Take Thoughts Captive

Scripture reading: 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

“Knowing their thoughts, he said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no city or house divided against itself will stand” (Matthew 12:23).  The spirit of division can work against unity within the church and relationships. A “spirit of division” is what the evil one desires; it stands in contrast to the unity of the Spirit that comes through Christ (Eph. 4:3).

2 Corinthians 10:5 says, “We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Did you catch that last line? We are called to take every thought captive to make it obedient to Christ. Are your thoughts obedient to Christ? Are they in line with the character of God? The battlefield is the mind. In order to move towards a place of unity, the work must start with personal thoughts. Each individual needs to take thoughts captive and filter each thought through a lens: Is this thought of the flesh or of the Spirit? Does this thought lead to a place of unity or division? Unity does not always mean sameness. God loves difference; just take a look at creation. But unity does require like-mindedness in Christ. 

Our thoughts should resemble that of Christ, as Paul explains: “Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves” (Philippians 2:2-3). The way to maintain unity is to remember we are like-minded in our pursuit of becoming more like Christ. With a pursuit of humility and valuing others above ourselves we can walk in the Spirit rather than in the flesh. When an individual puts his or her own needs or desires above others or above God, the enemy seeks a foothold and causes destruction and division.

It is importance to stress that dealing with a “spirit of division” from a place of humility and addressing division through the conduct presented in Matthew 18. Again, this passage speaks of humility: “Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (verse 4). The chapter continues on to address sin in the church: “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over” (verse 15). This provides a clear perspective to maintain when dealing with sin or perceived sin. We must remember that ultimately the problem is sin, which should be addressed directly and from a place of humility. This decreases the chance for pride or judgment to seep in, but it also emphasizes the importance of being mindful of our own thoughts as we address sin.

We must remember that ultimately, "our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but... against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (Ephesians 6:12). We are dealing with a spiritual battle. We must prepare by putting on the armor of God, claiming a rhema word and maintaining a position of humility filtering our thoughts and taking them captive through our interactions.