Lesson for April 7, 2024
The Power of Thought
Lesson 4
II Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying arguments and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”
The concept of bringing every thought into captivity for Christ has been misinterpreted in many ways for years. The correct interpretation, which is clear in the context, is about the power of thought capturing and destroying Human Viewpoint Thinking. The warfare we are in as believers consists of multiple spiritual battles throughout our time on earth. Winning or losing these battles will determine our success or failure in fulfilling God’s plan for our lives.
If we rely on human power and strategies to defeat Satan and his demon army, we will fail. On the other hand, if we use the power of God and His strategies we will win. The strategic victory by Christ on the Cross, followed by His resurrection, ascension, and session to the right hand of the Father, has sealed the fate of Satan, forever. However, in his arrogance, Satan continues to believe he can overthrow God and displace Him as the Sovereign of the universe.
The genius of Satan has set up a system of both offense and defense to defeat the human race, unbelievers and believers alike. Satan’s strategies are designed to control the thinking of people by getting them to believe his lies. He began his attack in the Garden of Eden, and it will continue until he is cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity.
In order to combat the plan of Satan, God designed a powerful system for believers in Christ that will enable them to win daily tactical victories over the satanic influence of Satan’s world system. Believers are therefore considered the “army of the Lord’ that rises up against Satan, using the power options that God has provided for them. Our two power options are the filling of the Holy Spirit and Bible doctrine, designed by God to enable us to be successful in the spiritual warfare in which we are engaged on a daily basis. So, the admonishment to all believers in Christ is not to be a deserter, do not go AWOL, but instead stand and fight!!!
For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.The fortresses are Satan’s stronghold positions that he has designed to infiltrate your mind and block you from thinking divine viewpoint. If Satan can overpower your thinking, He’s got you. Therefore, the importance of the power of thought.
Ephesians 6:10-17, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having belted your waist with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
It is imperative for advancing believers to put on every piece of armor that God has provided because this is our defense against the deceitful schemes of Satan. We are in a spiritual battle with the powerful forces of Satan. However, we are here as part of the resolution of the Angelic Conflict, and that means spiritual warfare. Satan’s desire is to keep us distracted and confused. He does this through his world system which attempts to impose human viewpoint thinking on every believer in Christ.
Putting on the full armor of God is an act of the free will of believers. Some believers will obey the command, and some will not. It is important to note that we are instructed to put on allof the armor God provides for us. Failure to comply with God’s instructions to put on the full array of armor He has provided, will result in an incomplete outcome. Our goal as believers should be to reach spiritual maturity and beyond. Anything short of this is the incomplete fulfillment of the Christian Way of Life.
Satan has a well-organized, well-trained, effective force to deceit, distract, and destroy you. Paul described Satan army in Ephesians 6.
Rulers are the top officers, the highest and most powerful fallen angels under the command of Satan, and they are the equivalent of the archangels in the elect angel organization.
Powers are the commissioned officers in the angelic army. Satan understands the importance of discipline and authority. His army is highly effective, and they are much better trained than most Christians. These officers command the millions and millions of demons in the army of Satan.
World forces means world rulers. It refers to a special corps of demons who might be classified as Satan’s ambassadors. He has these in all of the ruling places of the world, whose job is to influence the world rulers so that Satan can attempt to control world history. However, he has never succeeded in doing so, but he never stops trying either. Jesus Christ is the only One Who can control history!!
The spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places describes the entire demon army of Satan. Satan’s army consists of millions of demons who are very active, often in very subtle ways so that hardly anyone recognizes the evil influence of Satan. Since our spiritual battles are against Satan and his army of demons, we need special supernatural equipment to win the victories. The analogy of the Roman soldier’s equipment describes our supernatural equipment needed to combat the forces of Satan.
Stand firm means to resist. Demons are invisible and much more powerful than human beings. We must possess the inner resources of accurate Bible doctrine to resist the attacks of these evil forces. We can stand our ground when attacked only by using the “full armor of God.”
Having belted your waist with truth, means to have accurate Bible doctrine stored in your soul. The best defense against Satan is the Word of God, which shuts down his attempts to influence us in a negative way and destroy our spiritual lives.
The breastplate of righteousness refers to practical righteousness – righteous living based on the Word of God. Practical righteousness means we are staying in fellowship with God a maximum amount of time and consistently applying the truth of the Word of God to our lives.
Having strapped on your feet the preparation of the gospel of peace is a reference to the responsibility of believers to share their faith with others as Royal Ambassadors for Jesus Christ. Sharing our faith is communicating the Gospel to unbelievers on a personal basis by providing good news about Jesus Christ. What a person needs to know is what Jesus Christ did for them on the Cross and how they can have eternal life by believing in Him as Savior.
Taking up the shield of faith means using the Faith-Rest Technique in the various circumstances of life. Using the Faith Rest Technique means that we have made a decision as to what our future action is going to be when being attacked spiritually. This means that we have predetermined in our minds what course of action we will take before the attack begins. By faith we apply the accurate Bible doctrine in our souls logically, while relying on the promises of God. (Hebrews 4:1-2)
The helmet of salvation is the piece of equipment that a person puts on the moment they believe in Christ for salvation. Salvation keeps Satan from dealing a fatal blow to us. It doesn’t matter what Satan and his demon army does to us, they cannot destroy our salvation.
The sword of the Spirit is the Word of God and is the only offensive weapon we have to combat Satan and his army. When we are confronted by someone attempting to distract us (knowingly or unknowingly) from living our spiritual life, we have defensive and offensive weapons that we can use to counter this confrontation.
Before going to war, it is necessary to assess the enemy. Our assessment should be that God is the One Who fights this spiritual warfare for us. We are unable in our own power and strength to directly wage war with Satan and his demon army. Being equipped with God’s armor is the only possible way of gaining victory in this battle. God’s battle plan is perfect and found only in His Word. We just need to learn the plan and how to execute it! Romans 8:37, “But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.”