Spiritual Warfare: What the Bible Says

What spiritual warfare is

The Bible says there is a real enemy, and it is not the people around you. "For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age, and against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12, WEB)

Peter puts it plainly: "Be sober and self-controlled. Be watchful. Your adversary, the devil, walks around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour." (1 Peter 5:8, WEB) That is a call to be awake, not afraid.

Much of the battle happens in the mind. Paul says "the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds" (2 Corinthians 10:4, WEB), and that we fight by "bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5, WEB).

Key verses: Ephesians 6:12 · 1 Peter 5:8 · 2 Corinthians 10:3-5

How to recognize it

The enemy's main tools are not spooky. They are lies. Jesus said of the devil, "When he speaks a lie, he speaks on his own; for he is a liar, and its father." (John 8:44, WEB) Watch for thoughts that call God a liar, fill you with fear, or tell you that you are worthless.

He is also called "the accuser of our brothers" (Revelation 12:10, WEB), the one "who accuses them before our God day and night" (Revelation 12:10, WEB). One of his favorite accusations is: you were never really saved.

Answer that lie with what Jesus actually promised. "he who hears my word, and believes him who sent me, has eternal life, and doesn’t come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." (John 5:24, WEB) And about His sheep: "I give eternal life to them. They will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand." (John 10:28, WEB) If you have believed in Jesus for eternal life, you have it, and it cannot be lost. The accuser cannot undo what Jesus has done.

Key verses: John 8:44 · Revelation 12:10 · John 5:24 · John 10:28

How to stand firm

"Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." (Ephesians 6:10-11, WEB) Paul then lists the armor (Ephesians 6:14-18):

• Truth buckled around your waist.
• Righteousness as your breastplate.
• The Good News of peace on your feet.
• The shield of faith, which quenches "all the fiery darts of the evil one."
• The helmet of salvation. Your salvation is settled, so guard your mind with it.
• The sword of the Spirit, "which is the word of God." Jesus answered the devil with Scripture.
• Prayer, "praying at all times in the Spirit."

James gives the simplest instruction: "Be subject therefore to God. But resist the devil, and he will flee from you." (James 4:7, WEB) And you never stand alone: "greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4, WEB)

Key verses: Ephesians 6:10-18 · James 4:7 · 1 John 4:4

Casting out demons

Jesus cast out demons with a word, and Scripture shows ordinary believers, not just apostles, doing the same in His name. When the seventy (some manuscripts say seventy-two) came back from being sent out, they said, "Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!" (Luke 10:17, WEB) Philip, who was not an apostle, preached in Samaria, "For unclean spirits came out of many of those who had them." (Acts 8:7, WEB) Jesus told the seventy what mattered more: "don’t rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." (Luke 10:20, WEB)

You may also hear "in my name they will cast out demons" (Mark 16:17, WEB). That verse comes from a passage (Mark 16:9-20) that is not found in the oldest manuscripts, so we lean on Luke and Acts, which say the same thing on firmer ground.

When Paul met a girl with a spirit of divination, he did not use a ritual, an object, or a long ceremony. He said, "I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her!" (Acts 16:18, WEB) "It came out that very hour." (Acts 16:18, WEB)

A serious warning. Jesus' name is not a magic word. Some exorcists tried to use it like one: "We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches." (Acts 19:13, WEB) The spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?" (Acts 19:15, WEB) and the men fled "naked and wounded" (Acts 19:16, WEB). Authority belongs to people who actually belong to Jesus, and the power is in His name, not in the person.

Some honest limits. Christians disagree about whether casting out demons is something every believer should do today. Wherever you land, do not try to handle this alone. Work alongside a pastor or mature believers, pray together, and keep your joy fixed on Jesus, not on the spiritual battle.

Can a believer be possessed? Honestly, Christians disagree about this. Many Free Grace teachers hold that a believer can be attacked, tempted, or oppressed, but not owned, because the Holy Spirit lives in every believer. "your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit which is in you, which you have from God? You are not your own," (1 Corinthians 6:19, WEB) And "he who was born of God keeps himself, and the evil one doesn’t touch him." (1 John 5:18, WEB) We hold that view, and we want you to know it is a point where sincere believers differ.

Key verses: Luke 10:17-20 · Acts 8:7 · Acts 16:16-18 · Acts 19:13-16 · 1 Corinthians 6:19 · 1 John 5:18

Places, people, and objects

Places. Scripture hints that evil spirits can be tied to regions or nations. An angel told Daniel, "the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days" (Daniel 10:13, WEB), and later spoke of returning "to fight with the prince of Persia" (Daniel 10:20, WEB). The demons in Mark 5 begged Jesus "that he would not send them away out of the country." (Mark 5:10, WEB) But the Bible does not teach haunted houses or ghosts of the dead lingering in buildings. We should not build more than Scripture says.

People. Occult involvement can open a door to spiritual trouble in a home. God forbids it outright: anyone "who uses divination, one who practices sorcery, or an enchanter, or a sorcerer, or a charmer, or a consulter with a familiar spirit, or a wizard, or a necromancer" (Deuteronomy 18:10-11, WEB). The girl in Acts 16:16-18 had a spirit of divination. Paul warns that pagan sacrifices are offered "to demons, and not to God" (1 Corinthians 10:20, WEB), and "You can’t both drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons." (1 Corinthians 10:21, WEB)

Objects. When people in Ephesus believed, "Many of those who practiced magical arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all." (Acts 19:19, WEB) Israel was told, "You shall not bring an abomination into your house" (Deuteronomy 7:26, WEB). At the same time, Paul says "no idol is anything in the world" (1 Corinthians 8:4, WEB), and about food from the market, "Whatever is sold in the butcher shop, eat, asking no question for the sake of conscience, for “the earth is the Lord’s, and its fullness.”" (1 Corinthians 10:25-26, WEB) An object has no power in itself. The danger is the worship and occult practice behind it. So there is no need to live in fear of every trinket.

What to do.

• Remove and destroy anything used for occult practice (spirit boards, tarot cards, spell books, charms, idols).
• Renounce any involvement out loud and confess it to God. Like the new believers in Ephesus, who came "confessing, and declaring their deeds" (Acts 19:18, WEB).
• Pray over your home in Jesus' name, asking God to fill it with His presence and peace.
• Many believers find it helpful to walk through the house and pray in each room. To be honest, Scripture never commands room-by-room prayer. It is simply a helpful practice and a natural way to do what the Bible does say: get rid of occult things and pray in Jesus' name.
• Rest in your security. "greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world." (1 John 4:4, WEB) At the cross Jesus, "having stripped the principalities and the powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it." (Colossians 2:15, WEB)

Key verses: Daniel 10:13, 20 · Mark 5:10 · Deuteronomy 18:10-12 · Acts 16:16-18 · 1 Corinthians 10:20-21 · Acts 19:18-19 · Deuteronomy 7:25-26 · 1 Corinthians 8:4 · 1 Corinthians 10:25-26 · Colossians 2:15

A short, plain prayer

There are no special words that make a prayer work. God hears His children. If it helps, you can pray something like this:

Father, thank You that I belong to You because I believed in Jesus, and that no one can snatch me out of Your hand. I submit myself to You. I reject every lie of the enemy, and I turn away from anything I have done that gave him room. In the name of Jesus Christ, I command any evil spirit troubling me or my home to leave and not return. Fill me and this home with Your peace. Thank You that Jesus has already won. In Jesus' name, amen.

Key verses: John 10:28 · James 4:7 · Acts 16:18 · Colossians 2:15

When to get help

You do not have to face this alone. Talk with a pastor or a mature believer you trust, and pray together.

Please also see a doctor or a licensed counselor. Some things that feel spiritual, like voices, deep depression, panic, sleep problems, or sudden changes in behavior, can have medical or mental-health causes. Getting that help is not a lack of faith. God works through doctors too. Both can be true at the same time.

For more comfort on hard days, see Where to Turn. And remember: "Come to me, all you who labor and are heavily burdened, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, WEB)

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Key verses: Matthew 11:28