About Doctrines
Spiritual Warfare
Ephesians 6:1-13 (NKJV)
10 Finally, my brethren, be strong
in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the
wiles of the devil. 12 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. 13 Therefore
take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Jesus told Peter that His church would stand against the gates of Hell. Nothing would overcome the church of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 16:18 (NKJV)
And I also say to you that you
are Peter, and on this rock I will build My
church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
However, Jesus understood that a battle exists. This battle commenced in the Garden of Eden when the serpent deceived Eve and Adam ate of the forbidden fruit (Gen 3). It has continued ever since. The battle is against the very forces of hell, the forces of evil. The battle is against Satan and his demons. True, it is about sin as will but Satan has taken all of the world's potential sin and created a series of systems to make these sins appear to be pleasant and desireable. Satan undertakes to make us do anything and everything that will cause us to walk even a step away from God.
This is the battle. The battle has been won -- just read the book of Revelation. Until then, however, there is a daily battle in which the forces of evil move against God's people and God's creation. This is the battle between the church and the gates of hell. This is the spiritual warfare Paul speaks of in Ephesians 6. We view our lives in terms of dealing with sin. We make mistakes and search our hearts for the sins of our decisions. When was the last time you searched for Satan and the demons? When was the last time you considered that you were part of a spiritual battle? According to the Bible, you are in this war. The spiritual on Christian soldiers moving onward is accurate. You are a part of this battle.
