Spiritual Warfare: Basics

Sword & Shield SmallBack in November, I posted about “Spiritual Weapons: Praise”  and I wanted to continue on this topic with some more thoughts about spiritual warfare. So, I’m going to post about this on Fridays for awhile. I hope you’ll join me!

I’m really blessed because I’ve grown up with a knowledge of spiritual warfare. I’ve heard a lot of teaching on it, read some excellent books and have had a fair amount of my own experience in it. But the concept of spiritual warfare is new to many people, even some who have been in the church for years.

Satan is Real

The fact is we have an enemy. This is a reality that can’t and shouldn’t be ignored. We don’t need to be afraid of him; he is defeated by the cross of Christ. But he does exist. The Bible says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls about like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour,” (I Peter 5:8.) And we know from John 10:10 that, “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy;”

The Enemy’s Plans

Satan hates God’s children and he doesn’t want anyone to go to heaven. This means he is going to cause death and destruction whenever he can. He is going to pull people away from God however he can. He is going to try to discourage the saints and get their eyes off God. His ultimate goal is that we would turn away from the Lord and call Him unfaithful. That’s what he tried to accomplish with Job, but he failed miserably. Satan took (with God’s permission) everything from Job and even afflicted his body, but Job would not turn away from the Lord. This is what we are up against.

The Enemy Defeated!

Now, the good news. Satan is already defeated by the cross of Christ and the blood that Jesus shed for us. “He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross,” (Colossians 2:13b-15.) Satan is defeated in that now there is a way for anyone to come to God through Jesus, but the battle still goes on for the souls of all people. In the end, Satan will be completely vanquished and banished from the earth, but for now, we need to know our enemy and yet operate in the victory God has for us.

Our Victory is Real

We do not need to fall for Satan’s tricks or temptations. We do not need to be discouraged when it seems he is at work. We must remember this:  “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world,” (I John 4:4, italics mine.) That’s right. The Lord who dwells in us is SO much greater than any evil spirit in this world. Our victory is sure. But we must stand up and claim that victory in a daily basis. We must remember that it is ours. We must remember to walk by God’s principles and not the world’s because that’s where the victory is found. So, let’s thank God that He is in us and He is greater than the enemy. Let’s focus on Him and give Him praise and ask Him to help us grow in our ability to prevail in the midst of spiritual warfare!

Can you think of a time when you knew you were in a battle against the enemy? Would you share it with us?