“For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” 2 Corinthians 10:4,5
The battle for the mind began in the garden of Eden. It was to Eve’s mind that the attack was first ordered, and this, by asking: “Hath God said?” (Genesis 3:1) This is the great contested issue in the mind of sinful man, “Has God truly spoken,” “Has the eternal God spoken to me,” and finally, “If He has, what did He say?”
When Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, there to be tempted by the Devil, the Lord made it very clear that the issue was one of the Word of God. His answer to Satan concerning changing stones into bread, was simple, and straight to the point: “It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by EVERY WORD OF GOD.” (Luke 4:4) Very subtly, the serpent sought to alter what God had said, either by dealing with the intent of the word, or later in the temptations, to mount a frontal, direct attack on the matter of God speaking. Jesus always answered Satan with the Scriptures, not just in an effort to correct the lie of the temptation, but to put things right, and keep them right, from God’s perspective. There was not a moment when Jesus was not filled with the TRUTH of God, according to the word of God, in His mind. Every attempt of Satan, and sinful man, never breached the citadel of truth and righteousness that was His mind. Thus, the blessing of the Father was fully upon Him, as it was always according to the truth.
The believer in Christ is different from Christ, in that his mind is intermingled with truth and that which is not truth. When the believer was not saved, the Spirit of truth did not reside in him, and though he may have known a certain amount of truth, his experience was primarily one of being manipulated by the father of lies, the devil. In the book of Proverbs, we find declared a sobering reality: “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he.” (Proverbs 23:7) The man who has predominantly the lies of Satan in his mind, and not the word of God, will resemble in action and deed to the father of lies. As long as the enemy of God deceives the sinner by making him believe the lie, the sinner remains his slave, and will accomplish his will. It is for this reason that we discover the importance of hearing the Gospel, for in that Gospel is the truth, not only about Christ and the Father, but truths which are accompanied with power to enable the sinner to believe the truth, and be freed by the truth from sin. This is why the enemy does not want a lost world to hear the Gospel, especially the Gospel spoken in the demonstration and power of the Spirit. For by the preaching or teaching of that message of truth, light comes to the soul, to awaken the soul to its need of God, and of Christ, to be saved from the deception of the enemy.
How then is the believer to wage war in his mind, and on this battlefield conquer the enemy, reigning victoriously in life? The first thing we need to realize, which is the truth, is that “…we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Cor. 2:16) What does this mean? The moment that the believer was placed into Christ at the moment of his conversion, was the moment that all that is IN Christ became his own. An infinite resouce of truth and power were given the believer at that moment. But then comes the working out of this blessed reality. It is then that the believer is to refuse, reject, and renouce ALL “…imaginations (reasonings), and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God.” ( 2 Cor. 10:55) All is possible by the Spirit.
Dear Father, Teach us Thy truth. In Jesus’ name, Amen.