Spiritual Warfare: Are You Wrestling or Resting?truths and run off with them into extremes and error.
Their thinking seems to be, "Well, an army fights the
enemy to defeat him, so let's fight the devil so we can
defeat him."
But Jesus already "fought" the devil and won. That's
why Jesus said to us, "Occupy, till I come" (Luke 19:13).
We're to take our stand on the Word against a defeated
foe. Therefore, we are in the army of the Lord, all right,
but it's the occupying army. The occupying army is not
in battle. The occupying army is just enforcing the
victory that's already been won by our Commander in
Chief, the Lord Jesus Christ. That's why believers
shouldn't magnify the battle, they should magnify the
triumph!
'War' and 'Warfare' in the Epistles
Some people emphasize spiritual warfare to the
point that you would think it is the only subject taught
in the Bible. But you'll find that real spiritual warfare
is entirely different from what many people think it is.
For example, as you study the New Testament,
particularly the epistles, it is amazing how seldom the
words "war" and "warfare" are mentioned.
It is also amazing to note that when the words "war"
or "warfare" are used in the epistles, never once are the
words "devil" or "Satan" used in connection with them.
Let's look at the words "war" and "warfare" as they are
used in the epistles, which were written to us, the Body
of Christ.
For instance, in First Corinthians 9:7, Paul asks the
question, "Who goeth a WARFARE any time at his own
charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the
fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of
the milk of the flock?" Paul isn't referring to combating