Spiritual
Warfare
Put
on the full armor of God,” Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:11, “so that you can take
your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
The
idea of standing against the devil’s schemes sometimes takes some rather extreme
forms. Some proponents of what is often called “spiritual warfare” get people
thinking there are demons behind every rock.
And
some set up teams of prayer warriors to cast out demonic powers they believe to
be behind virtually every problem a human being can face, from carburetor
trouble to persistent headaches to neighbors’ noisy dogs.
Spiritual warfare is important, because as Paul says in verse 12,
“…our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (v. 12).
So
it’s important that we understand what spiritual warfare is, and stay away from
non-biblical excesses and abuses that sometimes go under the name “spiritual
warfare.”
The
first thing we should notice is that Paul does not tell us to obsess over
demons; he simply tells us to put on the armor of God.
“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you
may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the
breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the
readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up
the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the
evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers
and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the
saints.”
The
“armor of God” is pretty straightforward: truth, righteousness, the gospel,
faith, salvation, and the word of God.
The
main point is that we need spiritual attributes for a spiritual battle. Truth
sets us free. Righteousness is not our own, but the righteousness of
Jesus which God attributes to us. The gospel reminds us that since God is
for us nothing can defeat us. Faith assures us that we have been forgiven
our every sin, so there is no need to be burdened by guilt. Salvation is
God’s free gift to us in Christ; so nothing can take it away from us. And the
Word of God assures us that we belong to our Father, who included us in the
relationship he has with Jesus and who will never let us go.
Paul
ends his list of spiritual armor by reminding us to pray—“on all occasions, with
all kinds of prayers and requests…. Always keep praying for all the saints.”
Prayer keeps our attention on God, the source of our faith, hope and love.
Spiritual warfare, then, is not about putting our attention on the devil. We
don’t need to obsess over what the devil might be doing, as some people seem to
want us to do.
No,
spiritual warfare is about keeping our attention on God. When our attention is
on God, we don’t have to give the devil a second thought.
I’m
Joseph Tkach, speaking of LIFE.
Copyright 2008 Grace
Communion International
