By Pastor Joshua Kirk
“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” – Ephesians 6:12
This text, and others like it, bring into focus that the Christian life is about warfare. But I don’t think we often know what we are fighting, how we are supposed to fight, or what our weapons are. Regarding these things, I was helped immensely by the late David Powlison’s book, Safe and Sound: Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles. Two things, in particular, spoke to me from this book.
Firstly, spiritual warfare is offensive not defensive. When Jesus broke into our reality, he was taking the initiative to invade the darkness and bring light. Powlison writes, “Spiritual warfare is what happens when he enlists us in his cause and equips us to join his battle. It’s about light invading darkness…We are bringing light into a dark world. The children of light, the army of light, the servants of light are on the offensive” (23). We often think about spiritual warfare in terms of defense, resisting the devil, standing fast. But it’s more than that. We join God’s initiative to invade the darkness with light.
Second, the weapons we use in this invasion of darkness are surprising. 2 Corinthians 6:7 refers to the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left. The weapons he is referring to are mentioned in the previous verse: purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love. These are the weapons we use to engage the darkness. We fight with the sword of patience, a mace of mercy, the trebuchet of kindness and genuine love.
These are unusual weapons and ones that, quite frankly, are much harder to use. But as followers of our Lord Jesus, we fight as he fought, not with literal swords, but with love. We need this message. How do we engage in spiritual warfare in our homes? By being kind when responding in anger is easier. By having patience when it seems like its the last straw. By pursuing purity when giving into immorality is easier.
How can you join God’s invasion of darkness today? Who can you show kindness to? How can you demonstrate patience? Use the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left and join the King of Kings in the grand invasion of darkness.
If you are interested in learning more, check out Powlison’s book here.