Spiritual Warfare - What is it?

For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world-our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? - 1 John 5:4-5

When we fully trust in Christ, we have no fear of being swayed by vain arguments, false teachings, or honest discussions about God’s Word. Rooted in Him, we are secure and safe (John 10:28). Yet pride often blinds us to our own misunderstandings, keeping us from earnestly seeking truth (James 4:6-10). It is not Satan, but rather pride which whispers to us, “You could never be wrong, not after all this time” forever stifling our spiritual growth.

What we are commonly led to believe:

All too often we believe that if we pray enough, fast enough, attend every service & prayer meeting, and avoid sin with rigorous discipline; we will win the spiritual battle. We believe that with enough effort and discipline, the gates of Hell shall not prevail, and that our spiritual leaders—who convey to be even more dedicated and strong—are fighting on our behalf on their hands and knees against Hell. We convince ourselves that if we have the right amount of faith, and can properly focus that faith against the roaring lion: that the spirit of antichrist, enemies of God, and false teachings shall not prevail. We are told that we are not fighting just for ourselves, but for our kids, our grand children, and the rest of our future lineage.

Dear friends, we must make one point abundantly clear, there is only one thing we are instructed to do: place our full, unbridled faith (trust) in Christ entirely. That means dropping the weapons you have so strongly wielded in vain thus far.

Scripture & ideals erroneously applied to support the notion of leaning on our own efforts: 1 Peter 5:8-9: the devil is like a lion, seeking to devour you Eph. 6:10-16: Put on the full armor of God therefore 2 Corinthians 10:1-5: The weapons of our warfare are not of flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds Isaiah 41:10-14: Fear not, for God will uphold your right hand Hosea 4:6: You will be destroyed if you don’t have enough knowledge Romans 8:26: The Spirit of Christ fights our battles. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: The Devil will attack you externally and relentlessly Romans 8:15: you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear! Revelation 3:15-16: If you are lukewarm (not trying hard enough), Christ will spit you out of his mouth

What the bible actually teaches us:

True spiritual warfare isn’t about yelling at demonic forces with many words; nor is it spiritual forces enacting hardships unto our lives (James 3:15). The enemies of God do not truly fear this (Acts 19:15). Instead, they fear us finally placing our full, unbridled trust in Christ alone (1 John 5:4-5). We’re called to lay aside our own efforts (weapons of clay in reality) and instead embrace the victory already won by Jesus—clothed not in our armor of works, but in His robe and true armor (Isaiah 61:10). Our battle is fought by walking in His Truth, not by mustering our own strength. We do this entirely through Christ (Ephesians 2:8-10).

Let us consider the Word of God on this matter:

  • Colossians 2:13-15: Jesus disarmed rulers and authorities, shaming them. Stand firm in His redemptive work on the cross.
  • Stand firm in the truth of God’s Word.
    • 2 Corinthians 10:1-5 & Ephesians 6:17: Increase your knowledge of God (entirely enabled by the Holy Spirit cf. Col 1:9-12) and wield His Word as your sword.
    • Colossians 2:6-8: Walk in Christ, rooted in faith, thereby protecting you from the capture of empty philosophy.
    • Isaiah 41:10-14: Trust in the Lord. Not in your own might; have faith that Christ is upholding you.
    • Hosea 4:6: This is not in relation to “picking up your Word enough”. The context in question is clear: Israel did not just lack knowledge; they rejected and purposefully ignored it. Knowledge in this verse is specifically referring to God’s law.
  • Stand firm in the power of the risen Christ, through whom we can resist the devil.
    • 1 Peter 5:8-9 & Ephesians 6:10: Stand firm in faith in Christ; the enemy is but a roaring lion, and our strength comes from the Lord. We have no need to fear this ‘roaring lion’ therefore.
    • Colossians 1:9-12: It is not by our own human might that we can increase our spiritual wisdom and understanding. The glory alone belongs to God.
    • Romans 8:26: The Spirit intercedes for us. Intercede can be defined as: ’to intervene between parties with a view to reconciling differences.’ There is not an implied fight or violence in the role of an interceder; as they are aiming to reconcile instead.
    • Romans 8:15: Actual context here is with regards to law vs. grace and the implications that has in walking in the Spirit vs. the flesh.
    • 1 Corinthians 6:19-20: The actual context here is with regards to avoiding sexual immorality as it is a sin against your own flesh. More broadly, we can apply this to mean we should examine our health & personal habits. This has nothing to do with ‘attacks of Satan’ when read in context.
    • Revelation 3:15-16: A lukewarm Christian in context is actually mean to warn agianst reliance on self righteousness, self-works, and lack of total faith in Christ. This is clear if we read the entire section of Revelation 3:14-22. The church of Laodicea thought they had no need of Christ, instead opting to rely on their self-righteousness.

Resources used in part for my study on this topic: https://learn.ligonier.org/articles/what-is-spiritual-warfare