2 Cor. 10:3-5 is the classic\nexample of why we need to read and study the Scriptures in context. Many\npreachers and teachers of the Bible tell us that this passage means that each\nof us Christians have been equipped with spiritual weapons that should be used\nto pull down the strongholds in our minds, to cast down the arguments in our\nminds, to cast down every high thing in our minds that exalts itself against\nthe knowledge of God, and to bring every thought in our minds into captivity to\nthe obedience of Christ. Joyce Meyer even wrote an entire book based on this understanding\nof this passage. It all sounds so good and so spiritual\u2014except that is not what\nPaul is talking about at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now it is true that the Bible\ntells us to guard our thought life. It tells us to meditate on (that is, think\nabout) the things that are true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report,\nvirtuous, and praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). It also tells us to be transformed by\nthe renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:2). But we do not stop evil thoughts by\nchanging our way of thinking. Jesus said that the source of our evil thoughts\nis our heart (Matt. 15:19). Seeing an attractive woman and having a fleeting\nthought about her is not the problem; lusting for her from the heart is the\nproblem (Matt. 5:28). Eliminating evil thoughts, therefore, requires a change\nin heart, not a change in mind. So, too, the cure for double-mindedness is not\nfixing the mind but purifying the heart (James 4:8). Proverbs tells us to \u201cKeep\nyour heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life\u201d (Prov.\n4:23). How do we keep our hearts? The peace of God will guard (keep) our minds\nand hearts if we make our requests known to God through prayer and supplication\nwith thanksgiving (Phil. 4:6-7). So we fight our evil thoughts by purifying our\nhearts and guarding our hearts through prayer, not by tearing down strongholds\nand taking captive our thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The context of 2 Cor. 10:3-5\nbegins at verse 1 and continues to the end of the book. Verse 1 begins with \u201cNow,\u201d\nwhich is a signal that Paul is beginning a new subject. Not only have the\npreachers and teachers taken verses 3-5 out of context, they have not even let\nPaul finish his sentence. The sentence that begins in verse 4 ends not in verse\n5 but in verse 6, which says, \u201cand being ready to punish all disobedience when\nyour obedience is fulfilled.\u201d If verses 3-5 are addressed to each of us, then\nverse 6 must be also. But are we ready to punish all disobedience? And when did\nwe become authorized to punish disobedience?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul says that \u201cwe\u201d are ready\nto punish all disobedience when \u201cyour\u201d obedience is fulfilled. Who is \u201cyour\u201d?\nObviously, the Corinthians. Who, then, is \u201cwe\u201d? Not us Christians. \u201cWe\u201d must be\nPaul and those with him. Or possibly this is an editorial \u201cwe.\u201d Paul is saying,\nin verses 3-6, that he<\/em> does not war\naccording to the flesh, that his<\/em>\nweapons are not carnal but are mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, that\nhe<\/em> will cast down arguments, that he<\/em> will cast down every high thing that\nexalts itself against the knowledge of God, that he<\/em> will bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of\nChrist, that he<\/em> will punish every\ndisobedience when the obedience of the Corinthians is fulfilled. The word \u201cthought\u201d\nin verse 5 is actually a mistranslation. The Greek word used here, no\u0113ma<\/em>, can mean \u201cthought,\u201d but it is\nused in the New Testament only by Paul in 2 Corinthians and Philippians and he\nuses it to mean \u201cpurpose\u201d or \u201cmind.\u201d He intends to bring every purpose or mind\ninto captivity to the obedience of Christ. But whose purpose and mind does he\nintend to bring into captivity? And whose disobedience is he ready to punish?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul starts the passage in\nverse 1 by reminding the Corinthians that he is meek and gentle and lowly when\nhe is with the Corinthians, but bold towards them when he is absent from them.\nBut when he returns, he intends to be bold \u201cagainst some, who think of us as if\nwe walked according to the flesh\u201d (v. 2). When we read the rest of the context\npast verse 5, we find that false apostles had come to Corinth and the\nCorinthians had fallen for their false teachings. Paul intends to confront and\nto take captive the purposes or minds of these false apostles and those who\nfollow them and to punish their disobedience, but only after the Corinthians\nhave repented and have again become obedient to the gospel which Paul had\npreached to them. Otherwise, he would have to punish them also. Paul is writing\nto the Corinthians and telling them of his intent so that they have time to\nrepent before he gets there. This passage, then, is about Paul taking a stand\nagainst certain people in Corinth, not about us taking captive our own thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 Cor. 10:3-5 is about\nengaging in spiritual warfare against false teachers. It is not about engaging\nin spiritual warfare against our own thought life. Ironically, well-intentioned\npreachers and teachers derived the second meaning out of this passage because\nthey did exactly what false teachers do to the Scriptures: they read the\npassage out of its context.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" 2 Cor. 10:3-5 is the classic example of why we need to read and study the Scriptures in context. Many preachers and teachers of the Bible tell us that this passage means that each of us Christians have been equipped … Continue reading