Spiritual warfare is a hot topic. There could be several reasons for that. One of the reasons for some of us could be the lack of certainty regarding where we stand and what we believe. To others it could be a lack of certainty regarding our safety from demonic influences.

It is therefore important to study the Bible and reach our conclusions on what the Bible teaches about spiritual warfare. Yet the lenses we put on as we study the Bible will to a great extent determine the final outcome. What could be some of those lenses? The following are important lenses.

• Christ-centered rather than an anti-Satan approach.
  
  
• Taking into consideration the literary and historical contexts of the Bible texts we are studying. If we flip back and forth between the O.T. and the N.T. without giving any consideration to how the status of the devil and his power have changed as a result of the cross and the resurrection, then we could be on dangerous grounds.
  
  
• Doctrine is based on teaching rather than narrative passages.
  
  
• New Testament time is unique for a number of reasons.
  
  
• Personal experiences can illustrate truth, but they are not the foundations of truth.
  
  
• Not all suffering is caused by the devil. Oppression is caused by the devil but not reaping, chastisement and cross bearing.
  
  
• In every place of the world God is at work and the devil is at work. The good seed and the weeds are both there. There are no white vs. black perspectives to cultures. Cultures are all gray in terms of good and evil, yet the degrees of grayness could vary.
  
  
• Miraculous experiences in our lives serve as the frame to the painting. God's teaching is the painting. When the frame distracts from the painting, then there is something wrong.
  
  
• The condition that Jesus gave for "proper hermeneutics" is coming to Him and to the Scriptures with an open mind, rather than with pre-conceived ideas and conclusions (Jn 7:16-17).

The Bible teaches clearly that the devil hates us and wants to destroy us. He is the evil one (Mt 13:19), the murderer (Jn 8:44), the destroyer (Rev 9:11), the deceiver and the liar (Rev 20:10 and Jn 8:44).

Yet Christ's incarnation, His crucifixion and resurrection were the turning point in history. For through the blood of Christ, the universe was reconciled to God (Col 1:20). Through the cross, Christ took away the power of death (Rom 8:38).

Death was the ultimate weapon at the disposal of the devil (1 Cor 15:26, Rev 20:14) whose power was broken (2 Tim 1:10). Christ's LORDSHIP over the universe was declared in His resurrection (Phil 2:11). Christ is the Lord although the devil is still the prince of the air. This is not dualism, which believes that there are two equal and independent powers, good and evil and the universe is their battlefield.

Instead we see that Christ disarmed the devil (Col 2:15) and made a public spectacle out of him. Yet the battle is raging and we are invited daily to the "gymnasium for wrestling" or to the "battlefield for fighting". But the key question is: Do we have a "Post D-Day" perspective or a "Pre D-Day" perspective in our warfare? Do we take seriously what Christ accomplished on the cross in our daily warfare? No wonder James suggested a very simple formula for our daily battle.

Condition #1: Submit to God.

Condition #2: Resist the devil.

The result: The devil will flee away (James 4:7).

The issue is not how spectacular and complex our strategies are in the warfare, but Who we are submitting to, and what authority and power are at His disposal.

How does the devil attack us? If my life is like a house that has a door and few windows, then the devil wants to put his foot in the door or his hand in any of the windows and establish a foothold. In addition to that, every one of us inherited a "satanic virus" worse than the H.I.V. virus, which is our original sin.

This "virus" is in essence: doubting the goodness and power of God and desiring to rebel against Him. Paul struggled with that virus (Rom 7) and called it the "sin living in me". There is no cure for this virus and it will stay with us until heaven. Yet we can contribute to it being dormant or active, in how we respond to the world with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:15-16).

So not only does the devil want to go in through the door or any of the windows, but he knows that we are infected with that "satanic virus" which works to his advantage. The only person in history who was not infected with that virus is the Lord Jesus.

What are the entrances through which the devil seeks to have a foothold?

The door: Thought life

The four windows:

• Evil structures of power.
  
  
• Demonization or demon possession.
  
  
• Satanic influence in cultures.
  
  
• Satanic influence in laws and basic beliefs.
  

It will be an interesting venture if you study the life of Christ and how the devil, in his might and before his crash, attempted to have a foothold at each of the five entrances of Christ's life but all in vain resulting in Christ turning the table against him. (In my book, "The Unseen Reality," I have a section on the "door" and a separate section on each of the "windows").

It is worth the effort to go to the Bible and to study this subject coming up with:

1. What is the point of my theological preference on this subject? What are my convictions?
   
   
2. What is the zone of my tolerance? How much can I tolerate other views that do not go into heresy but are not my views?
   
   
3. What is outside the zone of my tolerance? What views on this subject do I consider to be heretical?