Spiritual Warfare

A student from Washington state writes to ask the definition of "spiritual warfare." Good Shepherd Institute understands spiritual warfare to be the on-going conflict between good and evil, personified in the work of God's Holy Spirit and angels against satan and his evil spirits (fallen angels) in this world, in concert with the free will choices of humans. Human resistance to evil and cooperation with God's righteous will meets challenge and resistance from animate powers of darkness, who actively oppose the furtherance of God's sovereignty in this world. That resistance constitutes a warfare which mainifest in human experience within mental, physical, emotional and spiritual dimensions of everyday life. Most dramatically, it manifest in direct confrontation between representatives of God, through Jesus Christ, and satanic spirits which torment their victims. This confrontation often results in the phenomenas of exorcism, the cleansing of cursed places and objects, the inner healing of wounds to the spirit, the healing and cleansing of generational family trees, and other acts of freeing persons oppressed by evil. Key weapons of spiritual warfare include godly love, faith in Jesus Christ's presence and sovereign power, discernment of evil, and scripture.