How Spiritual Warfare is a Waste of Time

If you grew up in the same tradition as I did, then you are most likely currently thinking I am a false prophet after reading this title. But before you cast the stones of judgement my way, give me a chance to explain myself.

I do believe that one form of spiritual warfare is a waste of time, however, Paul did teach on this subject and gave us a model of what exactly it is and what it looks like, and if you grew up Pentecostal or Charismatic then you will no doubt be surprised to see how far a little common sense will take us in understanding this topic, and how what we have been taught is more or less complete nonsense.

Before we explore what Paul describes in Ephesians chapter 6, we need to expound on a few other passages that describe the nature of what exactly spiritual warfare is and how the entire idea came about in the first place.

Needless to say, I could write volumes on this subject alone, but for this post let’s focus in on what perhaps the origins of this concept were and go from there, and I’ll try not to make this a 20,000 word post 😉

Now, over the last few posts we have learned a lot about this one called “the devil” or “Satan,” and although it was not an exhaustive study, which I highly recommend you do on your own time just to familiarize yourself with it so it’s in your random access memory, I still feel that we have explored enough to get the picture that MOST of the time the Bible is talking about this figure it is not talking about a fallen angel and his cohorts.

On the contrary, what we find is that all throughout the NT “the satan” is someone or something that stands opposed to the work of Christ and the Gospel, which last post we found out was a message of freedom from the law of Moses, which condemns and accuses, as well as the realization that the god of this 1st century Jewish system was a false god and looks more like the devil than the Father Jesus revealed.

So this begs the question; if the devil isn’t a literal being and there’s not these millions or billions of fallen angels who’s specialty is to uniquely mess with us and whisper lies in our ears, then WHAT exactly are we “warring” against?

Now the go-to passage of scripture the church has used for ages is Ephesians chapter 6. Here we have Paul giving us a breakdown of what exactly “spiritual warfare” is and he even gives a list of handy pieces of armor God has given us that we can spiritually strap on. How cute.

I’m not even kidding right now, I have been in church services, where we are about 30 minutes into the worship service, and people are starting to sway and one or two people are quietly weeping in sweet repentance over how filthy they feel before “the presence of God,” which has finally shown up after singing just the right phrase just enough times at just the right timbre. And the pastor gets up and begins, piece by piece, naming the armor of God and has each one of us imagine putting it on so we can be ready for the spiritual warfare we will inevitably face in the coming week.

That’s all fine and dandy if that’s your thing, and no judgments here because I promise you I have been there and done that and we are all on our own journey in this thing. But really? Are we actually supposed to believe that this is going to help us ward of demons and evil spirits in our everyday lives?

I am going to submit to you that this is not what Paul had in mind, and he simply used pieces of armor in a metaphorical way (imagine that) so as to make a point.

Interestingly though, the attributes of the pieces of the “armor of God” that Paul names off are of some importance but ONLY once you understand what “spiritual warfare” actually is and is not.

Spiritual warfare is not, like I have seen in my time in Churchianity, yelling and screaming at the air and calling it “the devil.” That’s just craziness and I understand some of us grew up in a tradition like this because it absolutely permeates the Church, but that’s not what it is.

Spiritual warfare is not “pleading the blood” over your life, or house, or dog so that it won’t get run over by a car. What does that even mean anyways? Where in the Bible does anybody, “plead the blood” over anything? Nowhere, that’s where.

The blood of Jesus is not some magic word we can throw around to ward off demons or figuratively anoint objects with. That’s completely pagan mysticism and it’s not biblical.

The blood of Jesus is the sign of “a new and better covenant” than that of the covenant made at Sinai between “God” and Israel. He did away with the old, so as to make way for the new, Paul tells us, as well as the writer of Hebrews.

Let me just stop for a second here, because I realize how my blog must come across to someone who is still in the Charismatic or Evangelical camp. I am not trying to belittle or make anyone feel stupid. It’s just that I have been a part of these things my whole life. I have lived them, experienced them and been 100% all in.

But upon learning the truth about the Bible and all these mystical practices we have adopted over the last 2000 years into our doctrines, I have realized how much of it is pagan mythology. All I want to do is educate my brothers and sisters on these subjects and show them that most of what we have been told about God and Jesus and the cross and EVERYTHING is NOT biblical and certainly not sensible.

So that said, please understand my heart in this. It is not to make fun, but to show how absolutely worthless and even damaging some of this stuff we have inherited into our faith is, and then to redeem our understanding of these things so we can see clearly the Gospel presented by Jesus and the apostles.

Okay now, let’s dig into some scripture.

Before we do though, let’s recap. If you have been following my blog then you know already that what Jesus accomplished on the cross “destroyed the devil.” So then the spiritual warfare that Paul writes of must not have anything to do with fighting off what is already defeated. So what is he talking about then in Ephesians? Let’s check it out.

As always, we aren’t just going to start with the famous passage the church uses to support their spiritual warfare doctrine since cherry picking that one passage is most likely how we got into this mess in the first place; no, we need context. So back up one chapter to Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians chapter 5 is all about “walking in love” and learning how to get along with each other in this new covenant Jesus died to give us. Paul explains that our relationships with our friends and family are not just physical, but spiritual. They are spiritual in the way that we, as Paul says in Romans, should not see anyone according to the flesh anymore, but in the revelation of Christ, that we are all made one; one new humanity united in Christ.

And this wasn’t our doing. It is true that we are “transformed by the renewing of our minds” concerning the way we understand God and treat each other, but Christ has finished the work. The hard part is done. All our job is is to share the news that it is finished.

So in the same way, Paul explains to us that our relationships with other people is spiritual as well as physical, and when we understand this we can see the people in our lives though Christ’s revelation instead of just “friend or foe.”

So now we come to Ephesians 6. Starting in verse 10 Paul says:

^“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”

“Wait just a minute! I thought you said that Jesus destroyed the devil by what He accomplished on the cross! So why is Paul saying we still have to deal with the devil?”

Do you remember what we learned about the Devil? That his power was found in the law because it gave power to sin which gave a sting to death? This is what we are dealing with. Like I just said above; Jesus finished the work, but not everyone gets it.

So although Jesus crushed the serpent’s head and yes, the devil has been defeated, it is still possible for those outside of the knowledge of Christ to stand in the place of the devil and so become the accuser or adversary, and that is what Paul is talking about.

Moving on. Verse 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.”

“Woah woah woah! Now it sounds like Paul is advocating exactly what you said is not what he’s actually talking about Rhett!”

I know, I know. This passage tripped me up for months on my journey to understanding these things with clarity. Paul, is using symbolic language familiar to his audience to help explain the manner in which we are to “war.”

It’s not about resisting human beings. We aren’t a people, as Christians, who should see anyone as the enemy, because Christ has redeemed us all, including those who do not understand yet. So when an enemy rises up against you, just know this is a spiritual battle, as in they haven’t yet come to the realization of Christ and so they, so to speak, are still living as though they are dead.

So when Paul says that we war against rulers and authorities and cosmic powers, he is simply using apocalyptic and parobolic language to show that it’s not the person we are at war against, but a state of being, an understanding that is, for the time being, opposed to ours in Christ.

Now I have actually heard taught that each of these different phrases Paul uses, ie; “rulers, authorities and powers,” are different levels of fallen angels in Satan’s demonic hierarchy.

Sigh… I just can’t. Need I expound on how ridiculous this is? No, I need not.

So then, if it’s not demons or people we are warring against, but a darkened understanding, how exactly do we fight it?

Verse 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.”

We “put on” the “whole armor of God.”

Now before we get into the attributes of this armor, I want you all to see something. What is he talking about when he says, “that you may be able to withstand in the evil day?”

What he is referring to here is the fact that at this point in history the Church was under a huge amount of persecution from the Jews. They were hunted down and thrown in prison if not killed for their “blasphemy.” The Jewish religious leaders were furiously opposed to the Gospel and so used all their might and power to snuff it out and so Paul is simply telling them to stand firm, not give in and to hold to their confession.

But what possible way, if they aren’t to war against flesh and blood, can they resist?

Verse 14 exhorts:

“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; ¹⁷ and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God”

What are our elements we can use to stand against “the devil,” the mindset that is opposed to Christ?

Truth, Righteousness, the Gospel of Peace, Faith in the finished work of Christ which completely and totally negates the “fiery darts,” of “the evil one,” Salvation which is a gift for all men, and as our weapon we use the language of God, which is given by His Spirit and revealed in Christ; grace, love, forgiveness, long suffering. We stand against evil with these things, and we will, in the end, be victorious, but ONLY by NOT becoming a “satan” or adversary ourselves.

Does it make sense now? Spiritual warfare is simply being like Jesus. Loving our enemies. Staying faithful to the course Christ has set for us. Not repaying evil with evil, but with good. This is how we fight, and this is how we win.

Don’t you just love the fresh and clean breeze of truth and how simple and pure the Gospel is? It’s still just amazing to me.

Now you should be able to see how a certain kind of “spiritual warfare” is a complete waste of time; screaming at an invisible, non-existent enemy does nothing but rile you up and raise your blood pressure. If the devil ever was a literal being, Christ “destroyed” him already anyways, so stop yelling at an enemy that isn’t there.

It has nothing to do with hours and hours of rocking back and forth in our “prayer closets,” “declaring” victory over an already defeated enemy. Just stand. Live. Love. Walk in peace and right doing. Love people like Jesus did, and in doing so the kingdom of evil is ripped down and demolished before our eyes.

Hope this has been eye opening my friends. Stay with me, because there is soooo much more to learn and explore.

Till next time,

Rhett