Category Archives: spiritual warfare

Good Soldiers Keep In S. T. E. P.

On occasion, the apostle Paul used the imagery of warfare to depict the Christian life. He reminded the Corinthians that though it is not a carnal war, nevertheless we do engage in warfare, spiritual warfare against spiritual powers (II Cor. 10:3,4). At the close of his life Paul would say he had fought a good fight (II Tim. 4:7). He warned us to put on the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:16). And when he wrote to his friend and young gospel preacher, Timothy, he warned him to war a good warfare (I Tim. 1:18) and to fight the good fight of faith (I Tim. 6:12). Furthermore, he urged him to be a good soldier of Jesus Christ (II Tim. 2:1-4). With this imagery in mind, let us observe that good soldiers keep in S. T. E. P.

First, good soldiers of Christ are Strong. Paul admonished Timothy to be Strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus (II Tim. 2:1). To be strong, we must exercise ourselves unto godliness (I Tim. 4:7,8). We do this as we study to show ourselves approved unto God (II Tim. 2:15). Also, we grow in strength when we go through trials (II Cor. 12:10), as the trying of our faith works patience (James 1:2,3). Remembering that God does not want us to have the spirit of fear but of power (II Tim. 1:7) because, as we grow in grace and knowledge, we know that we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us (II Pet. 3:18; Phil. 4:13).

In the second place, good soldiers of Christ Teach others (II Tim. 2:2). This is the plain where battles are fought and won in the Christian’s life. It is the human mind and heart which are affected in this battle. The sword of the Spirit, the word of God, is sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of the soul and spirit and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of he heart (Heb. 4:12). When the gospel is heard honestly, it affects the heart (Luke 8:15; Acts 2:37). Our mission is to teach all nations the gospel of Christ (Matt. 28:18-20; Mark 16:15,16).

In the third place, good soldiers Endure hardness (II Tim. 2:3). In all war, combat conditions are never pleasant. This is true of spiritual warfare, as well. So Paul informs us that all that live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution (II Tim. 3:12). If we are not suffering persecution, then we are not living godly in Christ. Jesus said beware when all men speak well of you (Luke 6:26). Peter warned first century Christians that they would face severe, fiery trials but that they should not think of that as being strange or anomalous to the Christian condition (I Pet. 4:12).

Finally, Paul said that a good soldier Pleases Him who called him to be a soldier (II Tim. 2:4). A soldier is not a free agent. He is not only a soldier but a servant and amenable to his Master’s will. “But as we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, which trieth our hearts” (I Thess. 2:4). “Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him” (II Cor. 5:9). Therefore, we cannot afford to get entangled in the affairs of this life lest the cares, the riches, and the pleasures of this life choke the life out of us (Luke 8:14).

A good soldier, then, keeps in S. T. E. P. He is Strong in the grace which is in Christ Jesus. He Teaches the gospel to those with whom he comes in contact. He Endures the hardships that living the Christian life will bring. And he Pleases the Lord as he strives to carry out His commands.

Onward Christian soldier; keep in S. T. E. P.

Eric L. Padgett

It’s WAR!

Jesus said “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). It is true that Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Is. 9:6). And it is true that He is our peace (Eph. 2:14-15). He came so that we might have peace with God through Himself (Rom. 5:1). Yet there is never really a true peace until there is first a complete and total victory over the enemy (cf. Matt. 12:29). As Alexander Campbell observed, “Hence the Prince of Peace never sheathed the sword of the Spirit while he lived. He drew it on the banks of the Jordan and threw the scabbard away” (“Religious Controversy,” Millennial Harbinger, 1830).

The apostle Paul said we are engaged in a war but it is not a war after the flesh, that is, not a physical war with material weapons (II Cor. 10:3). But it is a war, nevertheless. It is a spiritual war. Since the beginning of time, satan has attempted to lead a rebellion against the God of heaven. Down through the ages, beginning with Adam and Eve, he has enlisted men in this battle, most of whom unwittingly joined his ranks. The god of this world has beguiled people into being a friend of this world, which makes them the enemy of God (James 4:4).

Paul described his work as an apostle as pulling down strong holds, casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ (II Cor. 10:4,5). These things are much harder than taking up a sword and trying to remove an enemy from a geographical territory. We are trying to remove sinful, rebellious thoughts from people’s minds and replace them with obedient, righteous thoughts (I Peter 4:1; Phil. 2:5; etc.).

As Christians, we also fight the good fight of faith (I Tim. 6:12; II Tim. 4:7). In order to fight this fight to win, we must array ourselves with the appropriate armor. When David went out to fight Goliath, he could not wear Saul’s armor, for he had not proved them (I Sam. 17:39). In order to win this battle, we must put on proven armor, the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:13). That is, our loins girt about with truth, having on the breastplate of righteousness; our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; taking the shield of faith, and taking the helmet of salvation and, last but not least, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (Ephesians 6:14-17). These are the weapons that win this war.

Paul said this spiritual war involved casting down imaginations. In Noah’s day, man’s ability to imagine got him into serious trouble. “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). Man has, down through the centuries, devised every kind of sin imaginable. Paul said of the ancient world, that “when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools” (Romans 1:21,22). Romans chapter one lists many of the horrendous sins that man has devised (Rom. 1:19-32). We fight to cast down these imaginations in ourselves and in others.

When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations (Jer. 1:5), He put His words in his mouth and said that he set him over the nations and kingdoms to “root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (Jer. 1:10). This “pulling down” was accomplished by means of his words, inspired words, the word of God. Just as the Lord defeated the devil in the temptation with the word of God (Matt. 4:1-11), so we defeat the devil by the sword of the spirit, the word of God.

Not only did the Lord defeat satan with His words, He triumphed over and spoiled principalities and powers, and made a shew of them openly, through His cross (Col. 2:14,15). It had been prophesied even in the garden that the woman’s seed, Jesus (Gal. 4:4), would bruise the serpent’s head, that is, give it mortal wound (Gen. 3:15). Jesus came into this world for this purpose–to destroy the works of the devil (I John 3:8; cf. John 12:31; 16:11; Heb. 2:14,15).

One of the great scenes in all the Bible is found in the book of Revelation. In chapter twelve we have a scene of a great battle and though satan attacks the Lord’s church, he is defeated, unable to prevail, cast out and cast down (Rev. 12:1-10). In chapter twenty, the devil, though he persecuted the camp of the saints, the church, is cast into the lake which burns with fire and brimstone (Rev. 20:19-21). The good news is, we know who wins this one. All we need to decide now is for which side do we fight.

Eric L. Padgett