Contents
Introduction
1.
Materialism
2.
A "Spirit" World?
3.
Other "Spiritual" Realities
4.
Conclusions
Introduction
This
page introduces the whole subject of spiritual warfare as understood
by Christians.
Having
said that, any careful observer of the shelves of a Christian bookshop
will know that there are many books on many facets of warfare.
On
these pages we intend to avoid speculation as far as possible and keep
as nearly as possible to what the Bible alone says.
As
soon as we mention “Spiritual Warfare” it raises a number of questions.
Warfare means fighting and fighting supposes an enemy. Who is the enemy?
How does he fight? Spiritual sounds in opposition to “material”, so
is there a spiritual dimension to life.
1.
Materialism
Most
people in our society today live life as if it consists of only the
material world, i.e. that which you can touch, feel and measure, but
is that all there is?
Think
of the increasing number of groups of people who seem to believe in
something more than just material things: Christians, Eastern Religions,
spiritists who “call up the spirits”, New Age people who speak of “life
forces” and “channelling”, witches, people who believe in horoscopes,
transcendental meditation etc.
2.
A “Spirit” World?
Consider:
- Many
modern films dwell on the “supernatural”.
- The
earliest philosophers considered an alternative to a purely material
world.
- The
Greeks and Romans and primitive tribes have always had their “gods”.
- The
world religions have always claimed an alternative.
It
seems there is built into man an inner expectation of another dimension
where there exists “God”.
The
Bible reveals to us a world that is at least two dimensional - material
and spiritual.
By
way of introduction consider the following example:
2
Kings 6:9-11
- The
man of God was Elisha the prophet
- To
call him a prophet immediately brings in the supernatural
- A
prophet was one who heard from God
- Elisha
warned the king of Israel every time the king of Aram came to invade
and plunder their land
- This
clearly upset the king of Aram
2
Kings 6:13-16
- The
king of Aram finds out it is Elisha so goes to get him
- His
forces surround the city and the sight frightens Elisha’s servant
- But
Elisha is a prophet and they move in the spiritual dimension as well
2
Kings 6:17
- As
Elisha prayed, the servant saw the whole picture!
- Not
only was there a physical army there, but there was also a heavenly
army there who, we see as we read on, were probably used by God to
strike the physical army with blindness.
3.
Other “Spiritual” Realities
Both
the Old and New Testaments are full of “spiritual happenings”
Angels
appeared around Jesus’ birth (Lk
1:11-22, 26-38,
2:8-15)
Jesus
ministry was full of supernatural happenings, e.g.
Jesus
spoke about having come from “heaven” (Jn
6:33,35,38,41,51)
Jesus
followers carried on performing miracles, e.g. Acts
8:5-8
Paul
taught about us, as Christians, in reality sharing in life in “the heavenly
realms” (Eph
2:6) and also struggling against “powers & principalities” (Eph
6:11,12)
4.
Conclusions
As
we approach this subject of Spiritual Warfare we need to come with a
mind open to the full teaching of the Scriptures. We may not feel familiar
with the subject but that should not put us off.
The
Bible opens up the whole spiritual realm to us. In a day when many strange
things are taught about “warfare” we should be careful to only go by
what the Scriptures clearly teach.
These
notes, therefore, seek to be fully grounded in the Scriptures. You are
encouraged to look up all the references yourself.
Sunday Services
Back to Warfare Contents Page