Garment of Flesh or the Armor of God?

15
May

2 Corinthians 10:4-6—”For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, 6 being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”

Paul tells us believers that when we go through trials and common day problems while attempting to spread the Gospel, we need to train our mind to remember that the warfare we face is in the spiritual world. The warfare is between our spirit and the evil one’s lies and deceit, and not between us and the other people.

The weapons for this warfare are not our made up of our own ability, worldly weapons, strength or skill, for us to do marketing or to manipulate others. It is our backing of God’s power that enables us to:
– break strongholds of the evil side (tear down the barriers  against the truth of God)
– destroy any argument or opinion against our knowledge of God (smash any warped philosophies which today’s world sport’s mightily), and
– take back control of our minds that wander off, in the flesh, to obey Christ. We must fit our every runaway thought, emotion and impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ. When obedience of the Word becomes a practise for us, only then will we be ready to punish the disobedience of others.

We have God’s promise that “No weapon formed us shall prosper!” But we need to do our part – to wear the armor of God. Ephesians 6:10-18 states it clearly: “10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. …18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”