Warfare
This past month I’ve spent focused on “Warfare Spirituality.” I did this by reading through Conformed to His Image, by Kenneth Boa. In this pretty massive book, he takes a look at 12 different facets of the Christian faith: devotional spirituality, holistic spirituality, corporate spirituality, etc. It is very clear to me that this particular facet of my spirituality is anemic. I want to become more attuned to the war going on all around me.
C.S. Lewis’ Screwtape Letters has a great quote in reference to humanity’s awareness of the war – “There are two equal and opposite errors into with our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors.”
There is a war going on, if we have eyes to see it. When we pray, God sends helpers and messengers to the front lines, (where we are stationed) to protect us. [youversion]2 Tim 2:3,4[/youversion]Â Daniel prayed for help, and God sent an angel, but was detained for 3 weeks by a spirit who seemed to control the Kingdom of Persia before he called for backup and was able to penetrate the Kingdom and arrive at Daniel’s side. How often do I simply think that God just didn’t want to answer my prayers or would rather me suffer? He is in battle – putting to death the Devil, the sinful systems of the world, and even my own flesh – in order to reconcile all of us to Him. Much of my life I allow my perspective to remain narrowed all the way into the one task in the battle I am focused on. I forget the global strategy taking place.
Boa describes the war being fought on three fronts – the world, the flesh, and the Devil. [youversion]Eph 2:1-3[/youversion] These three are repeated themes all throughout the Bible, both in New and Old Testaments. Devils and angels are mentioned hundreds of times throughout the texts, and it seems that many of the great men and women of faith simply lived with the awareness of a battle for humanity going on all around them.
Flesh - We are personally and completely wrapped up in this battle, and on occasion find ourselves captives of the other side. We have all been hostages of the Evil One, who knows our greatest weakness – our own Self. Our “flesh” as the Bible puts it, is what makes us easy targets for the Devil. The flesh cannot be reformed or improved; it can only be put to death. [youversion]Gal 5:24[/youversion]Â That’s what begins to happen when we “crucify ourselves to Christ.” This means that as followers of Jesus Christ we have the upper-hand in the battle against the flesh – Christ has killed off our flesh, and now we are a new kind of flesh – “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old is gone, and the new is here!” [youversion]2 Cor 5:17[/youversion]
World - The Powers that Be by Walter Wink is a powerful book that pulls back the curtain of our social structures that make up the “world” that is the second battle line we are fighting. [youversion]Eph 6:12[/youversion] This is clearly not the God-affirming parts of the human cultures (love and care of neighbor, peace-making, care of the environment, practicing justice, et cetera). But there are parts of this world that are systematically opposed to the “new creation” God is setting up in his Kingdom. Think of the corruption of politics to favor the rich and disable the poor, ethnic groups oppressing others, massive marketing campaigns designed to infiltrate your thoughts and dreams…the list could go on… This system…this MATRIX…goes so deep that no human revolution could ever overcome it, because within each human group is the seeds of its own destruction.
Devil - No believer can afford to ignore the strategy of such a powerful adversary! He wants to be “like the Most High” [youversion]Isa 14:14[/youversion] seeking worship and service from humanity. He conceals himself as an “angel of light” [youversion]2 Cor 11:13-15[/youversion] sometimes giving good things but by the wrong means or the wrong reasons. He deceives governments [youversion]Rev 20:3[/youversion]. He promotes the pursuit of the occult for hidden knowledge [youversion]Deut 18:9-13[/youversion]. And he of course is the reason and cause of all death on earth [youversion]Job 2:1-7[/youversion], [youversion]Acts 10:38[/youversion], [youversion]Heb 2:14[/youversion].
Specifically against followers of God, he sees his central diabolical focus – He aims to unhinge the ministry of believers [youversion]Luke 22:31[/youversion], persecution [youversion]Rev 2:10[/youversion], seduces humanity away from God [youversion]Gen 3:1-5[/youversion], convinces believers of their guilt and inadequacy, and encourages believers to rely on their own strength [youversion]2 Chron 16:7-10[/youversion].
Why all the Scriptures? Why focus on the battle if in Christ its already won? Simple – just look around. Here in the West there is such little awareness of the battle – and even among Christians there is a tacit and practical disbelief in the Devil’s power, the world’s oppression, and the flesh’s corruption. This is like a snake handler in a circus unaware that the boa constrictor is wrapping itself around his body, slowly suffocating him and crushing him completely.
The best tactic the Devil has used in the West is to convince all of us that he doesn’t exist. He wants full control over us – more than any demon possession we may read about in the Bible or hear news about from our 3rd world missionaries. We have the chance to take advantage of the strength of Christ to crush Satan’s head and escape from his suffocating grip. It starts by being aware of Satan’s power, and his strategies to distract, discourage and disable us from our life of worship to God.
Just finished reading 
guy muse 9:46 am on January 30, 2009 Permalink
Sounds like an interesting book.