The Reality of the Spiritual World
Recognizing Spiritual Discomfort
Have you ever thought that something seems spiritually off in a given situation? Have you ever sensed something amiss or awry, something that leaves you uncomfortable in your spirit? You feel it in your emotions and your mind notices it; but your spirit remains restless with the situation. You may tell yourself, "I'm not really the type of person who practices spiritual warfare or deliverance. I've never encountered anything like that and don't know how to handle these situations."
If you've ever had these thoughts, keep reading, because you're not alone. Many people find themselves in similar situations. In fact, I've experienced this myself, because when we think about the spiritual realm, we start asking ourselves questions.
Does real conflict in the spiritual world exist, or do we overblow it? Does talk about deliverance lead us to look for demons and spiritual attacks behind every small incident? Do we conflate and confuse situations where other explanations serve us much better? Aren’t oppression and demonization things that happen in the global south and other less-developed parts of the world? These and other questions like them are what we ask ourselves or others around us, often because we genuinely want to understand the spiritual realm without jumping to conclusions or acting irresponsibly.
Common Doubts About Deliverance Ministry
Inside ourselves, we don't know how to sort our feelings about discussing these things, much less acting on them. We question how concerned we should be about these situations. On top of that, we assume this topic only concerns certain people in the church who have giftings in these areas, if at all. We don't want to overreact, and we definitely don't want to run around casting demons out of everyone or seeing spiritual attack in every little incident.
These are common thoughts, and you're not alone if you've had them. I've had similar thoughts many times myself and asked some of these same questions. But the reality of the spiritual world struck me specifically during my time in Brazil because it was so evident. Witchcraft in many varieties was openly practiced and readily available. It was not unusual to Encounter people who were demonized. Looking back, I can see this was evident earlier in my life before moving to Brazil, when I encountered people who clearly manifested demonic powers. Once you become aware of this, you realize that more is happening than most of us suspect.
Deliverance in Early Church History
We aren't the first to grapple with these questions. Interestingly, the early church faced this same concern and it helps us to look back at how they perceived this area of church life because it is instructive for us. When we look back at church history, we see they shared this concern clearly. Interestingly, the concern didn't affect only a limited number of people; it was an issue that impacted the whole church and the church was equipped to handle spiritual issues and deliverance.
Early in the life of the church, in the second century, only about 100 to 150 years after Christ's death, Justin Martyr wrote that church members regularly cast out demons. It wasn’t only one person or a special group who did this; it was a common practice among many members of the church. They cast out demons in Jesus' name and rendered them powerless. They accomplished this even when professional exorcists, who used special magic spells and potions, couldn't achieve the same results. The power of Christ's name was greater than any incantation or folk remedy imbued with spiritual powers. Deliverance was a normal practice of the church and something the laity was equipped to practice. It also appears that they did not chase after demons, but stood ready as the need arose to handle the issue.
This helps us think about what it looks like to become aware of spiritual conflict and the need for deliverance without swaying too far to extremes of either hunting demons behind every negative incident or dismissing that possibility entirely. How do we find that middle ground? Scripture helps us here, since it plainly informs and enlightens us about some aspects of the spiritual realm.
Three Scriptural Insights about the Spiritual World
Scripture highlights three characteristics that reveal how prevalent spiritual attack is and why we need deliverance:
Persistent need for deliverance: The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) includes the phrase "deliver us from evil" or "the evil one." In Luke 11:1-4, the disciples ask Jesus to teach them how to pray, and Jesus builds this deliverance request into his answer. In light of the Jewish tradition of praying several times throughout each day, we realize that Jesus taught his disciples that a request for freedom is part of our regular prayer life. This implies that the need for freedom from spiritual oppression and attack would be regularly encountered.
Ongoing spiritual conflict: Satan tempted Jesus in the wilderness, showing that believers aren't "bulletproof" from all spiritual conflict. In fact, passages like 1 John 5:19 and John 12:31 call Satan “the evil one” and “prince of this world” who works to bring confusion, ruin, and frustration. Satan and evil reign in this present world, meaning spiritual conflict continues constantly, whether we notice it or not. As long as we are in this world, there is some level of spiritual struggle at work in our lives as believers.
Conflict with God's kingdom: Ephesians 6:10-12 and Colossians 2 frame the spiritual realm as directly opposing what God's kingdom wants to accomplish in our churches, families, workplaces, and neighborhoods. Satan actively pursues destruction and disruption wherever God's kingdom advances. Our desires and efforts to move the kingdom of God forward will regularly meet opposition and resistance.
Staying Spiritually Aware and Alert
Spiritual awareness cuts both ways: we must recognize overt conflict, but we must also recognize how the distractions that surround us, like electronics, social media, and streaming video, can dull our senses to the spiritual realm. When we willingly stay unaware, we can let our perception of Christ replace our actual relationship with him. This is why we are encouraged in 1 Corinthians 10 to “take every thought captive”. We need the realization that Satan wants us to be asleep to his ways of working in our world.
Building Faith Through Spiritual Discernment
The spiritual realm is real and there is real opposition to our desire to draw closer to Jesus. We can bring balance and equilibrium that awakens our spiritual senses so that we can see God's kingdom advance against opposition. This awareness doesn't guarantee that evil will never touch believers because we see that evil touched Jesus, Paul, and the early church. It will strengthen our faith in God, deepen our understanding of how God works, and help us understand that encountering moments when deliverance is needed is part of our spiritual journey. In a way that is similar to the early church, we also can understand and practice deliverance as something to be developed as part of our walk with Christ.
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