How Do we Wage Spiritual Warfare?

The Bible tells us that we are involved in a war, but not a war that involves physical combat. It is a spiritual war against the devil and the powers of darkness. Ephesians 6:10-18 teaches us how to equip ourselves for battle. We are to put on the full armor of God. It consists of six pieces, each of which plays a vital role in our lives as Christians:

1) The belt of truth (Eph. 6:14). The devil is a liar (John 8:44), and you need to know and believe the truth to be free from his deception (John 8:32).
2) The breastplate of righteousness (Eph. 6:14). Since you are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21), you can and must live it out in your daily life (Matt. 5:13-16).
3) The sandals of the gospel (Eph. 6:15). Do not be ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16). Share your faith with the lost (Matt. 28:19; Rom. 10:14-15; 2 Tim. 4:2-5). Satan hates this probably more than anything else.
4) The shield of faith (Eph. 6:16). Anything without faith is sin (Rom. 15:23). You need faith to please God (Heb. 11:6). A little faith goes a long way (Matt. 17:20; Mark 11:22 24; Luke 17:6).
5) The helmet of salvation (Eph. 6:17). The devil will condemn you with the sins of your past to try to get you to doubt your salvation (Rev. 12:10). When he does, claim Psalm 103:12 and 1 John 1:9.
6) The sword of the Spirit which is God's Word (Eph. 6:17). Read, memorize, and meditate upon God's Word (Pss. 119:11 & 105; Heb 4:12).

That is the biblical way to wage spiritual warfare. Unfortunately, several pastors and televangelists wrongfully teach that Christians must verbally rebuke (or "bind") the devil (or other specific demons) in order to overcome temptation or oppression. There is no basis for that in Scripture. It is nowhere to be found in the ministry of the apostles. Only in cases of actual demonization (or "possession") do we see believers addressing demons (Acts 16:16-18), but never in cases of common temptation, or even outright oppression. Only Jesus addressed the devil to his face, but His situation was unique. The devil appeared to Him visibly and physically, and addressed Him first with an audible voice (Luke 4:1-13). That has never happened to me (thank God), and I don't suspect it's ever happened to you.

James 4:7 tells us, "Resist the devil and he will flee from you." To resist does not necessarily mean to rebuke. Here, the term "resist" is translated from the Greek term anthistemi (pronounced "ant-hiss-ta-mee"), which literally means "set against" or "stand against." The term does not imply verbal rebuke. If it did, then every believer with a speech impediment would be helpless!

Jude 9 teaches that not even the Archangel Michael has the authority to rebuke Satan! The Archangel Michael can actually, literally see and hear Satan, whereas we cannot. Satan and his fellow demons are not omnipresent (thank God)! They must move from one place to another (Job 1:7; 1 Pet. 5:8), so how can we be certain that they even hear us at the moment?!

Matthew 16:19 and 18:18 are often taken straight out of context in an attempt to show that believers must verbally "bind" the devil to overcome him. If you read those Scriptures in context, it should be obvious that they pertain to Church discipline, not to spiritual warfare. Remember, when we pray, we talk to God, not to angels, not to souls of the departed saints, and certainly not to demons! Likewise, Luke 10:19 and Revelation 12:10-11 tend to be misinterpreted in an attempt to mandate verbal confrontation of the demonic.

Let us return to God's Word, and do spiritual warfare His way, shall we?