"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God" (2 Cor. 10:4).
The weapons that Paul used to fight the false teachers at Corinth were not carnal, but spiritual. They comprised the simple proclamation of the Gospel, prayer, casting out demons, and his own apostolic authority, which we see exercised in the case of Ananias and Sapphira. It might have been this authority that Paul threatened to exercise in Corinth if the church there did not turn from error.
The conflict Paul faced was between truth and error, between the wisdom of God and the wisdom of the world. The false teachers in Corinth considered the Gospel to be foolishness because it did not fit into their philosophical paradigms. This has been the plight of the Gospel ever since it was first proclaimed. Scientists and philosophers exalt themselves and their opinions against the wisdom of God. Deluded and proud, they think their own conclusions are true while the Gospel of Christ is a lie. The contest here is evident; it is not between men, but between man and God. And, of course, God will prevail.
“The instructive lesson which the apostle designs here to inculcate is that this warfare must not be conducted on the part of the advocates of the Gospel with carnal weapons,” Hodge wrote. “They must not rely upon their own resources and attempt to overcome their enemies by argument. They must not become philosophers and turn the Gospel into a philosophy. This would be to make it a human conflict on both sides. It would be human reason against human reason.… Paul told the Corinthians in his former epistle that he did not appear among them as a philosopher, but as a witness; he came not with the words of man’s wisdom; he did not rely for success on his power of argument or persuasion, but on the demonstration of the Spirit. The faith, which he labored to secure, was not to be founded on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God.… The success of the Gospel depends on its being presented, not as the word of man but as the word of God; not as something to be proved but as something to be believed.” Like Paul, we do not need to be intimidated by human arguments because we know whom we have believed. However foolish it might be to the world, the Gospel is the wisdom of God, effective for the salvation of those who believe.
We are to bring every thought captive to Christ. Every thought you have about anything should be in conformity to the truth. Do you consciously guard against error, making sure the “wisdom of the world” doesn’t creep in? The only way you will keep up your guard is to study Scripture, listen to biblical teachers, and pray.
