WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SPIRITUAL WARFARE

Thomas Nelson

Contents

Introduction to the What You Need to Know Series.......................................................vHow to Teach This Book.................................................................................viChapter 1 What Is Spiritual Warfare?...................................................................1Chapter 2 Who Are the Unseen Forces in the Invisible War?..............................................25Chapter 3 What Is the Belt of Truth?...................................................................38Chapter 4 What Is the Breastplate of Righteousness?....................................................50Chapter 5 What Are the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace?...................................................62Chapter 6 What Is the Shield of Faith?.................................................................75Chapter 7 What Is the Helmet of Salvation?.............................................................87Chapter 8 What Is the Sword of the Spirit?.............................................................101Chapter 9 What Role Does Prayer Play in Spiritual Warfare?.............................................114Chapter 10 What Is Our New Identity in Christ?.........................................................126Chapter 11 How Can We Gain a Clear Conscience and Pull Down Spiritual Strongholds?.....................139Chapter 12 How Can We Stand Firm in the War?...........................................................157Bibliography...........................................................................................177Master Review..........................................................................................178About the Author.......................................................................................184

Chapter One

For over two hundred years, Benedict Arnold has been cussed and discussed as an unfaithful American. Why? Because during the War for Independence, he attempted to smuggle a diagram of the fort at West Point on the Hudson River to the British enemy. Succeeding generations of Americans have never forgiven him for his act of treason, and Arnold's name has entered our language as a synonym for traitor.

"Why would Arnold do such a thing?" countless history students have asked. "What possessed one of the finest generals in the American army to defect?" Well, let me tell you another side to the story. The recent discovery of letters between Arnold and Benjamin Franklin has shed new light on the reasoning behind his treasonous act.

The desperate American colonies had asked the French for help in their battle with the British. The French, glad to oblige, sent so many troops across the Atlantic that at one time, the French soldiers fighting outnumbered the American troops they were helping.

General Arnold became deeply suspicious of the French motives. Why would the French be so willing to spill so much of their own blood on behalf of the Americans? Was their plan perhaps to help the Americans defeat the British and then make America a French colony instead? Arnold wrote to Franklin that America was going to be a colony of either Great Britain or France. If that were the case, Arnold preferred British rule. By remaining a British Colony, America would be ruled rather benevolently and the thirteen colonies might eventually be given their freedom. If they became a French colony, they would be ruled by tyrants and never given their independence. Therefore, Arnold argued, the American colonies should sue for peace with England.

Franklin, who was ambassador to France at the time, agreed with Arnold's opinions. Nevertheless, he said, "I believe, in the sovereignty of God, it will somehow work out." Franklin strongly opposed any overtures for peace with the British.

Benedict Arnold, however, was not content to entrust so much to the sovereignty of God. As far as he was concerned, the way to attain the great dream of freedom was to help the British win. Therefore, in an act of what Arnold would have described as deep patriotism, he attempted to turn the diagram of West Point over to the British. When that failed, he joined the British, not to conquer the colonies, but, as he saw it, to defeat the French and drive them off American soil.

As this story shows, warfare is not just armies on opposite sides of a line drawn in the sand having at it. Warfare is also diplomacy, espionage, negotiations, and maneuvering behind the scenes—which at times can have a greater impact on the outcome than the fighting on the battlefront. Because, after all, what's really at stake is power.

Whether they know it or not, all Christians are engaged in a titanic spiritual battle, not against the forces of any earthly nation, but against the forces of darkness. Yet this battle is largely unseen ... an invisible war. Things go on behind the scenes that we do not naturally perceive or understand. Yet these invisible acts and forces often determine spiritual victories or defeats. We must understand spiritual warfare if we are to emerge spiritually victorious.

This war is between good and bad, between righteousness and evil, between truth and falsehood. God is the source of all good, and with Him are good angels and His people. The initiator of evil is Satan, and he is allied with demons and all those whom Satan can deceive into serving his purposes. God's purpose is to fill all of creation with His glory. So He works to advance righteousness, goodness, peace, love and joy, and to call people to believe in Him and become citizens of heaven even while they live on earth. Satan's purpose is to spoil all of creation and to deny and oppose God's glory however he can, so Satan advances sin, evil, hatred, and despair, and seeks to prevent people from believing in God and becoming citizens of heaven. God's strategy is to enlighten and save. Satan's strategy is to deceive and destroy.

What Are the Three Battlefronts in Spiritual Warfare?

The three battlefronts in our spiritual warfare are the world, the flesh, and the devil.

Spiritual warfare occurs in our everyday lives in different ways, sometimes blatantly, but often very subtly. The rest of the book explores these ways. The Bible shows that this conflict rages on three battlefronts. These fronts are the world (1 John 2:15–17), the flesh (Romans 7:14–25) and the devil (1 Peter 5:8).

The "world" does not mean the material planet. This physical world was created by God, and he pronounced it good (Genesis 1). Yes, it has been corrupted by sin, but it will be redeemed and made new (Romans 8:19–22; Revelation 21:1) and be totally good again. That is one wonderful result of the salvation God is performing today. But "world" in its negative sense is the world system of values. It is the present evil order and arrangement of things that began, not with creation, but with the spoiling of God's good creation by sin (Genesis 3).

The world is the social battlefront, where believers battle sin and evil confronting them from "without." It is a battleground of external powers, values, influences, and temptations. In this battle, the Bible admonishes us to be in the world but not of the world and to resist the pressure of unredeemed society that would force us into its mold (Romans 12:1, 2). The apostle Paul wrote of our...