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Body, Soul and Spirit
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Chapter 7: Spiritual Warfare
The Battleground
The place where battles are fought is important. Pilots in an Airforce are equipped to fight in the air; sailors are trained for warfare on water and the infantry is trained for combat on land.
Under our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ, we who belong to Him are at war against a hierarchical spiritual realm of evil. Because we are tripartite in our being, body, soul and spirit, it is vital that we fully understand where battles will be fought. Although Satan attacks each part of our being there is one crucial part of our soul that he seeks to control. This is where the most important battle will be fought. Consider the words of Paul:
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations (reasonings) and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ
This battleground is our mind and will. It comes down to first recognizing that human reasoning and ways of thinking will lead to disobeying Christ. When one’s mind-set is contrary to the will of God it is a fortress that must be destroyed, since it is a vulnerable door of access to Satan. Some common fortresses are:<page 116> pride, unforgiveness, fantasies, racism, lust, pornography, bigotry, elitism, intolerance and the desire to manipulate and control others.
Only when we are submitted to the will of Christ can we walk in victory and be able to deliver others from the forces of evil.
Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
The greatest obstacle to victory is not the power of Satan; it is our own ego or self-centered will. This is why the Lord commands us to be transformed by the renewing of our mind; a renewal that enables us to know the will of God.
And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
If we practice sin, we give Satan a legal right to attack our being. When we are submitted to Christ and put on His righteousness, we will walk in His victory over Satan.
Thus, the most important battle we will ever fight against evil is to humble ourselves and submit our mind and will to the will of Christ. Then, by faith, to walk in the glorious victory that He has purchased for us on the cross!
Keys of the Kingdom
I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you shall bind on earth shall have<page 117> been bound in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.
Two keys are necessary for successful ministry in the Spirit against the forces of evil. They are an essential part of the gospel of the kingdom. The keys are the power and the authority of God, identified by the Greek words DUNAMIS and EXOUSIA respectively. Each key is uniquely related to one part of our inner man as illustrated in Figure 9.
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A policeman’s badge and uniform signify his authority, while his gun constitutes his power. Governments in the world operate and maintain order through power and authority. And so does the kingdom of God!
The power of God is resident in the Holy Spirit. He is the “key of power” that we believers receive when He comes to dwell in our spirits.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you ....
(Acts 1:8)
With this key we can proclaim the word of God with power, loose the bonds of wickedness and break yokes of oppression. Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world! This key is limited if we believe that we can accomplish things in our own strength, but it is perfected when we recognize our own human weaknesses (2 Corinthians 12:9-10).
The authority of God is resident in the Person and name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
… All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
<page 118><page 119>Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.
The authority by which the church executes all ministry functions, such as proclamations, ordinations, casting out demons, baptizing believers, etc., is resident in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As we consciously bend our wills in submission to Him, we are given authority according to the purpose and call of God on our lives. Just as the power of God is made perfect by our weaknesses, so the key of authority is made perfect by our submission and obedience to Him.
Preaching the gospel, ministry in spiritual warfare, and all other forms of ministry will not be fruitful apart from both keys. Many believers who have been baptized in the Holy Spirit do not experience the results that they expected. The reason may not be a lack of faith, but a lack of submission to God-given authority. If we are truly submitted to God we will not act as “lone-rangers,” for we must walk in submission to all authority that God has established. This includes appropriate, accountable submission in the body of Christ, and subjection to governmental authority (Ephesians 5:21; 1 Peter 2:13-18).
Every person is to be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.
The gospel of the kingdom offers the following keys to all who will respond in repentance and faith:
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Accept the work of My cross; submit to My authority and allow Me to rule your life.
Be filled with My Spirit for power to serve and to become like Me.
Knowing the Adversary
Our warfare is not against evil people; it is against spiritual forces of wickedness, both in heavenly places and on earth. Because our adversary is spiritual, we must be strong in the Lord’s power.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God that you will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.
Spiritual warfare takes place in two realms; first, against the earthly or world forces of evil manifested by the demonic control of unregenerate men, and secondly, against wicked rulers and authorities in the heavens who give direction to the demonic forces on earth.
These hierarchical forces of evil are Satan’s kingdom of darkness. Figure 10 illustrates some of his spiritual attacks against the body, soul and spirit of men.
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Because the rulers and authorities are important in Satan’s strategy of evil, it is necessary to learn what the word of God says about them. The following are some observations of the spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places.
These spirit beings are fallen angels who were originally created by God for His purposes, but who followed Satan in his rebellion.
For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities ....
In his strategy of evil, Satan has placed certain fallen angels as his representative over nations, regions and localities (Daniel 10:13, 20). Scripture refers to these fallen angelic majesties as principalities (or rulers) and authorities. They have also been referred to as territorial spirits in recent years.
Through His death on the cross, and His resurrection, Jesus triumphed over Satan. All angels, authorities and powers were subjected to Him (1 Peter 3:22). In doing so, He also disarmed (stripped) the rulers and authorities. However, He did not remove them from their place in the heavens.
When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them having triumphed over them ....
These angelic beings are now powerless to touch believers except through their control of demonic forces of wickedness on the earth. Here they seek to accentuate specific expressions of evil in each locality by multiplying current acts of lawlessness, or by building on grievous sins from the past that were not repented of, or for which forgiveness was never extended.
While it is important to know our adversary and to understand his schemes, our victory comes from knowing the Lord and emphasizing His Person, power and purpose! Our emphasis is never to be Satan!
Our Weapons of Warfare
The weapons and resources available for believers to wage spiritual warfare are illustrated in Figure 11. The greatest of these ten is the victory of Christ on the cross. God’s angels are His weapons and our allies.
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I can do all things through Him who strengthens me!
Great promises of eternal rewards are made for those who overcome; and we can overcome if we are strong in the Lord and the power of His might. The place to start overcoming is within ourselves. It is unfortunate that some believers relate overcoming only to doing battle with Satan, such as casting out demons, etc. Such activities are indeed spiritual warfare, but they are not our first priority.
In warfare, it is not attacking the enemy that comes first, but being trained and prepared for warfare. To successfully defeat Satan, we must, first, be able to stand firm against his attacks. All defensive armor should be in place before one seizes the sword of the Spirit and goes on the attack (Ephesians 6:10-18). The order in which we are commanded to arm ourselves illustrates this truth:
<page 124><page 125>Girding our loins with truth
The loins represent our most vulnerable area, consisting of the abdomen and the generative organs. To gird, or cover, this area is to be established in all truth related to spiritual nourishment and reproduction in the kingdom.
Breastplate of righteousness
This covers the heart, and is therefore most important: one will not be an effective warrior unless his heart is free from all unrighteousness, such as envy, pride, deceit, guile, bitterness, unbelief, wrong motives, etc. Satan can recognize such sins and condemn us through his accusations. We must give him no such place, for he would put us in a prison of introspection.
Feet shod with the preparation (readiness) of the gospel of peace
We are to be always ready to proclaim the gospel of the kingdom, and to bring the peace of His government into lives.
The shield of faith
This piece of armor can be moved around to protect one from attacks of the devil which may come from any direction. To take the shield of faith means to have complete faith in what the word of God declares concerning:
Himself
Myself
My circumstances
My brothers in Christ
These are the directions from which Satan attacks us.<page 126>
The helmet of salvation
The helmet speaks of the mind of Christ which we have through the renewal of our minds. We have been accepted in the beloved and there is no place for rejection, depression, despair or discouragement. We are not to move on the basis of logic or reason, but in submission to the revealed will of God.
Having put on all of the armor that protects us, we find there is none for the rear. This tells us we must always face Satan; we are not to fear him and run from him, nor are we to ignore him. With these five pieces of armor on, we can then take up the sword of the Spirit and be confident of victory. Once these six pieces of armor are in place, the next verse of scripture identifies the very heart of warfare dynamics.
With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints.
God’s Strategy for Warfare
The Lord’s strategy for spiritual warfare addresses all parts of Satan’s kingdom.
His strategy against the world forces of darkness is simple and straight forward. We are to proclaim and manifest the love of God as we preach the gospel of the kingdom with signs and wonders. It is vital to control the battlefield of our mind. We are not to harbor unrighteous thoughts, imaginations or fantasies. Our mind is to focus on hearing and obeying the Lord. We must avoid any meditation where we remove all thoughts and<page 127> blank out our minds. This can open the door to Satan. When demons are encountered, they are to be “cast out.” They are not to be feared nor are they to be reasoned with; they must be cast out of all people who seek to be free of them. A person who has had demons cast out must understand their commitment to Christ is to be total, without reservation. Otherwise the demons can return.
The issue in warfare against spiritual forces of wickedness in heavenly places is primarily one of government; either the government of God’s kingdom or the lawlessness of Satan. Divine strategy is to displace and replace Satan’s spiritual “covering” of evil over cities, regions and nations with the government of the Lord Jesus Christ, and thereby open the door for a great harvest of souls.
Whenever believers fail to walk in righteousness, they extend a legal right for demonic forces of evil to harass them. If there is disunity, backbiting, gossip or other secret sins in the church, such as pornography, adultery, witchcraft, etc. the church will be crippled and powerless against the demonic forces which feed on the sins. The principalities of evil in the heavens will seek to amplify such evil over that area and to extend it to other regions, including the nation. The spirit of Allah and Islamic terrorism is one example; the influence of witchcraft in America by the spirit of Jezebel is another example.
There are three clear strategic actions that should be taken for successful warfare.
Be concerned first for our own life, our church and our locality. Repent and forsake all sin; walk in righteousness before God. In essence, starve all demonic activity. Preach the gospel, heal the sick and cast out demons.<page 128>
Discern the identity and nature of Satan’s spiritual authorities over the area. The history of the region should be studied in order to identify significant events of evil in the past, such as acts of war, murders, massacres, racism, slavery, occult activities, etc. These may have given rise to specific demonic activities. Such an examination could lead to a conviction of the need to repent, to seek forgiveness or group reconciliation so that revival can come.
The churches of the area are to unite in proclaiming the gospel, in standing together against false ministries and in praying against the spiritual authority of evil over the area. By presenting a united, godly, spiritual covering for the locality, the church can, in time, displace and replace the authority that Satan had put over the area. Only Jesus can bring this to pass! It will not happen apart from a sincere commitment by God’s people to stand united in united prayer and intercession. This is the essence of our struggle against rulers and authorities. It is useless and presumptive for believers to attempt to cast down principalities and authorities over their geographic area. We are to bind and cast out demons, but only the Lord can deal with these fallen, angelic majesties in the heavens. We are to unite in prayer against them, but the issue is authority. We believers are to unite in our submission to Him, so that He truly rules over our personal and church lives. He must be allowed to establish His authority over the area as head of the church. He will then displace the authority that<page 129> Satan has placed over the area. This is the key to His glory rising upon His people to bring in the great end-time harvest.
In the beginning God gave Adam stewardship of the earth. By his fall into sin, Adam lost this position of authority to Satan, who became the god of this world.
At Calvary, Jesus began the work of restoring redeemed mankind to the glory and oversight that was lost. All of creation eagerly awaits this restoration and revelation of God’s sons.
For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of God’s sons .... that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.
(Romans 8:19, 21-22)
This is a task that will be completed by the Lord Jesus Christ working through His body. Until the lordship of Christ is fully established over His people in the church, it will not be established in the earth. This is the heart of God’s eternal purpose which He is carrying out in the Lord Jesus. The essence of His strategy is the displacing of rulers and authorities over geographic areas of the earth until finally, there arises unique warfare that involves Michael, the archangel, that will displace Satan from his place in the heavens (Revelation 12:7-12). Jesus will then return to establish His kingdom on earth.
In His wisdom, God has determined to reveal His will and government to the rulers and authorities through those in the church who will lay down their personal wills and humble themselves to His lordship.<page 130> Through wholehearted submission and obedience to Christ, they will demonstrate to rulers and authorities the Lord’s reign over their geographic locality. As they preach the gospel in power, and stand united in prayer against the ruler and authority over their locality, a wonderful change will take place! New godly oversight will begin to replace the evil influence over the region; because of the new manifested presence of God, there will be a great harvest of souls.
... to bring to light what is the administration (stewardship) of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God, who created all things; so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord.
This transition to righteousness will involve shakings in the heavens and great warfare against the darkness of evil in regions and nations. There will be deep darkness in the world, but the glory of God will rise upon His people to bring in a final ingathering of souls.
Arise, shine; for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness will cover the earth and deep darkness the peoples; but the Lord will rise upon you and His glory will appear upon you. Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.
This is His strategy for warfare!<page 131>
The Goal
Having the correct strategy is certainly a key to a successful campaign in warfare. The Christian’s goal is simple but vital: the battle has already been won; our part is to enter into the victory that is ours and take the spoils. We are to overcome the world, the flesh and the devil.
Jesus completely triumphed over Satan at Calvary. He reigns now at the right hand of His Father waiting for His enemies to be made His footstool. The word of the Lord states that all things are intended, in time, to come under the feet of man (i.e. the overcomers). Our part, therefore, is to ensure that our lives, motives and actions are always under the Lord’s government, for He is the head of the church and commander of His army. Only if we are under His authority today, will we in the future be placed over the works of His hand. His peace within us and among us comes as a result of His government over us. Thus, His headship in our lives is always the first priority in warfare for it is the God of peace who gives us victory over Satan.
If the only purpose of God was to destroy the works of the devil, then Satan and his demons would have been bound at the Lord’s resurrection, for he was totally defeated at that time. However, the Lord’s plan for His people is that we also, through the power of God, overcome Satan.
Whenever the Lord plants His church in a new locality, there will be a strong man of the enemy over that place who must be confronted. Local expressions of the body of Christ will only be successfully established when His ministers operate in unity under the headship of Christ.<page 132>
We are to recover what our father Adam lost, namely authority to rule the earth. We are to enter into our Lord’s victory, and as workers together with Him, regain the place of authority given to Adam. The Lord will, indeed, finally destroy the works of Satan using His many-membered body as a mighty army. Thus, our goal is to become overcomers in Christ. This is our commission: to resist Satan, to loose from his control those who are appointed for life, and to walk together with all saints under the headship of Christ. We are able to do this being more than conquerors in Christ; we are strong in the power of His might. Praise the Lord!
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