All Scripture quotations are taken from the New American Standard Bible 1995 Ed. (NASB95), published by The Lockman Foundation

All believers in the Lord Jesus instinctively know, from the day that they’re saved, that they’re in a spiritual war. This primarily comes from the fact that we were once at war with God, and have now been made His friends through the Lord’s death and resurrection, and the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts. Therefore, we know that we were once on the losing side of the spiritual war in this world, and have now been captured by the grace of Jesus.

Although we experience a personal war against temptation and sin, this is only a small part of the cosmic war between God and the devil. We first see this erupting when the devil deceives Adam and Eve into disobeying God, and allies all their posterity with his rebellion against the Creator. Because our first parents became rebels who were now spiritually dead, and their children only grew increasingly worse, earning God’s judgment in the curse of the earth, and the destruction of the flood, the whole world, which was once “very good,” became “evil.” Throughout the history of mankind, people only grew more evil, while Satan and his evil angelic followers wreaked more havoc on people, deceiving them into inventing and worshiping themselves, as well as false gods, and believing and living increasingly twisted lies.

However, God didn’t let all of this increasing rebellion against Him go on without opposing it in some ways. Although most of mankind in Old Testament times were doomed to follow the devil, as Adam had, into futility and damnation, the Lord preserved a remnant of righteous people who trusted Him to be their Lord and Savior from their sins. How did these people have any hope that God would have mercy on them, and forgive them? Through His promises of the redemption of the universe, and the defeat of Satan. In fact, God promised this redemption immediately after our first parents rebelled against Him in His curse on the serpent, which was the earthly form of Satan:

“’And I will put enmity

Between you and the woman,

And between your seed and her seed;

He shall bruise you on the head,

And you shall bruise him on the heel.’” (Gen. 3:15)

This “enmity” between Satan’s “seed” and Eve’s “seed” is a major part of the Bible’s storyline. Eve’s “seed” is ultimately the Lord Jesus Himself, who was “bruised”  on the “heel” with a minor injury, while at the same time He “bruised” Satan “on the head” with a mortal wound, which has led to the devil’s increasing defeat. But what form does this enmity between Jesus and the devil take? How did the Lord bruise Satan’s head, and Satan bruise His heel?

In order to answer these questions, we must study the elements of the current spiritual war as it’s described by the apostles in the New Testament. From this study, we’ll learn the nature of this war, its direction, its battles, its combatants, its stakes, and our part in it as followers of the Destroyer of the Serpent. To preface, the first thing we must realize is that this war is merely a part of God’s rule of the universe through the Lord Jesus, which He’s restoring in people’s lives. Although the devil temporarily made the world his kingdom, its now being invaded by the coming kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It’s this clash of kingdoms that our war is engaged in. Thus, as servants of King Jesus, its imperative that we understand our spiritual war, and how we’ve been instructed to wage it in the battle plans of the apostles.

The subjects we’ll cover in this study will go in this order:

  1. The nature of Satan’s kingdom
  2. Christ’s conquest of Satan’s kingdom
  3. The Assembly’s fight against Satan’s kingdom

The Nature of Satan’s Kingdom

Believers are Escapees from his Kingdom

The first thing we must recognize as servants of the enthroned Lamb is that we once were subjects of the devil’s kingdom. Paul makes this clear when he describes the Galatians’ rescue in his letter to them, reminding them that Jesus “gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age” (Gal. 1:4a). In this verse, instead of referring to Satan’s kingdom, he calls it “this present evil age.” As I’ve already noted, when Adam’s sin plunged the world into a state of cursing and corruption, the once-good world became “evil,” or “harmful.” However, since God has promised over and over to renew this creation, we know that there’s a future age in which sin, suffering, and evil will be no more. Thus, the New Testament repeatedly refers to “this age” and “the age to come” in some way or another.

As Paul describes in this verse, the age in which we now live is “evil,” primarily because it’s dominated by Satan and sin. However, for the one trusting in the Lord who gave Himself up for our sins, he’s already rescued us from the corruption, condemnation, and sin, of this age. What’s implied in our rescue from this current age is that we now belong to the future age of goodness, righteousness, and truth.

This is exactly what Paul means when he puts our rescue from this age in terms of our transfer from one kingdom to another in his letter to the Colossians. He assures his audience there that God “rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col. 1:13). Why is this age “the domain of darkness?” Because it’s ruled by ignorance of the truth, and by the night of rebellion against God. Thankfully, we’re no longer under the control of this domain, but have been “transferred . . . to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” Now, we’re under the reign of Jesus, the Light of God.

The Lord Himself spoke of this transition in terms of the two rulers of these domains when he described Paul’s goal in preaching the gospel as “to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). From these words, we learn that the “domain of darkness” is Satan’s dominion. But how does Satan exercise rule over this age?

He Rules through Deception and Sin

Although believers have been rescued from the reign of the devil, and therefore from the nature and patterns of this current age, most people in the world are still under his control and influence. The apostle John simply describes this in his first letter, where he writes,

“We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” (1 Jn. 5:19)

By “the whole world,” John means all of the peoples collectively. Therefore, it’s not just some people who are under the control of Satan – here termed “the evil one” – but most people. The only people who aren’t under his power are believers in Jesus, who belong to God, and serve Him.

Paul also characterizes the reign of Satan in the lives of unbelievers when he tells the Ephesian assembly that, when they were spiritually dead in their sins, these evil deeds were like the steps,

“. . . in which [they] formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” (Eph. 2:2)

Notice that Paul speaks of “this world” possessing a “course,” or path, that unbelievers walk along. And this path is “according to the prince of the power of the air,” or the ruler of “the power of the air.” Paul uses this phrase to describe Satan as if he has influence of the very atmosphere of the earth, injecting the air that unbelievers breathe with evil, lies, and temptations. But his influence on unbelievers isn’t merely passive, since Paul ends the verse by asserting that the devil is “the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience.” In other words, he’s actively working on unbelievers to make them more disobedient to their Creator.

But how does Satan work in unbelievers to increase their false beliefs and sinfulness? First of all, it’s by using the very evil within them to lure them into being more obsessed with this present world. John implies this in his description of the world found in 1 John 2:16:

“For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.”

There are three main weapons that John says are “not from the Father,” or created by Him. Rather, they are “from the world.” In this instance, John’s not only speaking of unbelievers themselves, but the whole condition and lifestyle in which they live. The three main powers that the devil uses to enslave unbelievers, and corrupt them further, consist of two “lusts” and one “pride.” The word for “lust” doesn’t automatically mean sexual desire, but strong desire. However, since John connects it to “the flesh,” or the unredeemed, sinful, character of people, this strong desire is evil desire. Besides the lust of the flesh, the world also is characterized by the lust of the eyes. That is, sinful desires are aroused through people’s sight of the things of this world. And finally, the devil uses “the pride of life,” which is the pride that people have in their own lives, thinking they have provided themselves with the good things of life. It’s basically the same thing as treating oneself as his own god.

Although these weapons are already found in the heart of man, and employed by the devil to control sinners, the spread of God’s Word throughout the world necessitates that the devil do something more than simply entice the lusts and pride of people. He also uses outright lies in order to keep people from seeing the truth about their damned condition, and the hope that is found in Jesus. As Christians, we must realize that people aren’t just disinterested in, and distracted from, the gospel, but that they are blind to its truth. Paul warns of this in his second letter to the Corinthians, in his description of his apostolic service:

“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ . . .” (2 Cor. 4:3-4)

We learn two main truths about Satan’s reign in this passage. First, those who are under his reign are “perishing.” This means that they are becoming increasingly guilty and sinful, and walking ever closer to eternal destruction. This is because, in a sense, Satan is their “god,” or ruler and object of worship. By obeying their sinful desires, they’re also obeying the will of the devil. The second truth about Satan’s reign is that it’s a reign of blindness. He “has blinded the minds of the unbelieving” (v. 4). What does it mean for him to blind their “minds?” It means that he’s deceived them into believing lies that are directly contrary to the truths of the gospel. In this way, he prevents them from seeing “the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.”

Note well that Paul’s not describing people who haven’t heard the gospel, but those to whom the preached gospel is “veiled,” or hidden. So, even though they’ve heard the gospel in terms they can understand, the devil has used falsehoods to hide the gospel from their inner comprehension and acceptance. They can’t believe the gospel because they don’t want to. And they don’t want to believe because they want to believe the lies that contradict what it teaches.

In spite of the facts that Satan is the god of this world; that this world is enslaved to its lusts, pride, and false beliefs; and that the devil has blinded unbelievers’ minds to prevent them from understanding and embracing the gospel, the Lord has invaded this kingdom with the power of the Spirit, dealing a decisive blow to the kingdom of darkness. Jesus’s kingdom has begun to invade Satan’s kingdom, and the devil’s fate has been sealed by the main victory won by the Lord’s suffering, death, and resurrection.

Jesus’s Conquest of Satan’s Kingdom

The New Testament is full of descriptions of how Jesus has overpowered the devil, and has already defeated him, though he’s still active in his evil reign. The clear teaching of the apostles is that through Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension, the devil’s grip on the world has been unloosed, and he’s only fighting a losing battle. One of the clearest pronouncements of the Lord’s victory over Satan is uttered from His own lips in the Gospel of John, where, anticipating His arrest and crucifixion, He declares,

“’Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.’” (Jn. 12:31)

Who is “the ruler of this world” but the god of this world? And what does Jesus say of him? That he will be “cast out.” Cast out of where? Not out of heaven, in this context, but out of his throne room, since Jesus calls him “the ruler.” But when will this happen? In the future, when the Lord returns to complete His kingdom? No, but “now.” Notice Jesus’s twofold use of the word – “now judgment” has come on the world, and now its ruler “will be cast out.”

How did Jesus cast the devil off his throne? Paul explains this dethroning of the devil in terms of the devil’s servants and agents when he describes the cosmic effect of Jesus’s redemption through the cross, in Colossians 2:13-15:

“. . . [God] made you alive together with [Christ], having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross. When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”

In this passage, Paul provides the connection between Christ’s death on the cross, and His disarming of the devil’s power in holding people captive to his deceptions and darkness. The first way that He did this is said to be by “disarming” “the rulers and authorities” (v. 15). As we’ll clearly see later, these “rulers and authorities” are spiritual rulers and authorities who were “armed” with the power to enslave, tempt, and deceive unbelievers with little restrictions before Jesus. And this control that they exercised exacerbated the guilt, corruption, and condemnation that people suffered due to their sinfulness. This is the significance of “the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us” (v. 14). Before the cross, this debt, with its decrees of death, and eternal punishment, was a constant threat to everyone, since no one had yet come to the knowledge of God’s redemption through Christ’s death. However, through Christ’s death, this debt was nailed to the cross, declaring that Jesus had paid the debt through His suffering on the cross. Thus, the “decrees” of death, which were made worse through the work of the devil through his demonic hordes, were abolished through the cross. This is how Jesus disarmed the evil rulers of this world. After disarming them, He also publicly displayed their defeat by rising from the dead, and empowering His disciples to powerfully preach the gospel, and make disciples.

Another way the New Testament describes this defeat of the devil in more specific terms is found in the letter to the Hebrews, where the author proclaims,

“Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.” (Heb. 2:14-15)

I don’t believe this assertion that Jesus made the devil “powerless” is a comprehensive statement, since we’ve already seen that the devil has “the power” to blind unbelievers to the truth of the gospel. Rather, the power that has been taken away from him is specifically “the power of death.” How has it been taken away from him? The author declares that this was accomplished “through death” that was suffered by Jesus. He suffered the death that is deserved by anyone who would ever believe in Him. And, evidently, this death was empowered by the devil, since it’s he who led Adam into sin, corrupted the human race, and controls the sinful directions of the world (cf. Eph. 2). Thus, his deception is what leads people to die eternally, and to be “subject to slavery all their lives” through the “fear of death.” Hence, the power of death that the devil once exercised is the power to use death to lead people to hell.

So, the devil’s power of death is mainly abolished in the sense that now, sinners can know that the Savior suffered the death that they deserve, and that they’ll no longer be condemned when they die, but will join the Lord in heaven. This is why believers need not fear death anymore. For the one who knows that Jesus died in his place, death is merely a transition from this present evil world, to the presence of the glorious Savior. This is partly why Paul proclaims in 2 Timothy 1:10 that Christ Jesus “abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

Still another way that the apostles’ teaching describes Jesus’s preliminary defeat of Satan is through His destruction of the devil’s deeds. In 1 John 3:8b, John the apostle explains,

“The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.”

What are these works? In the context of 1 John 3, the subject matter is the contrast between those who practice sin and those who practice righteousness. John begins this verse by saying that “the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning.” Hence, the main character of “the works of the devil” that God’s Son has destroyed is “sin.” In other words, through Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection, He not only destroyed the power of death, but also the power of sin to condemn and control believers. Therefore, since these works of the devil through sin have been destroyed in believer’s lives, they no longer practice sin, but righteousness (1 Jn. 3:9-10).

In addition to defeating the devil through His life and death, the Lord has also defeated him through His resurrection and ascension into heaven. One of the clearest passages on this point is found in Ephesians 1:20-21, where Paul details that God exercised His creative power

“. . . when He raised [Christ] from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come.”

In these verses, it’s not Christ’s redemption that’s mainly in view, but His reign over the universe. When God brought Jesus into heaven, it wasn’t just so He would serve as His people’s great High Priest, but also so He would have authority and control over “all rule and authority and power and dominion.” According to Paul’s use of these terms in Ephesians 6, he’s at least mainly referring to spiritual rulers, authorities, and powers, as he does in Colossians 2. Thus, Jesus has ultimate control, not only over the non-rational creation, but also over the demonic spirits who are serving Satan.

Paul further explains how the Lord’s reign is being exercised in his first letter to the Corinthians, where, after relating the order of the groups who are to be raised from the dead, he writes,

“. . . then comes the end, when He hands over the kingdom to the God and Father, when He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet.” (1 Cor. 15:24-25)

Given the fact that the expansion of Jesus’s reign is described as progressive in the New Testament, it’s logical to conclude that Paul’s description here of the abolition and subjection of His enemies is progressive as well. We’ve already seen before Jesus’s death that He pronounced the devil defeated, and we noted that many descriptions of Jesus’s death itself view it as a decisive victory over Satan. Finally, we saw that it’s not just Jesus’s death, but its results in people’s lives that manifest the progressive defeat of the devil. Hence, it must be that the rule that Jesus began to manifest through His life, death, and resurrection, is a rule that increasingly takes over the power and control that Satan’s hordes have over unbelievers.

When we apply this progressive nature of the Lord’s reign to Paul’s words in these verses, we see two main truths that show this. First, Jesus through His kingdom is currently and increasingly abolishing the Satanic “rule,” “authority,” and “power” that still has sway over this world. Second, these holders of authority are part of the “enemies” of Jesus that are being put “under His feet” through His “reign” (v. 25).

But what does Jesus’s invasion of the devil’s kingdom have to do with individual believers? What is our part in this spiritual war? The apostles have much to say on the main categories of our fight against the devil’s forces.

Christ’s Assembly’s Fight against the Devil

There are three main areas of combat in Christians’ fight against Satan’s kingdom. First, we struggle directly with the evil spiritual lords of the devil. Second, we assault the world’s lies that are cultivated by the devil. Thirdly, we eliminate our flesh’s lusts which are enflamed by the world’s lies.

Our Grappling with Evil Spirits

In our conflict with Satan, there are several essential actions that must be taken in order to be successful. One of the most vivid passages that helps us in this fight is the famous “armor of God” text in Ephesians 6:10-17. In these verses, Paul describes the essential character traits that a believer must possess for their individual, daily, warfare. For the sake of brevity and exact relevance, we’ll only deal with the parts that give specific insight into our active fight against demons. After commanding the Ephesians to rely on the strength of the Lord, he urges them to,

“Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places . . . And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:11-12, 17)

To begin with, Paul urges his congregation to put on the full armor of God. After examining verses 14-17, we see that there are several components to this armor, and none of them can be neglected. Confining ourselves to what characteristics they symbolize, the fully equipped Christian must utilize his “truthfulness,” “righteousness,” “preparation,” “faith,” “salvation,” and “word of God.” If even one of these helps are unapplied, then believers will not be able to “stand firm against the schemes of the devil” (v. 11). Notice that Paul begins with a defensive posture, since the devil is always active at executing plots against us, but we aren’t always active in fighting against him.

Next, Paul explains the main reason why we must use the full armor of God to withstand the devil’s schemes. The reason is that we have a “struggle,” which literally means “hand-to-hand combat,” or “grappling.” And this combat isn’t against flesh and blood, or people. On the contrary, we are fighting against “rulers, against powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places” (v. 12). These are the very same types of authorities that Paul speaks of in Ephesians 1:20-21, and in Colossians 2:15. Thus, our battle is against the evil forces that the Lord has already defeated in advance through His death and resurrection. And yet, we still fight against them.

Knowing that it’s only through our application of God’s gifts in His armor for us that we’ll defend ourselves against spiritual assaults, what is the way in which we’ll actually gain ground against Satan’s forces? The first way, of course, is prayer, which is always a given in any spiritual activity. But as far as the armor in this passage is concerned, the only offensive weapon we have against our spiritual enemies is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (v. 17). First of all, this “word of God” isn’t just any “word,” but the “message of God” found in Scripture. Its summary statement is the gospel itself, but it includes all the truths related to and implied by the gospel. Therefore, the only direct way that we will defeat demonic foes is by using God’s Word.

But in practice, what does this look like? To begin with, to use God’s Word, one must actually know and understand it. This requires the believer to have a firm grasp of the basic teachings of Scripture, and to be actively putting those teachings into practice. This is the only way that demonic lies and temptations will be contradicted in one’s mind and thinking. Second, as often as a believer has opportunity, God’s Word must be spoken. This is because the war that we’re fighting against demons doesn’t only involve them fighting us. We are also to be active in our role of speaking the truth to others, who are either on our side, or being held captive by Satan’s forces. That is, our truth-speaking can either be meant to edify, or build up, or to evangelize, or wake up.

The use of God’s Word in seeking to free sinners from enslavement to the devil is illustrated by Paul’s description of the righteous correction of spiritual opponents in his second letter to Timothy:

“. . . with gentleness correcting those who are in opposition, if perhaps God may grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.” (2 Ti. 2:25-26)

A second important passage that warns us of our direct conflict with the devil is Peter the apostle’s exhortations to guard against the devil’s threats:

“Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith . . .” (1 Pe. 5:8-9a)

Something not specifically mentioned, but implied, by Paul’s instructions on God’s armor is this need to be “sober,” and “on the alert.” All this means is that believers must be clear-headed and thinking carefully and wisely about themselves, their lives, and their circumstances. Peter’s reason for this is that our “adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion.” Peter certainly isn’t exaggerating the danger that the devil presents to us, since he warns that the devil is looking for someone to eat. If this spiritual destruction wasn’t a possibility, there would be no point in Peter giving the warning.

Thankfully, Peter gives a second safeguard for preventing ourselves from being “eaten” by the devil. All he urges is that believers must “resist him, firm in your faith” (v. 9). What is he’s saying is that the way that we resist the devil’s threatenings is by thinking and living firm in our faith in God’s Word. Therefore, much like Paul’s injunction to use “the word of God,” as our offensive weapon, so also Peter is saying that our firm grasp of our faith is what will allow us to resist the devil’s attacks.

Our Conflict Against the Lies of the World

The second main aspect of our warfare against Satan’s kingdom is our opposition against lies, false beliefs, and human philosophies. Paul gives an emphatic order to guard against being deceived or distracted by deceptive teachings when he writes this to the Colossians:

“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.” (Col. 2:8)

In this verse, Paul gives us two main sources of worldly lies. The first one is “philosophy,” or literally “the love of wisdom.” Such wisdom is merely human thinking, and has no basis in the essential truths of Scripture as taught by Jesus and His apostles. The second source of lies is outright “empty deception,” which has no substance whatsoever. While philosophy might have the appearance of biblical thinking, since many of its conclusions are arrived at based on general revelation, “deception,” often takes the form of biblical teaching that has been altered in such a way as to make it somewhat contradictory of the whole teaching. In these ways, believers can be lured into attending to, appreciating, and then accepting false teaching that is communicated in these forms.

However, these forms of lies are “according to the tradition of men” and “the elementary principles of the world” in contrast to “Christ.” Therefore, their basis is, again, in natural thinking, and the basic ideas of this present evil world. Hence why Paul gives the grave command to “see to it that no one takes you captive.” Like Peter’s warning in 1 Peter 5, Paul is saying to “watch out” and to “be careful” to avoid being “captured” by philosophy or deception.

We’ve already seen that one of the ways this is to be avoided is by knowing, understanding, and applying God’s Word to our lives. But is there any way that we can fight against philosophies and deceptions? Paul explains his own fight against lies in 2 Corinthians 10:4-5, saying,

“. . . for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ.”

Just as Paul says in Ephesians 6, the weapons that Christians use to fight lies are powerful “from God.” Here, however, he pictures the lies of the world as “fortresses” that must be demolished by the truth. But what are the characteristics of the fortresses that Paul was destroying? He calls them “speculations and every lofty thing” that oppose “the knowledge of God” (v. 5). Much like “philosophy,” “speculations” refer to natural, sinful, human reasoning. Such thinking and beliefs are dangerous because they contradict “the knowledge of God,” or true knowledge about and of God. Finally, Paul, instead of being taken captive by these speculations, is taking them captive “to the obedience of Christ.” In other words, he’s comparing such human reasonings to the character and teaching of Christ, and responding by pointing out how these reasonings are wrong. This is what the New Testament means by “discernment.” It’s the action of examining ideas in the light of Scripture, and seeing how they differ from its truth. This discipline must be exercised if we are to fight against the lies of the world, and avoid being captured by human wisdom and deception.

As well as being required to fight assaults from the world, Christians should regularly be active in fighting against threats from inside them. These threats also come in the form of lies, but disguise themselves as good desires.

Our Killing of Fleshly Lusts

To start our examination of our warfare against our sinful desires, we’ll turn our attention to Peter’s warning of the mortal danger of them found in 1 Peter 2:11. He exhorts,

“Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts which wage war against the soul.”

The most important truth from this verse is clear – “fleshly lusts wage war against the soul.” As we noticed in 1 John 2, “lusts” doesn’t simply mean sexual desire, but strong desire. And, of course, these desires are the desires of “the flesh,” or unredeemed, sinful, humanity. Thus, Peter is telling us that our desires seek to destroy our souls, or literally, “lives.”

How are we to combat our sinful desires that tempt us to sin? Peter makes it simple – “abstain from them.” Knowing that we are “strangers and aliens” in this world, we should endeavor to do whatever is necessary to avoid, ignore, and replace our sinful desires. In several other places in the New Testament, the command is given to whole-heartedly remove our thinking from our sinful desires, and to instead choose the right and good decision (cf. Ro. 6; 13; Eph. 4; Col. 3).

But how exactly are we to deny our sinful desires, and to cultivate good desires and decisions? Paul provides concise instructions for us in his first letter to his spiritual son, Timothy, when he writes,

“This command I entrust to you, Timothy, my son, in accordance with the prophecies previously made concerning you, that by them you fight the good fight, keeping faith and a good conscience, which some have rejected and suffered shipwreck in regard to their faith.” (1 Ti. 1:18-19)

Although the “prophecies” about Timothy don’t directly apply to us, we can still follow Paul’s instructions, since all of us are in the spiritual war of the Christian life. Paul calls it “the good fight,” since it’s useful for promoting God’s glory, and the good of our souls. And this fight has two main fronts. First, we must “keep,” or “guard,” faith. By “faith,” Paul means all that encompasses that term. It includes the faith of Christianity that we believe, as well as our faithfulness to the teaching of our Lord and the apostles. In other words, we must guard our understanding of what we know, as well as our practice of what we know. Second, Paul enjoins Timothy to guard “a good conscience.” This is more than our “faith” that we’ve learned from Scripture, but regards our innate sense of right and wrong that we’ve received by nature, as well as from experience, regardless of whether this sense fully lines up with the truth of Scripture. By keeping a good conscience, Paul is telling Timothy to live life in such a way that there’s no behavior he practices that is making him feel, or believe he is, guilty, through his conscience. Also, as much as possible, he’s to do what he knows is right.

The last part of this passage is another of many warnings that we’ve found in our study. He forewarns Timothy that “rejecting” the maintenance of “faith and a good conscience” will result in suffering “shipwreck in regard to [your] faith.” Paul isn’t only warning of “backsliding,” but, as the imagery conveys, a complete destruction of one’s professed faith in Jesus. Quite bluntly, Paul is warning Timothy of committing apostasy. Such apostasy wasn’t just a danger for him, but, perhaps even more, a danger for us. If we would avoid wrecking our faith like a ship running into a rock, and sinking to the depths of the sea, we must “fight the good fight of faith” by guarding our faith, and by maintaining a good conscience. Of course, it’s called the fight of faith because the only way we can accomplish this is by believing God’s promises in Scripture, and by trusting in the Lord Jesus to empower us, instruct us, and to improve us.

One of the most important battles in our fight of faith, and our preservation of our faithfulness and good conscience, is our active destruction of sin. Paul sums up this conflict in one of his foundational instructions in his letter to the Colossians, where he begins his teaching on the avoidance of sin, and the addition of goodness:

“Therefore [put to death] the members of your earthly body . . . to immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and greed, which amounts to idolatry.” (Col. 3:5)

The words, “put to death,” literally render some of the Greek that Paul used in this verse. He isn’t merely urging them to “consider” their body parts to already be dead to these sins. Rather, he’s commanding them to actively strive to avoid using their bodies to commit these sins. Therefore, this requires them to not only avoid these sins, but to engage in their righteous alternatives. Note well that Paul’s command isn’t only meant to communicate the cessation of these sins, but the diligent, resolved, and aggressive hatred of them, which will lead to their avoidance.

Again, this discipline of sin-killing can’t be done simply by our own decision or effort. Instead, it must be engaged in through faith. The physical example of the Old Testament saints’ warfare gives us a visceral picture of our own warfare by faith against spiritual forces. After describe good OT examples of faithful living, the author of Hebrews begins his summary of them like this:

“And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets, who by faith conquered kingdoms, performed acts of righteousness, obtained promises, shut the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge or the sword, from weakness were made strong, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight.” (Heb. 11:32-34)

Just as they, it’s only by faith in God’s Word that we will advance the conquering of Satan’s kingdom, escape the edge of spiritual swords, gain spiritual strength from our weakness, and become mighty in our spiritual war. Only faithfulness will enable us to grapple with demons, to crush the fortresses of lies and false beliefs, and to cut off the sins from our thinking and actions. In these ways, we’ll continue to advance the kingdom that the Lord established, and began to enforce through His victory over the devil. In these ways, we’ll continue to beat back the kingdom of darkness, and to expand the kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on this earth.

The New Testament is the Apostolic Battle Plan for Spiritual War

In review, we’ve seen that we live in a conflict of two contradictory ages. While most of the world lives according to this “present evil age,” we’ve been rescued from it through the death and resurrection of our Lord. Through His work of redemption, He’s begun to establish His kingdom on the earth through His people, the Assembly. This manifestation of God’s kingdom through His Spirit is proof, that through the suffering and ascension of Jesus, He’s dealt the fatal blow to the serpent seen in the Garden of Eden, and begun the process of putting all His enemies under His feet.

Although Satan still has limited control of unbelievers, the witness and word of God’s people is being used by the Lord to free sinners from Satan’s kingdom, and to transfer them to His domain. In the salvation of sinners, and the spiritual growth of saints, the works of the devil are being destroyed, and the Lord is exercising His progressive reign over all authority. As part of this conquest, believers are individually engaged in battle against evil spiritual forces through God’s gifts of grace, and faith in His promises. Two concrete manifestations of this warfare are the opposition of false beliefs, and the avoidance and destruction of sinful thinking and actions. Our warfare, however, isn’t easy, or optional. In order to progress in our imitation of Jesus, we must be diligent, watchful, and zealous in using the weapons God has given us to fight against the evil forces that seek to destroy our souls. Thankfully, we can use all of Scripture – even the OT – to gain encouragement, instruction, and wisdom in how best to fight as soldiers of Christ, our conquering King and Captain of our battle.