We Are in a Spiritual War
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh. [2 Corinthians 10:3]
Like it or not every person is in a spiritual war. No one is immune from the battle and you cannot be discharged or retire from this war. There are no conscientious objectors, draft dodgers, or neutral bystanders in this war. You are either on the side of God or the side of the devil. God is for us, and the devil is against us. In fact, neutrality, complacence and/or ignorance of the truth of the war only aid the success of the enemy. The sooner we come to an understanding of the truth and nature of this war, the sooner we will begin experiencing victory in it.
Most Christians fall into one of these categories:
~They do not acknowledge the realities of Satan and his plans to destroy all people; therefore, they allow the devil to take advantage of them.
~Through fear, ignorance, or incorrect teaching, they have an exaggerated perception of the devil and his power, subsequently giving him glory by focusing the majority of their efforts on battling demonic forces.
~They acknowledge the realities of Satan, his plans, and the limitations of his power, but are fighting in an ineffective and unscriptural manner.
Many people haven't entirely understood the dynamics of the spiritual realm and consequently, they view the world with a carnal mindset instead of a spiritual one. When I say "carnal" I mean that people see things only in light of what their senses detect and their perception of the world is basically a humanistic one. Some of you may object to my usage of the word "humanistic" but I say it because we, for the most part, haven't realized that spiritual forces are in constant action to either come against what God wants to do through you, or to facilitate what God wants to accomplish through you. Instead, we focus our attention only on a humanistic surface-level, trying to wage war against people. This is what the apostle Paul was trying to convey to the Corinthian church in 2 Corinthians 10. Our war is a spiritual one--against spiritual forces that operate through people, which is reflected by their thoughts, words, and actions. The Bible says in Ephesians 6:12: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
While many have realized the truth of this spiritual war--that it is against spiritual forces--many, however, are not fighting on the correct battlefield, spending a majority of their time binding demons, and praying against spiritual principalities that govern over cities, etc. While there is some truth and benefit to what they are doing, they also are doing some great harm in focusing their efforts in this realm. The true and most important battlefield is located in the mind of every person. I'll go into much more detail in the teaching "The Battle is in Your Mind", but before we undertake making warfare against the enemy, we must first know there is a battle, and secondly, we must know where this battle is taking place. The following verse of Scripture supports this truth. 2 Corinthians 10:4-5 says: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds; casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.
I underlined the three key words in this passage--all of which refer to the mind. Because they are received from God, our weapons are spiritual and have been given to us for the purpose of pulling down strongholds in our lives: depression, sinful lifestyles, addictions, habits, etc. Paul continues that we are to cast down imaginations and every "high" thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. Where do imaginations and knowledge exist? They exist in the mind. Additionally, we are to take every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, or the Word of God. Again, I will go into much more detail about this in the section "The Mind is the Battlefield."
While most people confidently acknowledge that spiritual forces of good--the Holy Spirit and angels--are at work ministering to us and encouraging us to live godly lives, but there are few who will say the same thing about spiritual forces of the wicked. The truth is that there are many people in this world--and not just in mental hospitals, or in some third world country--that are under the control of the devil. When I make this statement, many of you will automatically think of some deranged lunatic, foaming at the mouth, and in need of confinement, or even remember the movie The Exorcist, and while this statement may be a true characterization of this person, it isn't always manifested in such an obvious fashion.
The reason I'm saying this is because everyday people--your family, co-workers, friends, acquaintances--can be influenced and controlled by the devil, but it is so subtle that unless you were walking constantly in the Spirit, you would not recognize it. We take what we and other people say or do as "natural", and dismiss the influence of either God or the devil when truthfully, these forces are in constant battle, trying to get us to yield to them. The Bible says in Romans 6:16: Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? As the Holy Spirit is leading us into all truth and bringing the word of God back to our remembrance (among many other "comforting" things), the devil is constantly at work, trying to get you to yield to him. Everything we say and/or do is a direct result of whether we're submitted to God, or to the devil. One minute we can be submitted to God, and the next we can yield to Satan, then the next be submitted to God again. As I said, this happens constantly in every person. Just because a person's head isn't spinning around or they're in some hypnotic trance, it doesn't mean they are not under the influence of the devil. Again, we have failed to recognize the subtlety of the enemy.
I stress this because when a family member, friend, co-worker, or church member comes against you, I want you to realize that when they do, they are being influenced by the devil. (I say this assuming that at the time you are being influenced by God.) By your realization of the devil's role, your godly reaction will not create an inroad for Satan to come into your life. Let's examine a scriptural example of this truth.
In Matthew 16, Jesus asked His disciples, Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? [v.13] Then the Lord asked, But whom say you that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jona. For flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven. Here, the Lord is telling us that Peter's response was revelation from God--that the Holy Spirit was operating through Peter. Yes, Peter played a role in that he was obedient to this revelation (through his words), but that what he'd said was from God. Now skip down to verses 21-23 where after Peter's declaration that Jesus was the Son of God, the Lord began telling the disciples how He would suffer and die, and be raised again the third day. From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from you, Lord. This shall not be unto you. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get behind me, Satan. You are an offense unto me. For you savor (like) not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.
Here we have an example of a person (Peter) while one minute operating under the influence of God, and the next being influenced by Satan. Many of you think that Jesus may have been a little hard on Peter because what he said, was just a confirmation of Peter's love and confidence in the Lord. To call Peter "Satan" may have been a little over-the-top in many people's opinions. It was just a "natural" response to what Jesus had said--although Peter must not have heard the part when Jesus said He would be raised again. The truth is that people say things all the time and when we take it as natural and not spiritual, we fail to recognize the power behind an event such as this.
Let's look at another scriptural example of this truth because I want to show you the other side of the coin as well. While we perceive Peter as being a godly man--after all, he was a disciple of the Lord Jesus, his transgression is considered to be a fluke of some sort. (Although Peter had a difficult time bridling his tongue.) What about someone who, by all accounts, is what we call "demon possessed"? Is it possible for them, in their state of domination, to be under the influence of God? I say, "Yes it is."
Probably the stereotypical example of someone being possessed or controlled by the devil in the Bible is the maniac of Gadara. Mark 5:1-6 relates this event: And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains. Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him.
Here we have a man who was displaying all the signs of what the world would call mental illness: superhuman strength; suicidal or self-inflicted injuries, etc. However, the Bible says he had an unclean spirit. By his actions, most people presume, and rightly so, that this man was under the complete domination of the devil. After all, he was called a demoniac and was possessed by a "legion" of devils. Despite this man's state, he still managed to be in enough control of himself to come and worship the Lord Jesus. This indicates that regardless of how dominated by the devil a person can be, he can still choose to do something of God. No demon would worship Jesus. If they did, they wouldn't be much of a demon. The Bible doesn't say that demons worship Jesus--only that they believe and tremble. [James 2:19]
This proves that even the demon-possessed have a measure of control over the demons that influence them, which leads perfectly to the next point and the truth of the authority of physical persons, which I will discuss in "The Believer's Authority."
The Devil's Strategy
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us. For we are not ignorant of his devices. [2 Corinthians 2:11]
The devil's primary goal for every person is to have him or her yield to him. This goal was accomplished in the Garden of Eden with Eve, and then (through Eve) Adam. From the garden until now, this is Satan's master plan. The apostle Peter warned us of Satan: Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary (notice he said your adversary) the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour. [1 Peter 5:8] The devil is seeking someone he may devour. The key word here is "may." He's looking for someone to yield to his deception and allow him to come into their life whereby he can affect destruction. If the devil had the power, he would kill and destroy every person. Jesus said in John 10:10: The thief comes not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. But the devil doesn't have this power, for he would have already done it if he had. This is one of the most damaging misconceptions in the Church--that Satan is some powerful angelic being with great powers. This is far from the truth as revealed from Scripture. I'll go into more detail in the next part of this teaching "The Truth About Satan" but I'll make a few points here.
The devil's only--and I say only--tools to use against us are deception and temptation. He deceived Eve in the garden, then used Eve to deceive her husband. If the devil were some powerful being, why didn't he come to Eve as a lion or bear and try to force her to take of the fruit? He did this because the measure of his power in our lives is directly proportionate to how we yield to him. He couldn't force Eve into anything because God gave physical human beings authority and dominion over everything in the earth. Therefore, if Eve submitted to the devil's deception, she would become his servant, which is exactly what happened when she ate. She was being used by the devil when she gave the fruit to Adam, but Adam still had a choice to refuse as well. Remember Romans 6:16: Do you not know that to whom you yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants you are to whom you obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
The devil doesn't actually devour anyone. In Revelation 20, the Bible states that the devil deceived the nations [vv. 3, 8, 10.] He uses deception or cunning to establish an inroad into a person's life whereby they suffer the consequences of their choices. Yes, we have a choice whether or not to submit to the devil. The Bible says: I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, that both you and your seed may live. [Deuteronomy 30:19]
The apostle Paul wrote in Ephesians 6:11: Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. Wiles or being wily refers to cunning or craftiness. By the use of deception, he lures people into yielding to wickedness that manifests as strife, envy, bitterness, hatred, lust and unforgiveness.
For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. [James 3:16]
This is a very powerful verse of Scripture. Where there is envy and strife, there is confusion and every--not some or most--but every evil work. Since God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, (1 Corinthians 14:33) strife and confusion come from the devil. The devil wants to create strife in your life and he does this through people who do or say things that may offend you. When we criticize, gossip, or curse someone, we are playing right into the hands of the devil. Take the disciples, for example. In Mark 10, James and John asked Jesus if they could sit on either side of His hand in His glory. This request bothered the other ten disciples and they were displeased with James and John. [v.41] The devil was operating in this event, trying to create strife by getting the disciples angry with one another. He used pride in James and John, and bitterness in the others. However, Jesus knew what was going on and called them together to straighten them out.
It is vitally important that we understand that the devil uses people to lure you into confusion, strife, unforgiveness, and bitterness. The co-worker that makes trouble for you is an agent of the devil, trying to get an opening into your life. If he can use this person to get you angry and cause you to cuss him out, assault him, or even gossip about him, then you are opening the door to the devil to come and destroy. The apostle Paul was trying to tell the Corinthian church about the destructive effects of unforgiveness. In 2 Corinthians 2, Paul was writing about a man caught in sin and instructing them to forgive him. To whom you forgive anything, I forgive also. For if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes I forgave it in the person of Christ; lest Satan should get an advantage of us. For we are not ignorant of his devices. [2 Corinthians 2:10-11] Here Paul is stating that unforgiveness opens the door for Satan to get an advantage over us. He uses things people do and/or say to lure them into bitterness, wrath, envy, hatred, and unforgiveness. Bitterness and unforgiveness will destroy you.
The Bible says: Be angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more. But rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. [Ephesians 4:26-32]
What does Be angry and sin not mean? Events and people will make you angry, but what you do in your anger is what will either be sin or not. The Bible teaches in this passage that there is a godly anger--an anger directed toward sin and the devil. In fact, when the Bible teaches us not to let the sun go down on your wrath (Ephesians 4:26) this means that we are not to allow our godly anger to be quenched. Otherwise, if we allow our godly anger to be extinguished, we will give place to the devil. However, we cannot act out in wrath of the flesh, which will release the power of the devil. The Bible says: For the wrath of man works not the righteousness of God. [James 2:20] If you are angry and respond in wrath--whether it be with words or actions--you are not working the righteousness of God. By being angry and yielding to the urge of wrath, you are giving place to the devil. Many people fall into wrath while driving in traffic. Someone cuts you off and you get angry and yell curses at them, or ride their bumpers, or slow down if they're following you too closely. All of these things are manifestations of the wrath of man and do not work the righteousness of God. Again, the devil is subtle with his devices.
The Power of Words
And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. So is the tongue among our members, that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell. [James 3:6]
There are many ways the devil gains access into our lives. One of the most common inroads the devil has is through our words. The words we speak and hear have an enormous impact on what happens in our lives. This truth is illustrated in Proverbs 18:20-21: A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. Death and life are in the power of the tongue. And they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
You are snared with the words of your mouth, you are taken with the words of your mouth. [Proverbs 6:2]
Although many people don't completely realize it, these are very powerful truths. Consequently, we hear and speak words of death, sickness, slander, criticism, and strife, and wonder why these things are prevalent in our lives. Read Proverbs 18:20 again. It is an illustration of the power of words. A man's belly shall be satisfied with the fruit of his mouth; and with the increase of his lips shall he be filled. The picture is that our words are seeds that bear fruit--either of life or death. Whatever comes out of our mouths will bear fruit. As it is written in James 3:6, our words set on fire the course of nature. Jesus even said: You shall have whatsoever you say. [Mark 11:23]
One of the greatest inroads the devil has in a person's life is through television and radio. I am not against television or radio. I think the Lord uses these mediums as vessels by which to get His word out, but people have allowed the devil to use them in a far greater way for his purposes. For those who doubt and scoff at the power of television, I want to remind you of this Scripture. So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. [Romans 10:17] If hearing the Word of God can bring forth faith, then certainly the word of the devil can bring forth belief in his lies. Romans 10:17 (the same as Galatians 6:7: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap) relates to a spiritual law of whatever you see and hear are seeds that will bear fruit in some form or fashion. It has been proven that the brain remembers everything the senses detect. When referring to television or radio, whatever you see and/or hear will be stored in your brain. If all you take in is the garbage on television: fear, terrorism, sickness, death, sin, immorality, sit-coms that glorify strife, reality shows that exalt perversion (wife swapping), all the bad economic news, all the sexual innuendoes through commercials, and talk about diseases (e-coli breakout, flu season, drug company commercials, etc.) then this is what will be in your mind and heart.
For the past several months, the Lord has focused my attention on one verse of Scripture. I have been studying it and how it relates to our complete victory in Christ, and it has really changed my life. Romans 8:6 says: For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Our emotions are directly related to the way we think. If we think upon things of the world, we will have negative emotions (death). But if we think upon the things of God, we will have life and peace. It's so simple that someone would have to help you to misunderstand it. The Bible says: You (the Lord) will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you (God), because he trusts in you (him). [Isaiah 26:3]
The Bible also says: Be not deceived; evil communications corrupt good manners. [1 Corinthians 15:33] This says that evil communications or associations corrupt good manners, and if you do not believe this, then you are deceived. If you flood your mind and heart with all the garbage on television, radio, newspapers, and coupled with what our friends, co-workers, families, and others are saying, and expect to have life and peace, then you are deceived. This is a great deception of the devil and it is prevalent even among many in the body of Christ. In order to have perfect peace, you must keep your mind stayed upon God. Again, to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Put that with Proverbs 18:21: Death and life (peace too) are in the power of the tongue. And those that love it will eat the fruit thereof and you see that whatever a man thinks will come out of his mouth. In fact, Jesus said, For out of the abundance of your heart, the mouth speaks. For by your words you shall be justified, and by your words you shall be condemned. [Matthew 12:34,37]
Set a watch, O Lord, before my mouth. Keep the door of my lips. [Psalm 141:3]
Let me give you an illustration of an earlier point I made concerning the power of our words. The recent hurricanes are a perfect example of this truth. As it is written in James 3:6, our words set on fire the course of nature. When the first hurricane was spotted in the Indian Ocean, I believe, all of the weather spotters began talking about it. Then, as it approached the U.S. the conversation increased. When the hurricane hit Florida and did so much damage, talk of hurricanes was all over the news. Then, another storm was spotted off the coast of Africa. What happened? The same thing--people began speaking about it, predicting it would probably hit the U.S. again. What happened? It did. Then another hurricane, then another. Four hurricanes hit the United States and the world and science would have you believe that it was just a trend of storms that occur over a period of years. I disagree because of this verse of Scripture.
The same is true with catastrophes. Has anyone ever wondered why when an airplane crashes, another one usually follows it? I think the first one was totally an accident or due to other causes, but when people begin speaking about planes crashing and the associated fear, their words set on fire the course of nature and actually affect these events. I know what some of you may be thinking, but go to the Bible for your answers. If death and life are in the power of the tongue, and if our words set on fire the course of nature, and if we believe the words of Jesus when He said, "you shall have whatsoever you say", and we acknowledge and believe that the world was created by God when He spoke it into existence, and we also believe that Jesus spoke to the winds and the seas and they calmed, why can't you understand and admit that our words could affect many things that happen on earth?
We've all heard the old cliché: "Bad things happen in 3's." This is a perfect illustration of the power of the way we think and talk. When something bad happens, either we, or someone else speaks this poison to us and of course, we believe it. Consequently, with our thoughts and then our words, we have set in motion spiritual forces that will make these things come to pass. It's not just the words that have the power, but the faith behind them. In Mark 11:23, Jesus said: For truly I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be removed and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he says.
Although the Lord is teaching us how to address problems and circumstances in our lives (we will discuss this in greater detail in "Using the Sword"), the same truth applies to speaking negative things into our lives. Again, this is a spiritual law and it cannot be broken. I don't know if any of you are receiving these truths, but I have to tell you again how much these revelations have changed my life.
Brothers and sisters, we must not be ignorant of the truth that we are in a spiritual war. Through denying the very existence of the devil and his strategy, and also the truths regarding the words we speak, and what we allow in our lives, we are actually empowering the devil to come in and destroy. The truth is that we cannot wage a war by putting our heads in the sand, thinking that ignorance is bliss. The war we fight is fought in the minds of people, and through the way we think, and what we say and/or do. We can only be victorious through a revelation of the truth. The next five teachings will provide practical applications and truths on how we can be victorious in this war.
