Part 3 Understanding Spiritual Warfare
(Warning Long Post but worth your Time)

3 Traits the Enemy has that you should have to defeat him. Commitment, organization and discipline.

I have One Scripture jam packed with info you need to know. (This is long, I’m sorry, but not sorry cause your smart and need to know all this)

1. 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 6:12 KJV
https://bible.com/bible/1/eph.6.12.KJV

Keep in mind this Scripture as you read on

1 John 4:4 Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.

Wrestle – in the Greek means Pale (sounds like pal- A) It comes from the greek word Palestra
A Palestra -was a gymnasium or public facility where sports took place
It was a separate place next to the gym and was known as a house of conflict or a house of combat sports.

Palestra was a house of combat sports and you had to be mentally prepared cause it was a fight like no other.
Boxing, wrestling, and pankredia were fought in the Palestra. They fought naked so they didn’t have any clothes inhibiting their fight.

The goals of the game of Pankredia were to drive your opponent into submission.
You were to fight until you drive the opponent into submission.

Pan – means all and kratos – means power
Pankration- the fighters who fought this kind of fight had more power than anyone else and when they came to fight they came with nails in bags and it was horrible what they did to each other. It was like the most brutal kind of fighting and it was a sport that took place in Palestra

So when Paul was telling people ” we wrestle not against flesh and blood” he was speaking in terms people of that day understood. The wrestling he was talking about was like Pankredia and he was saying you better be serious about this conflict because the devil is serious about attacking you to get you to surrender. He wants you to give up.
He wants to attack you about your marriage, your finances, your health, your kids until you give up and surrender.
But remember, 1 John 4:4 “Greater is he in you than he that is in the world.”

Stay with me now…

When this wrestling took place it was this was a blood gouging event. Thee people participating in the wrestling match better be serious because the enemy was serious.

Now notice the verse in Ephesians 6:12 says “against” 5 times.

Ephesians 6:12

¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

1.Against flesh and blood ( principalities)
2. Against the rulers (of this dark world)
3.Against the authorities of this darkn world.
4. Against the powers of this dark word.
5. Against the spiritual forces of evil in heavenly realms.

This word against is the Greek word Pros which basically means to be very close like face to face.

So Paul is saying you will be against or Pros aka face to face …
Pros principalities
Pros powers
Pros rules of the world

You will have intimate contact with these powers.
They will at some point come into your life.
It is something you will experience in your own life and this is why you need to understand it.

The enemy also had different levels of power.
Arkas- describes those who have held the highest powers for ages and ages- it’s where we get words like chief & ancient

Powers- Those who have received license to do what they want to do

Against rulers of the worlds

Cosmos kratos – cosmos means ordered arranged or disciplined
There is order in the cosmos.
Kratos – describes power.

Kratos is Raw power that has been harnessed and when it is harnessed it is arranged and disciplined.

Young men would come in with this raw power and when raw power was harnessed, organized and disciplined they were trained and were dispatched.

Spiritual wickedness means – poneras, which is a foul word. Someone with a malevolent intent who wants to destroy you.
Demon spirits don’t do what they do haphazardly. Satan organizes them.

Demon Spirits of cancer, nicotine, alcohol, divorce etc…
They are dispatched, they are malevolent.
John 10:10 says they come to kill steal and destroy. Where do they reside …in spiritual wickedness in high places.

This is confusing because he is saying they don’t live out in the cosmos. There is no one there to mess with out in the Cosmos but in our natural environment where we live  we can be messed with.

In Greek there are 2 words to describe the atmosphere.
Our environment. Demon spirits are not dispatched in outerspace where there is no one to attack. They come low into our atmosphere where they can attack.

Satan is serious about victimization of the human race.
Satan’s kingdom is arranged militarily. He throws out all the rules and it can be a backstabbing blood spilling event.

You must know WE HAVE MORE POWER than the devil.
But greater is HE that is in you than he who is in the world but why does it seem the devil is winning?

The devil has what the church often does not have.
Commitment, organization and discipline.

The devil trains these spirits.
He is regimented. They are dispatched as a force.

The Church( believers like you or I) can’t decide if we will show up for a Sunday service.
The church is uncommitted.
We can’t decide if we want to submit to the authority or serve under our pastor.

When the church decides to match the level of commitment, organization and discipline of the enemy we can send him to flight!

I REPEAT…
When the church decides to be committed, organized and disciplined we have power to set the enemy to flight!

The devil is committed to make you surrender.

We have to be committed, organized and disciplined and make the devil surrender to the almighty name of Jesus!
If you are a believer then YOU HAVE THE POWER OF CHRIST!

In the next verse that I’ll talk about in another post, it says “This is why you must take up the full Armor…”

Wherefore, is what Paul is saying and that Greek word means in light of all I’ve said to you.

In light of everything I’ve said to you. In light of the fact that you have been given weaponry and the devil is against you.
In light of the fact that the devils forces are so highly organized. In light of the fact
Take on the full Armor to drive out the evil forces coming against you.

I learned all this from Rick Renner and I looked up all he says in this video. Below.

Thanks for reading, I’m sorry it was so long but good job getting through it. Feel free to share of course if you feel led.

Now go put your Armor on!

Blessings,

Paige