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. (2 Cor.10:3-6)
As we continue to look at Paul’s concept of “divine weapons” in 2 Corinthians 10:3-6, I want to remind us that Paul begins this text with the assumption that followers of Jesus live in a state of war with the enemy – like it or not. Since we live in a state of war we must cover ourselves with armor and wield weapons or be defeated and, perhaps, destroyed. However, Paul is clear that we should put on the armor of God (divine armor) and carry weapons that are unlike the weapons of the world and that actually go beyond the reach of worldly weapons.
Paul states that in contrast to weapons of the world, we fight with weapons that are fueled by divine power so that they have the capacity to demolish strongholds. So … what are these strongholds that can only be decimated by the power of God? I’m going to quote Dutch Sheets regarding the meaning of the word.
The word is “ochuroma,” coming from the root word “echo,” which means to “have” or “hold.” This word for “stronghold” (KJV) or “fortress” (NASB) is literally a place from which to hold something strongly. It is also the word for fort, a castle, or a prison… In essence, Satan has a place of strength within unbelievers from which he can hold onto them strongly. (Dutch Sheets, Intercessory Prayer, p.183)
Sheets says that a stronghold is a place within unbelievers but strongholds can also exist within believers. Notice the nature of strongholds from the rest of this text. Paul speaks about arguments, pretensions, knowledge, and thoughts. All of these are related to belief systems within us that argue or “push back” against God’s truth. They are belief systems that bring us (or part of us) into agreement with Satan and out of alignment with God. When we agree with Satan we give him legal access to at least part of our life.
I like to compare Satan’s presence in the life of a believer to a house in which the manager of the house has rented out a room to the enemy. Jesus is the owner of the home but he has made us stewards or managers over the house. We have the right to decide who visits the house and even who lives in the house. As we come into agreement with Satan about certain areas of our life, in effect, we have rented out a room to him. He doesn’t own the house but with a presence within the house, he can harass us and affect the entire environment or health within the home.
Satan’s great weapon has always been “the lie.” His lies, if uncorrected, can create a belief system, a perspective, or a view of ourselves, God and others that lead us astray and that can keep us from experiencing freedom, healing, and effectiveness in the kingdom of God. Most strongholds are beliefs that are rooted in experiences from our past rather than something that was taught to us … especially traumatic experiences.
Most of these beliefs are also rooted in our childhood. Without being formally taught, we simply drew conclusions about ourselves, God, and life in general as a result of experiences. For instance, an abused child will often come to the conclusion that there must be something terribly wrong or unacceptable about him/her for parents to treat them in such a way. Molested children carry a deep sense of shame or defectiveness about themselves because of the experiences they have had that were hidden in darkness. A child who experiences a traumatic loss or losses may come to believe that he/she will eventually lose everyone he/she loves. Some abused children also come to the conclusion that even God doesn’t love them since he “allowed those things to happen” or that he may love them but he is powerless to protect them. Children who grow up in homes where love is conditional may come to believe that all love is conditional and must be earned – even God’s love.
You can see how each of these belief systems oppose God’s truth and can get in the way of trusting God, believing his promises, loving others, or getting hold of grace. Satan then reinforces these beliefs at every opportunity and may assign demonic spirits to continually reinforce and magnify those lies. Beliefs established by experiences in our childhood, have typically been with us so long that we are unaware of the power they exert over us. These beliefs or strongholds reside deep within us and “push back” against God’s truth.
When we believe one thing in our head and another in our hearts, we experience the presence of strongholds. When out intellect argues against the truth of God’s word because it is not “rational” or “logical” we are experiencing strongholds. When demons are active in maintaining these false beliefs then we are dealing with spiritual strongholds.
Since there is a spiritual dimension that works to maintain the lies that Satan has crafted or reinforced, then only “weapons” that can touch the spiritual realm can be effective. Weapons of the world don’t touch the spiritual realm and so must eventually fail. Jesus said, “You will know the truth and the truth shall set you free.” If truth sets us free, lies keep us in bondage. Strongholds (false belief systems) keep us in bondage in some part of our life and in some way affect every other part of our life. To demolish these belief systems that argue against God’s truth and that even pretend to be the truth requires the exercise of divine power. We’ll talk about that tomorrow. Be blessed.
