Soldiers in a Spiritual War
Soldiers in a Spiritual War Author: Sara Beth & Cynthia Greene
As followers of Christ we are called to take up our cross and follow Him daily.
”Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.” (Matthew 16:24-25)
Throughout the New Testament the Christian life is often described using the imagery of a solider engaged in warfare. Jesus is King of Kings and He calls soldiers on earth for His divine purpose. As His followers we are to be active spiritual soldiers. Therefore, we must understand what our Master desires of us and how we are to live in the midst of this battle.
Just as the nation of Israel was called to be prepared for physical warfare, we too must be prepared for our battle. However, we do not fight a physical war, but a spiritual one that is unseen. The spiritual warfare is far more encompassing because it is waged against spiritual enemies who are not limited by space or time and who operate beyond what we can naturally perceive. Scripture reveals the nature of this battle:
“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.” (Ephesians 6:12)
By definition, warfare includes conflict and struggle. Spiritual warfare can be described as “acts undertaken to destroy or undermine the spiritual strength of another.” The Hebrew word for battle (Strongs 4421) derives from a root word meaning “to destroy” or “to consume”.
Our enemy’s goal is to destroy our spiritual strength. If he cannot destroy it, he seeks to undermine it—gradually weakening us and leaving us spiritually vulnerable.
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
The life of a Christian solider engaged in spiritual warfare is all encompassing because the enemy never takes a break. There is no rest from the vigilance required, as the enemy continually looks for opportunities to weaken and destroy us. We must remain watchful, grounded, and prepared.
The Enemy
God created a great host of angels to serve Him, including the archangels Lucifer, Michael, and Gabriel. They were created perfect and blameless, serving within God’s Kingdom of Light with positions of authority over other angels.
However, Lucifer became discontent and rebelled against God. In pride, he sought to exalt himself above the Creator and led many angels into rebellion. In response, God cast Lucifer and the fallen angels out of heaven. Lucfier became known as Satan, the devil and the fallen angels became demons.
They became enemies of God and all of His creation. Satan now stands in opposition to God’s Kingdom of Light and actively works against God’s plan of salvation for all humans.
Scriptural Support: Ezekial 28:12-17, Isaiah 14:12-14, 2 Peter 2:4, Luke 10:18
The Battlefield
The battlefield is anywhere God’s people, are. More specifically, the battle takes place within our hearts, minds, and souls.
We are often tempted through our five senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. Although these senses are gifts from God, the enemy uses these pathways to influence our thoughts, emotions and actions. What we can see can lead to comparison, envy or lust. What we can hear can influence our beliefs, whether through truth or deception. Smell and taste can awaken cravings or memories that draw us toward indulgence. Through touch, we may seek comfort or satisfaction outside of God’s will.
The enemy works through everyday experiences to gain access to our inner life. He targets our thoughts, influences our emotions, and then works through our actions and responses.
The battlefield is an inner conflict. Scripture refers to these internal struggles and temptations as the flesh or carnality. It is the part of us that is in opposition to the Spirit.
“Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul…” (1 Peter 2:11)
“For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish.” (Galatians 5:17)
Timing of the Battle
When and where does the battle take place? It takes place at all times. The soldiers of Satan, the demons, never grow weary and do not slow down. They seek opportunities to attack at any moment, twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The spiritual warfare that we go through is continual and comes when we least expect it.
We are instructed to be watchful and prepared. We must stay grounded in God’s truth and depend on His strength.
“Be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour” (1 Peter 5:8)
“Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation…” (Matthew 26:41).
Tactics of the Enemy
- The Accuser
Satan is described as “the accuser of the brethren”. (Revelation 12:10) Day and night he brings attention to our sins, reminding us of our failures and shortcomings. He burdens us with guilt and shame, knowing the consequence of sin is death.
Our only defense against His accusations is to repent of our sins, humbly asking God to cleanse us through the blood of Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice. Under the covering of the Lamb’s blood, we are made righteous before God—no longer condemned, but redeemed through Christ.
“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus…” (Romans 8:1)
- The Deceiver
Satan is also called the deceiver of the whole world. (Revelation 12:9) He deceives us by promoting lies of all sorts. His ultimate goal is to rob people of their salvation in Jesus Christ. Satan is extremely resourceful and cunning adversary. He makes sin feel like the right thing to do. He calls darkness light and evil good. He and his demons appear as angels of light. Sin looks, feels or seems like a good idea.
“Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness…” (Isaiah 5:20)
- The Liar
Satan is called “a liar and father of lies”. (John 8:44) From the beginning he lied to Eve in the Garden of Eden, and he continues to lie and distort the truth. He speaks lies about who we are, and plants seeds of doubt, fear and confusion in our minds. The light of God’s Word illuminates the truth and is our weapon against the enemy’s lies.
“Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” (John 17:17)
- Angel of Light
Satan often presents himself as something good, appealing and even righteous. Scripture tells us that “…Satan can transform himself into an angel of light”. (2 Corinthians 11:14)
He disguises sin so that it appears harmless, beneficial, or an alternative. He makes good bad and vice versus. Our protection against this is Godly discernment.
“Your word is a lamp to my feet and alight to my path.” (Psalm 119:105)
The Battle Plan
In warfare, the objective is clear: to take possession of territory and establish rule.
In this spiritual battle, the territory is our own hearts, minds, and souls. God calls us to reclaim what belongs to Him by surrendering every part of our inner life. We are to identify and eliminate sinful strongholds—those areas where the enemy has gained influence—and, through His power, bring every thought, desire, and attitude into alignment with His truth.
The battle plan is to remove what opposes God and allow His truth and love to reign fully within us—resulting not in partial surrender, but in complete transformation under the authority of Christ.
The Armor of God
We cannot fight this spiritual warfare in our own strength, human effort, willpower, or knowledge. Without God’s help, we would quickly be overwhelmed and vulnerable to the enemy’s influence which will lead us away from God.
As soldiers in God’s army, we are not left defenseless or unprepared. God has provided us with spiritual armor that is essential for the daily battles we face. .
“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11).
This armor is not physical, but spiritual protection that equips us to stand firm and remain rooted in the truth
Victory
As we grow in maturity and become more Christ-like, we gain victory in the spiritual battles we face. Our heart, mind and soul will contain less fear, pride, bitterness, immorality, lawlessness, and covetousness.
It is in this victory that we walk in the Spirit and live in true peace and hope in God’s plan. The Fruit of the Spirit will become more evident in our lives as God produces the fruit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
This victory finds its ultimate fulfillment in the promise found in Matthew:
Well done good and faithful servant… enter into the joy of your Lord…” (Matthew 25:21)
The Prize
What is at stake in this spiritual battle? What is truly being fought over?
Scripture makes it clear that our eternal lives are at stake
The enemy seeks to rule our hearts, minds, and influence our lives so that we turn away from God. He wants to keep us from repentance and from receiving the saving grace of Jesus Christ. That we will die forever and not have eternal life.
But the gospel presents a different option. If Jesus Christ is our Master and we belong to Him, then we are no longer in bondage or slaves to sin. Satan seeks to plant strongholds in our lives through habits, emotions, and thought patterns, attempting to convince us that we are still bound as prisoners to sin.
“…knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” (Romans 6:6)
Through Christ and His sacrifice, we have victory and freedom. The true prize is eternal life found in Christ alone:
“And this is the testimony that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.” (1 John 5:11)
Pulling it All Together
We now see the reality of the invisible enemy and the seriousness of the personal spiritual battle we face each day.
We do not need to fall into deception or live in fear of the accuser. God has not left us unprepared. He has provided the Armor of God in order to overcome and be victorious.
In future blog posts, we will take a deeper and more detailed look at each of the component of the Armor of God, exploring how each piece strengthens us and how to intentionally put it on each day in our lives.