2nd Corinthians 10:3-6, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
This is one of my favorite Bible passages full of practical truths to live by. To get right to the point of my blog, verse 6 teaches us that when we mess up and sin, the best revenge is to purpose in our heart never to commit that sin again!!! This is such a helpful truth, not only for combatting and overcoming sin in our life, but for dieting or anything else. Like most Americans, I have been battling to control my weight for most of my adult life. When I am on a diet to lose weight, and I have a bad day where I succumb to cravings and binge eat, I take revenge the next day by purposing in my heart to eat only very healthy foods.
Anytime that we sin, we should be upset with our self for disappointing the Lord. A human child that has been properly trained by Mom and Dad, ought to feel sorrow and cry for breaking their parent's heart. Likewise, we as God's children should feel regret, sorrow and sadness when we grieve God by our sins. If we do not, it evidences that something is wrong with our walk with God. If parent's continually shower their child with praise and love, that child will feel regret, sorrow and sadness when they realize that they disappointed Mom and Dad. God has been so good to us all. Love must be unconditional for a child, no matter what they do, just as God unconditionally loves His children (even when we sin). I sincerely believe that God never let anyone perish into Hell without crying over them. Our dear Creator, God and Savior loves all of humanity. John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
By the way, a parent ought never spank a child in anger, or suddenly jerk their arm, or discipline them in a fit of wrath for something that the child did wrong. It is not good to spank a child without first explaining to them what they did wrong, and why discipline is required and proper. To spank a child who thinks you are being unfair is counterproductive to their spiritual growth. Children need boundaries, rules and discipline, to let them know that they are loved by caring parents. Albeit, all discipline must be done in unconditional love, or else the child may become resentful, bitter and a delinquent someday. Singer Kenny Rogers (1938-2020) said his mother “force-fed” him and his siblings religion, and that he complained about going to church, to which his mother wisely replied:
“You can never be more as an adult than what’s put into you as a child.” —Kenny Rogers' mother, Lucille Lois Rogers (1910-1993)
Amen, that is a great quote!
Here is my humble exegesis of this Scripture passage...
- Although we walk after the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. This means even though we are temporality stuck in our human body, our daily battle is not of the flesh, but of the spirit. Ephesians 6:12-13, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” Our battle as believers is not against people who ruin our day; but rather, Satan working in their life. The Bible says our battle is of a spiritual nature, against the powers of the darkness of this world. What is that? I humbly think it refers to the Luciferian elite who run this world from behind the scenes.
If you doubt what I say, simply look at the back of any U.S. one dollar bill, and you'll see all the Luciferian occult symbols. Satan's diabolical conspiracy to bring to reality a New World Order is a generational plot, spanning over thousands of years by members of secret societies, Satanism and the occult. I believe this is what the Bible refers to in 2nd Thessalonians 2:7, “For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.”
I believe that this “mystery of iniquity” in the Word of God refers to the coming sinister New World Order (NWO), which will be the completion of what was started by the Devil at Babel in Genesis 11:1-11. Please listen to Pastor Jack Hyles preach an intriguing sermon titled: 'THE ONE WORLD SYSTEM.' The city and tower of Babel (meaning confusion) were never finished, because God stifled their progress, scattering the people across the face of the earth to segregate them. God is a segregated God. God also changed their languages, so that they could no longer understand each other. God did this permanent miracle to thwart the New World Order for thousands of years. But today, God is allowing Satan to complete what he started at Babel.
Interestingly, I believe this is what the detached top of 'The Great Pyramid' illustrates, the unfinished system of Babel (man united against God). One of the earliest references to The Great Pyramid of Egypt was made by Diodorus Siculus in 60 BC. ...
Our text passage teaches that the weapons of our warfare as saints are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds. Our weapons are only mighty THROUGH GOD, by faith. Without the good Lord we are vulnerable and helpless. Jesus said in John 15:5 that without Him we can do NOTHING. - The Pulling Down Of Strongholds. The Bible speaks of PULLING DOWN STRONG HOLDS. What is that? We find the answer in verse 5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” As we just read, “strong holds” refers to imaginations (reasoning) and every high thing that exalteth itself against the inspired Word of God. A “high thing” is anything that contradicts the Holy Bible. Abortion is a high thing that exalteth itself against the inspired Word of God. Same-sex marriage is a high thing that exalteth itself against the Holy Bible. Feminism is a high thing that exalteth itself against the eternal Word of God, et cetera.
The phrase “strong holds” in 2nd Corinthians 10:4 is the Greek word ochurōma, which conveys the idea of a castle, or a fortress. The Bible is likening our struggle with sin and overcoming evil with demolishing a fortress by the power of God. This all comes by faith. Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” My favorite preacher and my mentor, Pastor Jack Hyles (1926-2001), used to wisely say that there is no victory as shallow as victory over another, because all you need to win is an inferior opponent. Proverbs 16:32, “He that is slow to anger is better than the mighty; and he that ruleth his spirit than he that taketh a city.” The greatest obstacles, challenges and battles in all of our lives is overcoming our own immaturities, character flaws and shortcomings. Thankfully, God's power can demolish the strongest enemy fortress!
So far we have learned that our battle as saints are of a spiritual nature, and not of the flesh. Our seven items of battle armour and weaponry are listed in Ephesians 6:10-18; namely: the helmet of salvation, the Sword of the Word of God, the shield of faith, the breastplate of righteousness, our lions gird about with truth, our feet shod with preparation the Gospel, and prayer. Our weapons are not anger, gossip, slander, hate or throwing people under the bus. Ephesians 6:18, “Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;”
Dear reader, please don't fall into the trap of trying to fight your own battles in the flesh. Our battles are spiritual, not physical (even though we sometimes need to fight physical battles). All physical wars are fueled by a battle between good and evil on an unseen spiritual plane. If we keep this biblical truth in mind, it will compel us as God's adopted children to earnestly pray, abide in the Scriptures, preach the Gospel, and have faith in God.
The breastplate is not a weapon, but armour for protection. Is this the imputed righteousness of God by faith that protects us? Is it our practical righteousness, trying to live by faith in God's power above reproach? I humbly think it is both. Proverbs 28:1, “The wicked flee when no man pursueth: but the righteous are bold as a lion.”
The Bible mentions our “feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel.” That is an interesting phrase. Why feet? Why preparation? Pastor Jack Hyles used to wisely say that greatness is in the preparation, not in the performance. Eric Honnold is one of my favorite people to follow. Eric did the unimaginable in June of 2017, at age 32, when he became the first person to free solo (no ropes or safety equipment), the rugged 3,000 foot wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park in California. The reason I mentioned this is because Eric explained how he was able to free climb a 3,000 foot high mountain with no ropes or safety equipment, being able to overcome his fear of falling. I LOVE THIS GUY!!!
Eric explains in the preceding video that he systematically climbed each portion of the wall, preparing all his life for this incredible one day feat. The climb took him just 3 hours! Wow! Eric climbed a mountain two times higher than the Sears Tower in Chicago. My mind cannot even fathom what Eric did, because it is so amazing. I encourage you dear reader to view several YouTube videos about Eric Honnold and his amazing accomplishments in climbing that boggles the human mind. But the thing that I want you to notice friend is that Eric's great secret (if there is a secret at all) is that HE PREPARES for his climbs for years, by incrementally mastering each portion of the climb ahead of time, so when the time of the climb comes, he has already done it hundreds of times to perfect his footing, emotions, logistics, surroundings and nuances of the climb. - Bring Every Thought Into Captivity To The Obedience Of God. 2nd Corinthians 10:5, “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” I love this Bible verse so much!!! This is not brainwashing, this is being led by the Holy Spirit of God, by which every believer is indwelt at the moment of the new birth (Ephesians 1:13-14; Romans 8:9; 1st John 3:24). This verse simply teaches that when a sinful or wrong thought enters into our mind, we ought to immediately seize that thought, and make it conform to align with the inspired Holy Scriptures. Of course, this necessitates having a working understanding and familiarity with the Holy Bible. When the Devil came three times in Matthew 4:1-10 to tempt Jesus, our dear Savior didn't need to go find a written copy of the Bible, He was already familiar with the Scripture, so much so that the Lord could fluently quote passages from the Psalms and other books of the Old Testament (the New Testament hadn't been penned yet), to resist and drive the Devil away.
- Always Be Ready To Avenge All Disobedience Against God. 2nd Corinthians 10:6, “And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.” As human beings we are all sinful creatures in God's sight. It was Adam's disobedience that opened the floodgate of sin and death upon the world (Romans 5:12). Surely, there is nothing we could ever do to make up (penance), atone or pay for our sins. That is why Jesus Christ needed to come into the world, to die on a cruel cross to pay our massive debt of sin. Jesus paid a debt He did not owe, because we owed a debt we could not pay (2nd Corinthians 5:21).
Galatians 2:21, “I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” All of these ungodly pastors and clergy today, who preach that in addition to faith a person must “turn away from your sins” to be saved, are pulling on the same rope as the Devil. They are frustrating the grace of God!!! As we just read in Galatians 2:21, if a person could attain righteousness (salvation) by the works of the Old Testament law, then Christ died in vain on the cross.
Satan is a beautiful liar!!! The Devil comes along and says that in addition to faith, a person must forsake a lifestyle of sinning to get to Heaven (which is what infidels' Marty Herron, John MacArthur and Steve Pettit all errantly preach). Jesus fulfilled everything that is necessary and allowed for our salvation through His one-time blood sacrifice (1st Peter 1:18-19). The reason why I harp constantly, fuss uncompromisingly and preach incessantly against the Devil's lies of Lordship Salvation, fake bibles and misunderstood repentance is because souls are at stake! Life is short, Hell is hot and eternity is a long time!!!
So when you sin dear friend, and we all do unfortunately, get revenge when the dust settles and the smoke clears, by purposing in your soul that it will never happen again. 2nd Corinthians 10:6, “And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”
