Have you ever heard someone say, “You need to take every thought captive”? It is commonly said around the world every day. It speaks to the battles we have in our minds because we face temptation so often. The typical idea is to take that thought to Jesus to deal with it. That is not wrong, but what if deepening your understanding can help you even more? Let’s take a look.
When Paul wrote this to the Corinthian church, he was defending the ministry God had given him. False teachers had said the Christians there could not believe Paul’s preaching about Jesus because he was not a real apostle.
Today, some are also critical of those who share the New Covenant. They teach a hybrid of law and grace, two identities instead of one, and try-harder Christianity. It is why so many Christians struggle to believe God loves and accepts them. It can even cause some to have mental, emotional, and relational struggles. Yet, it never helps them live free in Christ.
Here is the Scripture people are referring to. “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.” 2 Corinthians 10:5 NASB In his preaching, Paul is taking every false belief about God, who we are, and how to live to the obedience of Christ. If those do not line up, he was going to correct them.
To understand how we can take our own thoughts captive, we need to grasp what the obedience of Christ entails. His obedience means His death on the cross, His burial in the grave, and His resurrection from the dead. It is also a reference to us being in Him on the cross, in the grave, and in the resurrection. To take our thoughts captive means recognizing any thoughts that are contrary to what He did for us and to us.
When life goes sideways, do you ever have the thought that God is punishing you? When you compare that to the obedience of Christ, you will remember that God will never punish you because He was satisfied with Jesus’ death. Do you ever think, God must be so disappointed with me? Compare that to the obedience of Christ, and you will realize Jesus died for every disappointment. When the thought “I’m not enough” intrudes on your mind, Jesus’ resurrection reminds you that because you were not enough, He is in you, making you enough. When you are tempted to gossip, Jesus’ obedience reminds you that you are not a gossip in Him. When tempted to look at porn, Jesus’ obedience says, that is not who you are in Him. When tempted to get stuck in worry, Jesus’ obedience tells you that you are not a worrier in Christ.
The obedience of Jesus was so magnificent that you are a complete, perfect, holy, righteous, forgiven, lovable, and acceptable as a child of God. As you practice taking every thought to His obedience, you will find yourself living freer and freer in Christ!
