Engaging in Spiritual Warfare
A pastor friend of mine and his wife were visiting the country of Nigeria. They had gone to bed for the night and were sound asleep. All of a sudden, his wife cried out; someone or something was shaking her bed. So, they turned on the lights to see if they could see what was happening. But there was nothing under the bed and nothing attached to it that could make it shake. So, they went back to bed.
But it wasn’t long before the same thing happened again! This time, my friend said he thought about the possibility of an attack by a demonic spirit. So, taking his very frightened wife in his arms he prayed and asked God to rebuke the evil spirits in the name of Jesus and through the power of His shed blood. After the prayer, there was no unusual manifestation or anything like that. So, they went back to bed and slept peacefully for the remainder of the night.
Spiritual warfare is a controversial subject within Christendom today. There are generally two main responses to the topic. One is under-emphasis, and the other is over-emphasis.
Some people don’t believe there’s anything to it. “It’s all a figment of your imagination,” they say. So, they ignore it, even though the Scriptures plainly talk about it. There are others who blame every sin, every conflict, every problem, and every sickness on demons. And they’re convinced those demons need to be cast out. What is really needed is some biblical balance.
We know from the Gospels that Jesus cast out demons. But those events don’t make up the majority of the record. He healed many people of sicknesses, opened blind eyes, and cured leprosy. In most of those cases, there’s no mention at all of demons or evil spirits. Many of the ailments Jesus cured were simply the effects of living in a world affected by sin.
But spiritual warfare isn’t only about the things I’ve already mentioned. It’s dealing with wrong thoughts and words, whether our own or the ones others speak about us. It’s about dealing with temptations that arise out of our fleshly desires. It’s about controlling our thought processes. It’s about learning how to handle criticism in a Christ-like way.
In our study of Second Corinthians, we’ve come to chapter ten. In the first six verses of this chapter, Paul writes about engaging in spiritual warfare. However, we must note the context of this teaching. As I mentioned near the beginning of this study, this second letter to the Corinthians is largely Paul’s personal defense of the legitimacy of his ministry and his apostolic authority. There are several chapters in the middle, which we’ve covered, where he addresses other subjects. But here in chapter ten, he returns to the main subject, the defense of his ministry.
Remember, there was a stubborn minority of Judaizers in Corinth who opposed Paul. They resisted his authority. They constantly criticized him and tried to sway other people to join their faction. So, Paul, reluctantly, but forcefully calls them to account. This is a vital portion of Scripture for those in leadership, especially those who lead in the church. With that background in mind, let’s read the text, Second Corinthians 10:1 to 6.
Engaging in spiritual warfare is a demanding task. In this text, we learn several REQUIREMENTS for success in that struggle.
The First REQUIREMENT (for engaging i...
