Mighty Weapons of Warfare by Brother Duke Hansen

         In Paul's letters to the church in Corinth, there were two issues which he would have to address with the members. First there was the sinful lifestyle that was prevalent in the church. Several of those subjects are touched upon in 1 Corinthians. Paul's goal in writing was bringing up spiritual growth and how the church could obtain it, while also dealing with the rumor mongering amongst the church members who claimed Paul was not who he said he was because his repeated arrests and imprisonment as he was establishing churches. We will open to the book of 2 Corinthians the 10th chapter. One of the points Paul was making in this letter was that he was doing more with the Holy Spirit guiding him than in the flesh. It's an example we should practice as well.

        1 Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:

        2 But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

        3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

        4 (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds:)

        5 Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

        6 And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.

        7 Do ye look on things after the outward appearance? If any man trust to himself that he is Christ's, let him of himself think this again, that, as he is Christ's, even so are we Christ's.

        8 For though I should boast somewhat more of our authority, which the Lord hath given us for edification, and not for your destruction, I should not be ashamed.

        9 That I may not seem as if I would terrify you by letters.

        10 For his letters, say they, are weighty and powerful: But his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible.

        11 Let such an one think this, that, such as we are in word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also in deed when we are present.

        12 For we dare not make ourselves of the number, or compare ourselves with some that commend themselves: but they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise.

        13 But we will not boast of things without our measure, but according to the measure of the rule which God hath distributed to us, a measure to reach even unto you.

        14 For we stretch not ourselves beyond our measure, as though we reached not unto you: for we are come as far to you also in preaching the gospel of Christ:

        15 Not boasting of things without our measure, that is, of other men's labour; but having hope, when your faith is increased that we shall be enlarged by you according to our rule abundantly,

        16 To preach the gospel in the regions beyond you, and not to boast in another man's line of things made ready to out hand.

        17 But he that glories, let him glory in the Lord.

        18 For not he that commendeth himself is approved, but whom the Lord commendeth. 

        In verse 4 Paul speaks of the pulling down of strong holds. They are built up by our flesh over time and some are inherited through lineage. What tears down strong holds is a made up mind that the Holy Spirit is emboldened by and can use. The indwelling of the Holy Spirit does not clean up the junk of your life without you stepping out in faith first with a made up mind to do better. Many people are still practicing verse 5. Imaginations are made up by our flesh, nurtured and grown in the world and has never been delivered by the Holy Spirit. People are fighting against the Knowledge of God and have been since the establishment of the church. Look at Paul's letter to Galatia in the very next book. Chapter 1 verses 6 through 9. He explicitly speaks about those who are adding and subtracting from the gospel.

        6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:

        7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.

        8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.

        9 As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

        Verse 6 of 2 Corinthians 10 let's look at that again. If you get mad at yourself over a mistake, an error, or wrong thinking that anger in of itself is good and quite necessary. Anger is not created by the enemy and it isn't something for you to shy away from when examining yourself. God displays his anger a few times in the Bible. In verse 7 Paul begins to address the rumors about him there in Corinth. Verse 8- Your spirit man will starve when pitted against your carnal man if your sole focus is in feeding your flesh. The fight that will dominate your walk with God until then end is going to be you versus you.

        Paul continues to address those in the church who are rumoring about him in verses 10 and 11. Throughout his three missionary journeys Paul allowed his flesh to be afflicted. Your flesh cannot merely commend itself without tearing down others or institutions. Human measurements are faulty. If you think you need to be the smartest in your circle, that is not wisdom you're using. True wisdom are being around those who may be stronger, smarter, truly inspiring you to grow and reach toward that stature. Paul was an ongoing transformation through his life. The measure God gave to Paul was to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. In helping people grow and mature spiritually Paul was never seeking some validation or glory from man. Paul is not even going to boast on himself. The battleground before us is between the flesh and the spirit. There are two ways to do things in life. 1) God's way which is laid out in the Bible 2) the world's way. Everything that is opposite to God's process is from the world. You pick it up because man has never been smart enough to make his own way. The bottom line is we either choose a way that is either what our flesh likes or our spirit likes. 

        A mother is to guide the house and the father is to rule the house. The mother has a larger responsibility and authority in the house today. There is a lot of role reversals due to how the world operates. Everyone has a measure of authority given to them by God that they use out in the world. You have to know what your level of authority is and be wise in how you use it. God does not want is to abuse our authority. The world is going to use fear to get you attacked on all sides by imaginations that can pull you off the path. Every job, no matter the size or scope, has a measure of authority. God established this for our own understanding. The biggest problem we create for ourself is when we are trying to second think God, or speed God up, defending God ignorantly or just over step our authority. 

        We can overcome fear, doubt, physical ailments, and many other things in this life. The only thing that shortens those potential victories is our measure of faith and how we use it. God wants us to use the anger he has given us to fight and push back against our flesh. There are two seeds on earth. The seed of evil and the seed of righteous. What seed are you?