I was asked my thoughts on this passage, and I thought I would post my response for all to read and comment; if you are inclined to.

2 Corinthians 10:1-6

"Now I, Paul, on my own beg you with the humility and gentleness of Christ - yes, I who am humble with you in person yet bold when away! I ask that when I am with you that I will not need to be bold with the confidence which I believe is necessary to take courage against some that act as though we're still living as part of this carnal world. For even though we live in this carnal and material world, we don't wage wars and conflicts according to material conditions. The 'weapons' of our campaigns are not material, but are still divinely powerful for the destruction of these fortified ideologies [ochuroma]. We are pulling apart baseless speculations and every thought-process that demands to be in front of the knowledge of God, and we are trying to take captive any kind of thought and making it obedient to Christ. We are also willing to punish any disobedience to this - just as soon as your obedience to Christ has become complete."

My response:

My thoughts on this..... I am not the thinker I should be, but I will give you my opinion. Paul was running into quite a bit of resistance when he was bringing this message of the kingdom of God to the Jewish and Pagan world. These ideas ran contrary to the current assumptions and deeply entrenched traditions and ideologies, which got him into a lot of trouble; but on to the meat of it. The ideas and direction of the kingdom of God are in absolute opposition to the system of the world that the "prince of the power of the air" has established. I think what is very interesting is that Jesus told the Pharisees "you search the scriptures and in them you think you have life, but you will not come to Me that you might have life." For me, I see that the Pharisees searched the scriptures and from them drew inferences and traditions that suited their agenda's and established a power base; hence the reason that Jesus said they rule from the seat of Moses and tie heavy binds to the shoulders of men. Jesus then tells the disciples that it is not that way among us, that we are to be known we are to be those who "power under" and do not "lord over" those around us. To live that way to is to live as "carnal" and to live as the "power under" is to live in but not of this carnal world.

As for the "pulling apart" that is what the teaching and seed planting of the kingdom of God is doing, it is pulling apart those baseless speculations (ideologies), and transporting our minds to a different plane of reality, true reality where Jesus is the Lord of all. Now if Jesus is Lord of all, and His kingdom is not of this world (as stated to Pilate) then our weapons are not made of steel and iron, but our weapons are our fruits. Now as to the punishing of disobedience. I see the punishment not as a negative thing, but as grace. What a great shame it would be for us if we were surrounded by fellow lovers of Jesus who never held us accountable for our actions. "Those whom he loves he scourges," as recovering sinners we are prone to wander, and we need a shepherd with a staff who will bring us back into the fold. Paul said of the brother in Corinth who was committing sexual sin "turn him over to Satan that his flesh might be destroyed, so that his soul maybe saved in the last days." May we never get that far, but if we do, may we be bold enough to take a stand against disobedience so that we may as Jude says "snatch each other out of the fire."