Spiritual Warfare - Arming Yourself For Battle - Part 1

I was asked by fellow brother Dave Lucas, to start to put together some ways in which we can defend ourselves and others against the attacks of the devil along with waging spiritual warfare. This will not be all inclusive and sticks to the biblical teachings that the devil is in fact real and not some fictional character the Bible made up to scare you. Spiritual warfare is a subject, like others, that is open to much interpretation; the vast majority of us can hopefully agree however, that we have the same enemy, and that enemy has cowered, cowers and will continue to cower, when commanded in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

A great quote from the late Edmund Burke states “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is when good men do nothing”.

Let us begin…

Some of us have studied spiritual warfare, for others, this could be a newer subject. I will start with the ‘go to’ (so to speak) verses of the book of Ephesians, that deals with spiritual warfare and the basics in arming yourself against the enemy BEFORE engaging him; make no mistake, “be alert and of a sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” 1 Peter 5:8; be prepared and let that not be you!

Ephesians 6:10-20:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

· Belt of truth – truth keeps us from giving in to the world’s beliefs and actions to the truth of the Word of God;

· Breastplate of righteousness – righteousness is being honest, good, humble and fair to others. It means standing up for weaker people;

· Gospel of peace – being right with God and being contented in troubled times. Jesus said peacemakers were blessed;

· Shield of faith – faith is being sure that God will keep His promises. Faith in God protects you when you are tempted to doubt;

· Helmet of salvation – putting it on is believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again

· Sword of the spirit – this is the word of God. God’s word is our offensive weapon. When we tell others what the Bible says, the Holy Spirit helps people see their bad thoughts and actions and makes them want to be forgiven; --- taken from http://www.scripturetruth.com/images/Armor of God.jpg

Remember the devil and his little minions know exactly who Jesus is “When he came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass that way. And they cried out, saying, “what business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Matthew 8:28-29. Jesus then cast legion into the swine. Demons can and must yield to the Son of God. We are given authority, by God’s Grace, to tread on serpents and scorpions, and to cast out demons/devils (Mark 16:17, Luke 10:17, Acts 16:18).

This is just a snippet of how to arm yourself in preparation for spiritual warfare. There are other ways to prepare (fasting, prayer, confessions of sins – humility before God, etc) which I can go into, depending on how this subject is discussed.

God bless you all and I look forward to our discussion, personal stories and feedback. If I am blatantly wrong or misleading on aspects of this subject. I always encourage constructive criticism.
 
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I was asked by fellow brother Dave Lucas, to start to put together some ways in which we can defend ourselves and others against the attacks of the devil along with waging spiritual warfare. This will not be all inclusive and sticks to the biblical teachings that the devil is in fact real and not some fictional character the Bible made up to scare you. Spiritual warfare is a subject, like others, that is open to much interpretation; the vast majority of us can hopefully agree however, that we have the same enemy, and that enemy has cowered, cowers and will continue to cower, when commanded in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

A great quote from the late Edmund Burke states “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is when good men do nothing”.

Let us begin…

Some of us have studied spiritual warfare, for others, this could be a newer subject. I will start with the ‘go to’ (so to speak) verses of the book of Ephesians, that deals with spiritual warfare and the basics in arming yourself against the enemy BEFORE engaging him; no mistake, “be alert and of a sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour” 1 Peter 5:8; be prepared and let that not be you!

Ephesians 6:10-20:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.

To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.

· Belt of truth – truth keeps us from giving in to the world’s beliefs and actions to the truth of the Word of God;

· Breastplate of righteousness – righteousness is being honest, good, humble and fair to others. It means standing up for weaker people;

· Gospel of peace – being right with God and being contented in troubled times. Jesus said peacemakers were blessed;

· Shield of faith – faith is being sure that God will keep His promises. Faith in God protects you when you are tempted to doubt;

· Helmet of salvation – putting it on is believing that Jesus Christ died for your sins and rose again

· Sword of the spirit – this is the word of God. God’s word is our offensive weapon. When we tell others what the Bible says, the Holy Spirit helps people see their bad thoughts and actions and makes them want to be forgiven; --- taken from http://www.scripturetruth.com/images/Armor of God.jpg

Remember the devil and his little minions know exactly who Jesus is “When he came to the other side into the country of the Gadarenes, two men who were demon-possessed met Him as they were coming out of the tombs. They were so extremely violent that no one could pass that way. And they cried out, saying, “what business do we have with each other, Son of God? Have you come here to torment us before the time?” Matthew 8:28-29. Jesus then cast legion into the swine. Demons can and must yield to the Son of God. We are given authority, by God’s Grace, to tread on serpents and scorpions, and to cast out demons/devils (Mark 16:17, Luke 10:17, Acts 16:18).

This is just a snippet of how to arm yourself in preparation for spiritual warfare. There are other ways to prepare (fasting, prayer, confessions of sins – humility before God, etc) which I can go into, depending on how this subject is discussed.

God bless you all and I look forward to our discussion, personal stories and feedback. If I am blatantly wrong or misleading on aspects of this subject. I always encourage constructive criticism.

You did well Brian.
 
Something I learned awhile back. We should use the model set by Jesus with his encounter with satan in the desert.
1. Know and use the word
2. Don't use the same tactics as satan uses, don't insult, berate, lose your temper etc.
3. Tell satan why you won't give in to him
4. Command satan to leave
 
I just have two gripes on this subject:

1. We don't equip the breastplate of righteousness by saying ''I equip the breastplate of righteousness''. We equip the breastplate of righteousness by being righteous / repenting of sin. Sword of truth by studying and knowing scripture.

2. We don't wage spiritual warfare in the flesh. Example 1. We don't cast demons out of food. 2. We don't go on witch hunts after doing 'spiritual mapping' like Peter Wagner of Global Harvest Ministries encourages and 3. We don't lay hands on just any person we think is demon possessed.

Spiritual warfare = 1. wrestling with demons and leading / persuading with love and truth, peoples 'wills' to the Lord and 2. Staying close to God (having all armor on) so that we don't become disqualified. The devil cannot kill us, we are the children of God. He can only stumble / disqualify us. 1 Cor 9:27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.
 
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I just have two gripes on this subject:

1. We don't equip the breastplate of righteousness by saying ''I equip the breastplate of righteousness''. We equip the breastplate of righteousness by being righteous / repenting of sin. Sword of truth by studying and knowing scripture.

Thank you for your comments. Your gripes are indeed valid. We are not to put on the armor of God strictly in cases of spiritual warfare, we are to wear it constantly! Being saved and children of Christ, the devil wants nothing more to make a mockery of us toward God. Not only that, if we are not constantly taking up and polishing our armor, we can become weak which may cause fellow brothers and sisters to do the same.

2. We don't wage spiritual warfare in the flesh. Example 1. We don't cast demons out of food. 2. We don't go on witch hunts after doing 'spiritual mapping' like Peter Wagner of Global Harvest Ministries encourages and 3. We don't lay hands on just any person we think is demon possessed.

Excellent point! You become an easy target if you go into battle for yourself of for selfish purposes that are not of God or God's will. We must humble ourselves before the Lord. What does this mean, it means confessing our shortcomings and reiterating that we NEED Him, we love Him and give Him infinite thanks for His ultimate sacrifice for our salvation.

You're also right on about witch hunts and laying hands on any person you deem demon possessed. Our sole purposes is not to cast out demons in Jesus name, that is a part of it. Jesus ministry consisted of much more than that. We should however pray for discernment, especially when situations present themselves to where a person could possibly be demon possessed. Those who are being oppressed by demons need to understand that they must repent of their sins/come to the Lord or else the casting out of demons will be for nothing. Our houses must be swept clean and put in order with the Holy Spirit as the owner of the house, if not, the demons may come back and bring more, more wicked than themselves (Matthew 12:44-45)!

Spiritual warfare = 1. wrestling with demons and leading / persuading with love and truth, peoples 'wills' to the Lord and 2. Staying close to God (having all armor on) so that we don't become disqualified. The devil cannot kill us, we are the children of God. He can only stumble / disqualify us. 1 Cor 9:27 No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

Good points!
 
Something I learned awhile back. We should use the model set by Jesus with his encounter with satan in the desert.

1. Know and use the word - yes, this is the Sword of the Spirit!
2. Don't use the same tactics as satan uses, don't insult, berate, lose your temper etc. - that's exactly what Satan will try and do, fire you up and get you back to your fleshly ways. Resist, resist, resist! Remain humble, do not anger. Remain confident, do not be cocky.
3. Tell satan why you won't give in to him - not sure this is necessary, but it can't hurt as long as you remain in the Spirit and don't lose yourself in the flesh while doing it.
4. Command satan to leave - yes, always in Jesus glorious name!
 
All of this is great information. Brian keep it up and remember now that you have stepped in the realm of Spiritual Warfare you will get hit harder by the enemy. Armor up brother and stay in the spirit.

Thank you and God bless you brother! Our fellow brothers and sisters often forget that this battle is real and it's constant. The devil knows his fate and will not stop until he tries to make every last one of us a mockery before our Lord.
 
Please note there is no piece of armor covering the back.

That's where fellow warriors fit in. We fight back to back, watching each others back.

Good observation. Yes, with the help of fellow brothers and sisters, there will never be a time where the enemy is not faced head-on.
 
Please note there is no piece of armor covering the back.

That's where fellow warriors fit in. We fight back to back, watching each others back.
Amen
A person standing alone can be attacked and defeated, but two can stand back-to-back and conquer. Three are even better, for a triple-braided cord is not easily broken. (‭Ecclesiastes‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬ NLT)
 
I believe the breastplate is His Righteousness, which protects out hearts and our breath...our own personal righteousness follow but are no less important (Ephesians 2:10)

Secondly, James 4:7 says Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. When we moment by moment at times of temptation, trial, and attack, "Submit" ourselves to God, this is a form of resisting the devil that makes him flee...

Finally, think not that our back is left uncovered as some preach...God is our rearguard (Isaiah 58),,,Hallelujah!
 
May I interject,

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

The word places was added to the original text, so personally I don't see our combat to be against demonic forces on this planet, if that is the case then what is the combat against (?), ...darkness, ....the schemes of the devil, false teaching and false doctrine.

Blessings,

Gene
 
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