The Weapons of Our Warfare Text: 2 Corinthians 10:1-6
Introduction: Two Kinds of War
We live in an age that is allergic to authority and terrified of conflict. And yet, we are surrounded by both. The Christian life is not a playground; it is a battlefield. The moment you were baptized into the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, you were issued a uniform and handed a rifle. You were enlisted in a war. The problem is that many modern Christians think the war is a culture war fought with political yard signs, or a social media war fought with clever hashtags, or a self-improvement war fought with better therapeutic techniques. They think the enemy is the political party across the aisle, or the godless university professor, or their own bad habits.
But the Apostle Paul, writing to a Corinthian church that was deeply confused about the nature of true power and authority, clarifies the nature of the conflict. He shows them, and us, that there are two ways to fight. There is the world's way, which is "according to the flesh," and there is God's way, which is "divinely powerful." The world fights with coercion, manipulation, slick marketing, intimidation, and raw power. The world's weapons are carnal, which means they are weak, temporary, and ultimately futile against the real enemy.
The Corinthians were being seduced by "super-apostles" who operated according to the flesh. They were impressive speakers, they had letters of recommendation, they had swagger. They accused Paul of being weak and unimpressive in person, a man who could only write tough letters from a safe distance. They were judging by worldly standards, and they wanted the church to adopt those same standards. They wanted a carnal war with carnal weapons.
Paul's response here is a thunderclap. He agrees that he walks in the flesh, he is a man with a body, but he refuses to wage war according to the flesh. He is engaged in a different kind of warfare altogether. This is not a skirmish over church politics. This is a siege against the principalities and powers, a demolition project aimed at the very fortresses of human rebellion against God. And for this kind of war, carnal weapons are like bringing a squirt gun to a tank fight. You need divinely powerful weapons, weapons forged in heaven, designed to tear down the strongholds of the mind.
The Text
Now I, Paul, myself plead with you by the gentleness and forbearance of Christ, I who am humble when face-to-face with you, but courageous toward you when absent! But I beg that when I am present I need not act so courageously with the confidence that I consider to daringly use against some, who consider us as if we walked according to the flesh. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds, as we tear down speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, and are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is fulfilled.
(2 Corinthians 10:1-6 LSB)
Meekness, Not Weakness (vv. 1-2)
Paul begins with a sharp, ironic jab, picking up the very accusation his enemies were leveling against him.
"Now I, Paul, myself plead with you by the gentleness and forbearance of Christ, I who am humble when face-to-face with you, but courageous toward you when absent! But I beg that when I am present I need not act so courageously with the confidence that I consider to daringly use against some, who consider us as if we walked according to the flesh." (2 Corinthians 10:1-2 LSB)
Paul's opponents had created a caricature of him. They said he was a paper tiger, bold in his letters but timid and unimpressive in person. Paul leans right into their slander. He says, alright, you think I'm humble in person? I appeal to you by the very meekness and gentleness of Christ. This is not the appeal of a coward. This is the appeal of a man whose strength is grounded in the character of his Lord. The gentleness of Christ is not the gentleness of a doormat; it is the gentleness of a lion holding its strength in reserve. It is controlled power.
He is essentially saying, "Don't make me come down there." He begs them to sort themselves out so that when he arrives, he will not be forced to unleash the apostolic authority he possesses. He would much rather come in gentleness. But make no mistake, he is prepared to come with courage and confidence, ready to deal decisively with those who were slandering him and his ministry. And what is their central charge? That Paul and his companions "walked according to the flesh."
This accusation is the key. To "walk according to the flesh" means to operate by human standards, to rely on worldly methods, to seek worldly approval, and to use worldly power. The false apostles were doing this, and they were projecting their own carnality onto Paul. They couldn't comprehend a man who rejected their playbook of self-promotion and intimidation. Paul is about to explain that while he is a man of flesh and blood, he is not a man of carnal warfare.
Spiritual War, Spiritual Weapons (vv. 3-4)
Here Paul draws the bright line between the two approaches to conflict. He defines the nature of his warfare.
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the tearing down of strongholds," (2 Corinthians 10:3-4 LSB)
The distinction is crucial. "Walking in the flesh" simply means we are embodied creatures. We live in a physical world, in physical bodies. There is nothing sinful about this. But to "war according to the flesh" is to adopt the world's corrupt value system and its impotent methods. It is to trust in chariots and horses, in political clout, in eloquent speeches, in academic credentials, in anything other than the raw power of God.
Paul says our weapons are not "of the flesh." The Greek word is sarkikos, carnal. They are not human-made. But notice the contrast he makes. He doesn't say our weapons are "spiritual" in some ethereal, wispy sense. He says they are "divinely powerful." The contrast is not between material and immaterial, but between weak and powerful. The world's weapons are weak. God's weapons are mighty. They are powerful for a specific, glorious purpose: the tearing down of strongholds.
A stronghold is a fortress, a citadel. In this context, it is a fortified system of rebellious thought. It is an entire worldview built on a foundation of lies, designed to resist the knowledge of God. Think of the great "isms" that dominate our landscape: secularism, materialism, Marxism, sexual relativism. These are not just bad ideas; they are intellectual and cultural fortresses, defended by barricades of prejudice, pride, and pseudoscience. You cannot defeat these strongholds with carnal weapons. You cannot argue someone out of a rebellion that they did not argue themselves into. You need divine dynamite. You need weapons that can shatter foundations.
The Demolition Project of the Gospel (v. 5)
Paul now specifies what these strongholds are and what our mission is concerning them.
"as we tear down speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ," (2 Corinthians 10:5 LSB)
The warfare is intellectual, but it is not merely academic. We are tearing down "speculations," or reasonings. These are the arrogant arguments and philosophies that man erects to justify his autonomy. We are also tearing down "every lofty thing," every proud barrier, every high-tower of human pride that "raised up against the knowledge of God." The fundamental sin of man is intellectual pride. It is the desire to be his own god, to define his own reality, to be the final arbiter of truth. This pride manifests in philosophies, ideologies, and cultural norms that are designed, at their root, to suppress the truth of God in unrighteousness (Romans 1).
Our task is demolition. The weapons God gives us, the preaching of the gospel, the faithful administration of the sacraments, prayer, and obedient living, are designed to pulverize these fortifications. But we are not just anarchists blowing things up for the fun of it. We demolish in order to rebuild. The second part of the verse tells us the ultimate goal: "and take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ."
This is one of the most foundational statements for a Christian worldview. There is no neutral territory in the world of thought. Every idea, every concept, every philosophy, every song lyric, every scientific theory, every political platform either stands in submission to Christ or in rebellion against Him. Our goal is not simply to have "Christian thoughts" about churchy things on Sunday. Our goal is total conquest. We are to seize every rebellious thought, put it in chains, and force it to bend the knee to King Jesus. This means we must think Christianly about everything: art, science, politics, farming, economics, and plumbing. All of Christ for all of life.
The Readiness to Discipline (v. 6)
Finally, Paul brings this high-flying theology of spiritual warfare right back down to the concrete situation in the Corinthian church.
"and are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is fulfilled." (2 Corinthians 10:6 LSB)
This is a statement about church discipline. Paul is saying that once the loyal members of the Corinthian church have demonstrated their obedience, once the congregation has come back to Paul's side, he will be ready to deal with the remaining pockets of rebellion. He is going to clean house.
This shows us that spiritual warfare is not just about confronting godless philosophies out there in the world. It begins in the house of God. The church cannot be a mighty army for tearing down strongholds in the culture if it is tolerating strongholds of pride, rebellion, and carnality within its own walls. Paul's authority is real, and it has teeth. He is not just offering helpful suggestions. He is an apostle of Jesus Christ, and he is prepared to excommunicate those who persist in their disobedience.
The principle is this: God's power flows through a pure vessel. Before we can effectively wage war on the world's unbelief, we must first ensure our own camp is submitted to the authority of Christ. When the church's obedience is complete, then it is in a position to exercise discipline and to be a potent force for the gospel in the world.
Conclusion: Fight Right
This passage is a manifesto for Christian engagement with the world. We are in a war, and there is no avoiding it. The only question is how we will fight. Will we fight according to the flesh, with the world's flimsy weapons of outrage, political maneuvering, and personal attacks? That is a guaranteed path to defeat and irrelevance.
Or will we take up the weapons God has given us? Will we wield the divinely powerful gospel, which is the power of God for salvation? Will we live lives of radical obedience, which is the foundation for all true authority? Will we engage in the hard work of taking our own thoughts captive first, and then calling all other thoughts to bow the knee?
The strongholds of our age look imposing. They are defended by the media, the academy, the government, and big tech. They seem unassailable. But they are nothing more than elaborate constructions of pride and unbelief. They are fortresses of sand, built in defiance of the God who spoke the world into existence.
Our weapons are not carnal, but they are mighty. The faithful preaching of the Word, a crumb of bread and a sip of wine, water poured in the triune name, a life of quiet faithfulness, these things seem weak to the world. But in the hands of the Almighty, they are the artillery that brings down empires and redeems the world. Let us therefore stop trying to fight the Lord's battles with the devil's tools. Let us pick up our spiritual weapons and get to work.