Spiritual Warfare: Christian Weapons for Fighting the Devil

The devil has deadly weapons for fighting man and he is a winner in this war if winning means killing the majority. Christians have been given their weapons but few have failed to understand these weapons. Some have unknowingly resorted to fighting the devil physically, which style of fighting leads to losing the war!

Ephesians chapter six from verse ten gives us the weapons for fighting the devil but few have taken into consideration the meaning of these weapons. In many prayers, you will hear many Christians fighting the devil physically. These prayers are uttered aloud and with great force, some going to the extent of crying, while others resorting to some form of physical acts like beating up their bodies and dancing rigorously during worship, thinking that in such acts they will win the war against the devil.

In most of the prayers, you will hear words such as "I rebuke you in the name of Jesus and command you to leave..." or "I demand that you go away from so and so in the name of Jesus..." Some pastors also preach that if you denounce the devil on top of your voice then you will never give an opportunity of the devil using you. But let us examine the weapons we have been told to use and how effective they can be in winning the spiritual warfare.
"Put on the whole amour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" Ephesians 6: 11-12. Here Paul calls every Christian to realize the warfare we have is not a physical one but a spiritual one. And to emphasize on this, he goes ahead to name the seven most important fighting weapons, which he referred to as the full armor of God.

The fist weapon is in verse 14 and it is the truth. To fight the devil, the Christian must remember that the strongest weapon of the devil. Jesus himself called the devil the father of all lies. It is in standing for and knowing the whole truth about God, about salvation, about the great controversy and about personal relationship with God that a Christian will win. The truth must be put at the loins (around the waist) to protect the cloth (salvation) from loosening. It acts as a belt, and removing will mean that the winds (or lies of the devil) can expose your weaknesses thereby putting you at a risk of high level temptation.

Verse 14 still we have another weapon called righteousness or the act of right doing, or performing such acts as are considered godly. Being righteous means that a Christian puts himself away from all forms of evil and as Paul says elsewhere, even the evil itself is not mentioned amongst the brethren. It is the act of the devil to constantly accuse God's people of sinfulness and Christians should never let his accusations stand. If the devil can rightly accuse you then for sure you have given him the chance of winning the war.

The gospel of piece forms a crucial weapon against the devil. If there is something the devil loves, it is ensuring that no one hears of the gospel of Christ that their sins have been forgiven. In order to do this, the devil keeps Christians busy and tying their feet. To win this, the only way out is for the Christian to put on the shoes of the gospel of Christ and tell everyone that Jesus died for everyone and is coming back to take those who will hid his words.

"Without faith it is impossible to please God", Hebrews 11: 6. Faith forms the fundamental reasoning behind any religion and there is no way you can come before God if you don't have faith in his words. Anyone who prays and follows God with a shivering attitude is a committing a serious sin. In Romans, Paul says that anything done out of faith is sinful. "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen". Hebrews 11: 1.

The head of every Christian should be guarded by the blood of Jesus. Just as those who were spared in the destruction described in Ezekiel 9 were marked in the head, it is in the blood of Christ from where we get our salvation that we shall be able to withstand the attacks of the devil. This helmet is now physical but is a strong belief that is unshaken that the blood shed on the cross for our sins is able to make us clean and thereby a Christian is counted a child of God.

"And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:" Ephesians 6: 17. Together with salvation, the word of God is the only weapon that can act as a killing weapon. It is referred to as the sword of the spirit and should not be looked down upon. Here is where many Christians get lost but it should be remembered that "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works." 2 Timothy 3: 16-17.

Finally, the last and not the least weapon is "Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints" Ephesians 6: 18.