Spiritual Warfare — Whose Side Are You On? Part Two

Spiritual Warfare — Whose Side Are You On?
Part Two

Today's Three-minute Bible Study
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Title: Spiritual Warfare — Whose Side Are You On? Part Two ------------------- Date: 3/15/2002
Keywords: "commitment" "desertion" "warfare"
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Passage: Ephesians 6:12*

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.

Questions

1. How would you define spiritual warfare?

2. When conducting warfare, think of the number of behind-the-scene personnel that must be active in order to conduct fighting on the front lines. What do the front line soldiers need to carry on, and ultimately win the battle? How might this analogy help us understand spiritual warfare better?

Practical help

Yesterday we considered the importance of not conducting war against the wrong person or object. When you are in a battle with pornography, sometimes its helpful to step back and see the bigger picture. Up close it looks like a sexual struggle, but if we step back a little we might see the deeper implications of what is going on.

In this passage from Ephesians, Paul lists four "enemies" we are fighting. Perhaps these are different levels or tiers of soldiers in the war. The ones most easy to identify would be the "rulers." In true warfare, these might be the heads of countries or the commanders in the field who have the power to mobilize armies and send them into battle. In pornography, these might be the pimps or the owners of the porn web sites. These are real people involved in exploiting others for personal gain. Make no mistake, if you are hooked on porn, you are being exploited. Spiritually, you are being desensitized, which results in spiritual blindness or darkness. Ever wonder why it’s hard to feel God’s presence? It might be due to sins like porn in your life.

We also struggle against "the powers." This might be the laws of nature, like lust itself. If we didn’t have sex drives, pornography would have no meaning, would it?

Then there are the "world forces of this darkness." Every institution and idea that opposes God’s rule on earth could be included in this. When someone says, "What’s the harm in porn? It doesn’t hurt anyone," he is in spiritual darkness and is encouraging you to follow him. Think about people’s arguments in support of pornography and you will be able to better see the world forces of darkness.

Finally, we have "spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." Obviously we have moved completely outside of the material world. It’s hard to believe as earth-bound finite beings that this arena even exists, and frankly, we wouldn’t know about it unless told. But the Bible is clear. There is a devil and there is evil. Put into this context, your temptations are battles to be fought and won, for the heavenly kingdom you represent.

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*"Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission."