Issue 07- December, 1999	Bulletin Menu
Spiritual Warfare
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Issue07 - Spiritual Direction ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Interior Martyrdom Seeing Spiritual Warfare in Biblical Perspective Spiritual Warfare - What Chinese Christians Should Know and Do Principles of Identify the Enemy Spiritual Warfare in the Himalayan Region The Concepts of Territorial Spirits: A Critique The Three War Fronts of Mainland Chinese House Churches Success, Failure, and Satan Prayer When They Slander You Deliverance from Evil Spirits A Response to Wilson Chow's "Serving China & China Ministry"

Spiritual Warfare

What Chinese Christians Should Know and Do

Enoch Wan

 

“Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war. . . .” are the words of an old hymn and an apt description of the reality of the Christian life. No one has been able to escape this reality since the fall of Satan. “Spiritual warfare” is the reality of the ongoing fight between God (and the godly) and His enemy (and the ungodly).

 

 

Different Kinds Of Spiritual Warfare

If the universe is divided into the spiritual, human, and natural systems, then there are eight types of spiritual warfare.

 

1)     God ßàSatan

        Satan, the fallen angels, and the evil spirits wage war against God and the godly in this age. God in Christ at

        Calvary defeated Satan, sin, and death, saving repentant and believing sinners and bringing them out of the kingdom of darkness into light (Gen. 3:15; 1 Jn. 2:1; 3:8- 10; Heb. 2:15).

2)     God  ßàNon-Christians

        Rebelling against God, fallen humanity and unrepentant sinners will be judged and punished (Rom. 5:1-11; Col. 1:21; Rev. 20).

3)     God  ßàThe World

        The corrupted order is under the control of the principality of darkness. It forms opposing forces against God and His children (1 Jn. 2:15-17).

4)     Satan  ßàChristians

        Satan rules over the powerful kingdom of darkness against Christians - externally, through worldly forces; internally, through carnal flesh, temptation, accusation, and persecution. Therefore, Christians should understand Satan’s devices, be vigilant, resist him, die to the self and the world, be cleansed by the blood of Christ, walk in the Holy Spirit, put on the armor, and fight the good fight (Rom. 6; 2 Cor. 2:11; 12:7; Gal. 5-6; Eph. 6:11-16; 1 Thess. 2:18; 1 Tim. 3:6-7).

5)     Christians  ßà The World

        Satan uses the corrupted worldly system to oppress and persecute Christians, who should not love the world, but be crucified with Christ and be sanctified by the Holy Spirit (James 4:4; 1 Jn. 2:15; Eph. 2:2).

6)     Obedient Angels   ßàFallen Angels

        The ongoing warfare between dark angels and good angels (Jude 9; Dan. 10:13).

7)     Christians  ßà Non-Christians

        Christians suffer at the hands of non-Christians for Christ’s sake. Nevertheless, Christians are to follow Christ’s example in loving them, yet not be conformed to their ways (1 Pet. 4:12-14; 1 Jn. 2:15-16).

8)     New  ßàSelf Old-Self

        Christians’ new inner-self at war with the flesh, the corrupted and sinful nature (Rom. 6:8; 7:14-25; 2 Cor. 4:16; Eph. 3:15-18; Gal. 5).

Among the various kinds of spiritual warfare, that which is between Satan and Christians demands our utmost understanding, because such an understanding is critical in securing spiritual victory. The powerful influence of Satan on living beings is called “demonization.” It may take different forms and be in different stages, progressing intensively from the external to the internal.

(See diagram 1)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Diagram !: Stages and Symptoms of Demonization

 

DIMENSION	PERSON	STAGE	SYMPTOM
External	Christian or Non-Christian	Oppression	Feeling weighed down, depressed, unable to focus, etc.
		Obsession	Long-term or cyclical symptoms: Being distracted/disturbed in thought (cognition); being filled with hatred, anger, rage, and self-pity (emotion); weakness in will (determination); backsliding (spiritual), etc.
Internal		Inhabitation/ Visitation	Cycles of unusual and involuntary ungodly manifestations in mind, heart, will, etc.
	Non-Christian	Possession	Extraordinary, supernatural, uncontrollable manifestations, etc.

 

While Christians cannot be possessed by Satan and evil spirits, they can be visited and inhabited by them. As believers fail to submit to the lordship of Christ, indulge in sin, are enslaved to sinful habits or a wicked past, or suppress the work of the Holy Spirit, they will become susceptible to prolonged visitation or temporary inhabitation by evil spirits.

Diagram 2 shows both the positive and negative manifestations of demonization in the physical, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of the demonized Christian.

 

 

Diagram 2: Manifestations of Demonization

 

DIMENSION	POSITIVE	NEGATIVE
Body	Supernatural strength & ability	Physiological imbalance & physical inability, such as blindness, deafness, dumbness, epilepsy, faintness, foaming at the mouth, change of voice & character, etc.
Psyche	Supernatural power & knowledge: e.g. fortune telling, clairvoyance, psychic healing, telekinesis, etc.	Depression, phobia of various types, rebelliousness, low will power, self-isolation, anti-social attitude, suicidal tendency, destructiveness, etc.
Spirit	Hypocrisy, counterfeit spiritual gifts, false prophecy, etc.	Personal: Blasphemy in thought & word, lack of concentration in devotion or worship, fear of or hatred against Christ, unusual response to Jesus’ name, insensitivity to sin, loss of joy & peace, repeated spiritual defeat, inability or unwillingness to pray or repent, etc. Social: Disruption of worship service & mission outreach, divisiveness among Christians & congregations, causing others to stumble, shaming Jesus’ name, etc.

 

Christians may become demonized due to the following factors:

• Helpless influence – being ignorant or innocent, such as a childhood experience of being offered to spirits for healing, parental connection as in the case of an unplanned pregnancy, satanic attack, being addicted to alcohol or drugs, etc.

• Hopeful desire – for supernatural power, whether by Satan’s deception or self-initiated invitation, such as palm reading, fortune telling, pact for success with evil spirits, etc.

• Hurtful situation/experience – traumatic childhood experience; rape; addiction to alcohol, drugs, pornography, or gambling; abortion; abusive relationship, etc.

• Willful determination – rebellion against God, the Word, the Church; blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, etc.

 

Spiritual Victory by God’s Authority and Christian Responsibility

While it is true that winning the spiritual battle is “[n]ot by might, nor by power; but by [God’s] Spirit” (Zech. 4:6), God sees fit to entrust Christians with a certain degree of human responsibility. The Triune God has already won the victory over sin, Satan, death, and darkness. His power is first and foremost in securing spiritual victory for Christians. Christians, however, are not to be passive, but to engage in spiritual disciplines that lead to spiritual growth and maturity.

Christians are not only born of the Holy Spirit, they are to walk in the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5). The spiritual disciplines are not to be practiced by worldly wisdom (1 Cor. 2: 4, 5, 10) nor by human precepts and doctrines but by the power of God (Col. 2:20-23). They are to be empowered by the Holy Spirit and by Christians’ active exercise of faith, abidance in truth, and commitment to prayer, etc. Diligence in the spiritual disciplines is not a matter of either by the Spirit or by human effort. It is both by the power of the Holy Spirit, first and foremost, and by Christian action as well.

Christians involved in the pursuit of holiness and the cause of Christ in evangelism and mission are engaged in spiritual warfare. Winning souls from the kingdom of darkness and bringing them into the light is setting free the slaves of sin, Satan, self, and spiritual bondage. To gain spiritual victory, the following actions are essential: knowing the enemy, practicing spiritual disciplines, putting on the armor, teaming up with other Christians, engaging in prayer and fasting, exercising spiritual gifts, calling on the name of Jesus Christ, claiming the cleansing power of Christ’s blood, and depending on the Holy Spirit.

 

Conclusion

The enemy uses different strategies to war against different kinds of Christians in different situations, e.g. negligence and indulgence, presumption and deception, curiosity and fear, rebelliousness and ungodliness. If Christians do not take seriously the call to spiritual disciplines and the reality of spiritual warfare, it is to their own peril and defeat. If we are vigilant and diligent, we will grow into spiritual maturity and will win the spiritual battle to the honor and glory of God.

 

 

Enoch Wan is Alan Hayes Belcher Professor of Missions and Anthropology at Reformed Theology Seminary, Mississippi.

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