September 28th, 2013
2 Corinthians 10:5 — Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
Sometimes a small hint — from a friend, or a preacher or a commentator will bring an idea into focus, and pull several scriptures together to create a new understanding. It is the process of scripture casting light on scripture. I think that happened for me today — so these thoughts are going, I suppose, to be quotation heavy, but I hope that by the end the linkage will make sense!
As well as the one at the head, consider these scriptures:
These four scriptures were, for me, the lights. The verse they illuminated was a “Verse Of The Day” in a devotional reading for Myra and Me this morning. It’s a really familiar verse, and I thought I had a pretty good handle on it (silly me!):
Ephesians 6:12 — For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
It’s one of those verses that we must have read through a dozen times, but for some reason this morning it tugged at Myra’s attention and she asked me about it.
My first response was to point out that just as there are angelic powers, so there are demonic powers. Just as there are greater and lesser angels, so there are greater and lesser demons. (I might not have put it quite so clearly). Myra seemed happy, and on we went. But there was still something in the back of my mind.
I’m blessed to have quite a few books in my “study”. I have some favorite commentaries — reliable old friends if you like — and I thought I’d go consult them. It was Matthew Poole who shone the lights for me. (For anyone who doesn’t know Matthew Poole, Charles Spurgeon said, “If I must have only one commentary, and had read Matthew Henry as I have, I do not know but what I should choose Poole.” – I cannot think of a better recommendation.)
Poole had a note about Ephesians 12:6 that said of the rulers of the darkness of this world, “either that rule in the dark air, where God permits them to be for the punishment of men; … or rather, that rule in the dark places of the earth, the dark minds of men, and have their rule over them by reason of the darkness that is in them;”
It was that comment that turned some lights on for me. And maybe this is all obvious to you …
The main organ of sin is the heart — the mind, if you will. Sin is conceived in the heart. It proceeds from the heart. The battle against darkness is the battle against the darkness in our own hearts. All of these verses are driving at that same point. The “every thought” that is to be brought into captivity is every thought that would willfully oppose Christ. It is the dark rebellion that lurks in every human heart. The darkness of this world. The dark empire of the mind that is still enslaved to the demonic principalities, still subject to satan.
I am blessed by the way good guides can show the way scripture supports scripture and light reinforces light to help in the battle against the dark.