Casting Down Imaginations

Today’s Passages – 2 Corinthians 6 – 10; Proverbs 6

(Second Milers also read – Psalm 26 – 30)

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (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, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;” – (2 Corinthians 10:3-5 )

I have always been fascinated by verse 5 of 2 Corinthians 10, but I must confess that I don’t think that I fully understand all that this verse is teaching us. Yet, I find myself using this verse often as I minister to people. The word “imaginations” can mean thoughts, ideas, or philosophies. There are many philosophies and ideas coming from the world today that are contrary to the teaching of the Scripture. There are also many thoughts that enter into our mind, or are even conjured up in our minds that are simply not true. We must be careful to dismiss, or cast down any thought or idea that is contrary to Scripture, and we must also try not to let thoughts develop in our minds that may not be true. I have had thoughts in my mind about people that weren’t true. For example, I have many times imagined that a person was mad at me, but later discovered that my perception was wrong. Our minds can often deceive us. I sometimes wonder if it isn’t the evil one putting some of these false notions into our heads.

The verse tells us that we are to “bring into captivity every thought”, which means we are to capture or control what we think about. You might think that your thought life is beyond your control, but to a large degree it isn’t. We can certainly have better control over what enters into our thoughts. Consider what the Scriptures command us in Philippians 4:8:

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.” – (Philippians 4:8)

What do you think about? God wants us to control what we think about. We need to stop feeding our minds with all of the “high things” that come from the lost world, and instead replace them with good things. The Bible is a good thing. The songs of God are also good to meditate on. Edifying communication from a godly friend will produce good thoughts. When you find your mind wandering into forbidden areas, try quoting Scripture. Don’t let your imagination run wild.

There is a lot more in these verses that we could talk about, but perhaps you can use what has been said as a seed thought to help you develop a better understanding of how to submit your thoughts to the lordship of Christ.

Let us know if you have any helpful thoughts or suggestions regarding this topic.