Our Enemy, Warfare, Armor, & Weapons are Spiritual

John Siefker

Ephesians 6:11-13 says,

• (11) "Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
  
  
• (12) "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness (wicked spirits) in high places."
  
  
• (13) "Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand."

In these verses of scripture, we find out that our enemy is not physical but that they are spiritual. They are not very nice guys and they fight dirty.

Another thing that we see here is about "the whole armour of God." This is repeated twice and it is for a very important reason. We should take heed of this and make sure that we put our armour on daily.

It says in 2 Corinthians 10:4, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds."

Our weapons are spiritual, and they are mighty and powerful through the Lord who has given them to us for our warfare against the enemy.

We have two different types of weapons. The one type is to protect us from the attacks of the enemy and the other type is to fight against the enemy with.

Knowledge and Skill

From being in the military, I know the importance of learning to be knowledgeable and proficient with each type of weapon. Each weapon is used for certain situations and they are designed sometimes for multiple functions in those situations. It takes time and practice to properly use each one.

If we are not properly trained and have not practiced with each one, we could hurt, harm, or even kill ourselves as well as other innocent people. But from much training and practice we can become very dangerous to the enemy.

One thing that is for sure, you don't want to go into battle against the enemy and not be prepared. You want to have all your body armor on and all the right kind of weapons with you, because you don't know what to expect from the enemy. You have to expect the unexpected.

The Father knew from the beginning of time that man would fall and that His Son, Jesus would come to redeem us back to Himself. The Father knew that we would have a spiritual enemy to fight against, so He made spiritual weapons for us to use against them, to overcome them and be victorious. He also made spiritual weapons that are defensive to protect us from the attacks of the enemy.

The enemy doesn't want us to know about all the spiritual weapons that we have at our disposal and he also doesn't want us to know how to use them skillfully. If we don't know and understand what weapons are available to us, we will not be as dangerous to him and to his kingdom of darkness.

1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about seeking whom he may devour."

James 4:7 says, "…Resist the devil and he will flee from you."

We need to be constantly alert and aware of what is going on around us, so that the enemy doesn't take us by surprise. He always tries to surprise us and come at us through the back door (weaknesses); the places we are not watching or guarding in our lives.

The enemy is dangerous and he is out to take each one of us out. He is relentless in his efforts against us. He is continually trying different schemes, tactics, and plans in his fight against us to either wear us down until he can take us out or until he can catch us when we let our guard down.

From Experience

I have learned a lot from several experiences that I've went through when I was a young believer, in my walk with the Lord. We all learn from trial and error in all that we do in every part of our lives.

I remember some things that happened when I was at prayer meetings. I would first put on my spiritual armor before I would begin to battle in prayer against the enemy.

I was gently rebuked and told by some older spiritual brothers and sisters in the Lord; both in age and also in spiritual maturity. As I soon found out that they weren't as mature as I thought they were. I was told that I didn't need to put on my spiritual armor again if I have already put it on earlier. They said that it was because we never take it off and that it is on us all the time, which is true to a degree.

So I agreed with them and I quit putting on the armor of God, which I had been doing daily. Immediately, I was beginning to really feel the attacks of the enemy increase like I never had before, and I was wondering why I was getting so hurt and beat up by the enemy.

I thought that I must have opened a door to the enemy by something that I've done that was not right with the Lord. So I would begin to search myself and I asked the Lord to reveal and show to me anything that I have done that was causing this.

When there was nothing to be found, I then asked Him why it was happening. The Lord spoke to me and said, "You don't have all your armor on." I replied to the Lord and said, "I never have taken my armor off that I have put on several days back and that I was told by some of my fellow believers that it was not necessary to put it on daily."

The Lord replied to me and said, "Don't believe everything you hear from man, and always make sure that what you hear and believe lines up with My Word. Otherwise you will be deceived and you will become vulnerable to the enemy."

What I Saw With the Lord

I was taken up in the spirit and the Lord showed me His Body of believers. What I saw shocked me. The condition that the saints were in spiritually was very bad. They were in a very intense and ever increasing battle with the enemy and his kingdom of darkness. They were very badly hurt and wounded from the fighting.

The Lord spoke to me and said, "Look at them; they all are not fully armored. They don't know and they don't even realize about all of the available spiritual defensive and offensive weapons that they have at their disposal, which I have given to them to use against the enemy."

I saw that there were a few believers with all their armor on and they were using only some of the spiritual weapons that they knew they had. A few of the other believers had on only a few pieces of armor on and most of the other ones had nothing on. They were not gaining much ground and they were even loosing ground in some areas to the enemy.

They acted as if they believed that they were fully clothed in armor and that they were using all of their spiritual weapons to fight against the enemy. Many of them were frustrated and wondering why they were so wounded and hurt in their fight against the enemy.

The condition that the believers were in was because of things they were taught and mindsets that they had developed from their understanding that they had of His Word.

From there the Lord then took me into a room. Then what I saw in the room and from what I heard the Lord say, I knew this was the "War Room." The room was very vast and there were many angels there. They were there listening to what the Father was saying and they were receiving His instructions of what they were to do. Then they were leaving to carry out His Word.

I then followed the Lord across the room to a door that led into another room. The name over the door to the room said, "Weapons Room." We then entered the room, and I saw many different types and kinds of spiritual weapons that were there. It was so amazing for me to see that there were so many weapons available. I never realized before what they all were and how to use them.

The Lord said, "All of these weapons are available for My children to use. I want them to know that these are available and that they should use all of them in their fight against the enemy. I want My people to be overcomers and victorious, even as I have overcome the world and defeated the powers of darkness."

Then the Lord spoke to me and said, "Tell My people what you have seen and what I have shown and spoken to you."

About Armor and Weapons

Something I've learned from being in the military is that after each battle we would inspect, clean, and repair our body armor and weapons. We would look for damage or worn parts on them because they sometimes get damaged in the fighting.

We would do this so that they would get fixed and be ready for the next fight. Everything must be in excellent shape and ready so that at a moment's notice we could use them. Your very life depends upon them in the battle with the enemy. You don't want armor or weapons that are broken, damaged, or have missing parts on them.

One thing that we know is that we will have daily battles with the enemy and we want to be completely ready for him.

What I have seen while I was there with the Lord is the same things we need to do with our spiritual armor. After each battle which comes daily from the enemy, we are to inspect and see what part of our armor got damaged or broken.

We then need to get rid of the broken armor and replace them with the new. Otherwise we will be like the believers that I saw that had hardly any armor on and were very badly wounded. In fighting, parts of our armor get damaged and it leaves us vulnerable if we don't fix or replaced them.

Some people have this mindset that once we have put on our armor that we never have to put it on again because we never took it off. This mindset results in us being just like the people that had hardly any or having no armor on and they were badly hurt.

It is important that we always put on our armor daily, so that we are prepared for whatever lies ahead of each one of us for each day.

Caring for Wounds

If we have received any wounds, both physically or spiritually, they need to be cleansed to get the poison out so that they do not get infected and cause us great harm. This harm happens when we neglect to take care of these wounds and this is very dangerous. It can spread and even completely shut the body down.

Spiritual wounds and injuries come from the attacks of the enemy, sometimes they even come from our fellow believers. These wounds can come from words, which are arrows that are spoken (shot) at us. These words are not life and they are meant to bring us harm.

In order to cleanse and bring healing to the areas of these injuries and wounds that we receive, is that we are to forgive them and to love them just as Jesus did for us. It is important for us to put all of our armor on because then these arrows will not get to us and affect us.

If we don't take care of these and other spiritual wounds, and we put on our armor over these wounds, they will become infected and bring us unnecessary harm. The harm from these and other spiritual wounds are: "anger, bitterness, heartaches, misery, pain, and suffering."

Any one or more of these symptoms can set in and consume us if we don't take care of the wounds. Words (arrows) are one of satan's greatest weapons that he uses against us to take us out.

The Enemy's Weapons

Here are a few of the many weapons that the enemy uses against us. I just want to make us aware of some of them.

• Fiery darts and arrows (words) - Ephesians 6:16 & Psalm 64:3
• Doubt (to waiver, not stable, unsure)
• Unbelief (without faith)
• Fear - 2 Timothy 1:7
• Lies, Condemnation, Guilt, Temptations, Pride, Greed, Poverty & Lack, Lust, Self-pity, all Sickness, and all Diseases

All these things are very dangerous to us. We don't want any of these things in our lives because they are not from the Lord.

We Have the Victory

1 Corinthians 15:57 says, "But thanks be to the Father, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ."

1 John 4:4 says, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them (the enemy): because greater is He that is in you, than he (satan) that is in the world."

It is through Jesus Christ that we get the victory over the enemy. He has given to us the victory, power, and authority over the enemy. Jesus did this for us when He died on the cross, rose again, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father. The enemy was defeated once and for all.

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The more we use our armor and weapons and get familiar with them, the better we become as warriors. We will get to know how each piece of our armor and the different kinds of weapons works best against the enemy.

Read Part 2 - Our Spiritual Defensive Weapons