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2 Corinthians 10:4

for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses.
2 Corinthians 10:4 · New American Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds,
  • KJV (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)
  • 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,
  • 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 6:7in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,
  • Eph 6:13–18Therefore put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and, having done all, to stand.
  • Jer 1:10Behold, I have today set you over the nations and over the kingdoms, to uproot and to tear down, to destroy and to overthrow, to build and to plant.”
  • 1 Cor 2:5that your faith wouldn’t stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
  • 1 Sam 17:45–50Then David said to the Philistine, “You come to me with a sword, with a spear, and with a javelin; but I come to you in the name of Yahweh of Armies, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.
  • 2 Cor 13:3–4seeing that you seek a proof of Christ who speaks in me; who toward you is not weak, but is powerful in you.
  • 1 Tim 1:18This instruction I commit to you, my child Timothy, according to the prophecies which led the way to you, that by them you may wage the good warfare;
  • Zech 4:6–7Then he answered and spoke to me, saying, “This is Yahweh’s word to Zerubbabel, saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,’ says Yahweh of Armies.
  • Rom 13:12The night is far gone, and the day is near. Let’s therefore throw off the deeds of darkness, and let’s put on the armor of light.
  • 1 Th 5:8But let us, since we belong to the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and, for a helmet, the hope of salvation.
  • 2 Cor 4:7But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves.
  • Rom 6:13Also, do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
  • Ps 110:2Yahweh will send out the rod of your strength out of Zion. Rule among your enemies.
  • 2 Cor 3:5not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to account anything as from ourselves; but our sufficiency is from God;
  • Heb 11:30By faith, the walls of Jericho fell down, after they had been encircled for seven days.
  • Isa 41:14–16Don’t be afraid, you worm Jacob, and you men of Israel. I will help you,” says Yahweh, “and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.
  • 2 Tim 2:3You therefore must endure hardship, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.
  • Josh 6:20So the people shouted and the priests blew the trumpets. When the people heard the sound of the trumpet, the people shouted with a great shout, and the wall fell down flat, so that the people went up into the city, every man straight in front of him, and they took the city.
  • Acts 7:22Moses was instructed in all the wisdom of the Egyptians. He was mighty in his words and works.
  • Heb 11:32–33What more shall I say? For the time would fail me if I told of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel, and the prophets;
  • Judg 15:14–16When he came to Lehi, the Philistines shouted as they met him. Then Yahweh’s Spirit came mightily on him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that was burned with fire, and his bands dropped from off his hands.
  • Isa 30:25There shall be brooks and streams of water on every lofty mountain and on every high hill in the day of the great slaughter, when the towers fall.
  • Judg 7:13–23When Gideon had come, behold, there was a man telling a dream to his fellow. He said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream; and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the camp of Midian, and came to the tent, and struck it so that it fell, and turned it upside down, so that the tent lay flat.”
  • 1 Cor 1:18–24For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are dying, but to us who are saved it is the power of God.
  • 2 Cor 13:10For this cause I write these things while absent, that I may not deal sharply when present, according to the authority which the Lord gave me for building up, and not for tearing down.
  • 1 Cor 9:7What soldier ever serves at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, and doesn’t eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, and doesn’t drink from the flock’s milk?

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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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