{"id":21573,"date":"2026-06-06T09:16:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-06T07:16:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cantonuovo.org\/training\/video-courses\/the-battle-in-the-mind\/lesson-one\/"},"modified":"2026-06-07T17:31:11","modified_gmt":"2026-06-07T15:31:11","slug":"lesson-one","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.cantonuovo.org\/en\/training\/video-courses\/the-battle-in-the-mind\/lesson-one\/","title":{"rendered":"Lesson One"},"content":{"rendered":"

[vc_section full_width=\u201dstretch_row_content\u201d css=\u201d.vc_custom_1780732037446{margin-top: -250px !important;padding-top: 50px !important;padding-right: 5% !important;padding-bottom: 5% !important;padding-left: 5% !important;background-color: #efefef !important;}\u201d el_id=\u201dvideo\u201d][vc_row][vc_column width=\u201d1\/6\u2033][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\u201d2\/3\u2033][vc_video link=\u201dhttps:\/\/youtu.be\/i7qKjmXJiUY\u201d][vc_column_text el_class=\u201dsmall\u201d css=\u201d.vc_custom_1780741478642{margin-top: -20px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}\u201d]<\/p>\n

Recorded in Siena \u2013 2013<\/p>\n

[\/vc_column_text][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\u201d1\/6\u2033][\/vc_column][\/vc_row][vc_row el_id=\u201dappunti\u201d css=\u201d.vc_custom_1780741454469{padding-top: 8% !important;padding-bottom: 5% !important;}\u201d][vc_column width=\u201d1\/6\u2033][\/vc_column][vc_column width=\u201d2\/3\u2033 awb_type=\u201dcolor\u201d awb_color=\u201d#fcfcfc\u201d el_class=\u201dshadownew\u201d css=\u201d.vc_custom_1780731836230{padding-top: 5% !important;padding-right: 5% !important;padding-bottom: 5% !important;padding-left: 5% !important;}\u201d][vc_tta_accordion active_section=\u201d0\u2033 no_fill=\u201dtrue\u201d collapsible_all=\u201dtrue\u201d title=\u201dLecture 1 notes\u201d][vc_tta_section title=\u201dClick to read more\u201d tab_id=\u201d1780733730298-b1a434ef-da77\u2033][vc_column_text]
\n

THE BATTLE IN THE MIND<\/b><\/span><\/h1>
\n

First series<\/i><\/span><\/p>
\n

Lesson 1<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

Strongholds, high places and bastions<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

Maurizio Tiezzi \u2013 Fondazione Cantonuovo<\/i><\/span><\/p>
\n

1. The spiritual battle and the theme of the mind<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

This series forms part of a wider programme dedicated to the kingdom of God, which focuses on a specific aspect of the spiritual struggle described in Ephesians 6: the battle waged in the mind.<\/span><\/p>
\n

Paul, in Ephesians 6, had already outlined the nature of the conflict and the identity of the enemy, describing the struggle \u2014 a term that authoritative English-language translators render as \u2018wrestling\u2019, a no-holds-barred fight \u2014 as something that involves every believer without exception. If one belongs to the Messiah, one is no stranger to this battle. Those who belong to the world, however, go with the flow of the larger system that governs it, and are not at war.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n

\n

Eph 6:12\u201313  <\/span><\/b><\/span>Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, the powers, against the rulers of this dark world, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.<\/i><\/span><\/p>
\n<\/td>
\n<\/tr>
\n<\/tbody>
\n<\/table>
\n

2. The key text: 2 Corinthians 10:3\u20135<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

2.1 Living in the world without fighting according to the world<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

The key passage is 2 Corinthians 10:3\u20135. Paul begins with a fundamental distinction: although we live in the world \u2014 that is, having a body not yet redeemed and therefore being subject to the inclinations of the old nature \u2014 we do not fight as the world would fight. The Greek term translated as \u2018flesh\u2019 can refer to both the physical body and the old, corrupt nature of man, the one which the Lord came to neutralise by dying as the last \u201cAdam\u201d. In any case, Paul\u2019s point is: we do not follow the rules of that system whilst we live in this world.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n

\n

2 Cor 10:3\u20135  <\/span><\/b><\/span>Although we live in the world, we do not fight as the world would fight. The weapons of our warfare are not of the world; on the contrary, they have the power of God to destroy strongholds. By destroying arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and taking every thought captive, we bring it into obedience to Christ.<\/i><\/span><\/p>
\n<\/td>
\n<\/tr>
\n<\/tbody>
\n<\/table>
\n

2.2 The weapons: not of the world, but with the power of God<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

In Eph. 6 we learn that God has equipped us with a complete arsenal (truth, righteousness, the good news proclaimed without limit, faith, salvation-liberation, the Spirit, the Word) necessary to stand firm against the devil\u2019s snares. In 1 Cor. 10 we discover that the battle is in the mind and that to fight it God has equipped us  <\/span>with weapons that are not like those of the world because they have the power of God to destroy the strongholds of the mind. .<\/span><\/p>
\n

2.3 Strongholds: what they are<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

The word \u201cstronghold\u201d \u2014 also translated as  <\/span>bastions in various versions \u2014 refers to fortifications that guard a territory, protecting an army within them and defending it against the enemy\u2019s advance. In the context of 2 Corinthians 10, strongholds are the arrogant convictions instigated by the powers of darkness as their military outposts planted in the territory, which in this case is our mind.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n

\n

Strongholds of the mind:  <\/span><\/b><\/span>Deep-rooted beliefs, arrogant reasoning, mental patterns that prevent the mind from functioning as it could. Their purpose is to keep man separated from God and prevent an intimate relationship with Him from forming.<\/span><\/p>
\n<\/td>
\n<\/tr>
\n<\/tbody>
\n<\/table>
\n

3. How to destroy strongholds<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

Verse 5 of 2 Corinthians 10 describes the method by which strongholds are dismantled. This is not a single action but a process divided into distinct and interdependent steps.<\/span><\/p>
\n

3.1 Destroying arguments<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

The battlefield is the mind. Strongholds are demolished by tearing down the arguments that dwell within them: those that rise up against the knowledge of God. Not all arguments, but those that resist an intimate relationship with the Lord.<\/span><\/p>
\n

3.2 Destroying all pride<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

Alongside these arguments, every movement of the soul \u2014 even emotional ones \u2014 that rises up against the knowledge of God must be destroyed. The verb \u2018to rise up\u2019 is no accident: it echoes the movement of Lucifer in Isaiah 14, where it is said that he wanted to rise high, to place himself on a par with God. Pride is this: to rise up, to impose oneself, to assert that there is no one else like me. From this impulse springs rebellion against every form of authority, including the divine.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n
\n

\n

Is 14 (ref.)  <\/span><\/b><\/span>Lucifer said: I will ascend on high, I will be like the Most High God. \u2014 The image of ascending on high is the typical impulse of pride.<\/i><\/span><\/p>
\n<\/td>
\n<\/tr>
\n

 <\/td>
\n<\/tr>
\n<\/tbody>
\n<\/table>
\n

3.3 Bringing every thought into obedience to the Messiah<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

Demolishing the strongholds is not enough if the ground remains empty. This is the distinction that sets a complete work apart from one that is only half-finished: if, after destroying arrogant convictions, thoughts are not made obedient to the Messiah, the strongholds are rebuilt. The old nature is still clinging to us \u2014 deactivated by the Lord Jesus, who bore it on the cross as the last Adam, but always capable of being reactivated if we give in to temptation.<\/span><\/p>
\n

The biblical figure who illustrates this principle is Jeremiah: the Lord sends him to destroy and then to build, to uproot and then to plant. First one demolishes, then one plants. The weedkiller for the tares in the mind is obedience to the Messiah.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n

\n

The complete remedy (2 Cor 10:5):  <\/span><\/b><\/span>1) Destroy proud reasoning. 2) Destroy all pride that hinders intimacy with God. 3) Make every thought obey the Messiah. Without the third step, the first two are not lasting.<\/span><\/p>
\n<\/td>
\n<\/tr>
\n<\/tbody>
\n<\/table>
\n

4. The battle is in the mind: the model of Eve<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

4.1 How the serpent operates (Genesis 3:1\u20137)<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:3: \u201cI fear that your minds may be corrupted and confused like those of Eve\u201d. We must therefore examine the dynamics by which the serpent operated in the woman\u2019s mind, for those dynamics are the same ones the enemy still uses today. The devil does not change his tactics.<\/span><\/p>
\n

The serpent \u2014 described as the most cunning of wild beasts \u2014 begins by sowing doubt with a lie: \u2018Is it true that God said you must not eat from any tree in the garden?\u2019 God had never said this. He had said the opposite: eat everything, except the fruit of one tree. The first demonic operation is to distort the Word to create confusion in the mind.<\/span><\/p>
\n

Eve\u2019s reply already reveals the confusion: she repeats what she had been told, but adds a detail that God had not mentioned \u2014 \u201cyou must not even touch it\u201d. Her mind is already troubled.<\/span><\/p>
\n

The serpent\u2019s second lie is more profound: \u201cYou will not die at all! God knows that if you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will become like Him\u201d. With this, the serpent insinuates into Eve\u2019s mind a devaluation of God: he attributes to Him a selfish interest, a manipulation. It suggests that the Father has imposed a prohibition not to protect her, but to defend his own position of power, so as to have no rivals.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n

\n

Gen. 3:1\u20137 (ref.)  <\/span><\/b><\/span>The serpent was the most cunning of all the beasts. He said to the woman: \u2018Is it true that God has said you must not eat from any tree?\u2019 [\u2026] \u2018You will certainly not die! He knows that when you eat of it, your eyes will be opened and you will become like God.\u2019<\/i><\/span><\/p>
\n<\/td>
\n<\/tr>
\n<\/tbody>
\n<\/table>
\n

4.2 A stronghold, a thought: universal disaster<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

This is the mechanism: a devaluation of God, established as a stronghold in the mind. Not an army, not a thousand arguments. A single evil thought \u2014 about whom? About the person of the Father, about the nature of his relationship with mankind, and about the identity of the human being. That stronghold produced an earthquake capable of destroying the happiness of all humanity.<\/span><\/p>
\n

Then the woman saw the tree with new eyes \u2014 good, desirable, capable of imparting wisdom. Her perception was already altered. Her vision was already filtered by the fortress. She took of the fruit and gave it to her husband as well. From that moment, the battle of the mind was unleashed upon human history.<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n


\n
\n
\n

\n

Demonic pattern of the mind:  <\/span><\/b><\/span>The enemy always works through: 1) a lie that generates doubt, 2) a devaluation (of God, of oneself, of others, of reality) that takes root as a conviction, 3) an altered perception that leads to dysfunctional choices. A stronghold is not a visible wall: it is a lens that filters everything one sees.<\/span><\/p>
\n<\/td>
\n<\/tr>
\n<\/tbody>
\n<\/table>
\n

5. Devaluation as the root of strongholds<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

5.1 Origin and formation<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

Every arrogant thought is based on a devaluation: of oneself, of others or of reality. There is no mental fortress that does not rest upon some form of devaluation. Modern sciences \u2014 including psychology \u2014 confirm that these dynamics begin early: messages from the outside world are already perceived in the womb. Children, infants, find themselves in situations they cannot control and, in order to survive, choose to adapt their behaviour. From these choices arise beliefs about themselves, others and the world, which remain active throughout life and are reinforced every time similar situations recur.<\/span><\/p>
\n

The result is that many live within illusory escape routes: behaviours that help them survive, to escape from problems, but which in reality merely keep them in existence, distracting them from the path that God has prepared. It is not living: it is surviving.<\/span><\/p>
\n

5.2 Three types of devaluation<\/b><\/span><\/p>
\n

The sign that indicates the presence of a stronghold is the state of mind with which one goes through the day. When devaluation is present, the wall is reinforced. One can devalue:<\/span><\/p><\/p>\n