Addressing Our Spiritual Enemies

(part 3)

“For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons that we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

2 Corinthians 10:3-4

To many the tearing down of a stronghold may be an intimidating idea. How do I rid myself of a stronghold in my life, marriage, home or family? How do I confront a spiritual enemy that has set itself up against me, or my family, in opposition to “the knowledge of God”? What are the weapons that Paul is talking about here in 2 Corinthians 10 that I have been given to use?

The first thing that we must firmly grasp is that not only are we equipped to face our spiritual enemies, but we are “authorized” to face them! We have been spiritually deputized by Jesus Christ:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

Matthew 28:18-19


We have been deputized, like the 12 disciples, to preach the Kingdom of God, heal the sick, cure diseases and drive out all demons. In Luke 10, Jesus sends out 72 faithful followers with the same commission who returned to Him rejoicing and said, “Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.” The badge of authority that we operate under is the “name of Jesus Christ“. Jesus affirmed this in Mark 16:15-18:

“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demon; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people and they will get well.”

I am reminded of the old westerns that my dad used to watch when I was a kid. A group of outlaws would rob a bank and the town marshal would gather up a posse to go after them. However, before they would ride off, he would deputize them. By doing so, they were authorized to act on his behalf and could confront, apprehend and arrest the men they were pursuing. If they had not been deputized, they would have been simply acting as vigilantes because they did carry the authority or backing of the marshal. Each man was often given a small badge that indicated that he carried the authority of and was operating under the covering of the marshal. As believers in Jesus Christ, we operate under the authority and the covering of Christ’s Name! Rooted in that authority we can then lawfully exercise God’s Word and employ the disciplines of prayer and fasting.


Pastor Scott Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com