God gives us five gifts to fight spiritual battles! — By PC

February 20, 2018

The Resources God Gives Us to Fight Spiritual Battles:

  1. The mind of Jesus
  2. The Holy Spirit of God
  3. God gives us His divine power
  4. An individual spiritual gift from the Holy Spirit
  5. Each other: working together

We have the mind of Christ

 NLT 1 Corinthians 2:16 For, “Who can know the LORD’s thoughts? Who knows enough to teach him?” But we understand these things, for we have the mind of Christ.

What does it mean to “have the mind of Christ?”

It means we have an ability to see to see situations in life the way Jesus does…Or, in the case of our story…we can see things the way Elisha sees them.  We no longer are blind to what’s going on, or what we should do.  In fact, the Bible teaches us how to think.  It instructs us how to think about situations in life…we have this ability b/c we have the mind of Christ. A few examples:

  • NLT Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.
  • ESV Romans 6:11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
  • ESV Colossians 3:2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

We have the Holy Spirit of God

 The Holy Spirit has all knowledge. The Bible says, “The Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1 Corinthians 2:10). It is the Holy Spirit who teaches us and takes us deeper and deeper into God’s truth as we go along in our Christian life. We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ, but we can grow only by the help of the Holy Spirit. The moment that we receive Christ as Savior, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our hearts. Our body becomes the temple of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit helps us live the Christian life. (Billy Graham)

God gives us His divine power to destroy strongholds

ESV 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. 4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments 5 and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

  • “We have divine power to destroy strongholds…” This is a direct statement from God’s Word.  Do we believe it?
  • We are able to control what we think… “take every thought captive to obey Christ.” Do we believe it?

God gives each of us an individual, spiritual gift

 NLT 1 Peter 4:10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.

  • NLT Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.

We are to work together as a Church to effect change in ourselves, our community, and the world

NLT Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. 25 And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near.