Are Christians called to fight against Satan?

The idea that Christians must go to war against Satan is usually based on Ephesians 6. There it speaks of the armor of God. Because this is a biblical passage, we can look directly to see if the interpretation “go to war” is correct (cf. Acts 17:11). The relevant passage is found in Eph 6:10-17.

The first thing you notice when reading this section is that it is figurative. There is talk of the “armor of God” and Paul advises the recipients of the letter to “put it on.” Of course, no literal armor is meant, but every part of the (then known!) armor corresponds to a spiritual component. Paul uses the image of an armor to explain something quite different. It is about protecting the life of faith. Wonderful sermons can be made on this image: The loins girded with truth, an armor of righteousness, and the feet bound in readiness for the gospel of peace. Wait a minute – of peace?

This is about peace, not war. Believers were not to go to war, but merely to “stand firm” (Eph. 6:11; Eph. 6:13) to “resist” (Eph. 6:13) on the spot. Paul also does not set up these words as a war plan, but in context he speaks very simply and specifically about the way of life (Ephesians, chapters 4-6). The apostle does not deny the existence of Satan, for he names evil directly. Likewise, it does not make an overstatement. Satan is not dramatized here for any special doctrines. Believers should be sober and steadfast. A few chapters earlier, Paul spoke of believers being “no longer babes, tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine as by surging billows, and carried about by the waywardness of men, by the craftiness calculated to spread error by design.” (Eph 4:14). He describes this steadfastness in a different way now here in chapter 6. Those who think we should go into spiritual warfare have misunderstood this text.

Have you ever read the text from this perspective?

• Read now: Ephesians 6:10-17.

From cramp to strength

Those who take up a spiritual battle do not solve anything by doing so. Only one’s own inadequacy can become visible. If you get stuck in these ideas, you quickly end up in a spiritual cramp. It goes from fight to cramp. Man is overrated, thinking that he can fight, and God’s work is undervalued. I have never seen liberated Christian life where people held this doctrine of struggle. Rather, this teaching seemed to me to stoke old fears and catapult people into bondage.

God’s grace, on the other hand, has a liberating effect. It teaches us that everything is of Him, that this world belongs to Him, and that we can confidently place everything in His hands. Grace leads from cramp to strength.

“Happy is the man whose strength is in you, in whose heart are blazed paths! They go through the valley of tears and make it a place of springs. Yes, with blessings the early rain covers it. They go from strength to strength. They appear before God in Zion.”
Psalm 84:6-8