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2 Corinthians 10:4

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
2 Corinthians 10:4 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,
  • BSB The weapons of our warfare are not the weapons of the world. Instead, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
  • NKJV For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
  • NASB for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
  • NLT We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The weapons of Christian warfare are not worldly but divinely powerful to demolish strongholds. God's truth, not human cleverness, overthrows entrenched opposition.

Overview

Paul describes the spiritual armory of gospel ministry: the Word, prayer, and the power of God. These are mighty to tear down 'strongholds,' the fortified resistance of false ideas and pride. The image assures believers that God's appointed means, though humble-looking, accomplish what human force never could.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 26

  • 2 Cor 6:7By the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
  • Eph 6:13–18Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
  • Jer 1:10See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant.
  • 1 Cor 2:5That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
  • 1 Sam 17:45–50Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.
  • 2 Cor 13:3–4Since ye seek a proof of Christ speaking in me, which to you-ward is not weak, but is mighty in you.
  • 1 Tim 1:18This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare;
  • Zech 4:6–7Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.
  • Rom 13:12The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light.
  • 1 Th 5:8But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
  • 2 Cor 4:7But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us.
  • Rom 6:13Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God.
  • Ps 110:2The LORD shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies.
  • 2 Cor 3:5Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
  • Heb 11:30By faith the walls of Jericho fell down, after they were compassed about seven days.
  • Isa 41:14–16Fear not, thou worm Jacob, and ye men of Israel; I will help thee, saith the LORD, and thy redeemer, the Holy One of Israel.
  • 2 Tim 2:3Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
  • Josh 6:20So the people shouted when the priests blew with the trumpets: and it came to pass, when the people heard the sound of the trumpet, and the people shouted with a great shout, that the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight before him, and they took the city.
  • Acts 7:22And Moses was learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and in deeds.
  • Heb 11:32–33And what shall I more say? for the time would fail me to tell of Gedeon, and of Barak, and of Samson, and of Jephthae; of David also, and Samuel, and of the prophets:
  • Judg 15:14–16And when he came unto Lehi, the Philistines shouted against him: and the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and the cords that were upon his arms became as flax that was burnt with fire, and his bands loosed from off his hands.
  • Isa 30:25And there shall be upon every high mountain, and upon every high hill, rivers and streams of waters in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
  • Judg 7:13–23And when Gideon was come, behold, there was a man that told a dream unto his fellow, and said, Behold, I dreamed a dream, and, lo, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the host of Midian, and came unto a tent, and smote it that it fell, and overturned it, that the tent lay along.
  • 1 Cor 1:18–24For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
  • 2 Cor 13:10Therefore I write these things being absent, lest being present I should use sharpness, according to the power which the Lord hath given me to edification, and not to destruction.
  • 1 Cor 9:7Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock?

Themes, concepts, people & topics

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Christ at the center

In Christ all God's promises are 'Yes and Amen'; though rich, he became poor to make us rich, and in him God reconciles the world, making us new creations.

How 2 Corinthians 10:4 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

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