What is Spiritual Warfare in the Bible and What Does It Mean to the Christian?

Our war as Christians is that of a spiritual kind - not with human beings but with the devil and his demons.

As long as we are on this earth, we will be at war with Satan who continuously attempts to defeat us with lies and deceit as well as tempting us to immerse ourselves with 'works of the flesh' (Gal 5:17). The enemy is so close that we must personally wrestle with him. He is not of 'flesh and blood' but of this dark world.

So, what is Spiritual Warfare in the Bible and What Does It Mean to the Christian?

Ephesians 6:10-18
¹²For 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.

We are to put on the full armor of God to withstand, combat, and be strong in the strength of God's might against the evil enemy. When the day of temptation and evil comes, we will have been prepared and have weapons of our warfare and done everything to stand firm against him.

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. ¹³ 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.

We are to stand firm, be steadfast in truth, righteousness and gospel of peace. Most importantly, we are to keep on placing our trust in our God to keep ourselves safe from the evil one. The apostle Paul exhorts us to be protected with the helmet of salvation, because we are saved, we have been seated with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2: 5-6). That is our assurance in the face of overwhelming odds. A more formidable a piece of armour is the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, for it is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12).

¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

The power of prayer should not be underestimated. James 5:16 declares that the prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective. Jesus taught that if we have faith as small as a mustard seed, we can say to a mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for us (Matthew 17:20).

¹⁸ 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 war is the intense fighting for the human soul, a war between the forces of God and the forces of rebellion, led by Satan.

We are in the Lord's army, let us put on the armour of the Lord and let us fight.

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