{"id":54131,"date":"2023-09-17T08:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-09-17T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/?p=54131"},"modified":"2023-09-11T16:47:02","modified_gmt":"2023-09-11T23:47:02","slug":"the-weapons-of-our-warfare","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\/","title":{"rendered":"The Weapons of Our Warfare"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>When criticized in ministry we may be tempted to pull out the so-called <em>big guns<\/em>. If we\u2019re not careful, we may respond to such criticism with some fairly offensive attacks of our own. However, the <em>\u201cI\u2019ll show you\u201d<\/em> or the <em>\u201cCriticize this\u201d<\/em> approach won\u2019t get us very far with our critics. When the circumstances require it, we need to respond in a different way with different weapons that are endowed with divine power. Just what, exactly, are these? Let\u2019s look at the weapons Paul used as he waged war against the strongholds, arguments, and pretensions opposed to Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center has-background\" style=\"background-color:#dadada\">We adapted these notes from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product.php?productid=77385\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">IVP New Testament Commentary<\/a>. This twenty-volume commentary features readable commentaries by some of the best evangelical scholars and theologians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-spiritual-weaponry\"><strong>Spiritual Weaponry<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\"><p>For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete. <\/p><cite>2 Corinthians 10:3\u20136<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul readily admits that he lives in this world, \u201cWe do live in the flesh [<em>en sarki<\/em>],\u201d (<em>in the world,<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+10%3A3&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 3<\/a>). His sphere of activity is indeed \u201cthe flesh\u201d\u2014the everyday world of human existence with all its limitations, frustrations, trials and tribulations. But while Paul lives out his life in the ordinary, mundane sphere of human existence, this does not mean that he conducts his affairs according to the flesh (<em>kata sarka<\/em>)\u2014that is, as the world goes about things (<em>by the standards of this world,<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+10%3A2&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 2<\/a>). <strong>Nor does he wage war according to the flesh<\/strong> (<em>kata sarka<\/em>\u2014<em>as the world does,<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+10%3A3&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Wartime Mentality<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>During the latter years of the Great Depression, the American people were faced with mobilizing themselves for a second world war. They rationed their butter, meat, gasoline and other basic items. With the money they had left after purchasing the necessities of life, they paid wartime taxes and bought war bonds to provide even more funds for mobilization. They also sent hundreds of thousands of their finest youth abroad. It was a massive effort, involving great sacrifices and a tremendous expenditure of resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul pictures himself as involved in a similar war effort. In his case, however, the battle is being fought on a spiritual front. And spiritual warfare requires spiritual weaponry, which Paul readily deploys. What distinguishes his weapons from those of the world can be summed up in one word\u2014<strong>power<\/strong> (<em>dynatos<\/em>). The<strong> weapons Paul fights with have divine power<\/strong> and, as a result, can accomplish what the world\u2019s weapons cannot (<em>demolish stongholds,<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+10%3A4&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 4<\/a>). Paul does not identify these weapons here. But they certainly would include \u201cthe Holy Spirit,\u201d \u201csincere love,\u201d the true message and divine power (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+6%3A6-7&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2 Corinthians 6:6\u20137<\/a>). He may also have in mind \u201ctruth,\u201d \u201crighteousness,\u201d \u201cthe gospel of peace,\u201d \u201cfaith,\u201d \u201csalvation\u201d and \u201cthe Spirit,\u201d put forward as the Christian\u2019s armor in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=Eph+6%3A13-17&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Ephesians 6:13\u201317<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Weapons that Can Demolish Strongholds<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Paul\u2019s weapons are effective in doing two things. They can, in the first place, <strong>demolish strongholds<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+6%3A4&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 4<\/a>). <em>Ochyr\u014dma<\/em> is a military term for a \u201cfortified place\u201d. The picture is of an army attacking and tearing down the fortified defenses of the enemy. In the ancient world a prosperous city would build not only a stout wall for its security but also, somewhere inside the wall, a fortified tower that could be defended by relatively few soldiers if the walls of the city were breached by an enemy. Once the stronghold was taken, the battle was over. In ancient times this was commonly accomplished through a variety of siege machines, the most common being battering rams, mobile towers, catapults for throwing darts and the ballistae for throwing stones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The strongholds that Paul\u2019s weapons lay siege to are arguments and every pretension (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+6%3A5&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 5<\/a>). <em>Logismous<\/em> are reasonings that take shape in the mind and are then worked out in life as action. <em>Hyps\u014dma epairomenon<\/em> (\u201craised ramparts\u201d) are human \u201cpretensions\u201d (NIV) or \u201carrogances\u201d (JB, TEV, REB, NEB, RSV, NRSV) that have built fortresses with high towers aimed at repelling attacks by the knowledge of God (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+6%3A5&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 5<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Weapons that Take Every Thought Captive<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Such efforts, however, are to no avail. For Paul\u2019s weapons not only can demolish strongholds (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+6%3A4&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 4<\/a>) but can also <strong>take captive every thought<\/strong> <strong>to make it obedient to Christ<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+6%3A5&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 5<\/a>). The verb <em>aichmal\u014dtiz\u014d<\/em> means \u201cto take a prisoner of war\u201d. Paul pictures human thoughts as captured enemy soldiers. Once a city\u2019s defenses had been breached and its fortified places destroyed, conquered soldiers were taken in tow as prisoners of war. In the Roman <em>triumphus<\/em>, the prisoners were paraded through the streets of Rome (see <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+2%3A14-16&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2:14-16<\/a>). Paul\u2019s objective, however, is not to put human reasonings and pretensions on public display but to <strong>take captive every thought for obedience to Christ<\/strong> (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+6%3A5&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 5<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What does this mean today? We live at a time when the mind is deemphasized and the needs of the individual elevated\u2014so much so that our generation has been dubbed \u201cthe me generation.\u201d By contrast, Paul affirms that the mind matters. Indeed, it is so crucial that he focuses all his efforts on taking every thought captive and making it obey Christ. Alister McGrath has written that the future of evangelicalism lies in the forging of rigorous theological foundations and intellectual credibility. For this to happen, Christ must reign supreme in our minds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>A Divine Arsenal<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So, far from being the spiritual wimp that his critics in Corinth make him out to be, Paul has at his disposal a <strong>divine arsenal<\/strong>, which he will use on his next visit to punish every act of disobedience (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+6%3A6&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">v. 6<\/a>). The term <em>ekdike\u014d<\/em> means \u201cto take vengeance for\u201d or \u201cpunish\u201d something\u2014the something in this case being disobedience (<em>parako\u0113<\/em>). The noun <em>parako\u0113<\/em> (literally, \u201cto hear aside\u201d) denotes a stubborn unwillingness to hear what is said and to act on it. The Corinthian intruders are primarily in view here\u2014although any lingering dissenters at Corinth are not excluded. Their disobedience is not their unwillingness to bend the knee to Paul\u2019s authority but their attempt to subvert the gospel. \u201cI am afraid that . . . your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ,\u201d Paul says (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+11%3A3&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2 Corinthians 11:3<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What the punishment will involve is left unstated. But Paul will be able to carry it out once the Corinthians\u2019 obedience is complete. Only with the church as a whole behind him can Paul operate from a position of strength against his critics. But once he has their support, his troops stand at the ready to be deployed (<em>en hetoim\u014d echontes<\/em> \u2014\u201cwill be ready\u201d).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>The Fruit of Paul&#8217;s Weapons<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This is the reason for Paul\u2019s tough talk in his letters. By adopting a stern approach, he hopes to avoid acting as the disciplinarian in person\u2014not because he is intimidated by the Corinthians but because he loves them. We always make the effort to avoid causing grief or pain to those we love. In many ways it is easier to bear hurt ourselves than to watch the suffering of someone we care about. Paul was no different. The severe letter he wrote to the church caused him great distress and anguish of heart (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+2%3A4&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2 Corinthians 2:4<\/a>). But he wrote it so that when he was next with them, he might be a source of joy (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+2%3A1-3&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2 Corinthians 2:1\u20133<\/a>) and love (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/bible\/?query=2+Cor+2%3A4&amp;version=NIV\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">2 Corinthians 2:4<\/a>), rather than a cause of pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Learn More with the IVP New Testament Commentary<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"580\" src=\"https:\/\/blog.olivetree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IVPNewTestamentCommentarySeriesBookSetSocial-1024x580.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-51775\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IVPNewTestamentCommentarySeriesBookSetSocial-1024x580.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IVPNewTestamentCommentarySeriesBookSetSocial-300x170.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IVPNewTestamentCommentarySeriesBookSetSocial-768x435.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/IVPNewTestamentCommentarySeriesBookSetSocial-1536x870.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product.php?productid=77385\">IVP New Testament Commentary<\/a> series makes a great addition to any Olive Tree Library. It includes commentaries written by Craig Keener, Grant Osborne, Gordon Fee, G. K. Beale, and other well-respected evangelical scholars. Follow the link below to visit our store and start reading today!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-buttons is-content-justification-center is-layout-flex wp-container-core-buttons-is-layout-16018d1d wp-block-buttons-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link has-white-color has-text-color has-background\" href=\"https:\/\/www.olivetree.com\/store\/product.php?productid=77385\" style=\"background-color:#77aa3c\">IVP NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When criticized in ministry we may be tempted to pull out the so-called big guns. If we\u2019re not careful, we may respond to such criticism with some fairly offensive attacks of our own. However, the \u201cI\u2019ll show you\u201d or the \u201cCriticize this\u201d approach won\u2019t get us very far with our critics. When the circumstances require<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":54136,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7849],"tags":[5975],"class_list":{"0":"post-54131","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-commentaries","8":"tag-ivp-new-testament-commentary"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v27.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Weapons of Our Warfare - Olive Tree Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Weapons of Our Warfare\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When criticized in ministry we may be tempted to pull out the so-called big guns. If we\u2019re not careful, we may respond to such criticism with some fairly\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Olive Tree Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/OliveTreeBible\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-09-17T15:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/nathan-paternotte-WI4cGO0CgTw-unsplash-scaled.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1707\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Brad Hoffman\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@OliveTreeBible\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@OliveTreeBible\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Brad Hoffman\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"7 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Brad Hoffman\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/a5aa5788c774e9c21340b24cb3f5091b\"},\"headline\":\"The Weapons of Our Warfare\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-09-17T15:00:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1340,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.olivetree.com\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2023\\\/09\\\/nathan-paternotte-WI4cGO0CgTw-unsplash-scaled.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"IVP New Testament Commentary\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Commentaries\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/staging-blog.olivetree.com\\\/the-weapons-of-our-warfare\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Weapons of Our Warfare - 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