Enlisting The Help Of Paul



In 2 Corinthians 10:3 - 5 Paul says:

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. (NIV)

Anyone in a fight needs weapons of some sort. So in Ephesians 6. 14 - 18, Paul details some of the weapons we have available for warfare and most readers will be familiar with the belt of truth, with the breastplate of righteousness, and with our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. We are also told to take up the shield of faith to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one and the helmet of salvation plus the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

We may be very familiar with these verses, but they will stand to be read anew, from our present, specific standpoint of dealing with thoughts.

Applying The Lessons

Our purpose is to take every thought captive. When a captive is taken in war, the individual is first recognised as a member of the opposing force. He is arrested, then he is first bound so that his movements are restricted. Then he is interrogated, and then imprisoned for the duration of the conflict. We need to proceed similarly. As soon as we recognise a foreign thought (in the sense of it not belonging to the spirituality of a disciple of Christ), we must arrest that thought, then confront it, and restrict its rights and freedom. We can do all this using the weapons and defensive equipment which Paul has detailed for us.

First, Paul tells us that we have truth, likened to a belt round our waist, but still part of our weaponry. We need to ask, therefore, whether the thought is a truthful one? Even if it is truthful, there may be reasons why we do not wish to entertain it. If we cannot substantiate it as true, then it is certainly an enemy.

Secondly, is it a righteous thought? Righteousness acts like a breastplate, defending us from that which would pierce us. In practice it means acting (and thinking!) always in ways of which God approves. Being righteous means being able to stand before the Father, being upright before him. Therefore we ask if this thought undermines that ability? If so, it is one which needs to be taken captive; we do that by deliberately refusing it permission to be active in our mind. How?

We recognise that the promise of salvation has been won for us by Jesus Christ. What Jesus did on the cross and from the tomb is like a soldier's helmet which protects his head. Our remembrance of salvation and our intention never to put it at risk, reinforces our determination against evil thoughts which are like deadly blows from the enemy rained down on our head.

Faith is as a shield to use against that which is directed against us. Every illicit thought falls into that category. But a shield used to be used in very close cooperation with a soldier's sword, which is why Paul likens the word of God to a sword. So the practicality of this is that we draw out an appropriate word from the arsenal of living words which God has given in Scripture. Just as a soldier might have various kinds of swords for dealing with different kinds of enemies and their defences, so we have a choice, but a far wider choice, of which sword to use. In other words, using the weapon of faith we call on God's promises:

... wash me and I shall be whiter than snow...

A clean heart create for me, O God,

and a steadfast spirit renew within me.

(Psalm 52. 9, 11.) (New American Bible).

If we cry out to God he will hear us, as the psalmist knew. In faith we can rely on his word that he will cleanse us. Some thoughts we find impossible to deal with, but there is nothing he cannot take captive, if we have the faith to expect him to do it. We should also be prepared to do our part: by refusing to allow these thoughts to have residence in our minds, by rejecting them every time we realise their presence, and by calling on the Lord each and every time we are under attack from them.

Finally, we need to ask the other troops to come to our defence. A soldier in war who is slow to ask for reinforcements when he needs them is a dead soldier. When they need it, we should pray for our fellow Christians; when we need their prayers we should be quick to ask for them.

All this might seem to be a lengthy process. But in practise, we are, or should be, or should be becoming, very quick to recognise every enemy thought. Some kinds of thoughts will be repeated, and are therefore easily identifiable. We need to find the right scriptures through which to call on God to defeat the enemy. Over time, as we grow in spiritual awareness, we shall recognise more thoughts and thought patterns as enemies, and we shall find God dealing with them, through our co-operation with his grace, in must the same manner.