Spiritual Warfare

[HKHaugan]

Epi. 7 2Cor.10 Spiritual Warfare

When we were young, I know at one time or other we played ‘Pin the Tail on the Donkey’. You have a big drawing of a donkey and paste it on a wall. Then you get someone blindfolded, give them the tail from the drawing, twist them around four or five times and aim them at the drawing. You get them to try and pin the tail on the donkey. You can shout directions at them to get them closer. It’s usually a big laugh time. The point of this little memory is to get us humans to understand our plight in a world. We are in an unseen atmosphere trying to find where and to whom we belong.

It’s the invisible, the spiritual dimension, that eludes us. The Bible’s first words point to, and bring us back to, the spiritual dimension, “In the beginning God...” Everything that follows does the same. Why? Because we are spiritual by nature. We live in the unseen spiritual dimension with every thought, choice, decision and action we move in. Just the desire to be good as opposed to bad makes us a spiritual being.

We want to get life right and we dizzily wander about trying all kinds of things hoping we can find satisfaction, happiness, meaning, fulfillment; all spiritual goals. Without God we keep trying but never get spirituality right. While ‘pin the tail’ is a game, life is not. It’s serious business and what we do in the invisible with our mind, heart and spirit determines our eternal future and our quality of life in the present. Remember, 100% of everything we do is motivated by what we can’t see. What makes this so important is that in the spiritual dimension there are dark forces, powers and principalities that war against God and us, His images.

It’s important to see Jesus’ mission not only to bring grace, truth and love to restore and change the world through faith, it is also to expose those realities that work against Him and His mission. This is precisely why Jesus starts His work in the wilderness to expose the devil and his strategies. Actually all of His teachings and miracles expose and confront evil, its symptoms and effects. One of His first miracles was to drive an evil spirit out of a man in a synagogue in Capernaum (Mt.1:21-25). Many more examples could be given but our purpose here is to identify our position as disciples in the spiritual dimension. That’s why we turn to Paul and listen to what he has to say about spiritual warfare.

2 Corinthians 10 gives us a foundation to understand the depth of Paul’s spiritual warfare teaching. The image of God in Paul is revealed here; his mind (vs.1-6), his heart (vs.7-11) and his spirit (vs.12-19). Let’s look at each.

First, his mind. His focus, his appeal, his leading is Jesus the person. He is not centering on himself but on the Lord who is meek and gentle. He is making that clear when he says he is timid while among them but away from them he is bold. Isn’t that a very human trait? We say lots of things when we are away from a situation but in person we are cautious; the timid/bold dynamic. Here Paul is sharing his inner struggle. He is offering himself as an example of relational honesty, but loving relational honesty. For Paul relational honesty begins spiritually, not emotionally, not intellectually nor manipulatively. Those are worldly means. He shifts their focus to Jesus’ meekness and gentleness in order to let them think Jesus first. That way Paul places his credibility on trust in Jesus. It also shows his trust in the Spirit to touch their hearts as they read what he says.

It is at this point he compares spiritual discernment with warfare. Here is reality. We are in a war, a spiritual war. But the weapons of this warfare are quite different. They take place within the mind and heart. Now here is the mind’s part. We have spiritual weapons with which to assess where we are and what is really taking place in the relational dimension. As spiritual believers in Jesus we have divine power to see spiritually what is going on around us. That vision exposes invisible strongholds, inner fortifications we use to defend what we believe to be our identity. Outside of God, before we were believers, we spent most of our waking moments building inner fortresses to protect us from discovery. Now in Christ we have a new identity. We can admit our weaknesses, our fears, our world conditioned attitudes, face them and grow in faith. Attitudes are strongholds that Jesus can heal by accepting His singular attitude of honoring His Father first. As He honored His Father we honor Him.

Second, his heart. Paul sensed life in this world from his perspective as a spiritually reborn image of God, spiritually awakened person. He immediately confronts a typical symptom of sin, judging by first impressions. He notes we tend to look only at the surface of people, what we see with our eyes and the consequent assumptions we make about them. Those are the substance of strongholds. Within all of us strongholds have been built which are the attitudinal walls surrounding the heart. That’s what shortsightedness is all about. They arise out of the cultural conditioning we had growing up. Perhaps it was parental influence, ethnic background, physical appearance and limitations, emotional struggles, fears, pains and so on.

Those attitudes emerged as we adjusted to their influence without God. We carry them with us to protect our fragile inner hearts. Its not until we realize and accept the gifts, the skills lying within the heart that, when spiritually tapped, are our positive attributes. There is a self confidence that emerges within the heart from the Holy Spirit. It is not conceit or pride in self, something for which we should feel shame. Quite the opposite. It’s pride in the Lord, in who and what He is and what He accomplishes in us. Thus Paul is assuring the Corinthians that he will deal with them in complete honesty when he sees them because he carries the honesty of Christ in him.

Third, his spirit. Here the signature principle of one’s spiritual stand is put forth. We don’t compare ourselves with others. Christ is the measure of personal comparison. His spirit relies on the Holy Spirit. To clarify, Paul talks about boasting. People who boast about themselves are not worthy of comparison. If there is any boasting to be done it is boasting about the Lord and the experience of Him in our lives. Basically, it is comparing ourselves to the Lord and letting Him be the standard by which we make judgments. When we speak with confidence in Him that will be picked up by those around us. It is leading with Jesus in mind and knowing the Holy Spirit is working in us. So Paul encourages the Corinthians, that their confidence in the Lord will be the way they grow and expand. And as they grow in the Lord their growth will enable his activity to expand in the surrounding countryside. All of this is the work of the Holy Spirit. Again the old saying, “The light that shines farthest away shines brightest at home.”

If spiritual warfare is what Paul senses is the real battle then how do we approach every next moment? It’s all in how you’re dressed. It takes armor, the kind of clothing that can stand the test of battle. Genesis 1:1 is our context. “In the beginning, God...” He’s the tailor. From there we jump to Jesus’ words to love the Lord God with all our heart, soul and mind (Mt.22:37). That’s the material impervious to all spiritual attack. And for the full dress suit of armor, we turn to Paul’s armory in Ephesians 6:10-20.

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

This is heart strength, confidence in His presence, knowing what He has already done in our lives, facing fear with faith, remembering His enduring the Cross and His Resurrection from death.

11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devilʼs schemes.

Make sure all the pieces are laid out and ready to put on.

12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Assess who the real enemy is as well as his minions. Know his strategy (see Gen.3). Expect attack from within and without. The spirit of fear is the major missile.

13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.

Each piece of armor is necessary. You never go into battle partially dressed, reliant on one piece, but on the full dress. Spiritual warfare demands that since you never know which one will be most important in any moment. Fully dressed you stand. This is not guerilla warfare looking to sneak up and catch the enemy asleep. He never sleeps. He walks about like a roaring lion. Stand and continue to stand. Standing is a heart thing, a confidence builder, a faith and trust support. It is standing while you are moving, while you are on the way. That is something the heart can do. Just like in your body, it’s your life flow.

14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,Again, because the One in whom your heart stands determines how you move, you stay ‘grounded’ in His Word,’buckled around our waist,’ which is Truth in writing alive in the Spirit. The physical heart is protected by a breastplate so also is your heart of hearts centered in the One who right, His heart in your heart.

15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

“Your feet fitted” is an expression for ‘while you are on your way,’ which we always are to one place or another. The Gospel of peace is the good news of peace in Christ. It’s peace not as the world defines it-’the lack of conflict.’ Rather, it is a heart peace, an inner stability that comes from Jesus. His peace.

16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

Here faith means the shield off of which bounces the assaults of insults, anger and rage that are so prevalent in a political atmosphere. Faith is the reaction we have when the attitudes of others seeks your downfall. It is the reaction of not reacting, not lashing out in revenge, not taking offense. It is taking a quiet confident stand and speaking with calmness if that is the moment’s necessity.

17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

A helmet covers the head which contains your mind. You stand on the fact you are saved for moment’s like this, moments of witness to the love of Christ. It’s having the mind of Christ who lives in your heart. Holy Scripture is the sword with a two edged blade that penetrates to both the heart of the believer and non-believer alike. It brings discernment and wisdom, insight and outsight. It strengthens our understanding of personal salvation and how to share it.

18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lordʼs people.

Here is the key to the spiritual life, prayer. Opening your heart to God about everything in your life. Prayer is the launching pad allowing us to enter the spiritual realm where the real work is done. Prayer is ‘the behind the scenes’ motivator. Obviously the Lord has a will and it will be accomplished. Prayer is the way we enter God’s will, discover it’s intention and its results. Without prayer and the Word spirituality is guesswork. That combination gives us the content about which we pray and the ability to measure the results after prayer is undertaken.

19 Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, When Paul asks to be prayed for it signals us to pray personally for one another, our brothers and sisters in the faith. Remember when he asks the Corinthians to be prepared for his visit? He was praying as a human being not knowing what their response would be much less realizing that his letters would carry eternal weight for us all. Jesus is the primary example of prayer, living prayer, at work. Vs.20 carries out that theme for the purpose it presents.

20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

An ambassador is authorized to speak for the leader he represents as though that leader was present.

Paul saw himself as an ambassador for Christ wherever he was. He writes to the Corinthians too that they were ambassadors (2Cor.5:20) which makes all of us ambassadors as well.

As disciples we are ambassadors from the spiritual dimension and its final judge and ruler, Jesus the Christ, the Son of the living God.