Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary 2 Corinthians 10:5

"casting down imaginations, and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;" — 2 Corinthians 10:5 (ASV)

What are these fortified positions that crumble before the weapons of the Spirit? Fanciful human sophistry and intellectual pretensions, otherwise called “the wisdom of this world” (1 Corinthians 3:19). The phrase “every pretension” refers to any human act or attitude that forms an obstacle to the emancipating knowledge of God contained in the Gospel of Christ and that keeps people in bondage to sin. Closely related is the expression “every thought,” which means every human device that temporarily frustrates the divine plan; they must be forcibly reduced to obedience to Christ. Paul presents the picture of a military operation in enemy territory that seeks to thwart every single hostile plan of battle, so that there will be universal allegiance to Christ.