Chapter 17
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SPIRITUAL WARFARE

The Apostle Paul addresses the subject of Spiritual Warfare and warns Christians that they are involved in a serious Spiritual War.

Ephesians 6:10-13

 "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

The Greek word for wrestle is "pale".

As Children of God, we are involved in a death struggle, with satan and the kingdom of darkness.

The organization of this kingdom is very clearly outlined in the twelfth verse:

"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

There are four levels of authority within satans kingdom.

1. Principalities. (Archas) - Highest ranking evil beings.

2. Powers. ( Exousias) - Evil powers of authority.

3. Rulers. (Kosmokratipis) - World rulers of the spiritual darkness.

4. Spiritual wickedness. (Ponerias) - Wicked spirits.

The hierarchy of satans kingdom:

At the top is satan or lucifer, who is in command.

He was one of the three Archangels in Heaven. They are Michael, Gabriel and Lucifer. Each of them commanded a third of the Heavenly Angels. When Lucifer and a third of Angels sinned and rebelled against God, they were cast out of Heaven. (Ezek 28)

Michael and Gabriel remained loyal to God and are in charge of two thirds of the Heavenly Angels.

2. Then there is abaddon or appolyon the king of the underworld who answers to satan.

Revelation 9:11

"And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon."

3. There is belial.

2 Corinthians 6:15

"And what concord hath Christ with Belial?"

4. There is Beelzebub and his name means "lord of the flies" and is over the hosts of demons.

Matthew 12:24

"But when the Pharisees heard it, they said, this fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince

5. There are the high ranks of fallen angels, who are the executive officers of satan.
6. There are the powers of authority executing satans commands and operations.

7. There are the rulers who are over Continents, Countries, States, Counties, Cities, Sub-divisions, Streets and Homes.

8. There are demons who target individuals to destroy them.

More about demons:

The three aspects of demons:

a. Their nature

Jesus calls them unclean.

Matthew 10:1

"And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits ."

They are like frogs.

Revelation 16:13

"And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs.

Like frogs, demons are creatures of the spiritual night. They are persistent and keep attempting to jump into peoples lives.

b. Their personalities

They have names, speak, show emotions, tremble and manifest themselves.

They hate God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit and every Christian.

They tempt, seduce and strategize against men.

1 Timothy 4:1

"Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits."

c. Their purpose

There sole purpose is to oppose and destroy Gods Kingdom.

This dark, demonic kingdom exercises its control and influence over the world:

1 John 5:19

"And we know that ... the whole world lieth in wickedness."

Satan is the prince of this world and exercises authority over it.

The pleasures, possessions and positions of this world belong to him and are under his control.

The military war machine of satan has had almost six thousand years to practice and perfect warfare upon a defenseless humanity. The various subtle forms of attack launched often overcome men.

2 Corinthians 2:11

"Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices."

The Greek word for devices is "methodias".

It means the methods and strategies that satan uses.

We need protection against these methods:

Ephesians 6:11

"Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

The Greek word for "wiles" is "noemata".

It means the plans of the devil.

Gods armor will help us stand against satans plans.

The ten attacks of satan against men:

1. Temptation.

God does not tempt any man, only satan does.

James 1:13-15

"Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man:

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.

Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death."

2. Tribulation.

Revelation 2:10

"The devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days:"

3. Resistance and persecution.

Acts 26:10-11

"Many of the saints did I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them.

And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them even unto strange cities."

He does this by using authorities, earthly organizations and his resources against us.

4.Sickness.

Job 2:7

"So went Satan forth from the presence of the LORD, and smote Job with sore boils from the sole of his foot unto his crown."

5. Torment.

Hebrews 11

"They were ... tormented;"

6.Deception.

He changes his appearance or voice to that of an Angel, in order to mislead and deceive us.

2 Corinthians 11:14

"And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light."

7.Instigation.

He causes enemies to rise up against us:

John 13:2

"The devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;"

8.Accusations.

Job 1:9

"Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, Doth Job fear God for nought?"

9.Negative influences.

Matthew 13:27-28

"Sir, didst not thou sow good seed in thy field? From whence then hath it tares?

He said unto them, an enemy hath done this."

Strategically satan places sinful and distructive people around us to negatively affect our lives.

10.Hurt and loss.

John 10:10

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy:"

His objective is to isolate and cut us off from those who love us. To single us out, wear us down and take away everything we have, including our dignity. He wants to oppress us, depress us, take away our self worth and finally kill us.

The attacks of satan are directed at six areas of our life:

1. Our Body.

He wants to destroy our body with sickness and unclean living.

2. Our Soul.

He surrounds us with negative influences from the day of our birth to impact our mind, emotion and will.  He implants bad thoughts, experiences and feelings into our mind, imagination, emotions and memory.

He uses people like parents, family, teachers, classmates, friends and associates to do this. He tricks us into making wrong decisions. He causes us to be fearful and indecisive, weakening our will.

3. Our spirit or spiritual life.

He will place obstacles in the way of Christians to prevent them from becoming spiritual. He wants those who are spiritual to lose spiritual ground. By neglecting the Word of God, Prayer and going to Church, many Christians backslide and often fall away from the Faith.

4. Our Ministry.

Satan causes Christians to lose sight of the importance and value of their ministry. Through neglect, inactivity, disobedience, unbelief and fear many are inactivated. By compromise, sin or fear many promising Ministries are destroyed.

5. Our finances.

He tries to steal everything we have. He tries to negatively affect our productivity and financial income. He cuts off financial supply lines of blessing coming to us. He negatively affects our work, assets and investments. By doing this he ultimately affects Gods Kingdom.

6. Our close family.

The ultimate goal of satan is to cause disharmony and destroy families.

Disrupting the daily program of a home will cause inconvenience, stress and disagreements. Unhappy family relationships will create an unbearable atmosphere within a home and cause the break up of the family.

Effective soldiers.

God wants us to be successful and effective Soldiers in His Kingdom.

He wants us to war a good spiritual warfare.

2 Corinthians 10:3-4

"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds:"

We need four things to be effective soldiers in spiritual warfare:

We need to be strong in the Lord.

Ephesians 6:10

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."

It would be unwise to send unprepared Christian into spiritual battle to fight against satan and his kingdom. Those who are spiritually weak, sick or untrained would not be good soldiers.

To become strong in the Lord Christians need:

Spiritual food.

Spiritual exercise.

Spiritual rest.

Spiritual anointings of strength and power.

We need to be strong in the Word of God, fasting, prayer and spiritual discernment, to overcome the enemy.

We need to endure hardness as good Soldiers of Jesus Christ.

2 Timothy 2:3

"Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

As good soldiers we need:

To be enlisted as a soldier in Gods army.

The assurance that we are on the winning side.

To be a good soldier .

To believe in the cause of Gods army.

To be well trained and effective in Gods army.

To know the details of our part in Gods military plans.

To be dedicated to Gods purpose.

To be loyal to Gods army.

To keep our rank in Gods army.

To be totally prepared for battle.

To take up our spiritual weapons.

To be exercised in using our spiritual weapons.

To have stamina to endure the heat of battle.

To have killer instinct and no sympathy for our enemy.

To be obedient to our Leaders and the Godhead.

We need to be able to discern the enemy.

Any good soldier who goes to battle is taught about warfare. The instructions include books, videos, classes and on the job training. We as Gods children need to be instructed from Gods Word about spiritual warfare. We need learn about the strategies of our enemy satan. We need to receive Godly instruction and advice from those who have been successful in spiritual battle. As we get involved in warfare we will also learn by observation and experience.

God reveals to us what we need to know by giving us teachings, visions, dreams and revelations.

To help us in battle, the Holy Spirit has also given us a special gift of Discerning of spirits. This Gift enables us to know details about the spirits we are dealing with. We discover there evil characteristics, activities and areas of activity in the spirit realm. We are able to discern the enemy activities in the heavenlies, countries, cities, cultures, families and people.  The Holy Spirit reveals to us the traps and wiles of the devil. He teaches us how defeat the enemy and what weapons to use. He gives us the Gift of Wisdom to help us make the right decisions.

All nine Gifts of the Spirit are at our disposal to give us the victory in battle.

1 Corinthians 12:8-10

"For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit;

To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; To another divers kinds of tongues; To another the interpretation of tongues:"

4. We need to take up our protective armor and offensive weapons.

Ephesians 6:11-13

"Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

We should put on the five protective pieces of Gods armor:

1. The helmet of salvation.

2. The breastplate of righteousness.

3. The shield of faith.

4. The loins girt about with truth.

5. The feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace.

Ephesians 6:14-17

"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness: And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace:

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation."

We should take up the two offensive weapons:

1. The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

2. All prayer and supplication in the Spirit.

Ephesians 6:17-18

"And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:

Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"

Now let us consider each of these five pieces of protective armor:

The helmet of salvation;

This piece of armor covers the head of a soldier. In spiritual warfare, satan comes against our mind.

His attacks are directed at our thoughts, feelings and decisions.

Without the helmet of salvation we are left unprotected and may receive a deadly spiritual wound.

2 Corinthians 10:4-5

"For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought > to the obedience of Christ;"

The breastplate of righteousness.

A breastplate protects vital organs such as the heart and lungs that are necessary for life. Similarly, the breastplate of righteousness protects one of the most vital areas of our spiritual life, namely righteousness. Satan tries to get us to depend on our own righteous deeds.

Our breastplate of righteousness is made up of two things:

a. Knowledge that we have been cleansed from all our own unrighteous deeds.

1 John 1:7,9

"But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

b. Knowledge that we have been clothed with Gods righteousness.

Philippians 3:9

"And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:"

1 Corinthians 1:30

"But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us righteousness."

2 Corinthians 5:21

"That we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

When satan comes knocking at our door to accuse us, we send Jesus who is our righteousness to answer the door.

The shield of faith.

When satan shoots a fiery dart at us, we are able to block or fend it off with the shield of faith.

He sends these darts against different areas of our life:

Against our health.

Against our finances.

Against our obedience to follow Gods commands.

Against our abilities.

When under attack, by faith we speak Gods Word and our shield of faith stops the incoming fiery dart.

 We may use the following scriptures:

Genesis 18:14

"Is any thing too hard for the LORD?"

Luke 1:37

"For with God nothing shall be impossible."

Isaiah 53:5

"And by his stripes I am healed."

Philippians 4:19

"But my God shall supply all my needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus."

4. Our loins girded with truth.

To experience this protection in our lives we:

a. Walk in truth.

3 John 3

"For I rejoiced greatly, when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth."

God wants us at all times to be ourselves, having our own personality and identity, just as he made us.

He wants us to be who we are and not try to be someone else.

b. Speak the truth.

Ephesians 4:15

"But speaking the truth in love."

We need to have integrity, be of truthful character, reliable and trustworthy.

c. Be unmovable in truth.

2 Peter 1:12

"And be established in the present truth."

With these qualities of truth in our lives, we will overcome an enemy attack against us and not:

Be untruthful,

Pretend to be what we are not.

Do something that is questionable.

Be deceitful.

5. Our feet covered with the preparation of the Gospel of peace.

As Christians we prepare for the spreading of the Gospel by first studying Gods Word.

2 Tim 2:15

"Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

By knowing the Gospel, we can spread it wherever we go in a peaceful way and bring peace.

Let us consider the two offensive weapons:

The sword of the Spirit, the Word of God.

Jesus clearly used this weapon against satan. When satan attacked Him, He spoke the Word of God and defeated satan.

Matt 4:4

"But he answered and said, it is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God."

In the book of Revelation John sees Jesus with this weapon proceeding out of His mouth.

Rev 1:16

"And out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword:"

There are two words in the Greek used for Word of God.

Logos - The living written Word of God.

Rhema -The spoken Word of God.

The Word of God entering our heart is "Logos".

The Word of God spoken out of our mouth is "Rhema ".

The Rhema Word is a mighty sword of God that goes out of our mouth.

It is powerful defeating satan and the demonic forces of darkness.

Isaiah 55:11

"So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it."

2. All prayer and supplication in the Spirit.

To defeat the enemy, we are to use every avenue of prayer available to us and at all times pray in the Spirit.

There are five kinds of prayer:

1. The prayer of asking.

2. The prayer of agreeing.

3. The prayer of binding and loosing.

4. The prayer of intercession.

5. The prayer of tongues. (Heavenly languages)

As soldiers of Jesus Christ we need to strive for mastery in using these kinds of prayer.

2 Timothy 2:5

"And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully."

Our Kingly authority:

Jesus has made us Kings within His Kingdom.

Revelation 5:10

"And hast made us unto our God, kings"

As Christians, we have taken up our position with Him in heavenly places and are seated together with Him on His throne.

Ephesians 2:6

"And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:"

In Christ we are to exercise our Kingly authority:

As Kings our authority is vested in the authority of Jesus.

He has all authority.

Matt 28:18

"And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, all power (authority) is given unto me in heaven and in earth."

As Kings we decree things in His Name.

In the Name of Jesus, we execute judgement upon the demons and forces of hell.

Psalm 149:5-9

"Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hand:

To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;

To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;

To execute upon them the judgment written: This honor have all his saints."

We have been given authority over demons:

Jesus specifically gave us power and authority over demons.

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."

Newly saved Christians, (babes in Christ) have power and authority over satan, his kingdom and demons.

Ps 8:2

"Out of the mouth of babes and suckling hast thou ordained strength because of thane enemies, that thou mightiest still the enemy and the avenger."

Mark 16:17

"And these signs shall follow them that believe: In my name shall they cast out devils:"

Demons.

How demons enter men through four different gates:

Willful sin.

When people willfully sin they open themselves to demons.

Occult entanglement.

When people engage in witchcraft, consult psychics, fortunetellers and practice satanism, they open themselves to demon possession. Demonic activity within families can be generational, being passed on from parents to children.

Exodus 20:5

"Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;"

Addiction.

Anything that weakens, neutralizes or shuts down the will of man, opens the door to demon possession. This includes hypnoses.

4. Traumatic experiences.

Experiences like abuse, abandonment, shock or severe trauma can bring about demon possession in peoples lives.

The place that demons occupy in men:

Ephesians 4:27

"Neither give place to the devil."

Demons do not reside in mans spirit. They reside in the sub-conscious part of man. Here they can hide, retreat and lay low until they manifest themselves through mans mind, emotion or will. When a demons manifest they can clearly be seen in the eyes of the person.

There is an infrastructure that demons set up in man.

When a person is demon possessed, there is normally more than one demon in the person.

Luke 8:30

"And Jesus asked him, saying, what is thy name? And he said, Legion: because many devils were entered into him."

These demons have a hierarchy with a chain of command. The leader is the strongman and must be cast out first.

Casting out demons.

There are ten things to consider:

1. When a person comes to be delivered from demons, they must renounce the demonic presence in their lives.

2. They must openly confess > their desire to be set free.

3. They must repent of any sin they may have committed, and anything they may have done that caused them to be demon possessed.

4. Gods servant must address the controlling demon in the person, bind him in the Name of Jesus Christ and command him to go.

5. If necessary, interrogate the demons for information needed.

6. Dismantle their hierarchy as the demons are cast out.

7. Totally ignore demonic conversation like:

     Refusing to go.

     Bargaining.

     Threatening.

     Begging.

8. Be sure that the person is totally free from demon possession, being

able to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

9. Be sure that the delivered person becomes filled with the HolySpirit.

10. Be sure that restoration has taken place in the life of the delivereperson and that complete healing has occurred.

Ministers of deliverance

Only Gods anointed children can cast out demons and minister deliverance in the Name of Jesus Christ.

Scripture aids for those ministering deliverance.

Christians are secure in Christ:

1 John 1:7

 "And the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin."

Romans 8:1

"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus."

Matthew 28:20

"Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world."

Psalm 34:7

"The angel of the LORD encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them."

Jesus has overcome satan and all demons:

Philippians 2:9-10

"Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

Colossians 2:15

"And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it."

1 John 3:8

"For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."

Revelation 1:18

"I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death."

James 2:19

"The devils also believe, and tremble."

Jesus gave us power over demons:

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."

Matthew 18:18

"Verily I say unto you, whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven:"

James 4:7

"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

The end-time Army of the Lord.

1. It is a great army.

Joel 2:11

"And the LORD shall utter his voice before his army: for his camp is very great:"

2. The soldiers are mighty men.

Joel 2:7

"They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war; and they shall march every one on his ways, and they shall not break their ranks:"

3. All spiritual battles are recorded in Gods war book.

At the final Judgement we read that "Books" will be opened.

Revelation 20:12

"And the books were opened ."

One of these books in Heaven is Gods "war book " where all the wars fought by Gods soldiers are recorded.

Numbers 21:14

"Wherefore it is said in the book of the wars of the LORD."

All exploits and victories of Gods' soldiers are recorded in this book of wars.

May you enjoy great victories for the Kingdom of God.

They are recorded in Heaven and will always be remembered.

Like Paul you will be able to say:

2 Tim 4:7-8

"I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing."