WHO ARE WE FIGHTING ANYWAY?

Because we live in the realm of flesh and blood we immediately think that anything important in life is acted out in that realm. Perhaps we as Christians have forgotten that the physical world is the stage upon which the actions of another world, an eternal world, unfold. The world of which we speak is the spiritual world, a world of angels and demons, a world in whom the destiny of the human race will be decided. A grave error is made when we, who live in this realm of flesh and blood, direct all our attention to things we can see, hear and smell. This is exactly what demonic forces want us to do. Those battles where nations take up arms against other nations, and where men rise up against their neighbors and where governments rise up against her citizens — these are not the battles that the Bible is concerned with. In fact, in a real sense, the Bible is rather aloof about these earthly struggles. God is well aware that the world is a mess but in His infinite wisdom He knows that the solution to the world’s ills is not by taming the physical world but by winning the war in the world that lies beyond. That is, the spiritual world, the unseen world. And the prize for the victor is nothing less than eternity. Ultimately the Bible is concerned with this question; “What will happen to the human race throughout the ages?” The Bible’s diagnosis is not good. If this book is right, then man is in deep, deep trouble. Yes, he is in a mess in this temporal world, but more importantly he is in a mess in the spiritual world. Man’s chief problem is that he is under the sway of “the prince of the power of the air,” the one who is called “the god of this world.” This is none other than Satan himself. According to the Scriptures the whole world lies under his sway. The chaos we see in the physical realm is merely a mirror of what is happening in the spiritual world. And it is not a pretty picture. You see, the dark angel, Satan himself, is engaged in a war for the soul of our race. Now of course we know that this war is waged upon things visible. Man lives in the realm of the flesh. But that does not mean the war must be fought with fleshly weapons. The truth is that spears or missiles, editorials or manifestos, institutions or programs, philosophies or ideals, great determination or wise strategy cannot touch this enemy at all. The weapons that must be used in this spiritual war cannot be seen or felt. They are, quite simply, not of this earth. And this goes for the enemy as well. He cannot be seen or felt. He is not republican or democrat, Afghan or Filipino, union chief or political strategist, neighbor or foreigner, king, priest, or pundit. He is a spiritual being who lies beyond the range of any worldly armament. Thus, the church is engaged in a war that demands spiritual weapons to fight a spiritual enemy. And the war will be fought to the death. And the spoils are mankind itself. To lose this war is to lose the soul of man. Unfortunately, most men get up in the morning and have no idea that they are in a war at all. And if they fight any battle they are often found fighting on the wrong battle field. But the Christian should not be so ignorant. The word of God explains plainly what war we are in and how we are to fight it. So let’s stand back and let the Scriptures speak so that we might don the right armor and go after the right enemy.

What war is Paul talking about when he tells Timothy to “fight the good fight of faith”? He tells us. It is the war “to lay hold on eternal life.” That’s the fight Paul is concerned about. And that is the fight the church should be concerned about. Notice that Paul does not mention the Romans or the Greeks, the Stoics or the false priests. He speaks only about the fight for eternal life, the fight for men’s souls. Now this is the real war. And it is a war that ought to demand a yeoman’s effort by the church of God. Truly, any church that engages in this fight will find it to be a full time vocation. So two questions must be answered, “Who is this war against?” and “What are the weapons we must employ in the course of this struggle?”

So let us review. The Bible is clear that man’s chief enemy is not man, but the prince of darkness himself, Satan. Paul says, “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.” The great battle is not against men but against heavenly spirits who operate under the masterful leadership of the dark prince himself, Satan. And this foe means business. He was opposed to God from the beginning and he will not rest until God and HIs kingdom are destroyed. As you can see, this struggle puts the church right in the middle of the action. The redeemed of God are those enlisted by God (along with the angels) to fight this deadly foe. Being spiritual, Satan fights with spiritual weaponry. Those weapons are many and we are not ignorant of them. Satan hides and attacks, deceives and insinuates, distracts, and surprises. The Scriptures warn us of many of his deceptive tactics, all of which are aimed at God’s kingdom and His redemptive plan. His evil designs are chronicled throughout the Bible. He was there way back in the days of the kings of Judah when he destroyed all the heirs to the Davidic throne except Joash who was miraculously preserved by the hand of God (2 Kings 11:2). He was there in the heart of Herod who demanded the slaughter of the innocents in order to destroy the Messianic child (Matthew 2:16-18). He was there putting insinuations in the mind of Peter to halt Jesus’ trek to Jerusalem where He must die for the sins of the world. When we get to the Book of Revelation we see Satan warring viciously against the people of God with nothing in his heart but bloodthirsty vengeance (Rev 12:13-17). He alone is behind all those natural disasters that crush the saints, all those deadly philosophies that undermine their faith, and all those ungodly governments that persecute them. All the chaos that exists anywhere is from him. And he energizes those twin enemies of God’s church, the beast and the false prophet. He also provokes the many Babylons that arise in every generation to destroy the followers of Christ, whether by oppression or assimilation. He is the enemy of all enemies and his fight is to the end. What is most frightening about this foe is his ability disguise himself in masterful ways and become an angel of light. He draws us in by ravaging displays. He is proficient at turning our attention away from his nefarious plots and upon some useless distraction. This ability often has the church looking in the wrong direction as to where Satan is really working. While guarding the front door, Satan often sneaks in through the basement. All too often the church is looking to fight on political battlegrounds or in social causes or in culture wars where Satan is nowhere to be found. All too often the church forgets her mission and begins to shoot at the wrong foe. This kind of distraction is Satan’s game.

So that is our enemy. What weapons, then, are to be used to fight this spiritual being? I can answer this simply; nothing done in the flesh. Carnal instruments have no effect whatsoever on spiritual foes. What is needed to fight this war are spiritual weapons provided by God to His church. And failure to use them will result in certain defeat. So what are these weapons? If we turn to Ephesians 6:13-18 we find them listed. They are; the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes for the readiness of the gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword which is the word of God and all prayer. Seven indomitable weapons designed to defeat our spiritual adversary. If only the church would focus on the right foe and use the right weaponry, the battle would be won. But when the church gets off track and believes its mission is to fight the fortresses of this world and to use fleshly weapons, the battle will be lost. Hannah after her great spiritual victory prayed before the Lord. It was a song of triumph and thanksgiving. She had just given birth to a miracle child, born through patience and prayer. And this child, the product of spiritual weapons, would prove to be the salvation of the nation. That Hannah knew how the battle was won is evident by what she says. Her victory poem concludes:

“The adversaries of the LORD shall be broken in pieces;

From heaven He will thunder against them.

The LORD will judge the ends of the earth.

He will give strength to His king

And exalt the horn of His anointed” (1 Sam 2:10).

The promise is sure. “The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken in pieces.” The adversaries are Satan and his minions; the weapons are God’s spiritual armor. This song reminds us that the battle before us is and has always been spiritual. In the midst of a society in decline, let the church stand tall and fight the good fight - the right fight - once again. And let us be fighting the right foe. And who is he? Well, he does not live in Washington, but in heavenly places. And what are the weapons we must use? They are not clubs or spears or tweets, for our weapons are “not carnal but mighty in God to the pulling down of strongholds and casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God.” Let us get back on our knees with a Bible in our hands and shout as Gideon’s men shouted, “The sword of the Lord!” Let us at once fight the right enemy with the right weapons.