Tearing Down Strongholds of the Heart

By John E. Thomas

A lot of people talk about strongholds—but what does that word actually mean?

The term comes from the following passage:

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete. (2 Corinthians 10:3–6 ESV)

Let’s take a closer look at what the apostle Paul has to say about strongholds.

Strongholds Are Connected to Spiritual Warfare

Paul begins by talking about spiritual warfare. He says he and the apostolic team accompanying him have spiritual weapons with divine power that will tear down strongholds. So right off the bat, we know strongholds are somehow associated with spiritual warfare.

Strongholds Are Connected to Arguments and Opinions

After talking about destroying strongholds with spiritual weapons, Paul clarifies what he means. Destroying strongholds, he says, goes hand in hand with destroying arguments and opinions. So in this context, a stronghold is recognized by patterns of thinking that cause arguments and opinions.

Strongholds Are Contrary to God

Paul says these arguments and opinions are “raised against” or built to defend against the knowledge of God. They disagree with God’s way of thinking and oppose a life of obedience to Him. The opposite of these arguments and opinions is thought patterns that agree with obedience to Christ.

Strongholds Defined

So with all of that in mind, a stronghold is any thought pattern, set way of thinking, or consistent desire that does not agree with God. It is any way of thinking that would hinder someone from knowing Him or the truth He brings—any opinion that would keep someone from obeying Jesus.

A stronghold goes deep. The heart is involved, and the key is found in what we think. When our thoughts obey Christ, this is a sign of the absence of strongholds in our heart. But when we find ourselves resisting truth, deviating from right doctrine (teaching), or not believing what the Bible clearly says, that is often a sign of a stronghold.

Notice Paul doesn’t say, “Look. You just need to learn to think differently.” Changing our thinking doesn’t require spiritual weapons with divine power. However, tearing down established ways of thinking that oppose God is a different matter. Doing so requires something from Him. Strongholds come down only because He moved.

What If We Want to Tear Down a Stronghold?

In his first letter to the Corinthians, Paul talks about the Holy Spirit’s movements—how He releases power or expressions of grace in us according to His plans. These expressions of grace can be thought of as weapons. They look like words of knowledge and wisdom, faith, miracles, and healings.

When God speaks to us, His voice has the potential to change the way we think at a root level. When He heals someone or moves in a miraculous way, that experience is meant to “order” the way we think about future experiences (see Matthew 16:5–12). When He breathes on Scripture, the Word comes alive and goes to work against the strongholds we relied on in the past.

What does all of this mean? As we press in for more of God and put ourselves in places where real weapons with divine power are operating, we will have the opportunity to see strongholds torn down. Eventually we will stop arguing against God’s truth, and our opinions won’t hinder our obedience to Him!

Learn more about strongholds and how to remove them in Streams Academy https://streamsministries.com/academy/ or The Art of Hearing God, a course available live and in Streams online classroom https://streamsministries.com/streams-online/