SPIRITUAL BATTLE: AN EXEGETICAL STUDY
2 Corinthians 10:3-5 — Weapons Mighty in God

Executive Summary

This is the closing document of a five-part exegetical study of spiritual battle, and it has to answer a question the previous four raised but could not settle. Ephesians 6, 1 Peter 5, and James 4 all describe a believer who holds ground — armed, clothed, planted, resisting an assault already underway. That is a defensive picture, and a class that has spent four weeks inside it will eventually ask the obvious question: is standing firm all there is? Does the New Testament ever put a believer on the attack, and if so, against what?

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 is where Paul answers. The central question this passage raises is therefore not how do I hold my position? but what am I authorized to demolish, and with what? — and the answer turns out to be far more specific than the popular use of these verses suggests.

The argument moves in three steps. First, a concession and a distinction (v. 3). Paul grants that believers still “walk in the flesh” — they are ordinary, embodied, mortal people — while denying that they “war according to the flesh.” The two prepositions carry the whole distinction: the sphere of the conflict is human, its standard is not. Second, a claim about the weapons (v. 4). They are not σαρκικά, not characteristic of the flesh, but δυνατά, strong — and their strength is located outside the one who wields them. Third, the target and the goal (vv. 4-5). Paul names three things to be dismantled: ὀχυρώματα, fortresses; λογισμοί, pieces of reasoning; and every ὕψωμα, every barrier lifted up against the knowledge of God. Then he names the aim, and it is not an empty ruin: every νόημα, every thought, taken captive and brought into the obedience of Christ.

Two lexical findings sharpen the teaching considerably. The verb behind “casting down arguments” is καθαιρέω, and the scholarly lexicon that lists this exact phrase gives the figurative sense as to refute — which means Paul’s demolition is an argumentative act, not a mystical one. And the verb behind “we do not war” is στρατεύω, whose metaphorical New Testament occurrences include James 4:1 and 1 Peter 2:11 — a genuine lexical thread back into two of this study’s other letters.

One honest admission belongs here, because it shapes how this passage is used. This text does not share the series’ key vocabulary: ἀνθίστημι (“withstand”) and ἐνδύω (“put on”) are simply absent from it. Its place in this study is thematic, not lexical, and the study is stronger for saying so plainly rather than manufacturing a word-link that is not there.

The practical bottom line: some wrong thinking in a believer’s life is not a passing thought but a fortified position, built up over years and defended by reflex. Scripture authorizes its demolition — by weapons whose power is God’s and not the believer’s — and it defines success not as an emptied mind but as a captured one, newly loyal to Christ.

Introduction

This is the fifth and final document in a five-part exegetical study of spiritual battle. The first four studies traced a consistent vocabulary of standing and withstanding — ἵστημι and its compound ἀνθίστημι, appearing at Ephesians 6:11, 13; 1 Peter 5:9; and James 4:7 — and of putting on, ἐνδύω and its relative ἐγκομβόομαι, at Ephesians 6:11, 14 and 1 Peter 5:5.[1] This final study, 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, is included for a different reason, and honesty about that difference matters: this short passage does not itself use ἀνθίστημι, ἵστημι, or ἐνδύω. What it contributes instead is the New Testament’s clearest statement of the offensive side of spiritual conflict — weapons, not armor — and a specific, memorable target: fortified positions of thought that must be pulled down, and every thought brought captive to Christ. Read alongside the other four passages, it completes the picture. A believer who stands firm, clothed in God’s armor (Ephesians 6; 1 Peter 5), resisting an enemy who flees (1 Peter 5; James 4), also wages an active campaign against entrenched patterns of thinking that exalt themselves against the knowledge of God.

A word about sources is in order, because it governs what this study can and cannot claim. Definitions of Greek words here are taken from scholarly lexicons — Liddell-Scott-Jones and Abbott-Smith’s A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament — and not from Strong’s Concordance, which is a numbering system and an index rather than a lexicon and is not an authority for the meaning of a word. Strong’s numbers appear in this document only so that a reader can look a lemma up. The standard modern lexicon for New Testament Greek, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG), together with TDNT and NIDNTTE, is in print or behind a paywall and could not be consulted directly; where those works carry the authoritative entry, the footnote says so plainly rather than inventing a page number. Thayer’s Greek Lexicon is used at exactly one point, where nothing better was retrievable, and its age is flagged there.

This revision pass also ran into a hard limit on web retrieval partway through, and that limit is disclosed rather than papered over. Four Liddell-Scott-Jones entries were retrieved and read directly; several others were not, and nothing is attributed to LSJ for those words. Abbott-Smith was consulted in full from a digital edition of the 1922 text held locally. Mounce’s dictionary, Vine’s, and the studylight.org lexicon pages could not be reached at all during this pass. The Albert Barnes material below was gathered in the earlier preparation of this document from biblehub.com, where it is public domain and freely verifiable, but it could not be re-verified during this revision; that is stated in each footnote and in the bibliography.[2] Where an approved source’s exact wording on this passage could not be located and verified, that gap is stated honestly rather than filled, consistent with this project’s hallucination policy.

Overview

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

Paul writes this passage while defending his own apostolic authority against rival teachers in Corinth who judged him by worldly standards of impressive rhetoric and physical presence. Those standards are not left to inference; Paul quotes them. He opens the chapter conceding the charge as his critics frame it: “Now I, Paul, myself am pleading with you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—who in presence am lowly among you, but being absent am bold toward you. But I beg you that when I am present I may not be bold with that confidence by which I intend to be bold against some, who think of us as if we walked according to the flesh” (2 Corinthians 10:1-2). A few verses later he repeats the accusation in his opponents’ own voice: “For his letters,” they say, “are weighty and powerful, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech contemptible” (2 Corinthians 10:10).[3]

That is the charge: Paul is unimpressive in the room. His response is not to dispute the assessment but to reframe the entire conflict. Whatever his critics imagine they are fighting, Paul is engaged in a different kind of war altogether — one fought with weapons that are not human in origin, aimed not at people but at ideas, and specifically at ideas that set themselves up as rivals to the true knowledge of God.

The passage moves in a tight logical sequence: a concession (v. 3 — believers remain embodied, “in the flesh,” even though their warfare is not fleshly); a claim about the weapons’ true source and power (v. 4); and a threefold description of the target and the goal (vv. 4-5 — strongholds pulled down, arguments cast down, thoughts taken captive).

Two verbs frame the concession, and Abbott-Smith’s entries for both cite this very context. περιπατέω, “to walk,” carries in Paul’s usage the metaphorical sense of living or conducting one’s life, and Abbott-Smith lists 2 Corinthians 10:3 under its construction with ἐν and 2 Corinthians 10:2 under its construction with κατά — precisely the two prepositions on which verse 3 turns.[4] στρατεύω, the verb translated “war,” is used of soldiers serving in a campaign, and Abbott-Smith lists its metaphorical use “of spiritual conflict” at 2 Corinthians 10:3, 1 Timothy 1:18, James 4:1, and 1 Peter 2:11.[5] That last list is worth pausing over in a class working through this whole series: whatever else is or is not shared between these letters, the verb Paul uses for waging this war is the same verb James reaches for when he asks, “Where do wars and fights come from among you?” (James 4:1) — the sentence immediately preceding the passage studied in the fourth document of this series.

Word Studies

ὅπλον — tool, implement; in the plural, arms and weapons

“The weapons of our warfare” (v. 4). The noun is ὅπλον (#G3696), and the shape of its entry matters, because the word is broader than “weapon.”

Liddell-Scott-Jones opens the entry with the general sense “tool, implement,” noting that the word is used mostly in the plural, ὅπλα. The senses then run outward from there: a ship’s tackle and tackling, especially ropes and halyards, in Homer’s Odyssey and in Hesiod; tools strictly so called, in Homer especially smiths’ tools; and in the singular such varied objects as a sickle (ὅπλον ἀρούρης), a staff (ὅπλον γεροντικόν), and a wine-flask (δείπνων ὅπλον). Only at the third main sense does LSJ arrive at the military use — in the plural, implements of war, arms and armour — noting also the large shield from which heavily-armed infantry took their name, ὁπλῖται.[6]

Abbott-Smith gives the New Testament data compactly: “a tool, implement, instrument,” citing the striking Pauline phrase ὅπλα ἀδικίας, set opposite ὅπλα δικαιοσύνης, at Romans 6:13; then, “freq., in pl., arms, weapons,” listing John 18:3 and 2 Corinthians 10:4, along with the metaphorical “armour of light” at Romans 13:12 and “the armour of righteousness” at 2 Corinthians 6:7.[7]

Two things follow. First, ὅπλον is a category word, not the name of a particular piece of equipment. Paul is making a claim about the whole inventory available to him, not identifying individual items the way Ephesians 6 does. Second — and this is a genuine link between the two passages rather than a forced one — the “whole armor” of Ephesians 6:11, 13 is πανοπλία, a compound Abbott-Smith derives directly from πᾶς and ὅπλον: all the ὅπλα together.[8] The word behind 2 Corinthians 10:4 is the root of the word behind Ephesians 6:11.

The contrast with Ephesians is one of specificity, not of substance. Where Paul there names a particular blade — μάχαιρα, which Abbott-Smith defines as “a short sword or dagger,” expressly distinguishing it from ῥομφαία, “a large broad sword,” and from ξίφος, “a straight sword for thrusting” — here he names no individual item at all.[9] It is worth correcting a claim that circulates in popular teaching and appeared in an earlier draft of this series: the μάχαιρα was not primarily a stabbing weapon. Abbott-Smith reserves thrusting expressly for the ξίφος, and the lexical point that actually bears on the passages is one of scale — the μάχαιρα is a short-range blade, suited to close engagement.

σαρκικός — belonging to the flesh, fleshly, carnal

“Not carnal” (v. 4). The adjective is σαρκικός (#G4559).

Abbott-Smith derives it from σάρξ and equates it with the Latin carnalis: “associated with or pertaining to the flesh, fleshly, carnal,” citing Romans 15:27 and 1 Corinthians 9:11; then, “in a more ethical sense, of the nature of the flesh, under the control of its appetites, fleshly, carnal, sensual” — adding the important caution that this sense includes “more than mere sensuality” — and listing under it 1 Corinthians 3:3, 2 Corinthians 1:12, 2 Corinthians 10:4, and 1 Peter 2:11.[10]

The precision here is worth a moment in class, because English “carnal” has drifted toward meaning something narrowly sexual. It does not mean that here. Abbott-Smith’s own cross-reference makes the point sharper still. The neighboring adjective σάρκινος is the word for something made of flesh; Abbott-Smith notes that “the termination -ινος denot[es] the substance or material of a thing,” and cites Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament and Lightfoot for the distinction.[11] By contrast, σαρκικός in -ικος describes what characterizes the flesh — its standard, its manner, its way of operating. Paul is not denying that his weapons are physical objects. He is denying that they operate by the flesh’s logic.

That denial answers his opponents’ own standard of judgment directly. They measure him by worldly criteria — bodily presence, eloquence, force of personality (2 Corinthians 10:10) — and Paul’s whole argument is that the weapons that actually matter in this conflict operate on an entirely different plane.

δυνατός — strong, mighty, powerful

“But mighty in God” (v. 4). The adjective is δυνατός (#G1415), formed from δύναμαι, “to be able.”

Abbott-Smith gives “strong, mighty, powerful,” ranging across the absolute use (Luke 1:49), the substantival “the chief men” (Acts 25:5), and the sense of spiritual strength at Romans 15:1 and 2 Corinthians 12:10; 13:9. He then lists the word’s constructions, and among them, “seq. … πρός, II Co 10:4” — that is, the construction in which the adjective is followed by πρός and a noun of purpose, which is exactly what stands in this verse: the weapons are δυνατά for the pulling down of strongholds.[12]

The phrase in question, δυνατὰ τῷ Θεῷ, is a dative construction most naturally read as locating the weapons’ power in God as its source — “powerful by God,” or “powerful with reference to God” — rather than in any quality of the one wielding them.[13] Barnes draws the same conclusion from the English: Christian weapons rely on “truth and righteousness,” and “their strength is derived from God alone,” not on “eloquence, talent, learning, or wealth.”[14]

This connects directly to the theme established across this study’s other four passages, and the connection is a matter of substance rather than of shared vocabulary. Ephesians 6 opens its own treatment of spiritual conflict with the identical insistence: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). Peter grounds resistance in something other than native courage: “Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world” (1 Peter 5:9). James places submission to God logically prior to resistance of the devil: “Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (James 4:7). Every passage in this study, by a different route, arrives at the same insistence: whatever weapons or armor Scripture describes, their effectiveness is never located in the believer’s own native resources.

ὀχύρωμα — a stronghold, a fortress

“For pulling down strongholds” (v. 4). The noun is ὀχύρωμα (#G3794).

Liddell-Scott-Jones defines it as a fortified place, stronghold, fortress — and, in some usage, a prison — with citations from Xenophon, the Septuagint, and the papyri.[15] Abbott-Smith derives it from the verb ὀχυρόω, “to fortify, make firm,” and gives “a stronghold, fortress,” citing the Septuagint at Psalm 89:40 and Nahum 3:12, 14. He then adds the sense that matters most here: in the Septuagint and the New Testament the word is used metaphorically “of that in which confidence is placed,” citing Proverbs 10:29 and 21:22 — and it is under that metaphorical heading that he lists 2 Corinthians 10:4.[16] Thayer’s, older and used here only because it speaks directly to the figure Paul is drawing, glosses the tropical sense as “anything on which one relies,” specifying the arguments and reasonings by which a disputant fortifies an opinion and defends it against an opponent.[17]

The noun in the phrase “for pulling down” is καθαίρεσις, which Abbott-Smith defines as “a pulling down, destruction,” listing this very phrase — καθαίρεσις ὀχυρωμάτων, 2 Corinthians 10:4 — and noting that Paul sets the same noun opposite οἰκοδομή, “building up,” at 2 Corinthians 10:8 and 13:10.[18] That opposition is worth keeping in view: in the same letter, and about the same apostolic authority, Paul insists that the tearing down serves a building up.

Barnes fills out what such a fortified position might be in practice: obstacles resembling a fortress, including “sins of his heart” reinforced by long habit, “the wickedness of the world,” and “false philosophy,” each of which must be “battered down and laid in ruins.”[19] The image is deliberately military and architectural. A stronghold is not a passing thought; it is an entrenched, defended position — a settled pattern of thinking reinforced over time against correction.

λογισμός — a calculation, a reasoning, an argument

“Casting down arguments” (v. 5). The noun is λογισμός (#G3053), formed from λογίζομαι, “to reckon.”

Liddell-Scott-Jones arranges the classical entry along a line that runs from arithmetic to argument. The first sense is “counting, calculation,” with citations from Thucydides, Plato, and Aeschines; in the plural it can mean numbers or arithmetic (Xenophon, Memorabilia 4.7.8; Plato, Protagoras 318e), and it carries the commercial sense “account, reckoning” (Lysias 32.19; Demosthenes 18.113), including the idiom λογισμὸν λαμβάνειν for holding an audit (Aristotle, Politics 1322b9). The second main branch moves to the mental act: “calculation, reasoning,” frequent in Thucydides and Demosthenes, and then “reason, argument” (Xenophon, Hellenica 3.4.27; Plato, Timaeus 34a). A third sense gives the faculty itself, “reasoning power,” frequent in Aristotle.[20] Abbott-Smith gives the New Testament sense simply as “a reasoning, thought,” citing Romans 2:15 and 2 Corinthians 10:5.[21]

So a λογισμός is a piece of reasoning — a calculation someone has run, a train of thought, a rationalization constructed to justify a position. It may be built by a false teacher, by a surrounding culture, or by the believer’s own mind.

The verb Paul pairs with it deserves as much attention as the noun, and here the lexicon yields something the English translation cannot show. The participle rendered “casting down” is from καθαιρέω — the same root as the καθαίρεσις of verse 4. Abbott-Smith gives the literal senses first (“to take down,” including the technical use for removing a body after crucifixion; then “to put down by force, pull down, destroy”), and then adds a distinct figurative sense with a single supporting citation: “fig., to refute: λογισμούς, II Co 10:5.”[22]

That is a significant and clarifying finding for a teaching setting. On the authority of the lexicon’s own classification, “casting down arguments” is a refuting of arguments. Paul’s demolition, at this point in the sentence, is an argumentative act — the answering of bad reasoning with better — not a mystical or purely internal one. Whatever else spiritual warfare involves, this clause puts a believer to work on the actual content of what is being thought and said.

ὕψωμα — a height; that which is lifted up as a barrier

“And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” (v. 5). The noun is ὕψωμα (#G5313).

Liddell-Scott-Jones records the general sense “elevation, height,” attested in Pseudo-Phocylides and in Philo of the height of the air; an anatomical use in Galen for the bridge of the nose; an astronomical use for the exaltation of a heavenly body, set opposite ταπείνωμα, its depression (Plutarch; Sextus Empiricus); and a metaphorical sense of exaltation or pride in Vettius Valens. The entry records both New Testament occurrences, Romans 8:39 and 2 Corinthians 10:5.[23]

Abbott-Smith separates those two occurrences by sense, and the second is exactly what Paul’s image requires: “height: Ro 8:39; that which is lifted up, a barrier: II Co 10:5.”[24] The participle attached to it, “that exalts itself,” is from ἐπαίρω, “to lift up, raise”; Abbott-Smith gives the passive metaphorical sense as “to be lifted up with pride,” citing 2 Corinthians 10:5 and 11:20.[25] And the phrase it opposes, “the knowledge of God,” is γνῶσις with the objective genitive; Abbott-Smith lists τῆς γνώσεως τοῦ θεοῦ at 2 Corinthians 2:14 and 10:5, noting that in the New Testament γνῶσις is used “specially of the kn[owledge] of spiritual truth.”[26]

Put those three entries together and the image intensifies the stronghold metaphor rather than repeating it. This is not merely a fortified position but something raised up — a rampart, and one built by pride, erected specifically to block the knowledge of God from reaching a particular area of thought. Barnes reads it as “systems of false philosophy” and “reasonings of the enemies of the gospel” that exalt human pride in direct opposition to God’s own knowledge.[27]

αἰχμαλωτίζω — to take or lead captive

“Bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (v. 5). The climactic verb is αἰχμαλωτίζω (#G163), and it describes not demolition but capture and reassignment.

Abbott-Smith derives it from the noun αἰχμάλωτος and notes that it belongs to later Greek, standing in for the classical construction αἰχμάλωτον ποιῶ (or ἄγω): “to take or lead captive,” used literally with εἰς at Luke 21:24 and metaphorically at Romans 7:23, 2 Corinthians 10:5, and 2 Timothy 3:6.[28] The etymology of the underlying noun is worth giving to a class, because it fixes the picture. Abbott-Smith derives αἰχμάλωτος from αἰχμή, “a spear,” and ἁλίσκομαι, “to be taken” — a captive is literally one taken at spear-point, a prisoner of war.[29]

What is taken captive is πᾶν νόημα, “every thought.” Abbott-Smith gives νόημα as “a thought, purpose, design,” citing 2 Corinthians 2:11; 10:5; 11:3 and Philippians 4:7, and records a further sense by metonymy, “of the mind,” at 2 Corinthians 3:14 and 4:4.[30] Barnes takes the clause in that fuller direction: every human faculty — “reason, imagination, memory, judgment” — is meant to become “subject to the control” of Christ, transformed like conquered cities under divine authority.[31]

Where the captive is taken is “into the obedience of Christ,” εἰς τὴν ὑπακοὴν τοῦ Χριστοῦ. Abbott-Smith defines ὑπακοή as “obedience,” set opposite παρακοή, “disobedience,” and lists τοῦ Χριστοῦ at 2 Corinthians 10:5. He also records a fact about the word that is easy to miss and useful to mention: ὑπακοή “is not found except in LXX, NT and eccl[esiastical]” writings — it is not a classical Greek word at all, but one the Greek Bible and the church put into service.[32]

This final image supplies the passage’s true goal, and its precision is worth pausing on. The aim of demolishing a stronghold of thought is not to leave the ground empty but to bring what stood there under a new obedience. Destruction is not the endpoint. A captured mind, newly loyal to its true King, is.

Synthesis: Weapons, Armor, and This Study’s Two Themes

Because this passage does not itself use ἀνθίστημι, ἵστημι, or ἐνδύω, its place in this study depends on tracing a thematic rather than a strictly lexical connection — and that is worth stating carefully rather than overstating.

The absence is real and should be named from the front of a classroom. ἀνθίστημι, the compound of ἀντί and ἵστημι, is the shared verb of Ephesians 6:13, James 4:7, and 1 Peter 5:9 — and that shared occurrence is not an assertion but a list one can read off the page of a lexicon: Abbott-Smith’s own entry for ἀνθίστημι gives “to withstand, resist, oppose” and enumerates its New Testament occurrences, Ephesians 6:13, James 4:7, and 1 Peter 5:9 among them.[33] That verb does not occur in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Neither does ἐνδύω, the verb of “putting on” that governs the armor in Ephesians 6:11, 14 and stands behind Peter’s related ἐγκομβόομαι at 1 Peter 5:5.[34] A study that claimed otherwise would be manufacturing a link that is not in the text, and the claim would not survive a reader with a concordance.

What connects the passages instead is substance, plus one genuine lexical thread that runs a different direction. Ephesians 6:10-20 describes armor — defensive equipment put on so that a believer can stand and withstand an assault already underway. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 describes ὅπλα used to pull down, cast down, and take captive — an offensive action, not a defensive posture. The two are complementary rather than identical. Ephesians answers the question, “How does a believer hold a position against attack?” 2 Corinthians answers a different one: “How does a believer actively dismantle an entrenched, false way of thinking — whether it is the believer’s own, or one being pressed on him by a false teacher or a surrounding culture?” Both passages insist, in different vocabulary, on the same non-negotiable point traced across all five studies: the resources for both defense and offense come from God, not from the believer’s own strength, eloquence, or willpower.

The lexical thread that does exist runs through στρατεύω rather than through ἀνθίστημι. The verb of verse 3, “we do not war,” is used metaphorically of spiritual conflict at 2 Corinthians 10:3, James 4:1, and 1 Peter 2:11 — Paul, James, and Peter all reaching for the same soldiering verb for the same kind of struggle. It is a thinner thread than the ἀνθίστημι line that binds the first four studies, and it should be presented as thinner. But it is a real one, and it is verifiable.

It is also worth noting, for a class working through the whole series, that 2 Corinthians 10:5’s “obedience of Christ” gives concrete shape to what standing firm and resisting actually accomplish. Ephesians 6 and 1 Peter 5 describe the posture; James 4 describes the promise, that the devil flees; 2 Corinthians 10 describes the positive outcome once resistance succeeds — not merely an absence of attack, but a mind actively brought under Christ’s own obedience.

Commentary Survey

Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament, on 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. Barnes is the one commentator whose treatment of this passage could be quoted directly in the preparation of this document, and his exposition is unusually well suited to a teaching setting because he keeps pressing the abstractions toward examples.

On verse 3, “we do not war according to the flesh,” Barnes holds the concession and the denial together: believers are “mortal like other people” and subject to ordinary human frailty, and yet they “were not actuated by worldly views or policy” in their spiritual conflict.[35] That is precisely the ἐν σαρκί / κατὰ σάρκα distinction the Greek carries, stated pastorally.

On verse 4, Barnes locates the weapons’ strength outside the one who carries them and names what it is not — a list that reads as a direct rebuke of the Corinthian critics’ standard of judgment — and he then gives three concrete instances of what a “stronghold” is in practice: entrenched personal sin, the world’s wickedness, and false philosophy.[36]

On verse 5, Barnes moves from the systems demolished to the faculties reassigned, and the second half of that comment is the more valuable for teaching, because it refuses to let “bringing every thought into captivity” remain vague: reason, imagination, memory, and judgment are each named.[37]

David Guzik, Enduring Word Bible Commentary. Guzik’s commentary on 2 Corinthians 10 is freely available at enduringword.com and is a standard companion volume in this series, cited in the other four studies. It could not be reached during this revision pass, and nothing is attributed to it here.

Sources sought and not obtained. Searches in the earlier preparation of this document for a specific, page-numbered treatment of 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 from John MacArthur’s, Wayne Grudem’s, or Charles Ryrie’s published works, or from the New American Commentary or Pillar New Testament Commentary volumes on 2 Corinthians, did not turn up independently verifiable, quotable text. These are legitimate, standard evangelical sources on this project’s approved list. Nothing in this document is attributed to any of them, and any specific claim made in their name on this passage should be confirmed against the physical volumes before use in teaching.[38]

Practical and Devotional Application

Paul’s language of “strongholds” and “every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God” offers a directly usable diagnostic for personal reflection. Rather than treating all wrong thinking as equally casual or easily corrected, a believer can ask whether a particular pattern of thought has become genuinely fortified — reinforced by years of repetition, defended reflexively against correction, treated as simply “how I am” rather than as a position that can and should be pulled down.

The lexical work sharpens that reflection in two directions. Because καθαιρέω in this clause carries the sense to refute, the demolition Paul describes is not merely a matter of waiting for a feeling to lift; it involves actually answering the reasoning. A believer can write the argument down, state it in a sentence, and set Scripture against it — which is a far more tractable assignment than “stop thinking that.” And because the goal is captivity rather than vacancy, the passage supplies a practical test for any single thought in the moment it arises. Not merely “is this thought sinful?” but the more searching question: “is this thought currently obedient to Christ, or does it belong to a stronghold that still needs to be pulled down?”

Finally, the passage’s context is itself pastoral. Paul writes it while being told, to his face and behind his back, that he is unimpressive (2 Corinthians 10:10). He does not answer by becoming impressive. He answers by pointing to where the actual power in the conflict is located — which is exactly the counsel a believer needs who feels outmatched by an entrenched pattern of thought and has been trying to out-argue it alone.

Discussion Questions

1. Paul concedes that believers still “walk in the flesh” — that they are embodied, ordinary people — even though they do not “war according to the flesh.” Why might this distinction matter for how believers understand the nature of the conflict they are in?
2. Barnes lists three examples of what a “stronghold” might be: entrenched sin, the wickedness of the world, and false philosophy. Which of these three feels most relevant to a stronghold you have personally observed, in yourself or in someone else?
3. This passage describes offensive weapons — “pulling down,” “casting down,” “bringing into captivity” — rather than the defensive armor of Ephesians 6. Why might both postures, defensive standing and offensive demolition, be necessary in a complete picture of spiritual warfare?
4. The lexicon classifies “casting down arguments” under the figurative sense to refute. Does that change how you picture this verse being carried out in practice? What would refuting an argument look like, as opposed to merely resisting a feeling?
5. The passage’s final goal is not merely the destruction of wrong thinking but bringing thought “into captivity to the obedience of Christ” — a new, positive loyalty, not simply an emptied space. Why does this distinction matter pastorally?
6. Paul makes this argument in the specific context of defending his ministry against critics who judged him by worldly standards (2 Corinthians 10:1-2, 10). How does knowing this original context change or sharpen how you apply the passage to other kinds of conflict in your own life?

Analysis Questions

1. Identify one specific pattern of thought in your own life that functions like a genuine ὀχύρωμα — a fortified position, reinforced over time, resistant to correction, treated as simply who you are rather than as something that could be pulled down. Name it honestly.
2. Barnes notes that Christian weapons derive their strength “from God alone,” not from “eloquence, talent, learning, or wealth.” Where have you been tempted to rely on your own natural ability rather than on God’s power in a spiritual conflict?
3. Think of one recurring λογισμός — a rationalization or line of reasoning — that you use to justify a specific area of disobedience. Write it out as a single sentence. What Scripture actually refutes it?
4. The passage’s goal is a mind brought into “the obedience of Christ,” not merely an empty, corrected mind. Is there an area where you have successfully stopped a wrong pattern of thought but have not yet replaced it with active, positive obedience to Christ?
5. Paul wrote this passage while defending his own ministry against unfair, worldly criticism. Is there a current criticism or conflict in your life that you need to answer with these same weapons “mighty in God” rather than with purely human argument or self-defense?

Personal Evaluation Question

Having now studied this passage as the conclusion of a five-part study on standing, withstanding, and putting on the armor of God, what is the one stronghold in your own thinking — named as specifically and honestly as you can — that you sense God calling you to actively pull down, rather than merely continue to manage or tolerate? What would the first concrete step toward its demolition look like this week?

Sources Consulted

Directly Retrieved and Verified This Session

Abbott-Smith, G. A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament. 1st ed. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922. Entries for ὅπλον, πανοπλία, μάχαιρα, σαρκικός, σάρκινος, δυνατός, ὀχύρωμα, καθαίρεσις, καθαιρέω, λογισμός, ὕψωμα, ἐπαίρω, γνῶσις, αἰχμαλωτίζω, αἰχμάλωτος, νόημα, ὑπακοή, στρατεύω, περιπατέω, ἀνθίστημι, ἵστημι, ἐνδύω, and ἐγκομβόομαι. Public domain; consulted in the CrossWire TEI digital edition of the 1922 text (source scan: archive.org/details/manualgreeklexic00abborich), held locally in this project’s working files and read directly.

Liddell, Henry George, Robert Scott, and Henry Stuart Jones. A Greek-English Lexicon. Entries for ὅπλον, ὀχύρωμα, λογισμός, and ὕψωμα. Consulted at lsj.gr; the Perseus Digital Library copy of LSJ is closed to automated retrieval by its robots.txt, so lsj.gr was used.

Thayer, Joseph Henry. A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament. Entry for ὀχύρωμα, read in the Thayer section of the lsj.gr page for that headword. Thayer’s is used at one point only in this document, where no better accessible lexicon addresses the specific figure Paul is drawing; it predates the discovery and publication of the Koine papyri and reflects an older stage of lexicography.

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[1] G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1922), s.v. “ἵστημι.” Abbott-Smith gives the transitive senses “to make to stand, to place, set, set up, establish, appoint” and the intransitive “to stand, stand by, stand still,” and then a metaphorical sense directly relevant to this series: “to stand ready, stand firm, be steadfast,” listing 1 Corinthians 7:37; 10:12; Ephesians 6:11, 13, 14; Colossians 4:12, along with Romans 11:20 and 5:2. The entry closes with a list of the verb’s compounds, ἀνθίστημι among them. BDAG carries the authoritative modern entry; it is print/paywalled and was not retrieved. The BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[2] A note on method, given for the reader’s protection. Web retrieval in this revision session reached a hard usage limit partway through the work. Four Liddell-Scott-Jones entries (ὅπλον, ὀχύρωμα, λογισμός, ὕψωμα) and the Thayer section of the ὀχύρωμα page were retrieved and read before that point; nothing else was retrievable afterward. Abbott-Smith was read in full from a digital edition held locally, which is why it carries the weight of the word studies above. Every claim in this document that rests on a source is footnoted to the source actually read, and every source not read is listed as such in “Sources Consulted.”

[3] The NKJV wording of 2 Corinthians 10:1-2 and 10:10 given here could not be re-verified against biblegateway.com or biblehub.com during this revision pass, because the session’s web-retrieval limit had been reached. The quotations should be checked against a printed NKJV or biblegateway.com before use in teaching. The NKJV text of 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, Ephesians 6:10, 1 Peter 5:9, and James 4:7 quoted elsewhere in this document matches the wording verified in the companion documents of this series.

[4] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “περιπατέω”: literally “to walk”; then, metaphorically, “of living, passing one’s life, conducting oneself.” Among the constructions listed, the entry gives περιπατέω with ἐν at 2 Corinthians 4:2; 5:7; 10:3 (among many others), and περιπατέω with κατά and the accusative at Mark 7:5; Romans 8:4; 14:15; 1 Corinthians 3:3; and 2 Corinthians 10:2.

[5] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “στρατεύω,” derived from στρατός, “an encamped army”: used of a general, “to make war, do battle,” and chiefly of the soldiers serving under him, “to serve as a soldier,” citing Luke 3:14; 1 Corinthians 9:7; 2 Timothy 2:4. Then: “Metaph. … of spiritual conflict, to war, make war: II Co 10:3, I Ti 1:18, Ja 4:1, I Pe 2:11.” The related noun στρατεία, “the weapons of our warfare,” receives the same treatment: Abbott-Smith, s.v. “στρατεία,” gives “an expedition, a campaign, warfare,” and lists its metaphorical use at 2 Corinthians 10:4 and 1 Timothy 1:18.

[6] Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, and Henry Stuart Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, s.v. “ὅπλον,” consulted at lsj.gr. LSJ opens with “tool, implement, mostly in plural ὅπλα,” comparing ἔντεα and τεύχεα, and then divides the entry: sense I, a ship’s tackle and tackling, especially ropes and halyards, in Homer’s Odyssey and in Hesiod, with the singular used twice in Homer for a rope; sense II, tools strictly so called, in Homer especially smiths’ tools, with singular uses including ὅπλον ἀρούρης for a sickle, ὅπλον γεροντικόν for a staff, and δείπνων ὅπλον for a wine-flask; sense III, in the plural, implements of war, arms and armour, rarely in the singular of a single weapon, and also the large shield from which heavily-armed men took the name ὁπλῖται; sense IV, the arms animals possess for self-defence; with two further specialized senses following. BDAG is print/paywalled and was not retrieved; the BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[7] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “ὅπλον”: “a tool, implement, instrument: ὅπλα ἀδικίας (opp. to ὅ. δικαιοσύνης), Ro 6:13. Freq., in pl., arms, weapons: Jo 18:3, II Co 10:4; metaph., τ. φωτός, Ro 13:12; τ. δικαιοσύνης, II Co 6:7.”

[8] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “πανοπλία,” which he derives explicitly as a compound of πᾶς and ὅπλον: “full armour,” citing Luke 11:22 and, metaphorically, “τ. θεοῦ, Eph 6:11, 13.”

[9] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “μάχαιρα”: in Homer and others, “a large knife or dirk, for sacrificial purposes”; then “a short sword or dagger (as disting. from ῥομφαία, a large broad sword and ξίφος, a straight sword for thrusting),” with the New Testament occurrences listed, including μάχαιρα τοῦ πνεύματος at Ephesians 6:17. The correction noted in the body text follows from this entry: Abbott-Smith assigns thrusting to the ξίφος, not to the μάχαιρα. Thayer’s, cited in the companion study of Ephesians 6:14-20, agrees, describing the μάχαιρα as “curved, for a cutting stroke” and “distinct also from ξίφος, a straight sword, for thrusting.” The word is treated at length in that companion document.

[10] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “σαρκικός,” derived from σάρξ and equated with Latin carnalis: “associated with or pertaining to the flesh, fleshly, carnal,” citing Romans 15:27 and 1 Corinthians 9:11; and “in a more ethical sense, of the nature of the flesh, under the control of its appetites, fleshly, carnal, sensual (but including more than mere sensuality),” citing 1 Corinthians 3:3; 2 Corinthians 1:12; 2 Corinthians 10:4; and 1 Peter 2:11. The entry closes with a synonym note pointing to σάρκινος and ψυχικός and referring the reader to Trench’s Synonyms of the New Testament §§LXXI-LXXII and Lightfoot. BDAG is print/paywalled and was not retrieved; the BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[11] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “σάρκινος,” equated with Latin carneus, “of the flesh, of flesh, fleshy,” citing Romans 7:14; 1 Corinthians 3:1; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Hebrews 7:16. Abbott-Smith adds the morphological note on which the distinction in the body text rests: “the termination -ινος denoting the substance or material of a thing,” referring the reader to Trench’s Synonyms §LXXII and to Lightfoot’s Notes, 184. The entry’s synonym line cross-refers to σαρκικός.

[12] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “δυνατός,” derived from δύναμαι: “strong, mighty, powerful,” used absolutely at Luke 1:49; substantivally of “the chief men” at Acts 25:5; of spiritual strength at Romans 15:1 and 2 Corinthians 12:10; 13:9. Among the constructions listed, Abbott-Smith gives the adjective followed by ἐν at Luke 24:19 and Acts 7:22; 18:24, and followed by “πρός, II Co 10:4” — the construction standing in this verse, δυνατὰ πρὸς καθαίρεσιν ὀχυρωμάτων. BDAG is print/paywalled and was not retrieved; the BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[13] The Greek phrase δυνατὰ τῷ Θεῷ is given here as it stands in standard printed editions of the Greek New Testament. It could not be checked against a critical edition or a parsing tool during this revision pass, because the session’s web-retrieval limit had been reached; the reading and the syntactical description offered in the body text should be confirmed against a Greek New Testament and a standard grammar before use in teaching. What is independently verified is that both σαρκικός and δυνατός stand in this verse: Abbott-Smith’s entries for the two words each cite 2 Corinthians 10:4.

[14] Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: 2 Corinthians, on 2 Corinthians 10:4. On “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God,” Barnes holds that Christian weapons rely on “truth and righteousness,” and that “their strength is derived from God alone” rather than from “eloquence, talent, learning, or wealth.” Gathered from biblehub.com in the earlier preparation of this document; biblehub.com could not be reached during this revision pass, so the wording was not re-verified here. Barnes is public domain and freely verifiable at biblehub.com/commentaries/barnes/2_corinthians/10.htm.

[15] Liddell, Scott, and Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, s.v. “ὀχύρωμα,” consulted at lsj.gr: a fortified place, stronghold, fortress, and in some usage a prison, with citations from Xenophon, the Septuagint, and the papyri. BDAG is print/paywalled and was not retrieved; the BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[16] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “ὀχύρωμα,” derived from ὀχυρόω, “to fortify, make firm”: “a stronghold, fortress,” citing the Septuagint at Psalm 89:40 and Nahum 3:12, 14; and, “in LXX and NT, also metaph. of that in which confidence is placed,” citing Proverbs 10:29 and 21:22, with 2 Corinthians 10:4 listed under this metaphorical heading. (Abbott-Smith’s Psalm reference follows the Septuagint numbering.)

[17] Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. “ὀχύρωμα,” read in the Thayer section of the lsj.gr page for this headword. Thayer parses the noun from ὀχυρόω, “to make strong, to fortify,” and gives the tropical sense as “anything on which one relies,” citing 2 Corinthians 10:4 and explaining the figure as the arguments and reasonings by which a disputant fortifies his opinion and defends it against an opponent. Thayer’s predates the discovery and publication of the Koine papyri and is cited here only because it addresses this specific figure directly, where LSJ and Abbott-Smith give the sense more briefly.

[18] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “καθαίρεσις,” derived from καθαιρέω: “a pulling down, destruction,” with the figurative use given as “κ. ὀχυρωμάτων, II Co 10:4,” and the note that it stands opposed to οἰκοδομή, “building up,” at 2 Corinthians 10:8 and 13:10. The Septuagint occurrences listed are Exodus 23:24 and 1 Maccabees 3:43.

[19] Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: 2 Corinthians, on 2 Corinthians 10:4. Barnes describes strongholds as obstacles resembling a fortress that oppose the truth, and gives three instances: the “sins of his heart” fortified by long habit, the “wickedness of the world,” and “false philosophy” — each of which must be “battered down and laid in ruins.” Gathered from biblehub.com in the earlier preparation of this document; biblehub.com could not be reached during this revision pass and the wording was not re-verified here. Barnes is public domain and freely verifiable.

[20] Liddell, Scott, and Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, s.v. “λογισμός,” consulted at lsj.gr. Sense A, “counting, calculation,” citing Thucydides 4.122, 3.20, 5.68, Plato Republic 340d and Phaedrus 274c, and Aeschines 3.59; A.1, in the plural, “numbers, arithmetic,” citing Xenophon, Memorabilia 4.7.8 and Plato, Protagoras 318e; A.2, “account, reckoning,” citing Lysias 32.19 and Demosthenes 18.113, with the idiom λογισμὸν λαμβάνειν at Aristotle, Politics 1322b9. Sense II.1, “calculation, reasoning,” citing Thucydides 2.40, 6.34, 2.11, 4.92, 108, and Demosthenes; II.2, “reason, argument,” citing Xenophon, Hellenica 3.4.27 and Plato, Timaeus 34a. Sense III, “reasoning power,” citing Epicharmus, Democritus, Xenophon, Memorabilia 4.3.11, and Aristotle frequently. Note for accuracy: the lsj.gr page for this headword, as read, did not display a citation of 2 Corinthians 10:5 in either the LSJ or the Thayer section; an earlier draft of this study attributed to Thayer’s a gloss of this word as reasoning “hostile to the Christian faith,” and that attribution has been removed because it could not be verified. BDAG is print/paywalled and was not retrieved; the BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[21] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “λογισμός,” derived from λογίζομαι: “a reasoning, thought: Ro 2:15, II Co 10:5.” The Septuagint occurrences listed include Psalm 33:10-11, Proverbs 19:21, and Isaiah 66:18.

[22] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “καθαιρέω”: literally “to take down,” noted as the technical term for the removal of a body after crucifixion (Mark 15:36, 46; Luke 23:53; Acts 13:29); then “to put down by force, pull down, destroy,” citing Luke 12:18, where it stands opposite οἰκοδομεῖν, along with Luke 1:52 and Acts 13:19; and then, as a distinct figurative sense with a single supporting citation, “fig., to refute: λογισμούς, II Co 10:5.” The claim in the body text is a report of the lexicon’s own classification of this verse. BDAG is print/paywalled and was not retrieved; the BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[23] Liddell, Scott, and Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, s.v. “ὕψωμα,” consulted at lsj.gr: “elevation, height,” citing Pseudo-Phocylides and Philo, of the height of the air; the anatomical sense, the bridge of the nose, citing Galen; the astronomical sense, the exaltation of a heavenly body, set opposite ταπείνωμα, its depression, citing Plutarch and Sextus Empiricus; and a metaphorical sense of exaltation or pride, citing Vettius Valens. The page records both New Testament occurrences, Romans 8:39 and 2 Corinthians 10:5. BDAG is print/paywalled and was not retrieved; the BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[24] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “ὕψωμα”: “height: Ro 8:39; that which is lifted up, a barrier: II Co 10:5.” The Septuagint occurrences listed are Job 24:24 and Judith 10:8; 13:4; 15:9.

[25] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “ἐπαίρω”: “to lift up, raise,” with objects including the hands (Luke 24:50; 1 Timothy 2:8), the head (Luke 21:28), the eyes (Matthew 17:8; Luke 18:13, and elsewhere), and the voice (Luke 11:27; Acts 2:14). The passive is used of the ascension at Acts 1:9, and then, “metaph., to be lifted up with pride: II Co 10:5, 11:20.”

[26] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “γνῶσις,” derived from γιγνώσκω: “a seeking to know, inquiry, investigation,” and “knowledge, in NT, specially of the kn. of spiritual truth,” used absolutely at Romans 15:14, 1 Corinthians 8:1, and elsewhere; then with the objective genitive, including “τ. θεοῦ, II Co 2:14 10:5,” alongside τῆς δόξης τοῦ θεοῦ at 2 Corinthians 4:6 and Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ at Philippians 3:8.

[27] Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: 2 Corinthians, on 2 Corinthians 10:5. On “casting down arguments,” Barnes describes the demolition of “systems of false philosophy” and of the “reasonings of the enemies of the gospel,” which exalt human pride against the knowledge of God. Gathered from biblehub.com in the earlier preparation of this document and not re-verified during this revision pass; public domain and freely verifiable.

[28] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “αἰχμαλωτίζω,” derived from αἰχμάλωτος: a late-Greek verb standing in for the classical construction αἰχμάλωτον ποιῶ (or ἄγω), “to take or lead captive,” used with εἰς at Luke 21:24 and “metaph., Ro 7:23, II Co 10:5, II Ti 3:6.” BDAG is print/paywalled and was not retrieved; the BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[29] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “αἰχμάλωτος,” which he derives from “αἰχμή, a spear,” and “ἁλίσκομαι, to be taken,” glossing it simply “captive” and citing Luke 4:18.

[30] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “νόημα,” from νοέω: “a thought, purpose, design,” citing 2 Corinthians 2:11; 10:5; 11:3 and Philippians 4:7; and, by metonymy, “of the mind,” citing 2 Corinthians 3:14 and 4:4.

[31] Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: 2 Corinthians, on 2 Corinthians 10:5. On “bringing every thought into captivity,” Barnes holds that all the human faculties — “reason, imagination, memory, judgment” — should become “subject to the control” of Christ, transformed like conquered cities placed under a new authority. Gathered from biblehub.com in the earlier preparation of this document and not re-verified during this revision pass; public domain and freely verifiable.

[32] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “ὑπακοή,” from ὑπακούω: “obedience (opp. to παρακοή),” with the genitive of the one obeyed, including “τ. Χριστοῦ, II Co 10:5,” and further occurrences at Romans 1:5; 6:16; 16:26; 2 Corinthians 7:15; 10:6; Philemon 21; 1 Peter 1:2, 14, 22; and, of Christ’s own obedience, Romans 5:19 and Hebrews 5:8. Abbott-Smith closes the entry with the observation quoted in the body text: “The word is not found except in LXX, NT and eccl.”

[33] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “ἀνθίστημι,” which he analyses explicitly as a compound of ἀντί and ἵστημι. In the present, imperfect, future and first aorist active the verb is causal, “to set against”; in the middle and passive, and in the perfect and second aorist active, it means “to withstand, resist, oppose,” normally with the dative. The occurrences listed are Matthew 5:39; Luke 21:15; Acts 6:10; 13:8; Romans 9:19; 13:2; Galatians 2:11; Ephesians 6:13; 2 Timothy 3:8; 4:15; James 4:7; and 1 Peter 5:9. The claim in the body text that these three passages share one verb is therefore a report of the lexicon’s own occurrence list rather than an assertion. (The digital edition consulted carries an obvious scanning error in the headword, printing an omicron where the sigma belongs; the lemma is given here in its correct form.) BDAG is print/paywalled and was not retrieved; the BDAG entry for this term should be independently confirmed before use in teaching.

[34] Abbott-Smith, Manual Greek Lexicon, s.v. “ἐνδύω”: in the middle, “to put on oneself, be clothed with,” with a long list of occurrences, and specifically “of armour (fig.): Ro 13:12, Eph 6:11, 14, I Th 5:8,” alongside the metaphorical objects “the new man” (Ephesians 4:24; Colossians 3:10) and Christ Himself (Romans 13:14; Galatians 3:27). Peter’s related verb is treated separately: Abbott-Smith, s.v. “ἐγκομβόομαι,” derives it from κόμβος, “a knot,” by way of ἐγκόμβωμα, “a garment tied on over others, used especially of a frock or apron worn by slaves,” and glosses it “to put on oneself, as a garment, gird on,” citing 1 Peter 5:5 as its only New Testament occurrence. Both verbs are treated at length in the companion documents on Ephesians 6:10-13 and 1 Peter 5:5-12.

[35] Barnes, Notes on the New Testament: 2 Corinthians, on 2 Corinthians 10:3. On “we do not war according to the flesh,” Barnes grants that believers “are mortal like other people” and subject to ordinary human frailty, while insisting that they “were not actuated by worldly views or policy” in their spiritual conflict. Gathered from biblehub.com in the earlier preparation of this document and not re-verified during this revision pass; public domain and freely verifiable.

[36] Barnes, on 2 Corinthians 10:4, quoted more fully in the word studies of δυνατός and ὀχύρωμα above.

[37] Barnes, on 2 Corinthians 10:5, quoted more fully in the word studies of ὕψωμα and αἰχμαλωτίζω above.

[38] No page-numbered or quotable text on 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 from John MacArthur’s published commentaries, Wayne Grudem’s Systematic Theology, Charles Ryrie’s Basic Theology, the New American Commentary, or the Pillar New Testament Commentary was located in the preparation of this document, and none of those volumes could be consulted during this revision pass. They are listed under “Not Directly Consulted This Session” above, and nothing in this document is attributed to them.