down on men; He knows our works and made our hearts.
Let not Your Church, let none depend on strength or skill or human arts.

God watches those who fear His Name, who hope upon His grace and love:
He keeps their souls from death and shame who trust in Him Who reigns above.

God is our Helper and our Shield; upon us let Your grace descend!
We hope in You; to You we yield; we trust in Jesus to the end.

T. M. and Susie Moore

If you’d like to know more about the grace of God, what it is and how it works, order a copy of our book, Grace for Your Time of Need by clicking here. Or you can order a free PDF of the book by clicking here. You can also receive a free PDF Leader’s Guide to help you teach the grace of God to others (click here).

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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter, available by clicking here.