Spiritual warfare might be more than what you think it is

What comes to mind when you hear the term spiritual warfare? For some, our thoughts go immediately to powerful encounters with demonic forces, like we see so frequently in the ministries of Jesus and Paul. For others, our thoughts go to all-night intercessory prayer meetings, or walking and claiming geographical territory for Jesus in order to tear down spiritual strongholds, etc. 

However, although all these are all examples of encounters between Light and dark in the world, and thus can be understood as examples of spiritual warfare, they all see a stronghold as the presence of God's enemy in a certain place or person, and the power encounter / spiritual warfare as the way to remove it.

This is not how the New Testament usually understands strongholds. I would suggest “light vs darkness” encounters are found in our everyday thoughts and actions more often than we may care to realize, thus “spiritual warfare” is first a spiritual formation and character formation issue.

Look at what Paul says to the Corinthian church (using the First Nations Version translation): 

"Even though we are walking in weak human bodies, we are not fighting with human strength. We do not make war in the ways of this world. Our weapons have Creator's power to break through and tear down strongholds. These strongholds are high-minded and wrong ideas about the Great Spirit and his ways."

~ Paul, in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4

Did you catch how Paul defines "stronghold"? He says the weapons he uses have God's power to break through and tear down strongholds, which are "high-minded and wrong ideas" about God and his ways (not geographical places or persons). 

The world is full of wrong ideas about God. You only need to watch a movie with spiritual content or be on social media to see the proliferation of false ideas about God and his ways.

However, let us not forget that another place you can find bad images of God is in the church. Angry, hateful churches, or prosperity gospel "name and claim that Cadillac" churches, or "God is a jovial Grandpa who doesn't care about our choices" churches are all built on "high-minded and wrong ideas" about God.

I am reminded of something Darrell Johnson writes in Discipleship on the Edge:

"The church of Jesus Christ is to be inclusive of all people – Jew, Greek, slave, free, male, female.  We are to be inclusive of all people.  But we are not to be inclusive... of all ideas.  Because some ideas lead people to freedom; other ideas lead people into bondage."

I would expand this to say "some ideas from without AND within the churchlead people to freedom; others lead people into bondage."

PAUSE and REFLECT: The question we face today is, "Where does my image of God lead me?" Does it lead me toward compassion, understanding, peace, love, acceptance of others, and freedom in my life? Or does it lead me toward cynicism, divisiveness, striving, anxiety, anger, negativity, and bondage?

Any false idea about God can be a spiritual stronghold that draws us or others away from the good and loving Creator. The problem with bad images of God in churches is often we've read just enough Scripture to proof-text our idea and turn away from anyone who would say different.

So now that we know spiritual strongholds about which Paul is writing are ideas, let's return to spiritual warfare. All of the previous examples of spiritual warfare still stand, but I would like to invite you into a different form of spiritual warfare.

If we were to continue with the Bible passage above, the very next verse reads:

"We help others see clearly about Creator and capture those wrong ideas, so that the truth about the Chosen One becomes a clear path to follow."

~ 2 Corinthians 10:5

So how do we help others see clearly about Creator so that the truth about the Chosen One becomes a clear path to follow?

FIRST, we recognize seeing clearly begins with us. If spiritual strongholds are "high-minded and wrong ideas" about God and his ways, then the first way to engage in spiritual warfare is found in Romans 12:2: "Do not be conformed to the image of the world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." In other words, tearing down strongholds starts with removing our own false images of God. One way we do this is by...

SECOND, we recognize the truth sets us free from wrong ideas and bad images of God, and Jesus calls himself the Truth. Like I said in the last email, Jesus perfectly reveals the Father.  If you cannot picture Jesus doing or saying what you think God would do or say in a certain situation or to other people, something is amiss. Our idea about God is false.

THIRD, we recognize the world watches the church more than it listens to the church. Tearing down strongholds also involves removing other people's false images of God. But here's the secret: we don't demolish false images of God through argument. We do so by living Christ-like lives of love and grace in the midst of an angry, chaotic world. When followers of Jesus sacrificially love all people, care for the poor, tend to the environment, etc in the name of Christ, people's false ideas about God get torn down.

Renewing our mind, looking to Jesus as the Truth about God, and living Christ-like lives. These are the weapons of our spiritual warfare, and like Paul says in verse 3, our weapons have Creator's power to break through and tear down strongholds. 

We also need God's power in order to wield these weapons. I can't renew my mind without Jesus' help. I can't see the truth of God without Jesus' help. And I certainly can't live a Christ-like life without Jesus' help.

God wants us to have delight and freedom in following him, and he wants us to offer a clear path for others to follow him. Which one of the above three "weapons" do you need to engage today to help remove the "high-minded and wrong ideas about God and his ways" in your life and the lives of others?

—

Photo by Ricardo Cruz on Unsplash