Set the Captive Free

3 For though we live in the body, we do not wage war in an unspiritual way, 4 since the weapons of our warfare are not worldly, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds. We demolish arguments 5 and every high-minded thing that is raised up against the knowledge of God, taking every thought captive to obey Christ.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5

The tenth-thirteenth chapters of 2 Corinthians details Paul’s defense of his apostleship, which is quite interesting given that, today, very few who would question the authenticity of Paul’s apostleship. But that was not necessarily the case in the first century for Paul, also known as Saul (He did not have a name change like Abram->Abraham or Jacob->Israel, Saul is his Hebrew name and Paul is his Roman name), was a persecutor and killer of Christians. With that in mind we might understand some would question his apostleship. Unfortunately, the challenge that we find in these chapters are posed by from false apostles who had snuck into the church, they were wolves disguised as sheep.

Paul’s defense is not just to defend himself, but God’s glory and also an offensive strike to remove these false teachers who have been corrupting and dividing the church he had planted and recapture the captives. Unfortunately, I have seen this occur first hand in the church I was an associate pastor for. It was led astray by a handful of individuals who, like Paul’s accusers, believed that they had greater authority than they had; some went so far as to elevate themselves over God’s very word. Their “power” in the church was being threatened when their sin was confronted and it became a struggle for control and authority, a challenge that Paul also faced and a reason for his letter.

In laying out his defense, he begins by defending his very ministry. A ministry that was not merely against flesh and blood, but a spiritual fight which he was successful in. And because this was not a physical battle, Paul did not employ worldly weapons, but relied on divine power. False wisdom and sophisticated arguments may well have been the weapon of choice by the servants of Satan to take capture the Corinthians and hinder them from receiving the truth of the gospel. But Paul was not going to stand idly by, he was prepared, by the power of God, to destroy these strongholds and to demolish their arguments and set the Corinthian people free. His fear is evident in in this defense he makes and we see that in chapter 11, verses 3-4.

“as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your minds may be seduced from a complete and pure devotion to Christ. 4 For if a person comes and preaches another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or you receive a different spirit which you had not received, or a different gospel, which you had not accepted, you put up with it splendidly!”

If we see there are some who are taken captive by wolves, it is our duty to snatch them from Satan’s clutches. Theologian David Garland put it well commenting “Paul intends to take them prisoner, which, paradoxically, is the only way to be set free from Satan. Their thoughts need to come under the Lordship of Christ and to be liberated from the captivity of Satan.”

Would you be ready to stand against forces who have taken God’s children captive? Do not depend on your own strength, but trust in Him who is powerful above all things. By His power, we too may set the captives free and demolish all strongholds that have set themselves up against God.

Grace and Peace,
Pastor Alex 

These articles follow the current Bible Reading plan for Overflow Ministries. If you would like to join the reading plan, simply download the plan here: Overflow Reading Plan 

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