THE VICTOR’S MENTALITY 13 (Understanding Spiritual Warfare)

For those who have followed this series from the beginning, you’ll recall that we divided it into three parts:

1. The kind of power that resides in us
2. Unmasking who our opposition is

By God’s grace, we’ve explored the first two parts, and they are all available on this blog site (The Victor’s Mentality parts 1-12). Today, we begin a new part (which I believe will be quite extensive), focusing on the armor we put on to resist this opposition.

Let’s start by returning to our foundational text in Ephesians chapter 6. For today’s article, we’ll focus on verse 13 as we introduce this part:“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” (Ephesians 6:12-13 NKJV)

Let me begin by saying to every believer: you are blessed with every spiritual blessing. This is profound! Spiritual blessings, in their essence, are not material, but material blessings are a fruit of our spiritual blessings in Christ.

So, what are spiritual blessings according to Scripture?
Firstly, spiritual blessings are eternal realities. They are the heavenly and eternal riches we have in Christ—not physical or material in nature. They include:

• Salvation and forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7)

• Adoption as sons (Ephesians 1:5)

• Union with Christ (Ephesians 1:4, 13)

• Access to God (Hebrews 4:16)

• The indwelling Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13–14)

• Peace, joy, righteousness (Romans 14:17)

• Spiritual authority and inheritance (Luke 10:19; Ephesians 1:11, 18)

This is the reality of everyone who has come to believe in Christ. This is how you should begin to see yourself.
Can all these spiritual realities manifest materially? Yes! And God expects them to. For instance, God expects that the wealth of His wisdom, which we have received in Christ, should lead us to success in our business, career, academics, and more.

This is why spiritual warfare exists—because the devil wants to pull you away from your realities in Christ and toward something inferior. He wants you to trade your identity in Christ for insecurity, bringing you to a place where you begin to ask: Am I really saved? Does God still love me? Do I really matter to God? Or do I need to do more to be accepted?

When the devil drags a believer to such a position, they begin to feel and think negatively, for example:

• I am not good enough

• I am

• God cannot use me

Why? Because the devil has shifted their focus from measuring their worth by the grace they’ve received in Christ to measuring it by performance and self-worth. This is what we call spiritual warfare. This is what the Bible urges you to resist and stand against, so you won’t be dragged away from your identity in Christ to a place of insecurity.

Another thing the devil wants you to trade is your sonship for striving. Sonship is about your relationship with God, not performance. It’s based on what Jesus has done and who we’ve become in Him. But the devil doesn’t want you to rest in your sonship. He doesn’t want you to understand that God already loves you, has a plan for you, and has given you all the spiritual blessings you need to succeed in life. This is what the Bible calls spiritual darkness and wickedness in Ephesians 6:12—that believers fail to see themselves the way God sees them.

What the devil does is introduce striving: the pressure to earn your position before God, prove your worth, or achieve success on your own, outside the grace God has already provided. I’m sharing all this because we need to understand what spiritual warfare truly is. It’s not primarily about attacking something material; it’s about the devil first attacking you spiritually in all the ways I’ve mentioned before it can manifest materially if we don't resist.

Let me share one more thing the devil tries to attack and cause you to trade: your spiritual inheritance for worldly success. As children of God, our spiritual inheritance includes:

• Union with Christ (Galatians 2:20)

• Eternal life (Romans 8:17)

• Righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17)

• Authority over sin and Satan (Luke 10:19)

• Purpose, calling, and fruitfulness in Christ (Ephesians 1:11; John 15:5)

• Heavenly rewards and crowns (2 Timothy 4:8)

So, what is worldly success? Worldly success is the pursuit of:

• Fame, wealth, achievements, and recognition• Security based on possessions and influence

• Status or validation apart from God

• Living by the world’s values: self-promotion, ambition, and pride.
All these things are not inherently wrong, but they become dangerous when they take precedence over your spiritual walk. That’s what the devil wants to attack. He wants you to define yourself by worldly success instead of your spiritual treasure and inheritance.

I’ll stop here. Next article, we’ll explore how he does this. These teachings are crucial so we can understand the essence of the armor we are to wear. See you next article.