It may seem a monumental requirement, yet the apostle's words do not equivocate. As Christians we need to be ready and willing to do battle with whatever would oppose God. Our means must certainly be spiritual, however, for the Apostle Paul is not speaking here of physical combat. We're told that "the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds." And the demand is placed squarely on each Christian to conform his thinking to the perfect will of God—"bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ."II Cor. 10:4, 5.
An honest appraisal of where one stands in his spiritual progress would surely reveal that work still remains to be done. Most of us probably feel at times that our thinking is indeed close to God and that we really do sense His presence and direction in our lives. But at other times, do we feel as if we've fallen woefully short of what we know we should be doing? Yet we can surely rejoice in whatever good we have already accomplished, and we can humbly pray to see where regeneration is still required in our lives.
The question of how to bring every thought into obedience to Christ, Truth, cannot be answered simplistically, and the specific needs are undoubtedly different for every individual. But perhaps it can be useful to consider a few points that seem to be fairly common to human experience. These may need to be dealt with in one form or another by almost anyone who sincerely desires to fulfill God's purpose in his life.
