Everything about what Christians believe is supernatural. Think about it. We believe that one God exists in three parts, that a young woman conceived a child by the work of the Holy Spirit, that Jesus, the very Son of God, lived a perfect life, died on a cross, and came back to life defeating death before ascending into heaven to sit at the right side of the throne of God where He is currently interceding on our behalf. Supernatural doesn’t feel like a big enough word to describe that reality. Everything about what we believe is supernatural, yet we know so little about the supernatural world and supernatural beings. And that’s exactly what Satan wants.
My goal is to make you aware of a cosmic battle that is happening right now. Why? Because being unaware of the spiritual realm means you’re vulnerable - vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks with no way to defend yourself, and that’s not what God wants for you. In this post, we’re going to talk about the supernatural realm and what spiritual warfare is. In our next article, we’ll talk about how to fight in the battle, and how God has shown us how to fight. This might seem ominous but read this encouraged because God has given all authority to His children. In Luke 10:19, Jesus says, “I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.” With a mindset of victory, let’s get into it.
The Spiritual Realm
The spiritual realm is a reality beyond our physical world. We cannot see it, but it very much exists. When most people think of the spiritual realm, if they do at all, they think of heaven and angels with wings lounging around on clouds. I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but this couldn’t be less true. Prophets throughout Scripture have gotten glimpses of the spiritual realm (you can read Ezekiel 1 and Revelation 13 for an idea of what it looks like). Their usual response is to fall on their faces in awe because the beings that exist there are more terrifying and powerful than anything you and I have ever seen. The truth about the spiritual realm is this: It’s the place where God, angels, demons, and Satan reside, the beings in the spiritual realm interact with and influence everything in our material reality, and there’s a war going on there. That’s right. As you read this today, and every other day as you go about your life, a battle is being fought all around you. And what is the battle being fought over? You.
We’re At War
If there’s a war going on, then who’s fighting in it? First let’s talk about the good guys - God and His angels. They’re fighting to save us. From the beginning of time, God has wanted to be with us and love us. Sin separated us from Him, so He sent Jesus to die on our behalf. Jesus made those who would accept Him as Lord and Savior perfect in the eyes of God so we can be with Him. God and His angels are fighting for believers - protecting us and encouraging us in this life. They’re also fighting for unbelievers - working in their lives so that they will come to know the saving grace of God. Then there’s the bad guys. The bad guys are Satan and his demons. They hate God and they hate people. (More about their motive and tactics later.)
This war is different from every other war in history because both sides know who wins in the end. You see, it’s easy to see Satan as the opposite of God, but that could not be farther from the truth. Satan was once an angel. You can read his origin story in Ezekiel 28:11-14 and the story of his fall from heaven in verses 15-19 of that same chapter. Because Satan was once an angel, he will never come close to matching God’s power. So why is the war still going on, you might ask. The war will continue until as many people as possible come to know Jesus as Savior and Lord of their lives. When this happens Jesus will come back, ending the war. God hasn’t defeated Satan yet for our sake. Each and every person is a part of this war too. There are no neutral parties. Switzerland doesn’t exist. Either you’re fighting alongside God and His angels or you’re fighting for the powers of darkness, whether you realize it or not. More about this in part 2 coming out on May 12th.
Know Your Enemy
In order to fight, we must first know our enemy. Let’s debunk some commonly believed lies about Satan. Firstly, Satan is not omnipresent. Satan is not God’s opposite, he does not have the same power that God does. One of the powers that Satan does not possess is the ability to be everywhere at once. His demons do most of his bidding. Satan does, however, have power. 1 John 5:19 says that “the whole world is under the control of the evil one”. He is influencing everything. Another common thought is that Satan is in hell. The truth is that he isn’t. 1 Peter 5:8 says, “Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” Satan will be banished permanently to hell one day, but right now he’s free to move about the earth, to “prowl around”. And what is he doing as he moves about the earth? He is stealing, killing, and destroying (John 10:10). He knows that he loses in the end, so he’s going out with a bang. He hates God, and he hates everything God loves (us), so he’s going to cause as much trouble for us as he possibly can. So, how does he do that?
Satan’s Tactics
Satan causes a lot of damage in this world, but he is also incredibly predictable. Here are some of his most used tactics:
- Satan Deceives
- This is Satan’s oldest trick in the book. He put it to use in the Garden of Eden and he has put it to use every day since. He is constantly lying. Scripture says this about Satan, “When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8:44b). In the garden, he said, “Did God really say you can’t eat from that tree?” And then he lied. He told them that they wouldn’t die if they ate from the tree (Genesis 3:1-13). Today, it looks a little different. Satan puts thoughts in our mind that might sound a bit like this: “Did God really say He loves you? Did God really send Jesus to die for you? Did God really say not to get drunk? Did God really say that I need to think of others before myself? Did God really say not to watch porn? Did God really say to honor my father and mother? Did God really say that I need to give to my local church? Does God really listen when I pray?” When these thoughts are going through your head, Satan is lying to you. And his goal is to get you to think that God is not good, and that you can’t trust Him, so then you will make decisions that don’t honor God and are bad for you. When’s the last time you let Satan put one of these thoughts in your head? My guess is, if you really think about it, the answer is today.
- Satan Distracts
- If I would use one word to describe our world today, it would be distracted. There are an endless number of things competing for our attention. Our phones, never-ending to do lists, plans, errands, activities, and jobs are just a few things that constantly compete for our attention. What do people usually say when you ask them how they are? Busy. Everyone is “busy”, but the reality is that everyone is distracted. Satan has distracted you on purpose. What is Satan trying to distract you from? Doing the very thing that Jesus asked us to do. He said, “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19). Anything that keeps you from doing that is a win for Satan.
- Satan Divides
- This one should maybe seem obvious. You can see the evidence of Satan’s hand everywhere you look. There is division in families, at your workplace, in our government, and in our churches. One of Satan’s biggest goals is a lack of unity, especially in the church. Why? Because when we are one like the early church in Acts 4:32, it is a testimony to who God is - good and true and wonderful and perfect. Satan doesn’t want people to see who God is through the church, so he works to disunify us. The original Greek word for church is ecclesia. It refers to the church not as the building, as many people think of it today, but as the people. You are the church. Therefore, Satan wants to cause division in all areas of your life, and he also wants to get you to cause division.
- Satan Destroys
- If there’s a common question about God that is the same throughout everyone who is at a beginning stage of their faith journey, it’s this: If God is real, why do bad things happen? Bad things happen because we’re living in a fallen world. Ever since, Adam and Eve were deceived into eating the fruit in the garden, the world has been imperfect. This is because of Satan. Let me put it this way: All pain, disease, suffering, injustice, natural disasters, etc. are directly or indirectly Satan’s fault. Satan is responsible for all destruction. But we also know this from the book of Job: Satan can only do what God allows him to do. So why does God allow bad things to happen? Truthfully, this topic needs its own post, but I’ll say this here quickly. If there was no bad, how would we understand what is good? What if every time something bad existed, God would just make it disappear? If this were reality, we wouldn’t think God was good at all. Every evil and bad thing comes from Satan, but God takes those bad things and makes them good (Romans 8:28). There have been countless times where something horrible happened in my life, and in the midst of the pain, I drew near to God, and my faith grew, my relationship with Him deepened, and my life is better for it. God allows some suffering to happen because it creates a platform to show off His goodness, and we need to see that desperately, but Satan is the one at fault. Think on this: How many terrible schemes of Satan, has God not allowed in order to protect us? I suspect the answer is infinity.
In closing, know that I’m praying for you. Praying that reading this has sparked within you a need to keep learning, so you can fight against the devil and his schemes because the war is happening. Come back for part 2 on May 12th, where we’ll talk about 1 Timothy 6:12 which states how we can “fight the good fight of the faith.”
Cover photo by Henrieke Fischer on Unsplash
© Copyright 2024. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New international Version® NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978 1984 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
