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Part 3 of Battling the Darkness: Spiritual Warfare

Matthew 4:4 But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not
live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.

Ephesians 6:17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of
the Spirit, which is the word of God: 18 Praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and
supplication for all saints;

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and
sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul
and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart.

2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness:

17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Matthew 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree
on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of
my Father which is in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 Pray without ceasing.

A full discussion of Scripture study and of prayer are far beyond the reach
of this article.  What we will examine here, and only in outline form, is
the role that Scripture and prayer play in spiritual warfare.  Jesus knew
very well the power the Word has against the Enemy; he responded to every attack
of Satan in the wilderness with "It is written", and used the appropriate
passage to refute Satan's suggestions.  We can do the same, but in order to
do so, we must be familiar with what the Word teaches in the various situations
that confront us in life.  Daily Bible study is an essential part of our
arsenal against Satan; memorizing verses is good, because we can draw on those
verses we've committed to heart as the situation arises.  There will be
times, though, no matter how many verses we have committed to memory, that we
need something else.  Familiarity with the Word allows us to call passages
to mind even when we can't cite chapter and verse.  If we're at home, or
some other place where we can sit down and look up references, we'll have a head
start if we know where to look, at least the book involved if not the chapter
and verse.  A good concordance is another essential tool in our daily
devotional life.

The presence, or abiding, of the words of Scripture, the words of God, within
us bears directly on the success of our prayer life.  Here's what Jesus
said: If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye
will, and it shall be done unto you. (John 15:7).  This "abiding" in
Christ has to do with the kind of relationship we have with him, more intimate
than we have even with our own spouses.  We not only live with
Christ, but in him, as part of his body.  Paul calls the church "the
body of Christ" (1 Corinthians 12:27).  If we live in Christ, and his Word
lives in us, he promises that our requests to God will be answered.  When
we are confronted by spiritual attacks, then, no matter what form they take, we
have the assurance that the ammunition we need to counter the attack is in the
Word, and that our prayers will defeat the Enemy's purpose, because the Word of
God says so.  This is one of the promises we can stand on:  Submit
yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James
4:7), and Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because
greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (1 John 4:4).

Paul's letter to the Ephesians, like many of his other letters, was written
to a church body, though it certainly has application to individuals.  The
passage in Ephesians says "we" battle not against flesh and blood; a soldier
goes to battle as part of an army, not as a lone ranger.  The great thing
about being a Christian is that we are part of a body; we don't have to
fight Satan and his demons alone.  There is great power in spiritual unity,
as Jesus indicated in the passage above from Matthew 18.  Roman soldiers
fought shoulder to shoulder, and, if necessary, back to back.  It has often
been pointed out that there is no protective armor for the back, because we are
to stand against the enemy, not run away.  This is true, but in the heat of
battle someone may attack from your rear anyway.  There's a popular
expression now, "I've got your back," meaning the other person is looking out
for us.  Well, in spiritual battles, others in the church "have your back". 
We need to be part of a local church body in part because we can turn to the
people in it for support when the Enemy comes against us like a flood; if we
can't rely on our church to do that for us, then we need to find another one.

The admonition in 1 Thessalonians is to "pray without ceasing".  That
doesn't mean we should be uttering prayers all day long; it does mean we should
be consciously in fellowship with the Lord wherever we are.  It's a little
like being at home with a well-loved spouse; we aren't talking all the time, but
just the consciousness that the other person is there, and will answer when we
call, is a great comfort.  When Satan uses people and circumstances to come
against us, we can be certain that the Lord is there by our side to help us
resist him.  The members of our local church cannot always be physically
present with us, but the Lord certainly can.  We are not alone; we are
never alone if we are Christ's.

We acquire habits in our daily lives, good and bad.  The best habits we
can cultivate are to make the two bulwarks of our faith, the Word and the
fellowship of prayer, a part of our daily routine.  Defeating the enemy may
not be something that happens immediately, and we may lose some battles because
our faith falters.  We can rest in the assurance, though, that Satan is
already a defeated enemy, and that we rest in victory when the war is finally
done.

Resources:

Correcting the Cults: Expert Responses to Their Scripture Twisting

By Norman L. Geisler / Baker


How do cults use Scripture to ensnare millions? Discover the ways that Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, the New Age movement, and others misinterpret the Bible to support their own doctrines. Comprehensive, accessible, and intelligent, this reliable resource will equip you to understand aberrant faith systems, reason with their adherents, and point them toward Jesus Christ! Formerly titled When Cultists Ask. 368 pages, softcover from Baker.

Coming next: Know Your Enemy

 

Part 1 of Battling the Darkness: Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 6:12 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.

1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the
devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions
are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

No one makes it through life without problems.  In the eyes of the
world, when bad things happen that can't be otherwise explained, they're
attributed to "circumstances" or "bad luck".  Too often we as Christians
have bought into this lie; we live "under the circumstances", a place we should
never be.  If we apportion blame, it may be to specific people. or to the
general condition of the world, or society.  While it is certainly true
that, in a fallen world, bad things can and do happen to "good people", and we
sometimes bring disaster on ourselves, often we need to look elsewhere.

The ancient world was accustomed to the idea of demons and evil spirits of
every kind.  No one questioned that Jesus or Paul cast out demons from
people.  In our "modern" world, though, things like mental illness,
heredity, and chemical deficiency are blamed for a wide variety of ailments that
once would have been considered the work of demons.  That's certainly true
in many cases, but most physicians and psychiatrists are not trained, or
inclined, to diagnose spiritual problems.  Concentrating on treating
symptoms, they have no real idea of the ultimate cause if it isn't physiological
or related to "circumstances."  Fundamental Christians believe in the
existence of demons, servants of Satan, in the world, but we steer clear of
subjects like exorcism, casting out demons.  People who engage in such
practices are viewed as crackpots, or con artists.

As Christians, we should expect unfavorable attention from the Devil. 
If we coast along, and nothing really bad ever happens to us after we're saved,
it's because we're not doing anything for the Lord.  The moment we do, we
can expect an attack to come our way.  It may take many forms: through our
work, through our families, in finances, in relationships, in being victimized
by crime or personal attacks.  The good news is that we don't have to sit
and take it; the Lord has given us defenses against the enemy's attacks. 
We also have a powerful weapon to strike back with.  The next two lessons
in this series will look at both our spiritual armor, and our weapon of attack,
the sword of the Spirit.

Besides direct attacks against Christians, there are levels of ongoing
demonic involvement in our lives, and in the lives of the unsaved. 
Persistent demonic activity around someone, leading to feelings of anxiety,
despair, and general spiritual heaviness, is demonic oppression.  The
demon, or demons, don't directly control the person, but make life so miserable
that the person may be driven to extreme action, such as violent behavior or
even suicide.  This activity is much less common than the daily drum roll
of attacks we face if we're trying to serve God.  Even less common,
actually quite rare, is demonic possession.

The Bible is clear that possession by demons occurred in the time of Christ
and the early church.  We should not think things are any different in our
world, where there is such an obvious abundance of satanic activity.  There
is a fine line, though, between behavior manifested as a result of schizophrenia
or paranoia, and the work of demons inside someone.  No one should delve
into activity like confronting demons, or attempting something like an exorcism,
without the gift of spiritual discernment, to determine if demons are, in fact,
at work.  Such efforts can be disastrous both for the person attempting
exorcism and the presumed demoniac, who may be mentally ill and nothing more. 
One such incident, actually a bit humorous, is recorded in Acts 19:13-20,
involving the sons of one Sceva.  Too many times, though, the results are
far from humorous.  We will look in a later article at the marks of demonic
possession according to the Bible.  Can a Christian be demon-possessed? 
The short answer is "No"; we'll look at why this is the case.

There are many paths a person can take to spiritual bondage.  Today our
world is endlessly fascinated with the occult, from psychics with their "spirit
guides", to mediums, to haunted buildings.  Horoscopes are a big business,
as are psychic hotlines.  People are frantic to gain a measure of control
over their lives by trying to find out what their future holds, and what
decisions they should make.  Such fascination with the occult is very
unhealthy, and provides an open door for demonic involvement in the person's
life.  This lesson looks at avenues of spiritual bondage, both to avoid,
and to repent of, if we have already engaged in them.

In the last discussion, we look at the requirements of good spiritual health. 
For every circumstance, for every problem, God has a solution in his Word. 
Nothing is new under the sun, Solomon wrote (Ecclesiastes 1:9).  Modern
philosophies have a lot of new names, like secular humanism, and modernism, and
postmodernisms, and a whole host of other "isms".  All of them, though,
amount to the same thing: an attempt to explain the world, or the universe,
apart from God.  To him, all such are efforts are foolishness (1
Corinthians 1:18-25), and the one who denies that there is a God is the greatest
fool of all (Psalms 14:1).  There is a correct, Biblical attitude that we
should take toward the world, and all of its terrors.  That's what we'll
consider at the end of this series.

Coming next: The right equipment for the job.

 

Part 2 of Battling the Darkness: Spiritual Warfare

Ephesians 6:10 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

11 Put on the whole armour 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 armour 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:

18 Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;

No matter how strong we think we are, on our own, the Devil is stronger. If we try to confront him on our own, he will destroy us. As Christians, though, we never need to fight spiritual battles alone. If we are serving Christ, we will be involved in battles with the Enemy. If we never battle him, it's because we're not doing anything for the Lord.

Though attacks may come against us directly, through our emotions and thoughts, they often come through other people. Whatever form they take, though, the moving force is always the same. Satan is
not omnipresent, but he commands an army of demons, organized into a hierarchy. Some believe that Paul's terms here refer to the levels of the Devil's organization, with principalities being the local organizations, powers the next level up, then the world rulers, followed by Satan himself and his inner council. However that may be, the Devil is the main enemy, and in addressing him, we are addressing all of those malignant spirits who serve him.

Ancient warriors had to contend with a variety of dangers in battle. 
They faced volleys of arrows, which they caught with their shields; spear and
sword thrusts, which they deflected either with their shields or breastplate;
or rocks or other missiles aimed at their head, which they protected with a
helmet.  Before the battle began, they thrust their bottom garments,
similar to skirts, up under their belts.  This, and securely fastening on
their shoes, helped them to maneuver more easily in battle.

We should never retreat before Satan; the Bible says if we resist him, he will flee from us (James 4:7), and this is what Paul is discussing: how to resist the Devil. Retreat should never be a part of our vocabulary when it comes to spiritual warfare; even the use of the term for a time away from the world is not really consistent with any concept in scripture. When Satan comes against us, we are to stand fast, confident in God's power.

Each piece of armor is suited for a particular kind of spiritual attack. Our loins, physically, are our most vulnerable and sensitive organs, and a favorite target of an enemy is hand-to-hand combat. Spiritually, this represents the truth of the Gospel, the fact that Jesus Christ is who he says he is, and that he accomplished for each of us what he claimed to do. Our loins also represent our emotions in ancient terminology (as in the term "bowels of mercies"). If the Devil can cause us sufficient emotional turmoil, so that our reason is clouded, we may begin to doubt the truth of what we first believed. Reacting
with depression or anger or despair to spiritual attacks weakens our ability to resist what the Devil throws against us, and can cause to doubt the truth of the Word. Satan may also attack us through lust, especially sexual lust, and no other emotional response more explicitly refers to the loins. Scripture says that lust wars against our very soul (1 Peter 2:11), and to combat it we must understand both its source, and its effects. Truth is revealed in God's Word, which is both a defensive and offensive weapon.

Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto
the Father, but by me. (John 14:6)  The truth is what God's Word
proclaims.  The truth is that Jesus was God come in the flesh, wholly man
and wholly God.  The truth is that Jesus died for the sins of us all, and
that in him we have eternal life.  If we, as believers, stand on that
truth, everything else will fall into place.  If we aren't "girt up" with
the truth, we are less able to "maneuver" to avoid Satan's attacks.

The breastplate protects the heart, the core of who we are, and the lungs, the breath of life. An attack on the heart, especially, can result in immediate death. Righteousness refers to our witness, our behavior toward others, our standing as God's children. Sinful behavior, especially if it is persistent, can destroy our witness in the world. The righteousness we have, like truth, isn't part of our natural equipment; it comes from Christ. That's why we have to continually "put it on"; we can only lay claim to righteousness to the extent that the Holy Spirit controls our behavior, thoughts, and attitudes. Satan's attacks attempt to reach us in our most vulnerable areas, particularly a besetting sin. This may be temptation to indulge in the same kind of sexual lust referred to above; the same sin may affect us in several different ways. We will not resort to fornication or theft or murder if we hold to the standards of righteousness that God gives us. 
Righteousness is what we present to the world, if we are Christ's. 
Without it, our humanity is exposed, which will never bear the test of
righteousness.  We become the targets of gossip, and are charged with
hypocrisy, or pretending to be something we are not.  Righteousness
refers to our testimony, with which we defeat Satan (Revelation 12:11).

Our feet enable us to stand fast, and to maneuver in battle. Our shoes protect our feet from stones and other obstacles on the ground around us. The image here involves the command to go and share the Gospel with all nations, the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20 and Mark 16:15). To the extent we do that, and people receive Christ, Satan has fewer human instruments at his disposal. We can't do that on our own; the power to spread the Gospel comes from Christ as well. If all we ever do is rest in our own salvation, and never share the good news with others, we strengthen the Devil's ability to attack us. 
Why does sharing the Gospel require preparation?  Because we can't share
something we don't have.  In order to witness to others of our faith, we
must first understand what our faith is.  Romans 10:14 How then
shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they
believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a
preacher? 15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is
written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace,
and bring glad tidings of good things!  In the sense of sharing the
Good News with others, we are all commanded to be preachers.  When we're
armed with the Gospel, Satan cannot easily attack our witness.

The fiery darts of Satan are the circumstances he manipulates to attack us, through our families, our finances, or our health, among many other ways. That's how he attacked Job, by destroying all he held dear, and how he still launches attacks against God's people. Faith says "No matter what happens, I still trust that God is in control." Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him" (Job 13:15a). Even if God sees fit for Satan's agents to take our very lives, our physical lives, from us, he is still in control. Jesus said we should not fear those who can only kill the body, but can't touch our soul (Matthew 10:28). Fear is the enemy of faith, and its opposite. Faith sees past the darkness, through the storm, and looks to God's care even when overwhelming force comes against us (Psalms 91).

When it comes to talking about what faith is, there are several distinct, but related, answers. It's similar to the definition of "love", for which we have one word in English, but for which the Greeks had at least three, perhaps four. The first "type" of faith, if we can call it
a type, is saving faith. When we agree to, and accept, the idea that we are dead in sin, and that only Christ can give us life and freedom, faith goes on to the next step of asking forgiveness, and accepting the gift of eternal life. Faith always involves trust, and action based on that trust. That's why it just isn't belief; as James said, faith without works is dead (James 2:26). Real faith is always alive. What about proof? The proof of saving faith is the witness of others who believe, the witness of the Word of God, and, especially, the witness of the Spirit that salvation is real, and Jesus is the only way to attain to it. It's like when we fly in a plane, as a passenger; we have absolutely nothing
to do with why planes work, or with getting them where they're supposed to go. We accept the fact (for the most part) that when we climb into a jet, we will come out again at our destination. Unlike planes, though, there is absolutely no chance that we will "crash" on our way to eternity..

The next type of "faith" is the ongoing relationship with God that gets us through the course of each day, faith which is a fruit of the Holy Spirit. The Bible says that without faith it is impossible to please God; just as we can't be saved by doing good works, neither can be hope to gain God's favor as believers because of what we can "do". We can't be righteous on our own, but, like Abraham, our faith is accounted to us for righteousness (Romans 4:22). Rather than being a point of discouragement, this should be a cause of rejoicing. We don't always have to worry about whether or not a vengeful God will whack us over the head when we step out of line. We don't have to do great things to earn his love; his love is based on our relationship, not with what we do. Nonetheless, faith means we trust God to the extent of being obedient, then relying on his power and strength to accomplish what we could never do on our own. If the Lord calls us, for example, to teach Sunday School, and we've never taught before, and have no training in that direction, faith says that we will succeed as a teacher because God will give us the knowledge and abilities we need. As the old saying goes, God doesn't want our ability, but our availability.

Finally, for purposes of this discussion, faith includes the willingness to accept, or believe, what our senses cannot confirm, because God says it is so. The proof exists in our own minds and hearts, in the internal consistency of God's Word, and indirectly in the pattern and design of the world around us. Further, faith is real because the results of what we see, and do, are always consistent with what faith says they will be. God created the universe because it functions according to his plan and design; so-called science constantly has to revise its "laws" and theories because new information constantly shows they are flawed. They are "ever learning but never coming to a knowledge of the truth" (2 Timothy 3:7). Both saving faith and the faith of a daily walk are based ultimately in our belief that God is who he says is true, and that he "is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him". Our very faith, the fact that we have it, Hebrews says, is itself evidence that what we believe is true. Although believing in Christ as Savior involves our choice, the very faith to believe, and act, is itself is a gift of God. Not only can we not have righteousness without faith, we can't faith the God who gives it. 
The darts that Satan throws at us are circumstances that cause us to doubt
that what we believe is really true. No matter how bad things become, with our
families, our jobs, our finances, our health, or any other area of our lives,
faith proclaims that God is still in control.

Our mind makes decisions and choices, and is the seat of the will. Salvation is a choice, and once we make that choice, we are protected from changing our minds, and deciding we aren't saved after all. Satan loves to make Christians doubt they are really saved, especially by pointing out how badly they've behaved lately. If he can get us to believe that our continued salvation is tied to our behavior, not to our standing as children of God, he can plant doubts in our mind. The helmet of salvation is assurance, the confident knowledge that we are Christ's no matter what, and that Christ paid for our sins, whether committed before or after we were saved. To the extent that we believe and understand that, and submit our choices and will to God's control, we have the mind of Christ, which is proof against any of Satan's attacks.

In the next section, we will look at our offensive weapons against Satan:
the Sword of the Spirit, and prayer (which is actually both an offensive
weapon).

Coming next: The Sword Is Mightier than the Pens