“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, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” 2 Corinthians 10:3-6 (NKJV)
The phrase “spiritual warfare” is no newcomer to the Christian vocabulary. The reality of a spiritual world we cannot see with human eyes was written of in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and ever since, from Tertullian to Frank Peretti. Angels, including the fallen angels we call demons, exist and have existed since before Creation—they haven’t simply disappeared because modern theology became uncomfortable with them.
Two forces—vastly unequal in power—are engaged in warfare to which we are usually oblivious. It is good vs. evil, yes, but our adversary, the devil, is a created being, unlike God. His cohorts represent a mighty army, but one that is pitifully outnumbered—only a third of the angels fell from heaven with Satan, leaving two-thirds on the side of holiness and righteousness.
In addition, New Testament teachings tell us how to use prayer and fasting to combat the enemy in our own lives and in the lives of others. We have authority in the name of Jesus. We have the “full armor of God” Paul wrote about in Ephesians 6.
Stronger army, better weapons, a foe defeated at Calvary—so why do we continue to have so many problems? We act like fresh recruits, instead of seasoned warriors, when we war according to the flesh—using what we do and say and can see and hear—instead of engaging our Spirit-renewed minds.
You’ll notice that in Ephesians 6, Paul doesn’t mention anything to cover our backs. One of the reasons is that we should be on the offensive against the enemy, not constantly reacting to his threats and attacks.
According to the above passage, our MO (mode of operation) is three-fold: pull down strongholds (spiritually), cast down arguments (sometimes verbally, sometimes by the testimony of our lives), and bring every thought into captivity. There is nothing passive about any of those areas, but it is the last battlefield I personally find the most challenging.
We’ve heard “the battle is in the mind” so many times it’s loses its potency, but the very real spiritual battle we are in every day takes place first and foremost inside of us. The enemy whispers sweetly and incessantly, planting seeds of lust, jealousy, anger, doubt, fear, anxiety, hatred. When we dwell on such thoughts, the seeds grow quickly.
Instead, let us take every thought from the enemy captive, rendering it powerless against us. Let us answer with scripture, even as Jesus did in the wilderness (see Mark 4). And let us always remember how much Satan and his sniveling companions tremble at the very name of Jesus and despise to hear him praised and worshipped.
The next time he comes against you in your thoughts (as he did with me one day recently while driving, an incredible onslaught of impurity that was so obvious I knew it wasn’t just my own weaknesses) or sends demons of mechanical failure (as he did with me at work this week when the copier refused to work) try crying out to Jesus—audibly—and speaking words of worship and adoration into the atmosphere.
Two-thirds of the angels in all of creation are handling the big, unseen agenda, but we need to do our part at the grunt level. “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you” (James 4:7 NRSV).
As my mother would say, “Hallelujah three times, and amen twice.”
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