Spiritual Warfare

As Christians, we are at war. The evening news shows all of the problems that face this world, and how we are in evil times.

But the war Christians face is not a physical war, although some Christians find that to be true, too. The war we wage is a spiritual war where the forces of evil are arrayed against the Lord and His people.

God has provided us with weapons of warfare that are nothing like the weapons of this world. The most important weapon He has given us is the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Since this is a spiritual war, we need to fight and wage war in the Spirit. We have opposition from several fronts. We are fighting against the power of sin. We are contending against the passions, lusts, and desires of the flesh that wage war on our flesh. We are fighting against temptations thrown up at us when we are weak. And we are fighting against the devil and his demons, as well as his people who want to see us fall.

The Holy Spirit will work in us to win this war. God has provided weapons to overcome all of these different attacks, and the most powerful weapon is the Holy Spirit.

When we look at the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6:10-18 there are two pieces of this armor that relate directly to the need to receive the Holy Spirit. This is what it says:

“And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” (Ephesians 6:17-18)

We are told to “pray at all times in the Spirit.” Prayer in the Spirit is to speak in tongues, as Paul shows in 1 Corinthians 14:14-15, and you cannot speak in tongues until you have received the Holy Spirit.

Also, the Holy Spirit is the one who wields “the sword of the Spirit,” which is the word of God. Note, it is not the Spirit who is the sword, but the word of God written in the Bible.

We also have a part to play in this. We have to read and study the Bible so that we can arm the Holy Spirit with the sword that is the word of God. He uses this “sword” any time we get attacked by bringing the scripture to mind that is needed to defeat the attack. Recall when Jesus was attacked by the devil for forty days in the wilderness. Every attack was overcome by the word of God, which is the sword of the Spirit. Jesus repulsed every attack by quoting scripture, saying, “It is written…” This is the sword of the Spirit in action

Call to Action

If you are a Christian, you are at war, and you need to receive the Holy Spirit to fight effectively in this war in the Spirit. Seek to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit so that you are able to stand in the full armor of God.