God wants you to know about Spiritual Warfare because the circumstances and situations you face in this physical world originate in the spiritual realm.
The purpose of this section is for you to understand the spiritual warfare you are fighting. The information is given in outline form to not just give you something to read, but to study as if your life depends on it because it does.
The god of this world has blinded the eyes of the unbelieving (2 Corinthians 4:4). The prayer is that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened to see the spiritual world around you (Ephesians 1:18).
Your strength is only in Jesus; be strong in the Lord and the power of His might; to stand against the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:10-12).
Your warfare is not in the flesh nor are the weapons of your warfare of this world but mighty in God for the pulling down of strongholds: destructive patterns of thought that lead us astray and hold us hostage to sinful, harmful, addictive behavior; take every thought captive (2 Corinthians 10:3-5).
Your enemy seeks to steal from you, kill you, and destroy you (John 10:10) because he knows the torment he is facing for eternity (Revelation 20:10).
It is important enough for you to know the fight you face, that God instructs you how to conduct our daily lives in light of the danger we face from an enemy who seeks to steal from you, kill you, and destroy you.
If we know we are in a war for our souls, know who our enemy is, and the weapons available to help you in this war, and that Jesus has won the victory, you will be in a position to live in victory because you fight from victory, not for victory.
Our enemy
Identification
– Lucifer
Ezekiel 28:11-19
- – model of perfection; full of wisdom and exquisite in beauty
- – every precious stone was his covering
- – anointed cherub; the mighty angelic guardian
- – had access to God
- – is created being
Lucifer’s unrighteousness:
Isaiah 14:12-15
- – fallen from heaven; O shining star
- – thrown down to the earth
- – desired to climb to the highest heavens and be like the Most High
- – thrust down to hell; Matthew 25:41 – hell; eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels
Satan’s Description
Revelation 12:7-12
- – Dragon; fabulous kind of serpent; supposed to fascinate
- – the serpent of old; type of sly cunning; an artful malicious person; from the beginning
- – the devil; false accuser
- – Satan; the accuser; one who opposes another in purpose or act
- – accuser of our brothers and sisters; accuses us before God day and night
woe: an exclamation of grief
Satan’s Mission
- – the devil knows he only has a short time to steal, kill, and destroy so he is going to do all he can to do those things to us
Ephesians 6:12
- — levels of opposition we face from the angelic beings (demons); spiritual hosts of wickedness in the
- heavenly places Satan uses:
- — rulers
- — powers
- — world forces of this darkness
Its important to understand that our enemy has been defeated and that we don’t fight for victory but we fight from victory.
Our Victory
Jesus has authority over every ruler, and authority, power, and dominion
- – Romans 8:38 – limit to their power
- – Ephesians 1:20-21 – Jesus is enthroned about them
- – Colossians 1:16 – Jesus created them
- – Colossians 2:10 – Jesus is head over all of them
- – 1 Corinthians 15:24 – they have an end; God has a purpose for their work
Weapons of our warfare
- – Not material or of this natural world
- – For the pulling down of strongholds
- — wrong thoughts and perceptions originating from the demonic forces against us, contradicting the
- true knowledge of God and the nature of God
Armor of God: Ephesians 6:13-18
v13 – take up the full armor of God to be able to stand your guard, and having done everything to stand Stand firm then
v14 – Belt of truth
- – The belt is what all the other weapons the Roman soldier used was attached to
- – In the same way truth, what God says about things is the foundation we stand on
v14 – Breastplate of righteousness
- – Protects the most vital organs
- — heart; which the battle is for; for with the heart man believes resulting in salvation; Romans 10:9-13
- — Proverbs 4:23 – guard your heart for it determines the course of your life
- – Our stand and position are based on the righteousness of Jesus Christ
- — 2 Corinthians 5:21 – we are made right with God through Jesus Christ
v15 – Feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace
- – The Gospel provides the footing for everything we do the Gospel is our mission and gives us a focus; if
- we’re going we have sure footing
- – The sandals worn by the Roman soldiers were made to be like cleats to help them keep their footing
- during a battle
- – They could cover large areas of land in a short period of time because of the firm footing they and in
- their sandals; which is why the Roman army was so effective
- – We must be mobile, flexible, and ready with the truth of God’s word that people need to hear
Above all – in addition to
v16 – Shield of faith
- – Faith protects us from the attempts of the demonic forces to weaken us through fear and unbelief
- – Long oblong shield that covers the whole body
- – Thoughts, feelings, fears, and lies are some of the fiery darts hurled at us by Satan
V17 – Helmet of Salvation
- – Protects our head where our knowledge is
- – Protects us from discouragement and desire to give up
- – Protects the knowledge that we are saved and will have the victory – 1 John 5:11-13
v17 – Sword of the Spirit – the word of God
- – In order for the soldier to effectively fight he would have to practice to know how best to use the
- Sword in battle
- – We have to know God’s word in the same way in order to attack our enemy in the time of battle
- — 2 Timothy 2:15 – rightly dividing the word of truth
v18 – Prayer
- – It’s through prayer that spiritual power to fight is obtained
- – For ourselves and for others
Process of sin
James 1:14-16
- – temptation comes from our own desires
- – these desires give birth to sinful actions
- – these actions lead to sin bringing death
- – death is separation from God, not a ceasing to be