Leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR): C. Peter Wagner, Cindy Jacobs, Mike Bickel/ International House of Prayer, Bill Johnson/ Bethel Church of Redding, Todd Bentley, Joy Dawson, Dutch Sheets, Ted Haggard, & others Hold that the church has failed over the centuries, and that God is restoring the true government of the church by raising up new prophets and apostles (with authority equal to or greater than NT apostles). This new church government will eliminate all independent churches and will form one city church with you guessed it NAR apostles giving God s direction to prophets, who in turn give it to local city shepherds.
Leaders of the New Apostolic Reformation (NAR): C. Peter Wagner, Cindy Jacobs, Mike Bickel/ International House of Prayer, Bill Johnson/ Bethel Church of Redding, Todd Bentley, Joy Dawson, Dutch Sheets, Ted Haggard, & others Believe God is ushering in the Third Wave of the Holy Spirit the 1st Wave began with the Azusa Street revivals in 1906, the 2 nd Wave with the charismatic renewal in the 1960 s. The Third Wave is apparently characterized by a level of spiritual warfare unknown in the church prior to this, with strategic-level warfare, mapping of territorial spirits, and the dawn of trans-humanism and techno-dimensional spiritual warfare.
Believe me, we could go on and on and on a couple of comments: The modern spiritual warfare movement, led by the NAR apostles and glorified by many tv preachers/evangelists/prophets is based largely on misinterpretations of Scripture, several of which we will look at during this series. But there s one thing we can t overlook: though there is misinterpretation of Scripture, much heat & little light, much damage done to the mission and reputation of Christ and the church, unbiblical teaching, and a fair amount of outright heresy, at least they have this: it appears that they are concerned with world evangelism. I give them that.
So what is biblical spiritual warfare? We looked last time at Eph. 6:10, the importance of being poor in spirit and understanding this critical principle: I cannot, but Christ in me can. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Our enemy is stronger than we are, our flesh is stronger than we are, and the pull of the world is stronger than we are. On our own we will fail, we will not withstand temptation, we will give in to discouragement but Christ in me as Henry Scougal put it, The life of God in the soul of man can. But that doesn t mean we remain passive
So what is biblical spiritual warfare? Eph. 6:10 does not say, be strong in the Lord; He will take care of it, so relax and go back to bed. Notice v. 11 following the exhortation to rely on the strength of God is a command to do something. Is that a contradiction? In the old Westminster Confession, the writers put it like this: God maketh use of means. Translation: God is sovereign and all-powerful, but a component of the accomplishing of His will is our obedience and our use of the means of grace and sanctification. Translation of the translation: Do what He says.
So what is biblical spiritual warfare? And remember this: The cross and resurrection of Christ secured Satan s doom (Col. 2:15; 1 John 3:8). Christ s 2 nd coming will seal it (Rev. 20:10). In this already/not yet time, Christians are freed from the dominion of Satan (Col. 1:13) but are still subject to attack from spiritual powers. So here is this tension between resting on what the Lord Jesus will do when He appears, and what we must do now as believers in wartime. In Eph. 6, Paul is outfitting us to live in this in between, wartime period. What resources do Christians need to withstand?
So what is biblical spiritual warfare? Questions (oh, I should mention this: any answer you give, I m going to ask you to back up with Scripture in context) Are we supposed to cast out demons? Are we supposed to bind Satan? Are we supposed to war against territorial spirits? Are we supposed to take back spiritual territory that God has lost to the devil? Are we supposed to undo generational curses? The Bible, rightly interpreted in context, does not tell us to do those things. So when you think spiritual warfare, think biblically. Be discerning.
Notice Eph. 6:11 what is in that verse? A command: Put on the whole armor of God And the reason for the command: that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. The big problem here is the schemes of the devil. Apparently the only possible way that believers can handle those schemes is by the whole armor of God. We ll talk later about those schemes they are clear in Scripture, and we need to understand them. Notice that Paul reaffirms the point he made in v. 10: this is not something you can do on your own you need the whole armor of God.
Put on the whole armor of God Eph. 6:11a Knowing the truth of who we are in union with Christ, cultivating the virtues of this new identity, and using the resources available through this new relationship are at the heart of what it means to put on the armor of God. Clinton Arnold There are many passages of Scripture that give us parts of the picture of the enemy we face, but we cannot know him and his deadly schemes in detail. A soldier doesn t get to decide how he will be outfitted for battle the commanding officer decides. So it is with us.
Put on the whole armor of God Eph. 6:11a You need it all the whole armor of God because your understanding is inadequate. It is God alone who knows your enemy, and He knows exactly the provision that is essential to you if you are to continue standing. Every single part and portion of this armor is absolutely essential; and the first thing you have to learn is that you are not in a position to pick and choose. D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones Let s add one more significant voice to this conversation, just to reinforce the point:
Put on the whole armor of God Eph. 6:11a Satan will attack you sometimes by force and sometimes by fraud. By might or by sleight he will seek to overcome you and no unarmed man can stand against him. Never go out without all your armor on, for you can never tell where you may meet the devil. He is not omnipresent, but nobody can tell where he is not, for he and his troops of devils appear to be found everywhere on this earth. Charles Spurgeon So, where did Paul get this idea of the armor of God?
Put on the whole armor of God Eph. 6:11a Paul got the concept of the armor of God from the OT where else would he get it? Isaiah 11:3-5, where the Messiah (described here as the shoot or branch from the family of Jesse, upon whom the Spirit of God rests, reigns over the nations with righteousness. Isaiah 52:7, where the Messiah, the Servant of the Lord, wears the shoes, as it were, of the gospel of peace. Isaiah 59:15-17, where God is depicted as a fully-equipped warrior in judgment.
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b Paul exposes for us here some of the characteristics of this enemy all believers face if we dig a little we can see 8 characteristics. Our enemy is: 1. Real. Ok this may seem unnecessary to say, but it s in the text. The enemy that wants to destroy you is very real. We see him speaking with God in Job chs. 1-2, entering into Judas (the unbeliever) in Luke 22:3, requesting to cause Peter to fall in Luke 22:31, and tempting Ananias to lie to the Holy Spirit in Acts 5:3.
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b Our enemy is 2. Spiritual. Satan and his hordes are not flesh and blood, but spiritual forces of evil. This is unlike anything we ve ever dealt with. We have no nice, neat little box to put this into. How does a spiritual being move, speak, act, influence, tempt, think, plan? How much does he know about me? Is he listening in now? Hard questions so we have to acknowledge his reality, recognize his schemes, and respond with the weapons our Lord has given.
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b Our enemy is 3. Organized. Notice Paul s words: rulers authorities powers forces. The suggestion here is that Satan s forces are highly organized, conducting beginning in Gen. 3:1 an effective, extremely destructive war. It is a highly sophisticated force but remember Paul s purpose: not to thoroughly explain all of the details of this hierarchy, but to help us be vigilant and turn to the overcoming, triumphant power of the Lord of all (v. 11). See Dan. 10:13; Col. 1:13; 1 Pet. 3:22.
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b Our enemy is 4. Powerful. The spiritual forces of evil Get this: you are no match for this enemy. Your destruction is his goal he is smarter than you are, stronger than you are, and has thousands of years of practice at enticing humans to sin. So you have to look outside of yourself for the help you need: Eph. 1:19-21; 1 John 4:4. James gives you the Bible s one and only spiritual warfare technique: 4:7-10. Submit yourself to God, confess & repent of your sin, draw near to God. Result? Satan will flee.
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b Our enemy is 5. Evil. The spiritual forces of evil Forget the little cartoon figures of Satan with pointy ears and a pitchfork. How does he often portray himself? 2 Cor. 11:13-15. Satan wants your utter destruction where will he start? See Gal. 1:8. He will always start with either some slight corruption of the gospel, or tempt you to dismiss some aspect of the gospel. The gospel and your trust in it are his primary target.
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b Our enemy is 6. Invisible. This goes along with the spiritual aspect of our adversary but it s worth saying. We know from God s Word that Satan and his invisible demons are continually at work in the world and all around us. But we do not have the wisdom to discern exactly when they are present, how many there are, what kind they are, or what they are doing. Saints tread on dangerous ground when they try to deal with things for which Scripture gives no instruction or guidance. We are to put on God s armor and report to Him, perfectly confident in the knowledge that greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world. MacArthur
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b Our enemy is 7. Destructive. We ve mentioned this already; just remember that the schemes and flaming darts are aimed at you, and they re very effective. In Luke 22:31, sift you like wheat notice that Satan s aim was to destroy Peter s faith that is what Jesus prayed for (v. 32). Sift means to shake violently, like you would if you were sifting wheat. Gen. 3:1-6 tells us this: Satan wants to absolutely destroy the work of God.
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b Our enemy is 8. Persistent. There are many schemes, many flaming darts. The wrestling will never end in this present darkness 1 John 5:19. 1 Cor. 10:13 what is the point of the way of escape? And notice in Eph. 6:10-14 the many references to stand there is no indication that the fiery darts will stop the adversary will continue to throw them. The difference comes when you make use of the full armor of God 1 John 5:18.
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b The sad reality Countless men and women have faithfully taught Sunday school for years, led many people to Jesus Christ, pastored a church, led Bible studies, ministered to the sick, and done every sort of service in the Lord s name only to one day give up, turn their backs on His work, and disappear into the world. The circumstances differ, but the underlying reason is always the same: they took God s armor off and thereby lost the courage, the power, and the desire to stand firm. John MacArthur
that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil Eph. 6:11b One last question When are believers most vulnerable? A few examples: Job, when life seemed good Job 1:6-2:10 Paul, when he was proud 2 Cor. 12:7 Peter, when he was cocky Luke 22:31-32 Saul, who wanted his own way 1 Sam. 13:8-14, 16:14 The guy in Corinth, who loved immorality 1 Cor. 5:1-6 Hymenaeus & Alexander, who were leading others astray 1 Tim. 1:18-20 Ananias and Sapphira, who thought it was ok to lie to the Holy Spirit Acts 5:1-11 Hurt, isolated, afflicted, down, busy, proud, self satisfied that s when we re vulnerable.
Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall. Romans 10:12 Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Ephesians 6:10