John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”

The idea of spiritual warfare puts a lot of people off.  They are thankful for being saved, but did not sign up to take part in a war.  If you don’t know your enemy well, then you will be fearful of him, making you feel vulnerable.  But once you pursue true knowledge, you will be so glad you did, because you will have confidence to overcome the enemy and expose him, like Dorothy did with the Wizard of Oz.

People may believe in Jesus Christ, but when it comes to knowing about the reality of the Devil’s existence, there may be uncertainty.  Yet the Bible tells us not to be ignorant of his schemes (2 Cor. 2:11).  One way of looking at the Bible is as a book about a war for our souls, between good and evil.  We are called to be victorious in Christ, so we should know our enemy, right?  If we know the truth about the Devil, his nature and purpose, there would be more Christians living the victorious life instead of defeat.

Whether we like it or not we need to see that we are part of something much bigger than it appears to be.  Nobody likes to go to war and be involved in a fight.  But as Christians, we have no choice but to participate in the spiritual battle where, fortunately, the enemy has already been defeated by Christ Jesus.

“Men do not object to a battle if they are confident that they will have victory, and, thank God, every one of us may have the victory if we will.”

– Dwight L Moody¹

We can’t possibly know what war is like the way a war veteran does who has actually experienced it.  It is the same with Christianity – there are different levels of commitment, depending on the degree of your conviction of being a sinner and knowing this world is not our home.  If your experience in this world has left you feeling desolate and without hope, then you would be more willing to forsake having any part of it and participate in the new spiritual life of the kingdom of God.

Christ defeated Satan and the power of death, he no longer has authority over Christians, their salvation is guaranteed and sealed by the filling of the Holy Spirit.  But that won’t stop him from doing everything he can to keep them from maturing in the Lord and being faithful witnesses to the Kingdom of God here on earth.  Humanity in its fallen condition is in a continuous struggle against three major enemies:  the Devil, the world system, and the flesh.  Those of the world are powerless to overcome these opponents.  Christians have the advantage of being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, they can now resist the Devil and he will flee (Ja. 4:7).

The Devil still rules the world, but only until the fullness of time when he will be cast into the lake of fire permanently.  Ephesians 2:2 says he is the spirit who works in those who are inclined to do evil rather than love and worship God.  He convinces people to believe in his lies and uses every opportunity to plague them with guilt and condemnation in order to make them feel unworthy of God’s love and forgiveness.  Every immoral practice is derived from him, and he will use temptation to lure us into his ways and take advantage of our weaknesses.  He is a great deceiver, especially when he distorts the truth of God’s word, and works with all power, signs and lying wonders (2 Thess. 2:9), having the ability to deceive the whole world (Rev. 12:9).

The world system never seems to exhaust itself in its continuous trial and error of being creative, idealistic, inventive, philosophical, psychological, and economical, all of which fail to provide the answer as to the meaning of life, in their vain attempt to have us believe that life is sustainable without God.  They even have established many man-made religions that all fall short of the knowledge of the one true God.  The world system considers the ways of God foolishness, yet deep inside they know it’s real because when it becomes a threat to their belief system, they will expose their hatred of God by persecuting and murdering Christians.  They hated Jesus and they will hate His followers as well (Jn. 15:18-19; 17:14).

“The flesh is the inner propensity or inclination to do evil.  It is the part of our creaturliness tainted by the fall that remains with us until the day we die.”² The flesh is that part of us that is easily enticed to partake of the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life.  People of the world will look at Christians with judgment when they see them fall short according to their own idealism of religious standards because they do not understand that Christians will have a continuous struggle to subdue the evil inclination of the flesh, and many times fail to do so in this present evil age.  If those of the world understood the true Gospel, they would know that God’s grace has set Christians free from condemnation, it enables them to confess their sins to one another so that they can move on in their endeavor to live godly lives through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Soldiers in Training

Do we fear the Devil? Christ has overcome him and his power over us at the cross. It is the law that causes fear, for the law reveals sin, which incurs punishment; but Jesus also provided forgiveness, so there is no reason to fear anymore, the Lord has shown that His love is greater than His law (1 Jn. 4:18). We are more than conquerors in Christ (Rom. 8:37).

“Sinners are not saved until they trust the Savior, and saints are not victorious until they trust the Deliverer from the reigning power of sin.  God has made this rescue possible through the cross of His Son.  Salvation from the power of sin must be claimed by faith.”

– Lewis Sperry Chafer³

It is helpful to know several things about spiritual warfare that will greatly increase your confidence in “fighting the good fight of faith” (1 Tim. 6:12).

• We need to understand God’s love and sovereignty and purpose for allowing Satan to exist (Gen. 2:16, 17; 3:1-6; the Book of Job)
• God is the creator of all things, including Satan, so there is no reason to fear, for he is always subject to God in all he does, and his power of death was defeated at the crucifixion of Christ (Jn. 12:31-32; 16:33; Heb. 2:14-15; Rev. 17:14)
• He is temporarily the ruler of this age, and has no part in the age to come
• We are not to fear those who can kill the body, but Him who can destroy both soul and body (Matt. 10:28)
• God gives us incentive to be overcomers (Rev. 21:6-7)
• Jesus and the Holy Spirit intercedes for us (Heb. 8:25; Rom. 8:26, 27, 34)
• The gift of the Holy Spirit empowers us (1 Jn. 4:4)
• Our born-again status protects us (1 Jn. 5:18-20; 2 Thess. 3:3)

“Spiritual warfare is not a matter of learning certain techniques for dealing with principalities and powers, but first and foremost the maintaining of a position which the believer occupies by reason of his being ‘in Christ.’ It is the Lord Jesus Christ who ‘having disarmed the powers and authorities, made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross’ (Colossians 2:15).  The Lord Jesus Christ has already defeated those powers and now that the believer is ‘in Him’ he has defeated them as well.  He is not fighting to obtain a victory, but simply standing in the victory accomplished by the death and resurrection of the Lord.” -Neil Silverberg⁴

In Ephesians 6:10-18 the apostle Paul tells us where to get our strength to withstand the wiles⁵ of the devil – in the Lord and in the power of His might, not from ourselves and our own resources.  Only the Spirit can defeat what is of the spiritual realm, and He has equipped us with everything we need to overcome the devil’s attacks so that we are encouraged not to give in or retreat, but to stand in glorious victory. Think about the fact that God created the devil, can he be more powerful than the One who created him?  No, but he sure would like to think so.  He is submissive to God and cannot do anything without His permission. 

“The church is not at war with Satan to try to overcome him, for Christ has already conquered.  She is now seated with Him ‘far above all principality and power.’ That is why the key word in Ephesians six used to describe the church’s attitude toward the realm of darkness in the word ‘stand.’” (Eph. 6:13-14).

He then goes on to explain, “Most believers assume that this is an exhortation to fight against the powers of darkness but it clearly is not.  ‘Stand’ implies that something has already been done, a position has already been obtained.  Each believer must now hold the ground which has been gained.  This is a far cry from ‘fighting against the devil,’ so often the position believers assume.” – Neil Silverberg⁶

The empowerment behind the pieces of armor Paul mentions are all functional based on our relationship with God, trusting Him and knowing His love for us.  We can see this by reading this chapter in context as we look back to the former chapters. Chapter one mentions how we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ, enabling us to be holy and without blame in love; we are adopted as sons; we are showered with His abundant grace; we have obtained an inheritance, etc.  How amazing is that!  Have you come to terms with this reality?

In his prayer of Ephesians 1:17-21 Paul wants us to have the spirit of wisdom and revelation to know God personally, he wants us to have understanding and enlightenment of the hope of His calling, to realize the exceeding greatness of His power toward us in His ability to conquer death and proving it when He raised Christ from the dead, so that He is now seated at His Father’s right hand of authority in heavenly places far above every evil opponent.

In his prayer of Ephesians 3:16-20 he is asking that we would be strengthened with might through God’s Spirit in the inner man, that Christ would dwell in our hearts through faith, being rooted and grounded in love so that we can comprehend what is the width and length and depth and height – to know the love of Christ which is beyond human comprehension, and be filled with all the fullness of God.  Wow!  How real have we made and practically applied these truths to our lives?  We are seated together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2:6-7), His sacrificial death enabled us to have boldness and access without having any reason to prevent us from approaching His throne (Eph. 3:12), and by having full dependence on Him who is our life, He is willing and able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think by His very own power working in us.  This is how we show His glory, and in awe express our gratitude in honoring all He has done and provided for us (Eph. 3:20-21).

The different pieces of armor are truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, the Word of God and prayer.  These weapons are useless to us unless we understand the practical significance they make in our lives.  A soldier will not use a sword if he has no idea what it is or how it is used.  Understanding the impact each weapon has in our relationship with God is essential for living a life of victory, because the devil will use every weapon he has – temptation, deceit, lying, and accusation to trap us into doubting the promises of God.

Girding Our Waist with Truth.  Ephesians 4:14 describes the lies of the devil, using every trick in the book to manipulate and take advantage of vulnerable people who are ignorant of the truth by supplying them with every false variation of doctrine, causing them to never have stability from knowing the truth. When we come under attack, the more we know God personally through studying His Word as revealed by the Holy Spirit, the more success we will be able to rightly discern between God’s voice of truth and the devil’s deceptive lies when he distorts God’s Word (Jn. 10:27).

Speaking the truth in love produces godly character, unifying the body of Christ as they are being edified to mature into the image of Christ.  But how can we speak in honesty if we don’t know the truth? The truth is revealed in Jesus, and He teaches us to put off our sinful inclinations in which we were formerly enslaved to by our old master, the Devil; and that we be renewed in the spirit of our minds, guided by our new master, God who is holy (Eph. 4:21-24; Rom. 6:16-18). The truth will give us assurance in knowing who God is (sovereign, our Creator) and who we are (created, sinners who are forgiven) which should produce in us humility to protect us from the devil’s attack of enticing us to be full of pride and boasting from our own works (Eph. 2:1-10; 4:1-3), which consist of the very corrupt ways we desire to be free of.

The Breastplate of Righteousness.  Jesus Christ is our righteousness, we are made right with God and accepted by Him because we identify with Christ who is now in us, and not because of our own efforts of the fallen flesh nature which is dead, powerless, and prone to be sinful.  Because of Christ’s imputed righteousness, we are made blameless before God and able to perform righteous deeds (Eph. 1:3-4; 2:10).  By knowing and accepting this favorable pardon from the Lord, which has drawn us close to Him, we do not have to defend ourselves against any demeaning accusation from the devil of being unworthy of being a beloved child of God, for Ephesians 4:24 declares: “that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”  See also Eph. 5:8, 9; Rom. 6:13, 14.

The Gospel of Peace.  The gospel declares that we can be reconciled to God, making us at peace with Him, yet by committing our life to Him means we are to be involved in a spiritual war.  As Christians, we have a long walk ahead of us on this battlefield.  Who would want to destroy and be against peacemakers?  Those who hate God, and so they preach a different gospel, causing people to have their minds corrupted from the simplicity of Christ (2 Cor. 11:3-4).

We need to know the deception we are up against and easily expose it, not just in words of truth about the gospel, but with our very own lives bearing the fruit of peace as a result of our relationship with God (Eph. 4:1-6).  The world has their own system of moral standards, but they are not of God.  They are based on what they think is right in their own eyes which cannot provide everlasting peace (Jn. 14:27; 16:33).  As we proclaim the message of God’s reconciliation with us and the resulting peace with Him (Lk. 2:14; Rom. 5:1, 10:15) we can go forth with confidence because we know if He is for us, then who can be against us (Rom. 8:31)?

The gospel not only reveals our peace with God, it enables us to establish peace with others, particularly with Israel in whom all others are indebted, for they are the chosen nation with whom God made His covenants of promise (Eph. 2:11-12).  They failed to recognize the promised Messiah, so God gave the Gentiles the privilege of being grafted in to receive the promises, and they were willing to believe (Rom. 11:11-12).  Now that we understand how through the shed blood of Christ we are all one in Spiritual unity, we can let go of our differences and be at peace with one another (Eph. 2:13-16).  Israel in the flesh could never fulfill the prophecies of Zion as described in Isaiah 60 and Zechariah 8:20-23.  They must first come to know God as their Savior and redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob (Is. 60:16).  It is the Israel of God, heirs of Abraham’s faith (Gal. 3:16) who will be attractive to all nations, not Israel of the flesh (Rom. 9:6-8; 2:28-29; Gal. 6:15-16). When Israel is restored to glory in the millennial kingdom, accepting the Lord as their ruler over Mt. Zion, they will experience the everlasting covenant of peace (Micah 4:1-8; Ezk. 37:26).

The Shield of Faith.  We use our faith as a shield against the fiery darts of the enemy.  Can our faith be shaken if we have accepted the truth that Jesus is the Son of God (1 Jn. 5:4-5) and if we are filled with the power of the Holy Spirit which testifies of this truth (Rom. 8:16)?  Do we trust God (Ps. 18:30) and His purposes of using our inevitable involvement in spiritual warfare for the purpose of good, such as building godly character (Rom. 5:3-4)?  

The Helmet of Salvation.  Only the helmet of salvation can protect our head from fatal injury.  The serpent, who is opposed to salvation, suffered the prophesied (Gen 3:15) fatal bruise to the head, losing his authority and power over death when the Lord conquered him on the cross.  Christians have become citizens of God’s kingdom; they are part of God’s family, seated in heavenly places.  They know their eternal destiny so they are no longer fearful of death.  If Satan can cause you to doubt your salvation, then he is succeeding in drowning out the voice of the Holy Spirit who is the seal of your salvation (Eph. 1:13) and dwells within you, your source of resurrected life. 

The remedy for this is to spend more time communing with God personally, growing deeper in the knowledge of Him as you allow the Holy Spirit to guide you into all truth.  Open your Bible and start conversing with Him, what is on your heart?  What does the Scripture reveal about our human nature in its fallen condition and how we are made new in the image of Christ (Eph. 2:1-7)?  In your daily situations, notice how you can either respond or react as you normally would in the flesh or be sensitive to the voice of the Holy Spirit and thereby walk in the Spirit (Col. 1:9-12; 2:6-7) as we are called to do.  Be sensitive of every opportunity to exercise the Spirit instead of the flesh.  Are you fearful or worried about something?  The Holy Spirit is not, He has everything under control according to the will of God.  Do you know the will of God? (Hint – His ways are not our ways (Is. 55:8-9)).

The Sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. The Word of God is our source of dividing the truth from the lies. “For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).  Notice how the Word of God is living and powerful. It has the anointing of the living Holy Spirit to save (cf. Rom. 1:16), convict of sin and uncover every lie against the true Word of God.  In Matthew 4:1-11 Satan used a false version of the Scriptures to deceive Jesus in order to entice Him to sin.  But Jesus was able to withstand his attacks with a counter attack of the true meaning of Scripture.  We are capable of knowing the true meaning of Scripture, for Jesus said the Helper, the Holy Spirit, will teach us all things (Jn. 14. 14:26; 16:13).

Responsibility and Discipline

It is our responsibility to utilize all that God has done and provided for us through the manifestation of the Holy Spirit.  Through Him we have confidence in all things, for He is our testimony that Satan is conquered and can continue to be conquered in our personal lives.  The world system no longer has an influence over us for we have the Holy Spirit to guide us into a new way of living as citizens of the kingdom of God.  We can now conquer the sinful inclinations of the flesh by taking responsibility and put it to “death.”

The flesh, the part of us that is vulnerable to the lies of Satan, is so strong and powerful that it can lure us into doing things that are normally against our will.  “The Spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak” (Matt. 26:41). It takes the hard exercise of discipline to forsake the flesh and its strongholds – lust, indulgence, idle comfort – in which Jesus gave into none of those things.  He didn’t just explain the Kingdom of God, He lived it. As the Son of God, He was not of this world and its ethics and politics; He was not enslaved to sin, so He was able to live in full obedience and submission to the Father, which qualified Him to atone for our sins as the spotless Lamb of God.  Now we can live in obedience as well by being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. 

“The Son of Man has no place to lay His head” (Matt. 8:20), He was completely not of this world (Jn. 18:36).  He was so selfless that the example He led was in sharp contrast to the ways of fallen men who are subject to the evil spirit behind their fallen condition – their master, Satan, who is totally opposed to the holy disciplined selfless life, and wants to kill off everything that is holy, even God Himself.  This was demonstrated when Jesus allowed Himself to be falsely accused and crucified with criminals, but those of the devil couldn’t see it as their final defeat.  They thought they were putting Jesus to death, but they unknowingly enabled God to use this event to atone for our sins and therefore enable believers to be resurrected to new life with Christ in the Spirit.

The Importance of Prayer

Paul mentions at the end of his armory list that we should pray.  Why is this so important in spiritual warfare? 

“Prayer is the heart of spiritual warfare.  Prayer is so vital because it is the means of intimacy and communion with the almighty Lord.  Prayer is also an expression of faith.  The very act of prayer is an admission that ‘there is someone greater than I’ and that ‘I am not able.’ …It is actually foundational to deploying all of the other weapons.  Prayer is the essence and mode of spiritual warfare.”

-Clinton E. Arnold⁷

Can you pray to God in such a way that you don’t feel like you were talking to Him as if He is far off in the heavens, or talking to an impersonal invisible floating mass, but realizing His very presence dwelling inside of you, communicating to Him intimately and honestly like you would with a person? He is our heavenly Father.

Ephesians 6:18 says to “pray in the Spirit.” When you pray in the Spirit you can be sure you are praying the will of God, and that it pertains to His will being done on earth as it is in heaven (Matt:6:10).

“This refers to the Holy Spirit’s work of guiding and directing us to pray for specific things.  Paul calls us to cultivate a sensitivity to what the Spirit may be prompting us to pray for and then how we should pray about it.  Prayer is more than just vocalizing a list of needs to God.  Prayer involves asking God how we should pray and then acting on promptings and impressions the Spirit places on our minds.”

–Clinton E. Arnold⁸

The Power of Unity

But we are able to withstand his attacks by loving one another, speaking the truth in love and being edified in love. (Eph. 4:13-16).  The Lord has empowered us to do this because we believe He dwells in our hearts; we are rooted and grounded in the sure knowledge of the love He poured out on us when He saved us, a love that is beyond our comprehension.  His love is the most powerful weapon we have use of to overcome the enemy’s attack on the true knowledge of God, and it is a weapon we must first receive for ourselves before we can use it effectively against him (Eph. 3:16-21).  By receiving His love for us, we can genuinely show the world a different kind of love, a love that is willing to suffer discomfort for the sake of others, and for some, a love that is willing to fearlessly die for the sake of glorifying Christ (Eph. 5:11-2).

“God’s power is essential not only for resisting the influence of the powers of Satan, but also for manifesting love in the Christian community and living according to the ethical standards that Paul laid down.”  –Clinton E. Arnold⁹

What Spiritual Warfare is Not

People have a misconstrued idea of what spiritual warfare is as described in the Bible.  And the same goes for their idea of who God is, for that matter.  We cannot know the truth unless we use the Bible as our source of information, and we cannot fully understand the true meaning of God’s Word apart from the teaching of the Holy Spirit.

I came across a few resources that confirm what spiritual warfare is by exposing what it is not.  If you are involved in a church that is not led by a Pastor with Shepherd-like qualities, or one who does not have accountability to any one, and does not provide Biblical studies or discipleship training, then you have a greater chance of being led astray (Matt. 7:21-27).  The following quotes may help you be more discerning about true spiritual warfare. 

Ephesians 1:19, “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.’  The Apostle, here, is not so much praying that the Ephesians may be given power, as that they may know the power of God that is already working in them.’”

–Martyn Lloyd Jones¹⁰

Clinton E. Arnold makes a profound statement about our liberation from evil:

“Whereas, in exorcisms Jesus liberated a few individuals from the power of the devil, by his death and resurrection he liberated the entire race.  All who exercise faith in Christ, and “abide” in him, can share in his victory over Satan and the powers of darkness.”¹¹

Here, he describes realistic Biblical spiritual warfare from Eph. 6:10-20:

“The nature of spiritual warfare, as Paul portrayed it here, is primarily concerned with Christian conduct and spreading the gospel – not with exorcism or eradicating structural evil.  The heart of spiritual warfare could best be summarized as resistance and proclamation.”¹²

Here, he addresses the imbalanced focus of spiritual warfare ministries:

“Stressing spiritual warfare might lead to an unbalanced, experience-oriented theology centering on the spectacular….There is a tendency for people in some circles to think of spiritual warfare as a specialized form of ministry rather than a descriptive phrase characterizing our common struggle as believers.  Thus, for many people, to speak of spiritual warfare is to speak of exorcism, deliverance ministry, taking authority in the name of Jesus against the enemy, or special forms of authoritative prayer.  Certainly these are all aspects of spiritual warfare, but no single ministry exhausts our understanding of spiritual warfare.”¹³

Here, he sheds light on how false ministries will take scripture out of context:

Ephesians 6:10-20 “The passage is not about casting out evil spirits or dealing with territorial spirits.  These verses describe the common struggle with evil in the day-to-day lives of Christians.”

Ephesians 6:12 “…of course Paul emphasizes that it is not literal wrestling – ‘flesh and blood’- that he is referring to.  He is speaking of a struggle with unseen forces.  The metaphor of wrestling highlights the immediacy of the struggle.  It involves strenuous effort, stamina, and, especially, proper spiritual fitness.”¹⁴

Here, he puts emphasis on the means of our participation in spiritual warfare, through our relationship with God:

“Second, these believers were directed to a new and unique means of access to divine power.  A magical formula or recipe will not manipulate God.  He is a personal God who communes with His people and seeks a relationship with His own.  This fellowship with God does not come through some mystical absorption into a deity and through a mystery ritual or any other means.  It comes by the access made to God through the work of Jesus Christ on the cross (Eph. 2:18).”¹⁵

Here he explains the role of faith in spiritual warfare:

“The faith he called for is based on the objective fact of Christ’s resurrection and exaltation over the supernatural powers.  God’s power is not imparted to Christians by wearing a magical amulet or even a crucifix.  Neither does one gain access to it by performing a rite or by chanting certain words.  God’s power is given through simple trust in Him.  This trust finds expression most commonly in the act of prayer.”¹⁶

What is My Part in Spiritual Warfare?

Our involvement in spiritual warfare requires us to stand in the power and provisions of God (Eph. 6:11, 13, 14). It is essential to know that God has defeated the enemy, the battle is His, and we are to obey the Lord out of His love for us and our love for Him.  He has supplied us with the full armor of God to overcome every obstacle that prevents us from moving forward in our sanctification process and advancing his Kingdom here on earth.  When tempted, we are to resist the devil (not run from him), and he will flee (Ja. 4:7).  The devil is a liar; we are to proclaim the true gospel.  The devil causes us to fear death, but we have peace knowing Christ has conquered death (Rev. 1:18).  When the devil accuses and condemns us, we have confidence that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1).  When the devil persecutes Christians, we trust Jesus to walk us through where He walked (1 Pet. 2:21; 3:13-17).  We are to devote our lives to prayer and intercession, having full reliance on the wisdom and guidance of God to direct us as co-warriors in proclaiming the victory of Christ here on earth.  Christ has accomplished victory over the devil; we must do our part in maintaining victory over the influence of the world system and the sinful inclination of the flesh.

Jesus suffered the worst part of the battle for us – conquering death.  He not only had the incentive of knowing the joy set before Him from the outcome, but was able to withstand the brutality and torture from the enemy (which is even harder to withstand when you are innocent) because He knew He was about to silence them and render them defeated and powerless very shortly.  We can trust in His power in us to conquer the fiery darts the enemy uses against us.  We are more than conquerors in Christ.

Romans 8:35-39  “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written:

“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”

³⁷ Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. ³⁸ For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, ³⁹ nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Here is a quote of insightful wisdom about the most important thing we should know about spiritual warfare:

“It is safe to say that Satan will do just about anything he can to prevent God’s people from realizing the absolute victory of the Lord Jesus.  He does not mind all the noise made about spiritual warfare in the Church, as long as people remain blinded to this ascended position of Christ.  But watch what happens when a group of people get serious regarding the headship of Christ, attempting to express all that His headship implies in practical life.  Then real spiritual warfare begins!  Satan will hotly contest those who attempt to hold that ground because it will mean the end of him.”

He then goes on the say, “This is the real context in which to approach the subject of spiritual warfare.  To talk about spiritual warfare to men who have not seen the place God has given to His Son is to actually invite men to disaster.  There is really only one thing that Satan fears – those who know the place that God has given to His Son and attempts to enforce it in the church. Let people become serious about this and a hornet’s nest will be stirred up!” -Neil Silverberg¹⁷

Reference note: When Christians see a book about spiritual warfare, they may assume it’s one of those books about a false sensational deliverance ministry, or because of their lack of understanding on this subject; they are naturally repelled at the thought of reading about the devil and his evil deeds.  But Clinton Arnold’s books are not like that.  They are very informative in a very scriptural way.  We are not to be ignorant of the devil’s schemes.  Reading his books will keep you in check with reality, you will understand the purpose of God in better context and experience new freedom, power and authority in Christ like never before.

If you have questions about demon possession, see “Can a Christian be demon possessed? Can a Christian be demonized?” at  www.gotquestions.org/Christian-demon-possessed.html

Below are further Scriptures that shed light on Spiritual Warfare:

Matthew 11:12  “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force. ¹³ For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John.”

2 Corinthians 4:3-4  “But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, ⁴ whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.”

Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, ² in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, ³ among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.”

Colossians 1:13-18  “He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. ¹⁶ For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. ¹⁷ And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist. ¹⁸ And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.”

1 John 4:4-6 “You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. ⁵ They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, and the world hears them. ⁶ We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.”

1 John 5:3-5 “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. ⁴ For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. ⁵ Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”

Revelation 12:10-12 “Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down. ¹¹ And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death. ¹² Therefore rejoice, O heavens, and you who dwell in them! Woe to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea! For the devil has come down to you, having great wrath, because he knows that he has a short time.”

Revelation 20:10 “The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

Psalm 27 1-3  “The Lord is my light and my salvation;
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the strength of my life;
Of whom shall I be afraid?
² When the wicked came against me
To eat up my flesh,
My enemies and foes,
They stumbled and fell.
³ Though an army may encamp against me,
My heart shall not fear;
Though war may rise against me,
In this I will be confident.”

Notes

1.  The Overcoming Life by Dwight L. Moody, Pg. 15; 1896, 1995, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago

2. 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg.  34; 1997 Baker Academic

2b. The Overcoming Life by Dwight L. Moody, Pg. 14; 1896, 1995, The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago

3. Systematic Theology by Lewis Sperry Chafer, Vol. 6, Pg. 294; 1948, 1976 Kregel Publications

4. The Heritage of God’s Testimony – Restoring the Testimony of Christ in the Church As Seen in the Movements of the Ancient Ark by Neil Silverberg, 1995 Master Press, Pg. 58

5. “Wiles – This is a Greek word for schemes, carrying the idea of cleverness, crafty methods, cunning and deception.  Satan’s schemes are propagated through the evil world system over which he rules, and are carried out by his demon hosts.  Wiles is all-inclusive, encompassing every sin, immoral practice, false theology, false religion, and worldly enticement.” -The MacArthur Bible Commentary, John MacArthur, Pg. 1705; 2005 Thomas Nelson, Inc.

6. The Heritage of God’s Testimony – Restoring the Testimony of Christ in the Church As Seen in the Movements of the Ancient Ark by Neil Silverberg, 1995 Master Press, Pg. 59

7. 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg.  43; 1997 Baker Academic      

8. 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg.  46; 1997 Baker Academic

9. Powers of Darkness by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg.  151; 1992 Inter Varsity Press

10. God’s Ultimate Purpose, An Exposition of Ephesians 1 by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Pg. 391; 1979 Baker Books

11. Powers of Darkness by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg. 82; 1992 Inter Varsity Press

12. Powers of Darkness by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg.  154; 1992 Inter Varsity Press

13. 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg. 26; 1997 Baker Academic

14. 3 Crucial Questions About Spiritual Warfare by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg. 37; 1997 Baker Academic

15. Powers of Darkness by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg. 151-152; 1992 Inter Varsity Press

16. Powers of Darkness by Clinton E. Arnold, Pg. 158 ; 1992 Inter Varsity Press

17. The Heritage of God’s Testimony – Restoring the Testimony of Christ in the Church As Seen in the Movements of the Ancient Ark by Neil Silverberg, 1995 Master Press, Pgs. 59-60