LIFE Posts - Spiritual Warfare, part 2

Last week we introduced the conversation about spiritual warfare, establishing the importance that we recognize we have a real supernatural enemy – the devil and his demonic forces.  This week we look more closely at the way spiritual warfare is fought ^[1], starting with Paul’s letter to the Ephesians: 

Ephesians 6:10–18 (ESV) ^6:10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ^6:11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ^6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. ^6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. ^6:14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ^6:15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ^6:16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ^6:17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, ^6:18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, ^[2]

In these verses Paul tells us many important things:

• We are to be strong in the Lord, not ourselves. 
• The devil has a plurality of forces (evil rulers, authorities, mighty powers, and evil spirits), and they employ strategies against us.  Recall last week’s topic about the reality of the devil – Paul clearly indicates in verse 12 that our enemies are supernatural, unseen spiritual ones.  Importantly, Paul emphasizes that our enemies aren’t flesh-and-blood!
• We must put on all the armor of God to firmly resist these enemies.
• The armor consists of the belt of truth, breastplate (body armor in NLT) of righteousness, shoes of peace that comes from (knowing) the Gospel, the shield of faith, the helmet of the assurance of your salvation (justification), and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 
• We’re told to pray in the Spirit at all times and occasions.

While this may seem like a lot to take in, in our LIFE Posts messages so far we’ve already covered many of these elements.  As a quick re-cap, we’ve discussed how our salvation (justification) comes from our confession of faith in Jesus as Lord – we don’t do anything to earn our salvation.  It is Jesus who makes us righteous, and as we submit to Him on the path of ongoing sanctification, we’re made more like Him.  We’ve seen how we must submit ourselves to God to remain on the narrow path that leads to life, which makes us strong in Him.    We’ve talked about trusting God is important, and as we do so we have peace that surpasses understanding.  We’ve discussed how the Word is Jesus and is immensely powerful to accomplish God’s Will, and that Jesus is the way, truth, and life (John 14:6).  In Ephesians 6:17, we see that the Word is called the sword of the Spirit, and that we’re told to pray in the Spirit at all times – which echoes the call of Joshua 1:8 to mediate on the Word and to not let it depart from our mind’s focus. 

Jesus demonstrated using His Word to counter the devil in His temptation at the onset of His ministry.  In Matthew 4:1-10, we’re told of the devil tempting Jesus in the wilderness, which occurred immediately after Jesus was baptized at the beginning of His ministry.  We learn several things from this scripture.  First, the way the devil did this demonstrates that he uses strategy.  He waited until Jesus had fasted for 40 days and was hungry.  How often do you feel under attacks of doubt or temptation when you’re tired or hungry, with physical appetites screaming loudly?  The devil tried to get Jesus to use His power to change stones to bread to eat, attempting to get Jesus’ human nature to win over His divine nature.  Jesus responded with the sword of the Spirit, Himself, the Word, by telling the devil that man should live by the Word that comes from the mouth of God.  In the second temptation, the devil tried to tempt Jesus’ human nature by quoting scripture!  Jesus, however, answered the devil’s twisting of scripture with the fullness of the Word’s heart and truth.  In the third temptation, the devil even tried to convince Jesus that he’d give the world (earth) to Him if only Jesus would worship him!  Jesus answered by commanding the devil to leave, declaring that the Word instructs that we should only worship God. 

The components of the armor of God that Paul describe in Ephesians 6:10-18 are all grounded in the Word and our relationship with the God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and the Word.  Since Jesus is the Word, as we remain seeking after Him by consuming the Word as He’s invited us to, we’ll have His truth holding us steady (the belt of truth).  The Word, the Truth, tells us that we have the righteousness of Jesus because of what He has done, not ourselves (Romans 5:17-19; Philippians 3:9).  The physical shoes that were part of the Roman soldier’s armor (which Paul uses in his metaphor) were spiked cleats that were designed to keep the soldier from slipping.  The message of the Gospel, as we allow it to sink deeply in our heart and mind, will keep us from slipping when under attacks from the devil and the world (Ps 119:105; Matthew 7:24-25).  Trusting in the Lord and developing our relationship with Him allows our faith to grow, because our experience with Him will reveal to us how consistently active He is in our lives.  Our strengthened faith, that comes through His grace and enablement, gives us a shield of protection when any fiery darts (arrows) come against us.  Grounded in the Word, strengthened in faith, and with the relational experience of the Holy Spirit, our heads (minds) will be protected from the doubts of our salvation the enemy will try to bring against us.  The Sword of the Spirit – which is the Word of God – is the only offensive weapon Paul lists.  We see in Matthew 4:1-10 how Jesus wielded the Word as a weapon against the devil.  But isn’t it interesting, that the other elements of the armor of God are all rooted in the Word as well?  Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6), and God’s Word is alive and brings His Life alive in us!   

We will continue digging into spiritual warfare next week, as this is an important and broad topic to cover.  This week spend time in communion with the Holy Spirit reviewing the scripture from Ephesians and Matthew above, along with the weekly scripture listed below, asking for deeper insights and awareness of the reality of spiritual warfare in your everyday life.  Prayerfully consider the following, journaling your thoughts and responses.  Share with a brother or sister in Christ one on one, or at a small group meeting.

Application/Questions/Journal your thoughts

• In our Western culture the concept or topic of spiritual warfare is simultaneously considered to be fiction limited to myths or horror movies but also pictured as always being a physical manifestation of a supernatural force.  If we look at the Matthew 4:1-10 encounter between the Jesus and the devil, we see that the warfare involved Satan trying to deceive Jesus’ mind so that Jesus would choose to do something wrong – that is sin.  Jesus, rooted in and being the Word, destroyed every lie or attempted deceit that the devil brought to Him.  The devil knew who Jesus was, so we should expect that he’d use his best strategy on Jesus, right?  With this understanding, how important is it to you to develop your relationship with Jesus in His Word?
• Did you know that the enemy can plant thoughts into our minds (1 Chronicles 21:1)?  Just as he incited David to sin, he does the same to us - often so craftily that we may even believe they’re our own thoughts.  Taking inventory of our thoughts is important for us to do, a useful tool to do so is keeping a journal.  How often do you review your thoughts, examining how they line up in agreement with God’s Word?
• In 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (see below), Paul describes the fact that the weapons we use are spiritual, not natural, and are for tearing down strongholds.  In the Amplified Bible, verse 5 lists these strongholds as arguments, theories, reasonings, things that set themselves against the true knowledge of God.  Clearly these are things that occur in the mind.  Ask the Holy Spirit for revelation on how arguments, theories, reasonings, etc. can be used by the enemy to create strongholds (firmly believed lies) in a person’s mind.  Discuss with a brother or sister in Christ.
• In the natural world, strategies are employed to “win” – be it in finances, health, relationships, or any other thing where there is opposition to obtaining a desired outcome.  We can see the importance of having strategy to overcome an opponent in sports, where a skilled coach can guide a team with lesser physical skills to victory over a team with greater physical skills but poor coaching.  The Word tells us the devil opposes us and has schemes to do so – so it isn’t a matter of us wanting to engage in spiritual warfare, it is a matter of us choosing to do so.  Just as the best NFL quarterbacks spend time studying tapes of their opponents’ defenses to prepare for upcoming games, we too should study the tapes of our daily experiences and the experiences of others to be aware of the enemy’s schemes (2 Corinthians 2:11).  If we do not live our lives understanding that we have an enemy that wants to steal, kill and destroy and by the Holy Spirit actively counter the strategies employed against us, we will lose battles.  Just as a person in a country that is in a war cannot choose to “not participate” if battles are physically raging around them, a Christian must realize that spiritual warfare is real and going on all the time.  How are you living your life – aware of the battle and prepared, or believing it happens elsewhere but not in your life

Scripture of the week

Colossians 2:8 (ESV) ^2:8 See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ. ^[3]

1 Thessalonians 5:17 (ESV) ^5:17 pray without ceasing, ^[4]

 2 Corinthians 10:3–5 (AMP) ^10:3 For though we walk (live) in the flesh, we are not carrying on our warfare according to the flesh and using mere human weapons. ^10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not physical [weapons of flesh and blood], but they are mighty before God for the overthrow and destruction of strongholds, ^10:5 [Inasmuch as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the Anointed One), ^[5]

John 17:17 (AMP) ^17:17 Sanctify them [purify, consecrate, separate them for Yourself, make them holy] by the Truth; Your Word is Truth. ^[6]

Weekly prayer

Dear Jesus,

Thank You for the complete victory You won for me by dying for me!  Thank You for Your Holy Spirit residing in me, and that Your Spirit is greater than anything of the enemy in this world.  Holy Spirit, please set a guard over my mind such that any thought that is opposed to You and Your Word is brought to my attention so that it can be taken into captivity and into obedience to Your Word.    Amen.

Freedom Facet

The mind is a constant battleground of spiritual warfare.  To stand firm in this battle, we need to take up (put on) the armor of God.  James 4:7-8 tells us to first submit to the Lord and then resist the devil, with the promise that the devil will flee from us, and as we draw near to God, God will draw near to us.  Our walk on the narrow path will cause the enemy to engage us in spiritual battle, so just as a soldier in a warzone doesn’t walk unprepared and unarmed, we should not go about our day without putting on God’s armor.

Jesus's Freedom is for those who call Him Lord - those who believe in Him. If you’ve not yet accepted Christ Jesus as Your Lord, and would like to, say the following prayer aloud.

Lord Jesus, I confess and realize that I am a sinner, and without You, I am lost and separated from God.  Thank You for going to the cross and dying for my sins – I ask for Your forgiveness for my sins, and I thank you and receive the forgiveness of my sins Your Word says is now mine!  Holy Spirit, I thank You that You now reside within me.  I lay down my will for Yours and ask for Your daily guidance and direction to make me more and more like You.  Amen!

The Bible tells us that if we confess Jesus as Lord with our mouth and believe in our hearts that God resurrected Jesus from the dead, we are saved for eternity.  If you’ve just accepted Jesus as Lord, know that heaven is celebrating right now (Luke 15:10)!  Rejoice because you are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17), and now have begun the process of sanctification becoming like Him. Keep coming back, as we explore Freedom facets and what our Identity in Christ truly is. Share this joyous news with a brother or sister in Christ and get connected in your local church!  LIFE is yours!

Small Group Invitations - Week of October 4, 2026

Below are invitations to just a couple of Men's Small Groups that are happening this week, both a part of Celebration Church, Georgetown, Texas. If these don't work for you, or if you're not a Celebration Church, TX attendee - regardless of the church you attend - being a part of small group is immensely important! If you're not involved in one, I pray that you find one that works for your schedule and you get plugged in. Being connected in the local church will bless you immeasurably! Also - with the fall semester starting, many churches are offering Freedom small group classes. If one is available near you, I pray you plug in to it - the Freedom Small Groups are life changing!

Tuesday Morning Men's Fellowship Group: 6am - 7am at Rudy's BBQ in Round Rock, Texas. Join us for a time of fellowship where we'll discuss the message from the Pastors on Sunday, the newsletter contents, or whatever is going on in the lives of the brothers meeting.

Friday Morning Celebration Men: We're back at the Georgetown Campus Annex - Join us at 6:30 am at for fellowship, a message from one of our pastors, and a discussion about God's Word. We'll conclude at 8am so people can get to work.

^[1] Freedom Church of the Highlands, Birmingham, AL; Freedom – Celebration Church, Georgetown, TX

^[2]  The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2025. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

^[3]  The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2025. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

^[4]  The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2025. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

^[5]  The Amplified Bible. 1987. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

^[6]  The Amplified Bible. 1987. La Habra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.