Christian Living

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In the Christian world, we often hear the term "spiritual war” thrown around very loosely. For those of us who are believers of Christ and His Holy Spirit, we will hear such a phrase used and it will incite an urge to do something good and with spiritual meaning. We might even be moved to pray or repent for our own sins and desires to be forgiven because we understand a small part of the true meaning of this war and we are convicted by its utterance. But are we really searching the scriptures these days to truly grasp with all of our human comprehension what it really means to be at war? And with who do we war? Ourselves? Others? Demons? You would think that being at WAR would shake the foundations of our very souls and it would deserve much attention and great concentration from each Christian soldier. Our goal could only be to end up victorious against such a campaign being carried out daily to exterminate our very existence here and in the future of eternity.


How could this not be at the forefront of all Christian teachings once the fundamentals have been procured? When Ephesians 6 is read with a sense of urgency and deep concentration, you can almost feel the words jump out as if Paul is a General in the army and you are standing before him getting ready to engage in battle. Read them now, "11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 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. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance.”
In the introduction to this powerful and valuable piece of scripture, we gather why we need such armor and who our enemies will be. Most of us can quote all the pieces of armor by heart, but are we missing a major piece of the puzzle when little time is spent understanding verses 11 and 12, which explain why we even need armor in the first place. Paul is showing us the great importance of understanding who we are at war with. We have to know our enemy. Period. We can not be ignorant to this fact. We somehow understand this when it pertains to human conflicts but lose sight of the fact that in the spiritual world, it actually carries even more weight.

Don’t forget, in human conflicts, the driving force is still Satan and his minions. Even fallen human philosophers of war get this.
"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." Art of War- Sun Tzu


Spiritual warfare is not only being able to understand the concept as that is just the beginning. It then becomes critical to prepare for war and finally take a stand against evil forces. We must be alert to these facts at all times... Lest we forget that our adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. That is who we are at war with, Satan himself. He can manifest in many ways and is waiting for us to not be sober-minded and alert so that he can come in for the attack. He does not fight fair. He attacks the weak. Getting Christians to stumble and fall is his goal. Don’t let him succeed. The Bible tells us that we have the equipment to defeat him. But we have to use it and utilize it effectively and one way to become more effective is to know your enemy. Pray at all times and seek knowledge. Then, you can examine yourself to see if you are ready for war now that you know who your enemy is.

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