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. 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
This is a very well known passage from the writings of Paul, but I’m not sure how many Christians actually know how to use divine weapons or even know what they are. The Greek word translated as stronghold is an ancient military term that means a fortified place. A fortified place implies that someone has intentionally built up defenses to protect something. Strongholds, as Paul uses the term, are well established belief systems deep within us that are opposed to God’s truth. In the context of Paul’s writing, these strongholds or belief systems actively argue against God’s truth.
The word translated as pretensionmeans anything that arrogantly sets itself up above the word of God. Anything that wants to exalt itself above God or his word is demonic. Isaiah, speaking of Satan said, “How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You have been cast down to the earth, you who once laid low the nations! You said in your heart, ‘I will ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God; I will sit enthroned on the mount of assembly, on the utmost heights of the sacred mountain. I will ascend above the tops of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High.’ But you are brought down to the grave, to the depths of the pit” (Isa. 14:12-15). The word translated as demolishcan also mean “to dethrone.” These strongholds are built and reinforced by Satan and contain thoughts that always want to argue against and exalt themselves above God’s truth.
Undoubtedly, each of us has to contend with some measure of strongholds in our life. We are constantly bombarded by the belief systems of the world from childhood as we listen to television, read books, attend secular schools, pick up the strongholds of our parents, etc. On top of that, we have experiences that establish beliefs about ourselves, God, and life in general and act as filters for every subsequent experience we have. For instance, an abused child will walk away from that abuse believing that something is so defective in him or her that they cannot be loved. Why else would a parent treat them that way? An abandoned child may grow up believing that, sooner or later, everyone they love will leave them. Others will grow up in homes where whatever they did was “never good enough” and so will always struggle with feelings of incompetence and fears of failing. Others will experience some disappointment and walk away believing that God doesn’t hear their prayers. These strongholds begin as some childhood conclusion we draw from a hurtful experience but then Satan reinforces those beliefs that oppose God’s truth.
Each of those strongholds will limit a person in life and in relationships. Each of those strongholds produces beliefs contrary to the word of God when it comes to those who are born again and have a destiny in Christ. God says he will never leave us or forsake us. He tells us that we are more than conquerors in Jesus Christ and that nothing can separate us from his love. He tells us that he has made us competent and that we can do all things through Jesus. He tells us that whatever we ask for in the name of Jesus that is aligned with his word will get his full hearing. As long as we have persistent thoughts that are not aligned with God’s truth, strongholds exist that war against and argue against our faith and our obedience.
When believers hear these scriptures enough, they come to believe them on an intellectual level but may not believe them in their hearts. They tend to believe them for others but not themselves or always have a “Yes, but…” response when called on to believe a promise enough to act on it.
Those belief systems that are buried deep within us are reinforced by the demonic realm at every opportunity. In the parable of the sower, Satan comes to steal the seed which represents the word of God before it can put down roots and bear fruit. When strongholds exist, the enemy will provide any number of reasons not to believe God’s truth when it is offered. Because these strongholds are places fortified by the lies of the enemy as he operates in the spiritual realm, it takes divine weapons to dismiss the demons that keep rebuilding the walls of those lies and divine weapons to destroy the stronghold.
Counseling and therapies that do not engage the enemy on a spiritual playing field will not be able to truly demolish these spiritual fortifications. We may learn to manage our issues to some degree or learn coping skills, but that is far from freedom and victory over the issue. Most churches still send their members out to counselors who do not believe in or have skills in spiritual warfare, although Paul clearly says our struggles are not against flesh and blood but spiritual powers. Even churches that have counselors on staff, typically have counselors who were trained in secular approaches to counseling. They may pray and offer a scripture but do not know how to confront the enemy and exercise authority to break these strongholds. Because of that, only a small percentage of Christ’s body actually walks in the full freedom that Jesus has purchased for them.
Divine weapons include Spirit-led counseling, the spiritual gifts of discernment, healings, wisdom, revelation, deliverance, prayer, hearing God, and so forth. If you think about it, most strongholds are established as a result of some intense experience or trauma. Most life-altering transformations also occur as a result of an experience with God – Moses at the burning bush, Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus, the apostles seeing the resurrected Christ and experiencing the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, Gideon watching an angel ascend in flames, the servant of Elisha seeing chariots of fire all around him, Jewish neighbors seeing Lazarus emerge from his tomb and so forth. Divine weapons allow us to experience the presence and power of God so that strongholds are discredited, demolished, and them replaced by the truth that comes through encounters with God. It often takes an experience with God to overwrite what we have believed because of an experience with Satan.
In addition, a huge part of destroying strongholds is offering obedience in every part of our life. Many believers don’t experience freedom because they withhold slices of their lives from God and do not willingly submit to him in the areas of relationships, giving, entertainment, forgiveness, addictions, and so forth. Each area that remains “unsubmitted” to Jesus is an open door for the enemy to come in and rebuild the very fortifications they are trying to tear down. Paul says, “we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete” (2 Cor. 10:5). In other words, when we have submitted all of our life to Jesus, then those who oppose us in the spiritual realm and the natural realm will be punished or caused to suffer by God. When we are obedient, demons can be driven out and the strongholds they have defended can be torn down.
I would venture to say that nearly every believer has some stronghold that remains within him or her – myself included. So many strongholds have been with us for so long that we don’t even recognize them. They seem like a natural part of who we are and the enemy has provided numerous justifications for our beliefs that don’t line up with the Word.
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any strongholds that exist so that divine weapons can be applied and the stronghold torn down. In its own way, every stronghold is a form of bondage though we may not recognize it is that. A stronghold is simply a slice of our thought life that has been taken captive by Satan. Our goal should to surrender every thought to Jesus because surrendering to Jesus truly brings freedom. An essential part of deliverance is discovering these strongholds and pulling them down. Giving some serious thought to our personal strongholds on a regular basis is also essential to becoming all that he wants us to be.
