What is spiritual warfare and how does it affect me?
Ephesians 6:10-18
Spiritual warfare is the unseen battle of believers against Satan and his army of demons. It is not a physical battle, says Apostle Paul, but a spiritual struggle against the dark forces of evil in the world and in heavenly realm. This battleground or war takes place in our minds and in our hearts. The apostle Paul urges us to resist being taken captive by worldly philosophers. Let’s look at Colossians 2:8.
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces[a] of this world rather than on Christ.
Spiritual battles take place as an attack on our thoughts about the truth of God and our relationship with God Deuteronomy 13:13.
13 that troublemakers have arisen among you and have led the people of their town astray, saying, “Let us go and worship other gods” (gods you have not known),
We are encouraged to remember that Satan and his forces have already been defeated and disarmed by Christ Colossians 2:15.
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross
Paul tells believers that they have access to spiritual authority, knowledge, and power in the Lord Jesus Christ Ephesians 1:18 -21.
18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
Paul says, “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” because he wants all believers to comprehend the great hope, riches, and power they have received in Jesus Christ.
Believers in Christ, therefore need not to fear God’s enemies, spiritual or physical. Satan still has limited freedom to harassed followers of Jesus, and he has no direct authority over them. The armor of God. (Ephesian 6:10-17) is a picture of the protection. Jesus gives us against spiritual attacks.
Believers who fill their minds with God’s truth and remain alert through prayer will guard their hearts and minds against attack. This results of a peaceful spirit Philippians 4:4-6.
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
(Two passages which serve as matching orders for those in God’s army are Romans 12:1 — 21 and James4:1-12.)
The best way to avoid being frightened by darkness is to walk in the light 1 John 1:5-7.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. 6 If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all[a] sin.
When we put on the whole armor of God by daily! WE…..
- absorb spiritual truth
- live in obedience
- share the gospel
- trust Christ.
The spiritual armor will protect us from spiritual attacks. Only when we overcome temptation in the spiritual realm, can we play out the victory in the Physical world.
You need to understand that we are at war.
And I’m not talking about the war on terrorism.
We are at war with an enemy that is stronger and more evil than all the armies of the world.
This enemy makes Adolf Hitler look like a boy scout.
He can’t be defeated with guns, knives, tanks or even an atomic bomb. You can’t outrun him, you can’t outsmart him.
The only way to deal with this enemy is to stand and fight him. You have to stand nose to nose with him and fight.
But, he is far too strong for you. He will chew you up and spit you out, he will utterly destroy you.
And if try and run, he’ll take you down from behind and destroy you. So, if he is so powerful how do you fight him? How do you fight an enemy that you stand no chance against?
With the whole armor of God. God has equipped us with everything we need to battle Satan. God has given us the armor, but it’s up to us to put it on. Satan is the strongest enemy a Christian will ever face, Even as strong as he is, he can be beat.
But, in order to beat him you need all of your armor.
Every piece is important, if you leave out just one piece you create a weak spot, where you are vulnerable to his attacks.
There are six pieces to your armor, and you need all six pieces.
- The belt of truth
- The breastplate of righteousness
- The feet
- Helmet of Salvation
- The shield of faith
- The sword (which is the word of God)
Ephesians 6:10-17
(10) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
(11) Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
(12) For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
(13) Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
(14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
(15) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
(16) Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
(17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Verse 11 tells us why we need the armor – that we may be able to stand against wiles or schemes of the Devil.
Verse 12 tells us who the enemy is. We wrestle not against flesh and blood
our enemy is not other churches, we are not at war with the Church of God,
we are not at war with the free-will Baptist, or the Southern Baptist, or any other church for that matter. We are not even at war with the lost people. We are at war with Satan and his demons.
Verse 13 tells us when we need our armor – in the evil day
now for our armor
1. the belt of Truth – the Truth is a knowledge of the truth of God’s word. For an ancient Roman soldier, his loins were guarded with a leather belt that held all the other pieces of his armor in place. His belt was the foundation of his protection. Just like the word of God is the foundation of our protection
2. The breastplate of Righteousness – the breastplate protected the soldier’s heart from injury. The breastplate represents holy character and moral conduct. Obedience to the “truth” produces a Godly life. We protect our heart by obedience to the truth of God’s word. It’s no accident that the pieces of armor were listed in the order they are. Each piece relies on the piece before it works.
3. Your feet are ashod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace –
which means we have an eagerness that comes from the Gospel of Peace.
The Roman soldier put on his shoes in order to be able to advance against the enemy, without shoes he could not get traction and he would keep slipping and falling down. Without our spiritual shoes we can’t keep our traction, and we keep falling down. But with our shoes on and laced up we can take the fight to the Devil instead of letting him knock us down.
4. The Shield of Faith – The shield of faith means a faith in what God has promised us. If we keep believing what God’s word says we can withstand all the attacks of Satan. How does Satan attack? He causes us to doubt God’s promises. But with a shield made of our faith in God’s promises we can weather his attacks.
5. The helmet of Salvation – this is not talking about getting saved or staying saved – Paul wrote this to his Christian brothers ( Ephesians 2:8)
1 Thessalonians 5:8 describes this helmet as the hope of salvation or the certainty of salvation. If you are not sure of your salvation, then you are a sitting duck for the Devil. If Satan can make you doubt your salvation, he’s got you.
6. The sword of the Spirit – the sword is the Word of God, your weapon against Satan. But in order to use your weapon, you have to practice with it. A soldier never goes into battle with a weapon he is not familiar with. When I was in the Army, they issued me a weapon and made me clean it, oil it, walk with it, practice with it, fire it. They wanted me to get very good with it, so if I went to battle I would be able to trust it to save my life. The same goes for your bible.
But notice that all the armor we have discussed, there is no armor for your back. Because there are no cowards in God’s Army. We can not run, we don’t want to surrender, So, we must stand and fight against the enemy!
