The Invisible War - Spiritual Realm.

Spiritual Warfare 101: What is the Invisible War?

A woman reads her Bible as demons try to stop her

Demons, Satan, the powers of darkness - they’re real and they are actively at work in our world. The question is do you know how to recognize them and, if need be, go to combat against them? Chip begins this series explaining the basics of spiritual warfare.

If there was an invisible enemy seeking to cause you and your family great harm, would it affect the way you live? Would you change the places that you go, maybe the contact that you have with certain people, would you wear certain protective articles like gloves and masks if I told you that they might save your life? The answer for most is yes! Many are doing these very things right now because of the current unseen virus that is affecting our world. What if I told you that there was an even greater unseen enemy that has been here for thousands of years and it has ruined, destroyed, and killed billions of lives and will only get worse as time goes on. The Bible tells us that there is such an enemy and he walks all about this earth with his evil army seeking more lives to destroy. We can’t see him but we can stand and fight against him.

Beneath our tangible landscape lurks an invisible spiritual realm where unseen battles rage. It's real. And it's dangerous. If you're prepared to remove the blinders and gaze into the unseen world, Chip Ingram is ready to take you there. Hang on to your seat. It's going to be a journey inside the very folds of our Bibles, a journey that will teach us about our greatest foe, Satan, also known as Lucifer, the Dragon, Serpent, and Son of the Morning Star. Although this lying thief comes to "steal, kill, and destroy," God details, in Ephesians 6, the battle plan to uncover Satan's cunning deceptions and to resist his sinister schemes. The cosmic conflict exploding all around us will have eternal implications, for us and those we love. This post will prepare you to do spiritual battle with the enemy of your soul... and win! You'll learn to clothe yourself with God's spiritual armor so you can be confident of certain victory over the scheming enemy.

We Are at War with an Invisible Enemy : Ephesian 6 :10-13.

Is it possible that perhaps we have lost touch with the supernatural and failed to take Satan seriously? Could it be that, living among a preponderance of people who adhere to technological, scientific, and materialistic worldviews, the doctrine of Satan has become an embarrassment to us? Have we embraced universal salvation, as did John Hick and others, and demythologized the devil? Has Satan become an intolerable fiction? Do we ever believe that Satan is more than a created being or that he is a wholly independent force? And why has spiritism, demonism, and even Satan worship revived in recent decades as a phenomenon of civilized society? It is clear that Western thought has eroded faith in the invisible spiritual world.

The Invisible War Against Satan is designed to address the questions that you may have been asking for years, to dispel ideas which have their roots in pagan myths and cultures, and to challenge popular and long-held beliefs about Satan, demonization, demon possession, and exorcisms which fail to take the Scriptures seriously.

The foundation of our study will be God’s own self-disclosure, His written Word. The eternal God has given us the Scriptures by which we may know the truth about everything, including Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare. Those who understand their enemy and his strategies and know how to engage him with the proper weapons will be more than conquerors.

There are two primary errors when it comes to spiritual warfare—over-emphasis and under-emphasis. Some blame every sin, every conflict, and every problem on demons that need to be cast out. Others completely ignore the spiritual realm and the fact that the Bible tells us our battle is against spiritual powers. The key to successful spiritual warfare is finding the biblical balance. Jesus sometimes cast demons out of people; other times He healed people with no mention of the demonic. The apostle Paul instructs Christians to wage war against the sin in themselves (Romans 6) and warns us to oppose the schemes of the devil (Ephesians 6:10–18).

Ephesians 6:10–12 says, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For 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.” This text teaches some crucial truths: we can only stand strong in the Lord’s power, it is God’s armor that protects us, and our battle is ultimately against spiritual forces of evil in the world.

Ephesians 6:13–18 is a description of the spiritual armor God gives us. We are to stand firm with the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, and by praying in the Spirit. What do these pieces of spiritual armor represent in spiritual warfare? We are to know the truth, believe the truth, and speak the truth. We are to rest in the fact that we are declared righteous because of Christ’s sacrifice for us. We are to proclaim the gospel no matter how much resistance we face. We are not to waver in our faith, trusting God’s promises no matter how strongly we are attacked. Our ultimate defense is the assurance we have of our salvation, an assurance that no spiritual force can take away. Our offensive weapon is the Word of God, not our own opinions and feelings. And we are to pray in the power and will of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus is our ultimate example of resisting temptation in spiritual warfare. Observe how Jesus handled direct attacks from Satan when He was tempted in the wilderness (Matthew 4:1–11). Each temptation was combatted with the words “it is written.” The Word of the living God is the most powerful weapon against the temptations of the devil. “I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you” (Psalm 119:11).

A word of caution concerning spiritual warfare is in order. The name of Jesus is not a magic incantation that causes demons to flee from before us. The seven sons of Sceva are an example of what can happen when people presume an authority they have not been given (Acts 19:13–16). Even Michael the archangel did not rebuke Satan in his own power but said, “The Lord rebuke you!” (Jude 1:9). When we start talking to the devil, we run the risk of being led astray as Eve was (Genesis 3:1–7). Our focus should be on God, not demons; we speak to Him, not them.

what are the keys to success in spiritual warfare? We rely on God’s power, not our own. We put on the whole armor of God. We draw on the power of Scripture—the Word of God is the Spirit’s sword. We pray in perseverance and holiness, making our appeal to God. We stand firm (Ephesians 6:13–14); we submit to God; we resist the devil’s work (James 4:7), knowing that the Lord of hosts is our protector. “Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken” (Psalm 62:2).