Spiritual Warriors In a Fleshly World
[Written on June 2004]
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
But against principalities, against powers,
Against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
Against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
-Ephesians 6:12
Behold, war is upon us. Unseen myriads of warriors with great determination and zeal struggle in an epic battle for all ages. This is a battle we are called to fight. This is a battle we cannot escape. This is a battle we dare not ignore, for it is a battle of greater import than any other in all history. Be diligent. Be bold. Be strong. Find strength to stand in the Lord God. There is no standing apart from Him, for we are but flesh against an innumerable host of spiritual forces.
Perhaps I should slow down. You don’t yet feel the gravity of this spiritual struggle of the age we are living in? We are fast approaching a spiritually black night, where darkness seemingly prevails over the light. Were no evil will be called evil, no truth be called truth, no justice be called justice, no wisdom be called wisdom, and no perversion be called perversion. Is it not clear that this is where we are heading? We are in the last days-days like Noah’s days and Lot’s days, where our voices seem to be the voices of a lonely few crying in the wilderness. Moral clarity has been replaced with social consciousness, Biblical hunger by cultural exploration, and God’s law by humanistic ideology.
Where are the millions of blazing Christians who “turn the world upside-down”? Where are the warriors of truth and godliness? These days scream for boldness, earnestness, devotion, and determination. These last days I believe will separate the wheat from the chaff, the unregenerate professing from the redeemed believing, and the cold dead from the warm and hot living, for soon there will be no place for the lukewarm to stand. “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I [Jesus Christ] will vomit you out of My mouth,” (Revelation 3:16). Who is on the Lord’s side?
Let us not forget that our fight is a spiritual fight. Our flesh cannot prevail or give us the victory; no, our weak flesh will only hinder us in this momentous struggle. Though there is no way to prevail in our own feeble strength, yet God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1). Though the world stand against us and satanic powers besiege us, God may yet give us the victory, for His arm is mighty to save and deliver from evil. We must stand unshaken, unmoved, unwavering, and unrelenting in the face of unending spiritual attacks. That can only be by God’s grace. My dear brother or sister, it is time to see where we have gone astray, where we are faltering, where we err, and to submit ourselves unconditionally and unquestioningly under the lordship of Christ, realizing that each failure is sin and ground for our enemy.
I in no way mean to imply that this spiritual battle will result in a rollback of all hosts of wickedness, or that our world will be transformed into a Christian paradise. We know the future. We have glimpsed the events to come by a divine telescope that sees ahead in time beyond today. We know that the world will only wax more cold and callous and corrupt. Though this truth remains, so also does the truth that we have spiritual victory in Jesus Christ-personal victory. Can we save the world? No. Can we change hearts and minds? No. But what we can and must do is to light up this darkened world as the brightest lights and the strongest spiritual warriors leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that there is reality in Christ, so that people will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Let us fight the good fight, and run the race with endurance, looking to God for our help and salvation. Let us boldly and manifestly work the work of God, knowing that persecution will follow us, but also knowing that God is with us and will never leave us.
As with any doctrine, the truth can be distorted and twisted into a perversion, fully devoid of a Biblical basis. The Catholics have in the past waged “holy wars” for the purpose of defeating heathen cultures and to further the spread of Catholicism. They wrongly believed that they were doing the work of God-that is, the revealed will of God-yet these physical battles could not be based upon the Scriptures. God’s method of spreading the gospel is through peaceful means, not through violence and physical subjugation. No one can be forced to believe or truly submit to the gospel of Christ. Just as the Catholics looked to fleshly battles as a work of God, we may easily loose sight of the true nature of the inherently spiritual struggle that we face. We may desire to fight for the truth with scientific reasoning, look to entertainment and dramatization to help win souls to Christ, and campaign for legal reform to bring the nation back to God. Nevertheless, these and other such methods will end in utter failure if they are used to supplant the true Biblical model of spiritual warfare for the kingdom of heaven. Fleshly methods of warfare cannot be wielded for the victory in a spiritual battle.
Are your eyes opened? Do you recall the story of Elisha and his servant when they faced the Syrian forces? An army with horses and chariots surrounded them. What could two men do against an army? But not all was as it appeared. Elisha said of his servant, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see! Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha,” (2 Kings 6:17b). Even this physical predicament was a spiritual battleground. Do you see by faith the armies of heaven and the armies of Satan in this ceaseless struggle? They are at war: one side on Jehovah’s side, the other against Him; one side for righteousness and justice and godliness, the other for wickedness and injustice and ungodliness; one side for love and service to others, the other for hatred and service to self; one side for all that God stands for and has called good, the other for all that God abhors and has called evil. Day and night, hour-by-hour, these unseen forces fight in diametric opposition, each side fully knowing and standing for what they believe in.
Yes, Satan knows what he stands for. He has a set goal, agenda, and set of principles. He has a highly trained and organized hierarchy of warriors. They will not rest or tire from fighting against God’s sovereign rule and headship. They are consistent in their efforts to establish their own sovereign kingdom apart from the authority of Almighty God.
Consistency and unity is paramount in this spiritual war. Where are we in this battle? Are we entirely and consistently fighting on the Lord’s side? Do you see that there is no moral middle ground on which to evade the surrounding fierce clash of kingdoms? We are either gathering with Jesus Christ or we are scattering abroad. Can we dare say that any action in our life is unimportant or trivial? Can we truthfully say that any deed is neither helping nor hindering the spread of the gospel of truth? Whether we eat or drink, let us do all to the glory of God the Father (1 Corinthians 10:31)! In every miniscule or massive action in our lives, let us question the spiritual ramifications and ensure that we are serving our Heavenly Master.
Behold, war is upon us. Even now temptations are calling us to turn aside. Even our own flesh battles against us and against God. We are continually under pressure to gratify our flesh and go our own selfish way in opposition to God’s ways. The world buffets us on every side to compromise and be tolerant of wickedness. They tell us that there is no right or wrong. They say we can’t know truth and holiness. The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19). The wicked one sends his powerful spiritual warriors to war against all that is God-honoring and all who are upright and who stand on God’s side. Innumerable hosts of darkness fight to establish Satan’s rule and those who stand in the way. Yet we will press on with full assurance of victory against these impossible odds-impossible for us to overcome in our foolishness and weakness. But He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). God Omnipotent will surely get the victory with all glory and honor. Let us look to Him who has overcome the world that we also may overcome in His strength and might. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood,
But against principalities, against powers,
Against the rulers of the darkness of this age,
Against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.
-Ephesians 6:12
Behold, war is upon us. Unseen myriads of warriors with great determination and zeal struggle in an epic battle for all ages. This is a battle we are called to fight. This is a battle we cannot escape. This is a battle we dare not ignore, for it is a battle of greater import than any other in all history. Be diligent. Be bold. Be strong. Find strength to stand in the Lord God. There is no standing apart from Him, for we are but flesh against an innumerable host of spiritual forces.
Perhaps I should slow down. You don’t yet feel the gravity of this spiritual struggle of the age we are living in? We are fast approaching a spiritually black night, where darkness seemingly prevails over the light. Were no evil will be called evil, no truth be called truth, no justice be called justice, no wisdom be called wisdom, and no perversion be called perversion. Is it not clear that this is where we are heading? We are in the last days-days like Noah’s days and Lot’s days, where our voices seem to be the voices of a lonely few crying in the wilderness. Moral clarity has been replaced with social consciousness, Biblical hunger by cultural exploration, and God’s law by humanistic ideology.
Where are the millions of blazing Christians who “turn the world upside-down”? Where are the warriors of truth and godliness? These days scream for boldness, earnestness, devotion, and determination. These last days I believe will separate the wheat from the chaff, the unregenerate professing from the redeemed believing, and the cold dead from the warm and hot living, for soon there will be no place for the lukewarm to stand. “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I [Jesus Christ] will vomit you out of My mouth,” (Revelation 3:16). Who is on the Lord’s side?
Let us not forget that our fight is a spiritual fight. Our flesh cannot prevail or give us the victory; no, our weak flesh will only hinder us in this momentous struggle. Though there is no way to prevail in our own feeble strength, yet God is our refuge and strength (Psalm 46:1). Though the world stand against us and satanic powers besiege us, God may yet give us the victory, for His arm is mighty to save and deliver from evil. We must stand unshaken, unmoved, unwavering, and unrelenting in the face of unending spiritual attacks. That can only be by God’s grace. My dear brother or sister, it is time to see where we have gone astray, where we are faltering, where we err, and to submit ourselves unconditionally and unquestioningly under the lordship of Christ, realizing that each failure is sin and ground for our enemy.
I in no way mean to imply that this spiritual battle will result in a rollback of all hosts of wickedness, or that our world will be transformed into a Christian paradise. We know the future. We have glimpsed the events to come by a divine telescope that sees ahead in time beyond today. We know that the world will only wax more cold and callous and corrupt. Though this truth remains, so also does the truth that we have spiritual victory in Jesus Christ-personal victory. Can we save the world? No. Can we change hearts and minds? No. But what we can and must do is to light up this darkened world as the brightest lights and the strongest spiritual warriors leaving no doubt in anyone’s mind that there is reality in Christ, so that people will see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven. Let us fight the good fight, and run the race with endurance, looking to God for our help and salvation. Let us boldly and manifestly work the work of God, knowing that persecution will follow us, but also knowing that God is with us and will never leave us.
As with any doctrine, the truth can be distorted and twisted into a perversion, fully devoid of a Biblical basis. The Catholics have in the past waged “holy wars” for the purpose of defeating heathen cultures and to further the spread of Catholicism. They wrongly believed that they were doing the work of God-that is, the revealed will of God-yet these physical battles could not be based upon the Scriptures. God’s method of spreading the gospel is through peaceful means, not through violence and physical subjugation. No one can be forced to believe or truly submit to the gospel of Christ. Just as the Catholics looked to fleshly battles as a work of God, we may easily loose sight of the true nature of the inherently spiritual struggle that we face. We may desire to fight for the truth with scientific reasoning, look to entertainment and dramatization to help win souls to Christ, and campaign for legal reform to bring the nation back to God. Nevertheless, these and other such methods will end in utter failure if they are used to supplant the true Biblical model of spiritual warfare for the kingdom of heaven. Fleshly methods of warfare cannot be wielded for the victory in a spiritual battle.
Are your eyes opened? Do you recall the story of Elisha and his servant when they faced the Syrian forces? An army with horses and chariots surrounded them. What could two men do against an army? But not all was as it appeared. Elisha said of his servant, “LORD, I pray, open his eyes that he may see! Then the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw. And behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha,” (2 Kings 6:17b). Even this physical predicament was a spiritual battleground. Do you see by faith the armies of heaven and the armies of Satan in this ceaseless struggle? They are at war: one side on Jehovah’s side, the other against Him; one side for righteousness and justice and godliness, the other for wickedness and injustice and ungodliness; one side for love and service to others, the other for hatred and service to self; one side for all that God stands for and has called good, the other for all that God abhors and has called evil. Day and night, hour-by-hour, these unseen forces fight in diametric opposition, each side fully knowing and standing for what they believe in.
Yes, Satan knows what he stands for. He has a set goal, agenda, and set of principles. He has a highly trained and organized hierarchy of warriors. They will not rest or tire from fighting against God’s sovereign rule and headship. They are consistent in their efforts to establish their own sovereign kingdom apart from the authority of Almighty God.
Consistency and unity is paramount in this spiritual war. Where are we in this battle? Are we entirely and consistently fighting on the Lord’s side? Do you see that there is no moral middle ground on which to evade the surrounding fierce clash of kingdoms? We are either gathering with Jesus Christ or we are scattering abroad. Can we dare say that any action in our life is unimportant or trivial? Can we truthfully say that any deed is neither helping nor hindering the spread of the gospel of truth? Whether we eat or drink, let us do all to the glory of God the Father (1 Corinthians 10:31)! In every miniscule or massive action in our lives, let us question the spiritual ramifications and ensure that we are serving our Heavenly Master.
Behold, war is upon us. Even now temptations are calling us to turn aside. Even our own flesh battles against us and against God. We are continually under pressure to gratify our flesh and go our own selfish way in opposition to God’s ways. The world buffets us on every side to compromise and be tolerant of wickedness. They tell us that there is no right or wrong. They say we can’t know truth and holiness. The whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one (1 John 5:19). The wicked one sends his powerful spiritual warriors to war against all that is God-honoring and all who are upright and who stand on God’s side. Innumerable hosts of darkness fight to establish Satan’s rule and those who stand in the way. Yet we will press on with full assurance of victory against these impossible odds-impossible for us to overcome in our foolishness and weakness. But He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4). God Omnipotent will surely get the victory with all glory and honor. Let us look to Him who has overcome the world that we also may overcome in His strength and might. Jesus said, “These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world,” (John 16:33).