WE ARE AT WAR! (SPIRITUAL WARFARE, PART 1)

Union Army General William Tecumseh Sherman is credited as originating the phrase, “War is hell.” Considering what he unleashed on even civilian southerners in the American Civil War, slave and free alike, I suppose he would know. From what I can tell, war certainly is a hellish affair. Glory in battle is possible even in the worst of circumstances. I believe disrespecting sacrificial war heroes is deplorably dishonorable. But war is mostly inglorious, ugly, mean, immoral, and unfair. The people hurt the worst by it are almost always the innocents, including children. Warmongers ought to be reminded of the words of Christ, “All who live by the sword will die by the sword.”

In the Year of Our Lord 2024, there are concerning wars in Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and widespread concern that more wars, possibly even World War III, or even nuclear war, could break out at any time. Let’s pray it does not (1 Tim. 2:1–2). The globe has been wrapped up in the so-called Culture War for decades now, and it’s showing no signs of yielding to peace anytime soon. If you want me to say, “Peace, peace,” I’m sorry, I can’t “when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14, 8:11). Some wars are visible conflicts of arms over land and resources, others are wars over what worldview’s influence will triumph over others, all are, in one way or another, manifestations of spiritual warfare. 

Invisible powers vie against the will of God in a war they lost at the cross, and they know it. Still, they continue to fight, perhaps to extend their fallen reigns as long as possible, perhaps just out of rage and hatred against God Who has already judged them as condemned and will destroy them on the Last Day (Rev. 20:7–10), and certainly to condemn as many people as they can along with themselves. They wage war against God and all Mankind through government powers, the media, the arts, education, and attacks on the family. Frankly, there is no institution or source of influence Satan and his fallen angels won’t weaponize given the chance, sadly, even including the church when they can (Matt. 24:24). They must not be allowed to! It’s time for all good-hearted and honest people to wake up and take up spiritual arms to defend the truth of God, the only weapon Satan cannot control or defeat. Our nations, communities, families, and even our own souls depend on it! 

The Bible is a love note from God to humanity. John 3:16 is the best news in the world! It's our spiritual and moral constitution too—inerrant about every subject it addresses (2 Peter 1:20–21; 2 Tim. 3:16–17). 

It's also a war manual, and all followers of God must be Soldiers of Christ. Consider the following passages (ESV):

I have thought it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus my brother ... and fellow soldier. —Philippians 2:25

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. —2 Timothy 2:3

No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. — 2 Timothy 2:4

And Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house... —Philemon 2

If we're soldiers, it means there's a war going on. Consider:

This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare, holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme. —1 Timothy 1:18–20

Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. —1 Timothy 6:12

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. —2 Timothy 4:7

Jesus said some of the toughest things in all Scripture—ideas that deserve some chewing on. For instance:

I came to cast fire on the earth and would that it were already kindled! I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how great is my distress until it is accomplished! Do you think that I have come to give peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather division. For from now on in one house there will be five divided, three against two and two against three. They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law. — Luke 12:49–53

Jesus is the Prince of Peace, and He came to preach peace (Ephesians 2:17). However, He also came to testify to the truth, and only the truth can set us free (). That means what Jesus stands for is something definable, delineable, objective, and exclusive. If you don't believe it, it doesn't include you. It leaves you on the outside. Unfortunately, that's how truth works, and Jesus isn't just any random Joe. He's the Son of God and the rightful King of the universe. God made us through Him and we belong to Him. By the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul wrote in Colossians 1:15–23:

He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent. For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.

    And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.

If daughter-in-law believes in Jesus and mother-in-law doesn't, there's going to be strife, and the unbeliever is objectively to blame for it. It's sad, but it's also war. The stakes are nothing less than the good of the whole Creation, and Jesus doesn't make compromises with Satan. You can't make deals with liars (John 8:44). 

Fleshly wars started over sinful struggles for wealth and power are great evils. But there is a good war. It's the one true King's war for the world, and He commands us to fight it as good soldiers. It's helpful if we know how.

In the 1961 movie, Barrabbas, Anthony Quin played the lead role. It's an interesting fantasy that would be neat if it were true about the Barrabbas, imprisoned insurrectionist and murderer, set free instead of Jesus. In the story, he wrestles with the identity of the innocent man who died instead of him until he's finally won over. The story finds him in Rome during the chaos of the great fire in the city the emperor Nero blamed on Christians. He mistakenly believes the Christians are rising up violently against their Roman oppressors and starts fighting in the street until a Christian finds him and gently corrects him about the nature of the good fight. 

Physical wars sometimes end up being just and necessary (Ecclesiastes 3:8), even though it's difficult for the common person to know for certain what's actually going on behind high-level leaders' closed doors, and there's certainly always something going on in the unseen realm that's the real war behind these wars and rumors of wars, but the church's war isn't the flesh's war. Christians are not called to be highly concerned about what government powers are in power or what they're fighting for. Ours is a more fundamental, more comprehensive, ultimately more eternal war, and it cannot be won by force of arms. 

2 Corinthians 10:1–6 and Ephesians 6:10–20 are required reading about spiritual warfare. Read and meditate on them, and I'll share more in a few days, Lord willing. 

---JLP