Ephesians 6:10-13
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 you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
2 Corinthians 10:3-5
3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, 6 and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
The Christian journey is a journey of faith and adventure, which includes spiritual warfare. Spiritual warfare is the Christian concept of fighting against the evil forces in spiritual places, pulling down strongholds and occupying till Jesus returns.
The Christian therefore must learn to always have their armour on as a good soldier and remember that Jesus is our commanding officer, and we fight according to His rules.
Our battle is not against people, please note. There are times it feels as though the people around us are the enemies. The truth is that our battle is not against flesh and blood but against unseen powers and principalities that operate through the human flesh. These powers cannot operate on their own but look for bodies to operate through.
In Mark 5 we have an account of Jesus and the demoniac in the Country of Gadarenes.
In Verse 6-13 we see the exchange between Jesus and the
6 When he saw Jesus from afar, he ran and worshiped Him. 7 And he cried out with a loud voice and said, “What have I to do with You, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I implore You by God that You do not torment me.”
8 For He said to him, “Come out of the man, unclean spirit!” 9 Then He asked him, “What is your name?” And he answered, saying, “My name is Legion; for we are many.”
10 Also he begged Him earnestly that He would not send them out of the country. 11 Now a large herd of swine was feeding there near the mountains. 12 So all the demons begged Him, saying, “Send us to the swine, that we may enter them.” 13 And at once Jesus gave them permission. Then the unclean spirits went out and entered the swine (there were about two thousand); and the herd ran violently down the steep place into the sea and drowned in the sea.
We can see from this account that the man’s life was a life of torment. Many people would have seen and regarded him as a lunatic, a terror to the community, he would have been seen as the enemy of the community, but Jesus saw beyond all of that.
Being Christians, we are faced with different spiritual battles on a daily basis. Battle for our faith, our peace, our health, our children, our
homes our community, our nation and the list go.
Romans 8:37-39
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.
The Word of God continues to be a source of encouragement to us. We are encouraged to know that in this spiritual battle we face every day, whether for our families, our homes or whatever the battle is, we have already been assured of victory through His love.
This is the confidence that we have in Him. Knowing that nothing the enemy throws at us can separate us from the love He has for us.
Psalm 144:1-2 makes it clear that the Lord is the one who prepares us for the battle. He is our fortress, our high tower, our deliverer, our shield and our refuge and that is why we are more than conquerors through Him.
We are not in this battle alone, 2 Corinthians 2:14 tells us that He is the one who ALWAYS leads us in victory. So, we are already assured of victory.
It is therefore of utmost importance that we put on the whole armour of God as stipulated in Ephesians 6:11
11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
It is only in putting on and not putting off the whole armour of God that we can discern the tricks of the enemy and walk in constant victory.
Finally, we are told in to remain focussed and not get ourselves distracted by things that will compromise our armour and displease our commanding officer.
2 Timothy 2:4
No one serving as a soldier gets entangled in civilian affairs, but rather tries to please his commanding officer.
Remember in spiritual warfare you are not just a conqueror but more than a conqueror.
