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“Spiritual Warfare”
In the past two months, I have been listening to a fascinating podcast about the History of Rome. Some of the episodes I have re-listened to because they are so interesting. Plus, the names aren’t so easy to remember or pronounce. The battles and the wars, the heroes and the villains, the victories and the losses, are all a part of the history of the Roman Empire. The constant refrain throughout this series is warfare. There is always a battle now or soon. Sometimes the action is white-hot while other times it is cool, simmering just under the surface.
The Bible has much to say about spiritual warfare. Religionist have much to say, and a huge portion is extra-biblical. One quick example. Do you have the authority to rebuke the devil? I have heard my dear brothers in Christ pray that prayer. Is that biblical? No, it isn’t. Even Michael, the archangel, when disputing with the devil said, “the Lord rebuke thee.” We are told to resist the devil, see James 4:7, but never are we told to rebuke him. There is something about spiritual warfare that tweaks the senses and our imaginations. Let me offer a word of caution. Live a balanced Christian life. Not too high, not to low, just moderation in all things. The devil isn’t God; he’s not everywhere at the same time. He’s not all-powerful like the Lord. But he is a powerful being with helpers galore. He has plans to take out the people of God, creating as much havoc as possible, knowing his time is short (Revelation 12:12). Now a few things for us to learn and learn well. The following passages are not exhaustive. Plenty more in the Bible, but for today I’ll use only a small few.
1. Everything that causes us problems isn’t always the devil; it could be what is inside us. Satan does cause problems, and I will give you some passages in a moment of his work, but Romans chapters 6 & 7 tell us about another battle that we fight. A warfare that happens inside of us each and every day. It is a battle with the sin nature that dwells in us. Paul fought this constantly in his life. The things he knew were the right things to do he found himself not doing. The things he knew he should not do, he found himself doing those. Every single day was a battle for him. It is a battle for us as well. I believe most of my problems would disappear if I could eliminate that source of conflict. Sadly, I can’t. One day when Christ comes, we will have glorified body without a sin nature.
2. Ephesians 6:11b says, “… that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” A wile is a scheme or a trickery. Satan actually does set traps for the people of God. He knows he’ll never over-throw God but he’s vindictive enough to try and thwart the plans of God and destroy the people of God as much as possible. Fortunately for us, the great apostle in this same passage told us how to dress for this fight. 6:10-17 is the famous passage telling us to put on the armor of God. What Paul described as the armor of God was an exact picture of how the ancient Romans dressed out their soldiers. He closed the passage by saying “…the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” That brings another example of victory to our minds. Matthew 4:1-11 relates the story of the temptation of Christ in the wilderness. Three temptations by Satan and three smack downs by Jesus. It isn’t the smack-down as much as how He did it. He could have banished the Tempter by the sword of His mouth like He will in Revelation 19. He didn’t. Each time Satan offered, Jesus countered with using the word of God. He didn’t need to do it that way, but we do. The Bible is a big deal in having victory in our spiritual warfare.
3. II Corinthians 10:3-5. We sometimes have to fight both Satan and the flesh at the same time. “For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal (not flesh and blood), but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds:). Our battles aren’t physical in nature they are spiritual. The Romans had plans and strategies for every fight they engaged in. They won some and lost some, but they always had a plan. What is our plan? Do we even know who the enemy is? 10:4. We win because of God, “through God…”. What about the who and the what we fight? 10:5. “Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” Things that are against God are what we fight. Arguments, theories, reasonings, and philosophies can be used to fight against God’s existence or any knowledge about God. Every one of those areas can be perverted to deny the rightful place of God. That’s why I often say the second most dangerous place for a young Christian is a secular college or university. The first is the womb, with abortion being rampant in the West. Another Fall has arrived, and we have young people who are attending college, some for the first time. The vast majority of them, not long after arrival, will be faced with professors and philosophies mentioned by Paul in this passage. Over the last four decades I have personally observed young people love God through their teen years only to have their faith ripped away because they weren’t prepared for the warfare. It isn’t only students; it is all Christians. Battles come in a lot of different flavors and many different cartons.
In closing let me just reiterate that everything that happens isn’t because of Satan. Often, it is sin nature in our flesh. But sometimes it may be a Satanic force, a fiery dart, but we are told how to handle it, the word of God. One other source of conflict, the world. That’s for another day.