Nov 13, 2026 Thoughts on Spiritual Warfare – Words of Grace Blog – November 13, 2026
This Sunday at Grace Community Church, we will draw truth and encouragement from Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians. The focal passage in Ephesians will be in chapter 6, as Paul encourages the church to put on the whole armor of God as they encounter the schemes and attacks of the devil in spiritual warfare. The sermon will be a fuller exposition of that passage, so here I want to share three thoughts that may be both a corrective and an encouragement to our thinking about spiritual warfare in the life of a Christian.
First, spiritual warfare is the influence of the forces of darkness on real people in ordinary situations of life. The devil and lesser spiritual beings are working to keep people in sin and darkness, and to discourage those who have come to the light of Christ. This means spiritual warfare is not confined to extraordinary events or occurrences that are obvious, strange, and rare. These events may be included in spiritual warfare, but spiritual warfare is broader than these events.
Second, spiritual warfare is always happening. Our enemy is always working against all the good that Christ has for his children. Sometimes people think that with progress in manners, education, science and technology, psychology, art, and other cultural indicators, we have reduced spiritual warfare in the world. To fall into this kind of thinking is to be captive to the thinking of the devil. We simply cannot advance our way out of spiritual warfare. We are always in a war. Strategies may change, but the war rages on and will so until Christ finally crushes Satan’s head under our feet (Romans 16:20).
Third, the armor of God is always necessary. Again, we often think incorrectly here. The armor of God is something Christians get interested in when they are in a particularly challenging season of life or when temptation is strong. But Paul clearly states that we should always have on the armor of truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, and the word of God. We should “pray at all times in the Spirit with all prayer” (Ephesians 6:18)
With these three correctives to our thinking on spiritual warfare come three encouragements that prepare us for battle. We must be aware of the war going on around us and against us in ordinary situations of life. We must remember that we never get a break from the influences of spiritual darkness. So, we must daily put on the armor of God in prayer and wear it prayerfully throughout every day.
The normal Christian life is to be clothed in God’s armor, strengthened by Christ’s grace, and praying in the Holy Spirit.
More on this Sunday as we worship our victorious Savior together.
-Scott