Spiritual Warfare – Part 1

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 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…” (2 Corinthians 10:3-5)

See also Ephesians 6:11; 2 Cori 4:4

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Spiritual warfare can be a scary terminology for many of the children of God. Many of them might say only the charismatic fanatics talk about this type of thing. So from the very onset, they might shut their ears to this. But before you quit reading, I want all the believers who claim their citizenship in Heaven to pause for a moment and think about this: it would be very naïve to think the cosmic conflict, which started in the Garden of Eden and was following our Lord and Savior even to the Garden of Gethsemane, is going to somehow bypass us. Whether we like it or not, the truth is once we have accepted the citizenship of Heaven, as long as we stay here on this side of Heaven, this conflict is an everyday reality. You will either become a victim or a victor. Your recognition of this conflict and appropriate action will be the deciding factor.

The good news is that in this conflict those who have accepted the Lordship of Jesus, can be rest assured that they are on the winners’ side. When Jesus said “it is finished” (John 19:30), He meant He had won the victory. Our enemy –the enemy of our soul– was defeated at the cross of Calvary. His goal was to prevent the Kingdom of God from being established here on the Earth. So the battles that we face today are nothing but the challenges of the enemy against our victory.

Spiritual warfare is the battle that is going on in the invisible world (the army of God around the prophet Elisha; the angel explaining to Daniel about his prayer, etc.) manifested through people, situations/systems (John 17) and also in our own mind (Romans 7:14-20). Just because we cannot see it, does not mean that it is not there. We believe in Heaven and Hell because the Bible says so. A Christian starts and continues his/her spiritual journey without any visible cue. But it ends in a virtual reality– we shall see Him face to face!

So in order to claim our victory, we need to have some basic understanding about this battle and also a strategy.

What do we need to know?

1. The battle belongs to the Lord.

2. We are God’s soldiers in the battle.

3. Jesus already has won the victory.

4. The enemy keeps challenging the victory.

5. There are different battlefronts.

Winner’s strategies:

1. Know the enemy.

2. Know the battlefronts.

3. Wear the whole armor of God.

4. Be on the alert.

Jesus has won the victory and we are victorious. There is no reason why a child of God should live in defeat!

This article will continue in the next week . . .

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I pray that the Lord may guide, protect and empower you all. Have a blessed week.

Pastor Dr. AK George