"For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete." Paul is defending his apostolic ministry to the Corinthians. Paul says there is a war going on in this world--the battle for the souls of men and women--so it is a spiritual war not a physical one. Thus, he does not use human plans and methods to win his battles. Paul continues the war metaphor to say that he uses divine power to attack strongholds where the enemy is entrenched and to take the enemy captive and make it subject to Christ its conqueror. A stronghold is an entrenchment that is fortified and protected behind strong defenses. Thus, wrong attitudes and behavior that are justified and defended by wrong thinking was then enemy Paul was battling here. By the power of the Spirit of God Paul attacks the strongholds of wrong thinking and behavior that are reflected in the lives of those who resisted his authority. We are engaged in the same spiritual war today but conducting spiritual warfare is somehow lost on most Christians. My pastor says that the Christian life is a battleground not a playground! Wrong attitudes and behaviors that are accepted, protected, and defended by a general consensus of a community or a segment of society have everywhere infiltrated this world. This entrenched thinking resists all attempts to overthrow it and persists in holding people in bondage, darkness, misery, despair, and disbelief. Unfortunately, Christians often lack the skills to battle these strongholds although we should have the same confidence and competence with the spiritual weapons of warfare that Paul claimed to deploy. However, you can refine your skills in conducting spiritual warfare through the disciplines of prayer, Bible study, meditation, godly living, and Christian service. God's divine power to destroy strongholds is available to those who are led by His Spirit.
