Ephesians 6:12-13
Introduction:
We are fighting a battle far bigger than we may think as we travel the path of faith. While it may appear that the world revolves around the physical world and the difficulties we have with our flesh and blood, there is a spiritual reality that significantly impacts our life.
Paul’s words in Ephesians 6:12–13 reveal the invisible warfare in the spiritual world and act as a heavenly revelation. Every believer must understand the nature of this battle and arm themselves appropriately. Let us study how to engage in spiritual warfare as we embark on this journey, opening our hearts and minds to the great truth and knowledge of God’s Word.
The challenges we confront transcend the physical realm, and our eyes will be opened to the spiritual battles that frequently go unrecognized. Ephesians 6:12–13 contains a wealth of revelation from God. We’ll break through these verses, analyzing Paul’s ideas and determining the tremendous reality they reveal. We shall understand the nature of our conflict and the relevance of our position as believers by peeling back the layers of this verse. We must arm ourselves for our spiritual fights, just as a trained soldier does before combat.
We must learn how to withstand the devil’s attacks and triumph in the strength of the Holy Spirit. Practical application is necessary to engage in spiritual warfare; knowledge alone is insufficient.
Our final triumph through Christ gives us hope and assurance in the face of spiritual warfare. We shall be inspired and motivated as we confront the difficulties of spiritual warfare by the victory of the cross and our status as overcomers.
WHAT IS SPIRITUAL WARFARE?
Many Christians may not completely understand “spiritual warfare” or how to deal with it, even though you may hear some Christians use the term. Comparing spiritual warfare to physical warfare is one approach to explain it. Controlling territories for political or economic power was a common goal of historical warfare. The struggle for control over people’s souls is known as spiritual warfare. God created you for a purpose, whether you acknowledge Him and choose to follow Him or not. You were made so that you could know Him and feel His love. He made you with the intention that you would use your abilities and skills to benefit the world and draw attention to Him by loving others as you love yourself.
The devil, on the other hand, is God’s adversary. He is sometimes called “the enemy” because he is the enemy of God and God’s people. Satan’s goal is to keep people from coming to know God and putting their faith in Him. Whether or not someone is already a Christian, the enemy’s strategies may vary, but his overarching goal is always to prevent people from knowing God’s love.
The Devil and spiritual warfare
In the end, what Jesus accomplished when He died on the cross has already destroyed the devil. Jesus defeated death, as evidenced by His resurrection from the dead. However, the devil wants to prevent people from seeing Jesus’ work as it truly is.
Some Christians indeed find it difficult to think about Satan and spiritual warfare. However, one must consider the reality: By deciding to disregard the devil’s existence and the fact that his only goal is to destroy us, we put ourselves in a position to fall prey to his tricks. His use of lies, in particular, cast doubt on God and His promises to us. According to Hosea 4:6, “My people are destroyed from lack of knowledge.”
The devil fights us in our minds, which serves as his battlefield. One of his favorite strategies is to speak lies to us in a way that makes us believe them true. One of Satan’s tactics is to provide a bleak picture of our future to instil fear. He can use people, circumstances, and even our weaknesses to steal our joy, cause us to worry, and instill a sense of pessimism. The devil’s attempt to get us to trust in him instead of God and that our Father is powerless against him is, by far, his worst lie.
The Bible documents various instances of the devil lying to God’s children by using people or situations, in addition to Satan’s trickery of Eve in the Garden of Eden. Remember that the devil, our real enemy, exists. Be wary in how you wage your battle with him; he is single-minded and dangerous. By putting the Holy Spirit inside of those who follow Jesus, God has given them enormous resources, but they must avoid the temptation of their pride to go up against the enemy alone.
To be continued….