Treasures New and Old

Christian Behavior: Spiritual Warfare: Getting Armed

“Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

– Romans 6:4

So far we have looked at the new creatures that we who are believers in Christ have become, and we looked at the fact that we are now children of God and children of the King – Jesus Christ. Now, let us look at spiritual warfare and getting armed for battle. I would remind you of the Seven Disciples’ Principles that we should remember and observe (as in guard, hold important). To review, look back at the first article of the Discipleship series.

Seven Disciples’ Principles

We must always strive to be like Him and understand that we can never be better than Him
Always remember that Christ is our Master – others may be teachers or counselors, or brethren, but He is our Master
The Master is coming back and will ask for an accounting
Hold fast to the truth, don’t stray, avoid the gray areas
Disciples serve one another – as our Master gave example
Stay in the Master’s Book
Be a vessel of honor

We Have Three Main Enemies:

The Bible clearly teaches us that we have three enemy sources that we face every day:

The World: 1 John 2:15-17: “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

The Flesh: Romans 13:14: “But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.” Galatians 5:16-17: “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

The Devil: 1 Timothy 5:15: “For some are already turned aside after Satan.” 1 Peter 5:8-9: “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.”

How Do We Conduct Spiritual Warfare?

Warfare is fought on several levels as we battle the world, the flesh (our flesh) and the devil. Consider the following verses:

2 Corinthians 10:3-6: “For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ; And having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience, when your obedience is fulfilled.”

1. We do not war after the flesh – our battle is primarily one of our spirit and our mind.

2. Our weapons are not carnal – that is, they are not flesh-based weapons; they are, again, weapons we use in our spirit and in our mind.

3. Our weapons are able to help us fight on three fronts (basically, they are all mind-related fronts, that is, we must fight these battles first in our minds):

1 John 2:16: “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

a. Pulling down stronghold (lust of the flesh) habits: wrong thinking and philosophies, inappropriate actions and activities, bondage of addictions

b. Casting down imaginations (lust of the eyes): impure thoughts, coveting that which is not yours, imagining what can’t be a reality in order to escape a situation

c. Casting down high things (price of life): thinking yourself better than others, believing that you don’t need God or others, expecting others to serve you and not you serving them

4. Our weapons are able to help us have victory in three areas (all starting with a new mindset as we work to renew our minds in Christ):

a. Bringing into captivity every thought into obedience to Christ. To bring a thought into captivity has three aspects or steps that need to be exercised so that you can capture and control that thought: (1) You must recognize that the thought you just had is not pleasing to God and not beneficial spiritually to you. (2) You must reject that thought as being unacceptable to your Lord (Jesus Christ) and, therefore, an enemy to your soul. Rejecting that thought includes refusing to entertain it any longer and casting it aside (as in putting a captive in jail and, therefore, out of sight). (3) Immediately replace that thought with related Scripture that you have memorized ahead of time.

Example: An immodestly dressed woman walks in front of you and you begin to follow her with your eyes as she passes. You stop, realizing that you are about to entertain lust for her. You thank God for the victory we have in Christ to bring such thoughts into captivity, and you then turn away refusing to look in her direction. But the image may still be in your mind so you purposefully reject the image and, instead, you recall verses like Job 31:1: “I made a covenant with mine eyes; why then should I think upon a maid?” As a final step, I also remember that Christ died for me on the cross and suffered that I might have victory over sin and death.

Into obedience to Christ is the second part of this verse phrase. It means to be attentive to the will of Christ, to hearken to the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He warns you of a “spiritual battle situation”, and then by implication, you act in compliance or submission to what you know to be God’s will for you. This equates to obedience to what you know as a new creature in Christ you ought to do and you, therefore, obey.

Using the example above, bringing a thought into obedience to Christ is to recall the Scripture verse or verses you have memorized and speak them in your mind until the wrong thought is gone. Replacing wrong thinking with right thinking is a step of obedience we all need to learn how to do.

b. Giving us a readiness (to be instantly ready, fit, able, prepared and made ready to act) to avenge (correct, repent from, seek forgiveness, vindicate, retaliate, punish, etc.) all disobedience. I think we all understand what our “all disobediences” are as they relate to those times when we entertained sin, had wrong thoughts, or even acted out what we were thinking. Those disobediences represent the body of sins Christ died on the cross to pay for and forgive. How do we see the readiness and avenge words affecting us in this verse? To have a readiness means simply to be ready, willing, and able to act appropriately in the face of an attack (wrong thought). Look at it like a soldier who is in the battlefield never knowing when the enemy will attack. If he has trained to the point of what we call “muscle memory”, he will automatically react correctly when the enemy attacks. But if he has not trained, he will be unprepared and will most likely be defeated or wounded by the attack. To “avenge” may mean several things depending on our readiness and response. If we entertain a wrong thought, we must repent and ask forgiveness. If we have reacted quickly to the wrong thinking, we reject the thought and refuse to entertain it; we, in effect, retaliate by replacing the thought with right thinking and various memorized Scripture.

If you are a person who has had a problem with lust in the past (sexual or material coveting), the best way to practice “readiness” would be like a soldier training with his weapons. You memorize Scripture verses that directly relate to the subject and meditate on them until they are second nature to you. For our passing immodestly dressed woman, verses like Job 31:1; or Proverbs 6:25-26; James 1:14-15; Colossians 3:5; 1 Corinthians 6:18; Matthew 5:48; 1 Peter 2:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:3-4; Psalm 119:11; and 2 Timothy 2:22.

c. When your obedience to Christ is fulfilled. You have trained (memorized Scripture, exercised those verses in meditation and may even have carried them out verbally or in actions and activities) and they have become part of that “muscle memory” athletes and warriors talk about. When attacked in your mind with either lust, covetousness, or pride, your spiritual self in concert with the Holy Spirit (you did give your day to Him first thing in the morning, right?) springs into action automatically and rejects the attack and replaces it with relevant Scripture verses. You have fulfilled your obedience in this attack. Sounds simple doesn’t it? But it is not, and it is a constant vigil you are on because you have chosen to be focused on winning this spiritual battle in Christ.

Every time something crosses your mind that is an unacceptable thought, because you have memorized and mediated on victorious verses, the battle will get easier over time. But beware: “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall. There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:12-13).

Spiritual warfare training means to arm yourself with as much Scripture as you can so that you are able to recall them with that “spiritual muscle memory”. This helps to get us “armed” for the battles that lie ahead. Start each day in prayer, give yourself to the Lord and your day to Him, and walk in the light as He is in the light.

Maranatha!

May God bless you all!

Bro. Joe

References

Kress, J. (2021). On Being a Disciple – Seven Principles.

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