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 through God for the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
Ephesians 6:10-18,
What is Spiritual Warfare…?
By spiritual warfare, I simply mean doing the works of Jesus and taking our authority over the devil
What is the first requirement for a Christian in this context?
Before you can do spiritual warfare, you must first deal with your life.
You as a Christian have no authority unless you first have
- A personal relationship with God.
- You understand and know your identity.
- Repent over generational curses, bondages, unforgiveness, woundedness, bitterness etc.
because these binds you.
- You cannot contend with the kingdom of the devil when these things still have a claim in your life.
- You have to break every chain through repentance and the blood of Jesus.
- You set yourself free so that the anointing for warfare may come and rest in our life.
Jesus Example: Luke 4: 2-19
Why did Jesus spend 40 days in the wilderness?
How do we do this spiritual warfare?
- Be strong in the Lord, relying on the Holy Spirit.
- Stand on the victorious position of Jesus Christ. Eph 1:20-23
Eph 2:6 Our position as Christians.
And hath raised us up together and hath made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus’ From this position, through the power of the Holy Spirit, we must then engage in spiritual warfare.
- Why get involved in spiritual warfare when Jesus Christ has already won the victory?
- We are overcomers in Christ Jesus who has already won the victory (Romans 8.37). Moreover, the warfare that Christ waged for us was offensive, contending with the devil to the depths of hell itself where He led captivity captive (Ephesians 48-9, Hebrew 214-15, Rev 118) – meaning that He conquered the conqueror, Satan, and took the keys of hell and death and all authority over the earth.
Our part is to maintain sustained victory over the kingdom of darkness in spiritual warfare.
Why did Jesus make the statement in Luke 4:18?
Your Authority as a believer
Luke 10:19, “Behold, I give unto you POWER to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the POWER of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”
- Ephesians 1:3 reads, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us [the whole Church] with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.” “all spiritual blessings” “all spiritual blessings” as “every spiritual blessing.” This means every spiritual blessing there is. In Christ, all spiritual blessings belong to us. Authority belongs to us whether we realize it or not. But just knowing this is not enough. It is knowledge acted upon that brings results! It is a terrible tragedy for born again Christians to go through life and never find out what belongs to them.
Conclusion:
The believer must continually be arrayed with spiritual armor. Ephesians 6:10, 11 says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” As we go about our daily lives. The devil will do everything in his power to keep you from coming into this knowledge of authority over him. He will fight you and will want to steal it from you. In fact he will oppose you and even test you. The devil wants you to throw up your hands and say the authority of the believer won’t work for you.
