In previous columns, I raised a question about an imbalance among conservative Christians in how we consider the New Testament teaching about Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare. Some parts of the church overemphasize the reality of spiritual powers and principalities while others ignore or downplay their significance altogether. Esther Acolatse’s recent book pleads for “biblical realism” among churches in the West and the global South.
Today, I will rely on the work of William Cook and Chuck Lawless, whose book Spiritual Warfare in the Storyline of Scripture reminds us of the significance of spiritual warfare, which they define as “the ongoing battle between the church and the devil and his forces, with the church standing in the armor of God, defensively resisting the devil, and offensively proclaiming the gospel in a battle already won.”
Cook and Lawless note that while Old Testament references to Satan and demons are few, the New Testament describes cosmic conflict at every turn. How can we sum up the New Testament’s teaching on spiritual warfare? Cook and Lawless apply biblical insights to the Christian life, the church, the defeat of Satan, and the lost. The following is an edited excerpt from their excellent work.
Spiritual Warfare in the Christian Life
The Christian life is to be characterized by a great degree of victory in the spiritual realm. Christ defeated Satan and the forces of darkness at the cross (Col 2:15; Heb 2:14-15; 1 John 3:8-12), and all who are united with him share in that victory (Col 1:13; 1 John 2:13-14).
Yet, in the present age, Satan and his demons remain aggressive in their assault on believers and the church (John 10:10; Eph 6:10-12). Christians are warned to be watchful of him and his deceptive activity (1 Pet 5:8-9; 1 John 3:8-12; 2 Cor 11:3-4, 11:12-14). Like a skilled fisherman, Satan seeks to lure Christians away from heartfelt devotion to Jesus by tempting them through their sinful inclinations (Jas 1:13-15). While believers are taught to expect satanic attacks, they are given assurance as well that if they resist the Devil he will flee (Jas 4:7)
Believers have no need to fear their enemy, because the Holy Spirit in them is greater than the one (Satan) that is in the world (1 John 4:1-6). In addition, the believer’s Savior is Lord over all, especially over spiritual powers (Col 1:15-16; Eph 1:20-23). Christians are aided in their spiritual battles with the words of Scripture (Eph 6:17; Luke 4:1-13). Through the Word of God believers come to recognize the Devil’s schemes and are enabled to achieve daily victory over him (1 John 2:13-14).
Finally, believers are provided with the armor of God (Eph 6:10-20). This armor is to be put on within the community of faith as believers pray for one another and for themselves as they prepare for certain enemy attack (Acts 4:23-31; Eph 6:18-20; 1 Thess 3:3).
Spiritual Warfare in the Church
Satan hates the church and is continually seeking to destroy it (Rev 12:13-17). He tries to find means to derail the church from its mission. This attempted destruction can be done through hypocrisy, false teaching, and persecution (Acts 5:1-11; 1 Tim 1:18-20; Rev 2:9-10, 13; 3:9).
Even when the church acts in obedience to God, as in the excommunication of those engaged in habitual unrepentant sin and false teaching (1 Cor 5:1-5), the Devil seeks to bring division through a failure to forgive the repentant (2 Cor 2:5-11). So, even when the church does what is right, it must be alert to Satan’s schemes.
The church must recognize that truly heretical teaching has its origin in demonic activity (1 Tim 4:1-2; Rev 2:24). Satan, however, will even use a desire for orthodoxy to seek to cause believers to fight and separate over matters where genuine godly believers sometimes disagree on second- and third-level issues. Unlike the wisdom of the Lord, which brings unity to the church, the wisdom from below (satanic in origin) fosters envy and ambition, leading to division (Jas 3:14-16).
Defeat of Satan
Although presently the power of Satan has been rendered ineffective and believers can live with a great deal of victory over him (Heb 2:14-15; Rom 8:38-39), his ultimate and eternal doom is still in the future (Rom 16:20; 1 Cor 15:24-25; Rev 20:1-11). Though Christians live in a world under the dominion of Satan, the evil one is unable to touch them (1 John 5:18-19).
The reality of this victory ought to embolden and encourage believers to withstand persecution for the kingdom and advance the gospel throughout the world (1 Pet 3:18-21). The present diminishment of Satan’s power is a foretaste of the greater victory to come.
Spiritual Warfare and the Lost
The lost live under the dominion of Satan and reflect that subjugation in their orientation toward sin (Gal 1:4; Eph 2:1-3; 1 John 3:8-12; 1 John 5:18-19). Moreover, as children of the Devil, they work unknowingly toward the purposes of their father (John 8:44). Their eyes are blinded to their need of the gospel (Mark 4:12; 2 Cor 4:4; 1 John 5:18-19). Yet the Spirit of God and the power of the gospel open blind eyes, soften hard hearts, and set captives free (Luke 4:18-19; John 8:32; Eph 2:4-13).
One aspect of spiritual warfare that is not defensive is taking the gospel to the lost, be they down the street or across the globe (Eph 6:15). The book of Acts demonstrates time and time again that no matter how hard Satan tried to stop the gospel from making significant advancement, he failed miserably (197-200).
In the next column, we’ll look at why and how we should expect supernatural opposition when we are all about the mission God has given us.
