Salvation (Gk soteria) Jesus came to bring was not only for sinners to be spared wrath of a just and righteous God over their sins. It included healing of physical sickness and of emotional hurts as well as deliverance from strongholds of demonic influence that make life on earth seem like living hell. In short, the Lord came to take back territory that has been claimed by Satan. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work” (1 Jn 3:8). This profound statement inspired by the Holy Spirit has been demoted into obscurity by a failure to preach the “gospel of the kingdom” as taught by Jesus. In addition, Scripture makes it very clear that it was never the intention of Christ for the church He left behind to merely ‘hold the fort’ defensively.
Indeed the church is failing its Christ in great measure. While many pray for healing, the biblical pattern of instant healing is rarely in evidence. Delayed healing is seen at times and God is certainly to receive the glory. But the kind of healing observed with a woman who had spent all she had on doctors who were unable to cure her bleeding is rarely seen in our churches. Yet all she had to do was touch a hem of Jesus’ robe in faith (Mk 5:29). In spiritual warfare as in divine healing, the greatest weapon of all is Faith. It is essential to be fully confident in the power of our Deliverer to destroy every enemy. “For without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him” (Heb 11:6).
A second weapon is the Name of Jesus which the Lord has commanded be used in the expelling of demons and healing. Seventy-two disciples returned after being sent out by Jesus and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name” (Lk 10:17). In His commission to disciples before returning to heaven, the Lord commissioned them to preach the gospel of the kingdom, “These signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons…” (Mk 16;17). Having authority to use a person’s name means the effect is the same as though that person were present. Our Secretary of State speaks with authority on behalf of the President as though the President himself were present. And so it is meant to be with spiritual warfare.
Independent action or using the name of Jesus as a formula will not result in evil spirits being expelled or a person being protected in spiritual warfare. One must be under the authority of Christ to use His name with authority. Not every knee on earth bows to His name at this time but it’s different in the spirit realm. Demons are aware of the power of Jesus’ name and they are aware of who has the presence of Jesus to use His name in the power of the Spirit. We saw this with sons of the Jewish high priest Sceva as they were beaten by a man with an evil spirit. The evil spirit spoke through the man, saying “I know about Paul.” The demon recognized that Jesus was present in the apostle’s life because Paul was fully submitted to the authority of his Lord and Savior.
Before thinking about setting free others from demonic influence, it’s necessary to get our own spiritual lives in order with help of the Holy Spirit (Ro 8:13). Submitting to the lordship of Christ is critical for authority in the spirit realm, let alone having the blessing of God on our lives. This brings us to the next weapon, the Word of God which is referred to as the “sword of the Spirit” by Paul. We must be intimately familiar with all that Jesus teaches to use Scripture as an effective sword in warfare. If we know and practice what He teaches, our lives will rest on a foundation of rock in the face of storms that life is certain to bring (Mt 7:24-27). We learned about the sword of the Spirit being the rhema word of God: specific verses spoken in faith with anointing of the Spirit. The sword of the Spirit is a weapon intended not only for defense but also for offense, but is never available to those who fail to ingest the word of God into their inmost being.
A fourth weapon is that of praise, prayer and fasting. Scripture proclaims that God will inhabit the praises of His people, bringing God into every situation. Along with fasting to humble ourselves and to seek special grace to move mightily on our behalf and for the benefit of others, prayer combined with praise is a powerful weapon as illustrated in the story of Jehoshaphat (2 Chron 17:1-6; 20:1-30). God does not intend for us to lose battles against His enemies and this story is a type of God’s battle with forces of evil in heavenly realms. As we learn in Ephesians 6, it may appear that our battles are against flesh and blood, i.e. against other people. But God insists that our struggle is actually against spiritual forces of evil. And it’s a struggle we’ll never win in our own might and power.
It’s time for the church to bring spiritual warfare into the open and stop ignoring if not denying biblical admonitions about the occult. There’s an old saying, “What I don’t know doesn’t hurt me!” But we’re deceived if we believe that such applies to spiritual warfare. Paul commands us to not be ignorant of the devil’s schemes. And in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians, Paul speaks about forgiving others in order that Satan might not outwit us. In this passage, he is warning that resentment and unforgiveness toward others is a tool exploited by the devil. The Bible warns that a root of bitterness defiles many. Families as well as church bodies are being torn apart by the failure to heed God’s explicit warnings about bitterness and unforgiveness.
I believe it’s far to say that forgiveness is an important weapon in spiritual warfare as it opens the way for setting many captives free. Jesus sets forth the method of restoring believers who have sinned against another member of the church (Mt 18:15-18). We are to show him his fault privately and if he listens, there is to be forgiveness. The same is true even if one or two others are included as witnesses. “Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven” (18:l8). The context here relates to the subject of forgiveness and forgiveness is entirely in our hands for disposition when an offense takes place. A significant part of spiritual warfare involves a matter of forgiveness in our lives. Indeed our being forgiven through Jesus’ shed blood is so that we might show forgiveness toward others.
As we go on the offensive against Satan, let us place faith in weapons with “divine power to demolish strongholds” (2 Cor 10:4). It involves taking “captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (10:5). A superb illustration of how to proceed is given in the story of the Israelites’ battle against Jericho, a type of stronghold. First was circumcision (Josh 5:2,3), determining to not depend on one’s flesh but resting in the strength of the Lord. Next was keeping the Passover (5:10) to recall the provision of Calvary that “rescued us from the dominion of darkness” (Col 1:13). Finally, as Joshua came near to Jericho, he encountered the “commander of the army of the Lord” (Jos 5:14). The preincarnate Jesus assured Joshua that victory had already been achieved on his behalf (6:2) if he would depend on the Lord’s heavenly hosts to bring down the walls of the stronghold.
