Spiritual Warfare: Understanding the Battle from Bible Study Tools
Introduction
To understand the battle, we need to begin with acknowledging that we are in a war. Battles make up smaller components of the bigger picture. By definition, battles involve combat between two persons, between factions, between armies and they consist of any type of “extended contest, struggle, or controversy” (Webster-Merriam). As Christians, we are in a spiritual battle of some sort on a daily basis. In warfare, battles are fought on different fronts, for different reasons, and with varying degrees of intensity. The same is true in spiritual warfare. Our spiritual battles and warfare are real, even though we cannot physically see the attacker. But, we can educate ourselves on how the battles are fought and how they impact our lives on a daily basis.
We have to ask ourselves, “Why do we even want to fight?” It will do us no good to educate ourselves on the battle if we see no reason for the fight. War is very controversial today in the physical realm. Those attitudes, beliefs and convictions will transfer over to the spiritual realm. However, in the spiritual realm, there is a battle going on regardless of our opinion. We are either victors or victims. Jesus has come and conquered. The war is already won in the heavens. Jesus told us in Matthew 28:18 that, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” We now have the privilege of having an eternal relationship with God. Many of us enter into that covenant of salvation by grace. But the Matthew 28:18 verse is not only about our salvation; it is also about our every day victory, which adds up to victorious living in Christ. Every day victory is achieved by knowing, believing and understanding the battles that we are enduring daily, regardless if we are passive or active in the battles. Do you want all that God has for you on this earth right now, or do you want to wait until you get to heaven to receive the victory and blessings?
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This Bible study on Understanding the Battle of Spiritual Warfare will give us a foundation on where, how and what the battles look like in our lives. We are going to examine three main areas of where the battles are fought: the Spiritual Battle, the Worldly Battle, and the Battle Within Us. We will review and discuss what the Bible says regarding these areas and will learn how to apply the scriptures to our personal lives to bring victory over these battles. It begins with learning the truth of God’s Word and dispelling the lies of the enemy.
Part I: The Spiritual Battle
How do we know that there is a spiritual realm? If we cannot see it, should we believe in it? Many believers and unbelievers today do not want to “deal” with a world we cannot see when the world we do see is hard enough to “deal” with. Before we can discuss the spiritual battle, we have to believe in the spiritual realm. We have a tendency to act like a two year old child who closes her eyes and places a blanket over her head, really believing that no one can see her because she cannot see them. Just because we cannot see the spiritual realm does not mean it is not there. Keith Green, a Christian song writer, wrote, “I [Satan] used to have to sneak around. But now they just open their doors. No one’s looking for my tricks because no one believes in me any more.” However, if we choose to ignore or not believe in the spiritual realm, we will find ourselves confused, frustrated, and quenching the peace that God has promised to each of us. The best defense is a strong offense. Just educating ourselves about the spiritual realm is half the fight and God gives us everything else we need to be victorious with the other half.
Question 1: What words used in the verses below describe the spiritual realm and its invisible components?
According to Hebrews 11:3, what is required for us to believe?
What does that mean to you?
We all have an innate sense that there is more than what the eye can see. However, since we do not see it, we often fail to believe in it. If we do not believe in it, then we cannot be aware of all that is going on, for and against us. Whether we choose to believe in the existence of spiritual beings and places does not change the fact of their existence and their activities. Let’s step back a minute to assess what we do believe. As Christians, it took faith to believe in Jesus Christ. We cannot see Him but we believe that He died on the cross for our sins. We believe that God raised Him from the dead and we believe that He alone is the source of our eternal salvation. All those beliefs are not physically seen by us today. We believe Jesus accomplished these things in the spiritual realm when He lived in the physical realm on earth. We know that we, too, need to believe in this physical realm to be welcomed into His spiritual realm. Thus, it is faith that confirms to our hearts that we will be going to a very real place called heaven some day. The Bible is filled with references to the heavenly realm or a place that is invisible to our eyes physically today, yet very real in its existence. We believe with the eyes of our heart, instead of with the eyes in our head. There have been others who were able to see with their physical eyes into the spiritual realm.
