Do we need to be aware of the spiritual battle that is taking place around us?
It is important for Christians to be aware that there is a spiritual battle taking place around us—we are a part of it whether we want to be or not. In order to successfully live for Christ instead of being a casualty of the Devil, we must engage in the spiritual battle that is happening. Through the Bible, God has provided us with the right weapons for our warfare.The primary battle that we face as Christians is an internal battle of the mind and heart, and the battles we face will be personally relevant to each of us as individuals. The Devil seeks to devour us and we must be intentional to stand against him and his "flaming darts" (1 Peter 5:8; Ephesians 6:16). Our weapons must be spiritual in nature. We need to put on the armor of God: "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:11–12).
One of the subtlest struggles regarding the spiritual battle around us is our human tendency to attempt to build protection from the spiritual world using natural means and explanations. Paul instructed the Corinthian church about this: "For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:3–5). We live and walk in the flesh, but if we try to fight spiritual battles with natural tools and strategies, we will fail. If we want to have victory over the enemy, we need to fight spiritual battles with spiritual weapons.
As humans, it's easy to find comfort in our own human logic and rationale, even regarding spiritual matters. This can be a dangerous trajectory, however, because human logic comes short when it comes to things of the Spirit. In fact, many times, human reasoning and the things of the Spirit are polar opposites, making them incompatible with each other. As believers, we have God's Spirit in us, so we are to be Spirit-led rather than led by our natural man. This is our most effective way to succeed in our walk with Christ and in our witness for Him (1 Corinthians 2:1–16).
Living our lives for Christ requires a conscious effort and consistent engagement in the spiritual battle that is taking place. While God's Spirit is strong in us, our flesh tries to fight for its own way. Jesus exhorted His disciples to: "Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Mark 14:38). The enemy wants us to fight spiritual battles with human weapons, because he knows we will fail.
Our offensive spiritual weapon in this spiritual battle is the "sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (Ephesians 6:17). Having the Word of God as our sword keeps us strong in the spiritual battle. What we find is that when we keep the Word of God as the weapon of our warfare, God does the fighting for us (Joshua 1:7–9). We have freedom from fear, guilt, shame, and despair, because the power to win the spiritual battle belongs to the Lord. Even if we are persecuted for Christ's sake while on earth, we have comfort knowing the war is already won; we just have to be faithful in the fight (Matthew 5:10). God's Word is what cleanses and refreshes us, keeping us strong during battle (Ephesians 5:26; John 7:38).
Spiritual warfare - What does the Bible say?
How should I respond to spiritual attack?
What is the full armor of God?
What is the sword of the Spirit?
How does a person resist the Devil? Why does resisting the Devil cause him to flee?
Truth about the Christian Life
