Spiritual Warfare - The Ministry of Violence | Part I

#ArmorOfGod #spiritualwarfare #biblestudy

We recently did a study on Matthew 11:12 “And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.” In this series we will study in depth the second piece of Jesus statement, “the violent take it by force.” I believe Ephesians 6 gives a detailed explanation of how the violent take the kingdom by force.

John Ramirez calls Matthew 11:12 “the ministry of violence.” He’s obviously speaking in a spiritual sense, the spiritual ministry of violence. He says, “The apostle Paul was no stranger to this ministry of violence. He told us how to prepare, and he also told us how to engage…What exactly is the ministry of violence? It is the spiritual conflict that no child of God can afford to sweep under the rug. Remember, those who don't engage suffer spiritual loss. You cannot ignore the ministry of violence and be more than a conqueror in Christ Jesus. If you want your God-given destiny to be fulfilled in the land of the living, you have to recognize how critical this ministry is…This is not the time to sleep. It's time to wake up, wear the armor of God, and put on Christ (Rom. 13:14). The battle is ongoing. You have been called by the Most High God and are enlisted in the almost untouchable, unmovable army of King Jesus. The battle is real.”

The believer’s task of living in the world is set in a cosmic context. There is continual warfare between the cosmic darkness and the believer.

Spiritual warfare is the conflict in the spiritual realm that affects the physical realm. Our weapons are also located in the spiritual realm. 2 Corinthians 10:4 “the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but are powerful through God for the demolition of strongholds.” Romans 13:12 “The night is nearly over, and the day is near; so let us discard the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light.” 2 Corinthians 6:7 “We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense.”

If you’re in a fight and you don’t who you’re fighting or the power you have, you’re probably not gonna win. And we are in a fight. We were born in it. We must know our enemy, and more importantly, we must know Christ Jesus and the weapons and armor he has made available for us.

Through the cross and resurrection of Christ, victory is already won. The devil has lost. We are to stand firm in Christ’s victory.

As John Ramirez says, “The devil is defeated by the finished work of the cross. Satan's time is short. Exodus 15:3 reminds us that "the LORD is a warrior; the LORD is His name." It's time to fight back. We are on the victor's side.”

That’s what we’ll be studying throughout this series in the coming weeks and months. Identifying our enemy, our source of strength, and the weapons in our arsenal.

Select sources:

Arnold, Clinton E. Ephesians (ZECNT). Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010

Aune, David E. “Archon.” In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. van der Toorn, Karel, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst eds. Brill, 1995. Second edition, 1998.

Barth, Markus. Ephesians (AB). 2 vols. Garden City: Doubleday, 1974

Betz, Hans D. “Authorities.” In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. van der Toorn, Karel, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst eds. Brill, 1995. Second edition, 1998.

Cohick, Lynn H. The Letter to the Ephesians (NICNT). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2020

CSB Tony Evans Study Bible. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers 2019

Breshears, Gerry. “Spiritual Warfare.” Biblical Training Academy. BiblicalTraining.org/learn/academy/th251-spiritual-warfare

Feldmeier, R,. “World Rulers.” In Dictionary of Deities and Demons in the Bible. van der Toorn, Karel, Bob Becking, and Pieter W. van der Horst eds. Brill, 1995. Second edition, 1998.

Hoehner, Harold. Ephesians: An Exegetical Commentary. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2002

Ramirez, John. Armed and Dangerous: The Ultimate Battle Plan for Targeting and Defeating the Enemy. Chosen Books. 2017

Ramirez, John. Fire Prayers: Building Arsenals that Destroy Satanic Kingdoms. Charisma House. 2023.

TESTUDO. https://imperiumromanum.pl/en/roman-army/military-formations-of-ancient-romans/testudo/amp/

Yoder Neufeld, Thomas R. Put on the Armour of God: The Divine Warrior from Isaiah to Ephesians. JSNTSup vol 140. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1997.