Spiritual Weapons

The Battle of Stalingrad, where the Nazis attacked the Russians, resulted in the bloodiest battle in history. Over 2 million died in this one battle. The Germans anticipated taking the city in a few weeks, but it turned out to be six months, and they never took it. An entire German army was surrounded by the Russians and killed and taken as prisoners.  

The ravages of war were never more brutal than in the battle for Stalingrad. The atrocities of war, where men died every few seconds. The Germans had three enemies, the Russians, the Winter, and Hitler, who refused to allow this army of 330,000 elite soldiers to retreat. Only 91,000 survived to surrender to the Russians and only 6% of those survived.

We, too, are in a long battle with an enemy that does not give up. Spiritual battles are being fought every day. Unlike the Germans, who had a madman as their leader, we have a commander who empowers us to win. The Apostle Paul introduces us to his perspective on spiritual warfare. He tells us that we do not battle "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" Ephesians 6:12).

Paul illustrated the believer's spiritual armor by highlighting the Roman Soldier's armor. He began by mentioning the belt and the breastplate. "Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place" (Eph 6:14).

When a soldier tightened his belt, he was ready for combat. He cinched his belt and tightened his tunic so it could not impede him as he charged into battle. The belt also firmly held his sword in place. With it, he would be prepared to fight.

The belt calls us to truth—objective truth of scripture. This is what equips us to do spiritual warfare. We are often sloppy with giving details, so our carelessness results in falsehoods. God wants men and women of truth. We are to study God's Word and live it out.

The second weapon is the breastplate of righteousness, God's righteousness freely given to those who believe in Jesus Christ. Isaiah describes what our righteousness looks like to God: Isaiah "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;" (Isaiah 64:6). The Apostle Paul eloquently described the righteousness of God to the Corinthians: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God" 2 Cor 5:21).

Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, the Southern Kingdom of Israel, was informed that a vast army was coming against him. They were in a desperate situation and in no condition to fight such a powerful army. The first thing that Jehoshaphat did was to pray and inquire of the Lord. He proclaimed a fast for the people to come together and seek help from the Lord. The people came and sought the Lord (2 Chronicles 20:1-3).

Jehoshaphat prayed and asked God for help. He admitted that he did not know what to do. Their army was inadequate to fight, but their eyes were on the Lord (2 Chron 20:12). The Lord responded that they should go out and meet the enemy, but they would not have to fight. The Lord would fight for them (2 Chron 20:17).

King Jehoshaphat and all the people worshiped the Lord in gratitude. Then, the Levites and singers stood and praised the Lord in song. As they sang, the Lord set ambushes against the enemy so that they began to kill each other.

Spiritual warfare recognizes, like Jehoshaphat, that we cannot defeat the enemy and that our eyes are on the Lord. We need God to fight this battle; he will do so if we depend on him.