TAIPEI, TAIWAN—I am sitting in the Taipei airport waiting for my flight back to Manila after a quick weekend visiting Every Nation Taipei and 101 Church. As is often the case when visiting nations in Asia, a visit to Taiwan gives one a heightened sense of the reality of spiritual forces, even for the not-so-spiritual like me.
The idea of spiritual warfare can be fascinating, scary, biblical, bizarre, supernatural, spooky, and practical all at the same time. The Apostle Paul often used war and weaponry imagery to communicate spiritual truth. Here’s a classic Pauline spiritual warfare passage.
2 Corinthians 10:3–5 NIV
[3] For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. [4] The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. [5] We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
While modern spiritual warriors tend to be obsessed with mystical unseen demonic beings in heavenly realms, the primary battlefield of Paul’s spiritual war seemed to be located between the ears—in the mind. Notice the words Paul used to describe the spiritual battle.
We demolish ARGUMENTS and every PRETENSION that sets itself up against the KNOWLEDGE of God, and we take captive every THOUGHT to make it obedient to Christ.
Arguments, pretensions, knowledge, and thoughts all happen between the ears, not in a mystical heavenly realm.
I am not saying that demons, fallen angels, principalities, and other strange spiritual entities mentioned in scripture are not real. They are very real.
What I am saying is that the primary spiritual battle we need to fight every minute of every day is in our minds. And if we win the battle for the mind, then the demons, fallen angels, principalities, and other scary beings will have little chance to torment us.
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (Romans 12:2) In other words, READ YOUR BIBLE every day.
