There are millions of people in our world today who have the same problem. They are bothered with thoughts that are unhelpful and sometimes emotionally paralysing. The Mayo Clinic on its website states, “Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) features a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions). These obsessions and compulsions interfere with daily activities and cause significant distress.” However there may be many people who do not have that degree of compulsion but for whom unwanted thoughts spoil their peace. How can they be helped?
There is a short phrase in God’s word that when acted on, can bring freedom. It is the phrase, “….take every thought captive to obey Christ.” We look at that phrase in its context. It is from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 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.” St Paul has been urging his readers in Corinth to understand that they could have victory over the pressures of the unbelieving world around them which pressurised them to live like the rest of the world and not in a Christian way. That pressure could be seen to be like a war against believers.
Paul then goes on to say that believers have weapons they can use which are different to worldly weapons. These weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds, to demolish arguments and every lofty opinion that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. “Weapons” is from [hoplon; ὅπλον] meaning an instrument or an implement for making ready, for example, for war. Paul had already used the word in chapter 6 verse 7, to describe the victories he and other servants of God had accomplished “by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left.” 6:6-7. Their righteous lives had enabled them to draw upon the power of God to be victorious against ungodly pressures.
The word for ”strongholds” is from [ochyrōma; ὀχύρωμα ] which means a castle or fort or anything that a person relies on. They are like fixed bodies of belief that are hard to overthrow. “Lofty opinion” is from [hypsōma; ὕψωμα] meaning a height or a high barrier that is “raised against the knowledge of God.” It is found only once more in the New Testament where it is translated as “height” in Romans 8:39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” St Paul is saying that no matter how strong the arguments may be nor how high the barriers erected against the knowledge of God, the believer has weapons to demolish them. As we saw above, righteous people are able to draw upon the power of God to overcome enemies or beliefs that are contrary to the truth in God.
1]. THE NEED TO TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE. 10:5
Humans are responsible for what they think about in their minds. We may appreciate beauty but the mind must not let the thoughts turn to lust, as Jesus warned, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28). We are responsible for what we do with our thoughts. We can let them go off in wrong directions which may be unhelpful or even sinful. Somehow we have to learn to control what goes on in our minds.
St Paul has the answer given by God. “….take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
“Take captive” is from [aichmalōtizō; αἰχμαλωτίζω] meaning to lead away captive or to make captive. Paul used the word to describe the battle in the minds of humans due to the power of their old nature within them, “but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” Romans 7:23. This makes him exclaim, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24. But he has an answer, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” Romans7:25. The answer is to serve God with our mind and to look to Him to help us overcome the power of our flesh nature.
St Paul when he wrote to Timothy, used the same word when warning about false teachers“who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions. 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” 2Timothy 3:6-7. They were captured because they were weak, carrying the burden of sins and being under the influence of their passions. They could never grasp the truth which would have set them free.
What is needed then for all humans, is the ability to get their thoughts in order by taking them captive and not allowing them to roam without direction. But there is another aspect to this truth.
2]. The Need To Take Every Thought Captive [TO OBEY CHRIST.] 10:5
It is not just enough for people to get hold of their thoughts. They also need to bring their thoughts captive to Christ. When Jesus was asked “What is the great commandment in the Law?” He replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37. To love God “with all the mind” means to let our thoughts dwell on Him; on the perfection of His character and on all the truths He taught and on the work He did. Jesus had said that He would send His Holy Spirit to lead His disciples into all truth. Joh 16:13. That is why St Paul makes this observation “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5. It is necessary for all humans to learn to live according to the Spirit as part of loving God with all their minds. Only then can they know the truth and live out the implications of it.
We see how easy it is for humans to think naturally instead of seeing things as God describes them. There was a time in Jesus’ ministry when He told His disciples that He would shortly be killed and on the third day be raised. However Peter objected, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” It was natural for Peter to try to prevent Jesus from being put to death. However what he was saying was against the plan and purpose of God for Christ, whom God had destined to die for sinners. Jesus had to rebuke Peter and said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16:23. Peter had to gain control over his thoughts and feelings and bring them into obedience to what Christ had said.
It is easy for humans to be conformed to the world’s way of thinking and miss out on what God wants to do in His world. That’s why Paul encouraged his readers in Rome, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2. What God wants is for humans not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by having their minds renewed. Then they will be able to, by testing, “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. “Romans 12:3. It is impossible for unbelievers to fully understand the will of God for as Paul wrote to Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” Titus 1:15. A defiled mind and conscience cannot comprehend the perfection of God and His ways.
We have said above that it’s not enough just to take our thoughts captive but we also have to bring them into obedience to Christ. How do we go about doing that?
Taking our thoughts captive to Christ
When we become conscious of a re-occurring thought, we need to ask the Lord, “Is this from You or does it come from my fallen nature?“
“Is there any biblical principle to guide me here?”
If the thought is of a conversation where we were belittled or made to feel terrible, we can choose to forgive the person who said it and we can ask the Lord to break the power of that thought in our minds. If the thought re-occurs we can thank the Lord that He has heard our prayer and is breaking its power in our minds. We can also think of some biblical truth that affirms who we are in Christ and bring that truth into our minds whenever a similar thought occurs.
For example, the Bible tells us that as believers we are raised with Christ and made to sit with Him in the heavenly places. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.“ Ephesians 2:4-10.
Reflecting on such a passage reminds us of God’s incredible grace towards us and that our salvation is by His grace alone. This should humble us and make us determined to live for the Lord so that He can do in and through us what pleases Him.
So having a picture of us sitting with Christ at the right hand of God should be an encouraging but humbling picture to hold in our minds whenever we feel down or pressurised.
There may be times when we feel deserted and alone and think there is no one around us to help us. Instead of the “Poor little me!” thought that comes to mind we can affirm this truth, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Heb13:5. We will never be forsaken by the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. We can picture ourselves as a sheep lying safely across the shoulders of a rejoicing Good Shepherd as He brings us home.
Whenever we feel unappreciated or unloved we can affirm this truth, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39.
His love is there for us. Always! Everywhere! For ever! Nothing and no one can ever separate us from His love!
I’m sure there is great value in counsellors encouraging their clients to take control of their thoughts. We all need to do that lest we lose control of our minds and we suffer from mental breakdowns. But we can’t empty our minds. We have to fill them with something. The best thing we can do is to fill our minds with truths from God’s Word or with pictures inspired by those truths. As Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you hold to my teaching, [taking your thoughts captive to Christ] you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32.
Blog No.497 posted on Friday 08 September 2023.
holbeck 
497. Getting Rid Of Unhelpful Thoughts. 2 Corinthians 10:5
There are millions of people in our world today who have the same problem. They are bothered with thoughts that are unhelpful and sometimes emotionally paralysing. The Mayo Clinic on its website states, “Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) features a pattern of unwanted thoughts and fears (obsessions) that lead you to do repetitive behaviors (compulsions). These obsessions and compulsions interfere with daily activities and cause significant distress.” However there may be many people who do not have that degree of compulsion but for whom unwanted thoughts spoil their peace. How can they be helped?
There is a short phrase in God’s word that when acted on, can bring freedom. It is the phrase, “….take every thought captive to obey Christ.” We look at that phrase in its context. It is from 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, “For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 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.” St Paul has been urging his readers in Corinth to understand that they could have victory over the pressures of the unbelieving world around them which pressurised them to live like the rest of the world and not in a Christian way. That pressure could be seen to be like a war against believers.
Paul then goes on to say that believers have weapons they can use which are different to worldly weapons. These weapons have divine power to demolish strongholds, to demolish arguments and every lofty opinion that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. “Weapons” is from [hoplon; ὅπλον] meaning an instrument or an implement for making ready, for example, for war. Paul had already used the word in chapter 6 verse 7, to describe the victories he and other servants of God had accomplished “by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left.” 6:6-7. Their righteous lives had enabled them to draw upon the power of God to be victorious against ungodly pressures.
The word for ”strongholds” is from [ochyrōma; ὀχύρωμα ] which means a castle or fort or anything that a person relies on. They are like fixed bodies of belief that are hard to overthrow. “Lofty opinion” is from [hypsōma; ὕψωμα] meaning a height or a high barrier that is “raised against the knowledge of God.” It is found only once more in the New Testament where it is translated as “height” in Romans 8:39, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” St Paul is saying that no matter how strong the arguments may be nor how high the barriers erected against the knowledge of God, the believer has weapons to demolish them. As we saw above, righteous people are able to draw upon the power of God to overcome enemies or beliefs that are contrary to the truth in God.
1]. THE NEED TO TAKE EVERY THOUGHT CAPTIVE. 10:5
Humans are responsible for what they think about in their minds. We may appreciate beauty but the mind must not let the thoughts turn to lust, as Jesus warned, “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” (Matthew 5:28). We are responsible for what we do with our thoughts. We can let them go off in wrong directions which may be unhelpful or even sinful. Somehow we have to learn to control what goes on in our minds.
St Paul has the answer given by God. “….take every thought captive to obey Christ.”
“Take captive” is from [aichmalōtizō; αἰχμαλωτίζω] meaning to lead away captive or to make captive. Paul used the word to describe the battle in the minds of humans due to the power of their old nature within them, “but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.” Romans 7:23. This makes him exclaim, “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” Romans 7:24. But he has an answer, “Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.” Romans7:25. The answer is to serve God with our mind and to look to Him to help us overcome the power of our flesh nature.
St Paul when he wrote to Timothy, used the same word when warning about false teachers“who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions. 7 always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth.” 2Timothy 3:6-7. They were captured because they were weak, carrying the burden of sins and being under the influence of their passions. They could never grasp the truth which would have set them free.
What is needed then for all humans, is the ability to get their thoughts in order by taking them captive and not allowing them to roam without direction. But there is another aspect to this truth.
2]. The Need To Take Every Thought Captive [TO OBEY CHRIST.] 10:5
It is not just enough for people to get hold of their thoughts. They also need to bring their thoughts captive to Christ. When Jesus was asked “What is the great commandment in the Law?” He replied, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37. To love God “with all the mind” means to let our thoughts dwell on Him; on the perfection of His character and on all the truths He taught and on the work He did. Jesus had said that He would send His Holy Spirit to lead His disciples into all truth. Joh 16:13. That is why St Paul makes this observation “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” Romans 8:5. It is necessary for all humans to learn to live according to the Spirit as part of loving God with all their minds. Only then can they know the truth and live out the implications of it.
We see how easy it is for humans to think naturally instead of seeing things as God describes them. There was a time in Jesus’ ministry when He told His disciples that He would shortly be killed and on the third day be raised. However Peter objected, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” It was natural for Peter to try to prevent Jesus from being put to death. However what he was saying was against the plan and purpose of God for Christ, whom God had destined to die for sinners. Jesus had to rebuke Peter and said to him, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” Matthew 16:23. Peter had to gain control over his thoughts and feelings and bring them into obedience to what Christ had said.
It is easy for humans to be conformed to the world’s way of thinking and miss out on what God wants to do in His world. That’s why Paul encouraged his readers in Rome, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” Romans 12:2. What God wants is for humans not to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by having their minds renewed. Then they will be able to, by testing, “discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. “Romans 12:3. It is impossible for unbelievers to fully understand the will of God for as Paul wrote to Titus, “To the pure, all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure; but both their minds and their consciences are defiled.” Titus 1:15. A defiled mind and conscience cannot comprehend the perfection of God and His ways.
We have said above that it’s not enough just to take our thoughts captive but we also have to bring them into obedience to Christ. How do we go about doing that?
Taking our thoughts captive to Christ
When we become conscious of a re-occurring thought, we need to ask the Lord, “Is this from You or does it come from my fallen nature?“
“Is there any biblical principle to guide me here?”
If the thought is of a conversation where we were belittled or made to feel terrible, we can choose to forgive the person who said it and we can ask the Lord to break the power of that thought in our minds. If the thought re-occurs we can thank the Lord that He has heard our prayer and is breaking its power in our minds. We can also think of some biblical truth that affirms who we are in Christ and bring that truth into our minds whenever a similar thought occurs.
For example, the Bible tells us that as believers we are raised with Christ and made to sit with Him in the heavenly places. “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.“ Ephesians 2:4-10.
Reflecting on such a passage reminds us of God’s incredible grace towards us and that our salvation is by His grace alone. This should humble us and make us determined to live for the Lord so that He can do in and through us what pleases Him.
So having a picture of us sitting with Christ at the right hand of God should be an encouraging but humbling picture to hold in our minds whenever we feel down or pressurised.
There may be times when we feel deserted and alone and think there is no one around us to help us. Instead of the “Poor little me!” thought that comes to mind we can affirm this truth, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Heb13:5. We will never be forsaken by the Good Shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. We can picture ourselves as a sheep lying safely across the shoulders of a rejoicing Good Shepherd as He brings us home.
Whenever we feel unappreciated or unloved we can affirm this truth, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39.
His love is there for us. Always! Everywhere! For ever! Nothing and no one can ever separate us from His love!
I’m sure there is great value in counsellors encouraging their clients to take control of their thoughts. We all need to do that lest we lose control of our minds and we suffer from mental breakdowns. But we can’t empty our minds. We have to fill them with something. The best thing we can do is to fill our minds with truths from God’s Word or with pictures inspired by those truths. As Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you hold to my teaching, [taking your thoughts captive to Christ] you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” John 8:31-32.
Blog No.497 posted on Friday 08 September 2023.
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About Jim Holbeck
Once an Industrial Chemist working for the Queensland Government but later an Anglican minister in Brisbane, Armidale and Sydney. Last position for eighteen years before retirement in 2006 was as the Leader of the Healing Ministry at St Andrew's Cathedral Sydney.