2 Corinthians 10:4 - Exposition

Weapons (see 2 Corinthians 6:7 ; Romans 6:13 ). Not carnal. He did not rely on the mere "arm of flesh," or on earthly sword or panoply. Mighty through God; literally, powerful for God; i.e. either

To the pulling down of strongholds. The word for "pulling down," which implies the entire clearance of an obstacle, is only found in the New Testament in this Epistle ( 2 Corinthians 10:4 , 2 Corinthians 10:8 ; 2 Corinthians 13:10 ). The word for "strongholds" is found here alone. These "fortresses" were the opposition aroused by factious and hostile partisans, and he hoped to subdue them by the strong exercise of apostolic authority (lCo 4:21; 2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ). Dean Stanley suggests a reminiscence of the hundred and twenty Cilician fortresses pulled down by Pompey; but I think that these general allusions are often pressed too far.