to see that "every imagination of the thoughts" of men's hearts were only evil continually (Gen esis 6:5). The human race had degenerated and lost its know ledge of the truth. The imagina tions of man can either be a bles sing or a curse. A sanctified im agination is of inestimable value to a preacher, for example. But they can also be a fruitful source of sin in any Christian's life. Where there is a contrast between the imagina tion and the will, it is always the former that invariably emerges victorious. Paul also warns us to bring "in to captivity every thought" (II Corinthians 10:5). This signifies the plans and purposes of a man. Men's minds without Christ are in a state of rebellion and emnity with Cod. Our own thoughts, phil osophies, plans and purposes are generally contrary to those of our Saviour. This Isaiah testified as he quoted the Lord as saying, "My thoughts are not your thoughts." It is only when you become His ch ild through faith that your thoughts come into a proper rela tionship with His. There is also the warning to the Corinthians, as well as to us today, to destroy every high thing that exalts itself against the knowl edge of Cod. This means every barrier of pride and every strong hold that towers high in defiance of the knowledge of His truth. We need to be very careful in all of these areas. There is definitely a spiritual warfare to be faced. With spiritual maturity, however, there can be spiritual victory. This is why our pattern, given in Philip- pians 3:10-12, should be followed through the strength of the Holy Page 40
Spirit. Do we have a longing in our hearts, as did the Apostle Paul, to know Christ better and more in timately with every passing day? This is the continued expression found in Philippians 3:10-12, in spired by the Holy Spirit. Our con suming purpose that our lives are more and more conformed to the image of our Lord Jesus. Yet we cannot be blind to the fact that the devil will always be busy rais ing opposition to every effort in this direction. This is why we have also considered a corollary pas sage in II Corinth ians 10 :4-5 . There are spiritual weapons which the Lord has provided for the be liever. The devil will often use pride to make us come to grips with his desires. We need to consider the spiritual strategy and logistics of the combat facing us, and do it realistically. Moffatt translates this portion declaring, "I demolish theories and every deceptive fan tasy." The teachings of the false religious cults of our day certainly come within the scope of this par ticular warfare. We are not coun selled to demolish reason which is a God-given faculty. Those con cepts which rob Christ of His throne and God of His glory cer tainly must be destroyed. Any erroneous philosophical fortifica tions must be brought down to the ground at the foot of the cross. The only certain way of counter acting heresy, error and false teaching is through the truth re vealed only in Scripture. Paul well knew that he would have to take every rebel purpose and make it a spiritual prisoner of war, bowing in submission to the Lord. This is
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