Spiritual Warfare: Signs and Manifestations of Spiritual Attacks

Spiritual warfare is not a theory; it is a daily reality for every believer. In the article “Spiritual Warfare Pt.: Signs and Manifestations of Spiritual Attacks,” I examine how the invisible war in the spiritual realm manifests in real life—what it looks like, how it behaves, and how it affects both individual believers and the church at large.

This article follows the same teaching.

Spiritual Warfare: Signs and Manifestations of Spiritual Attacks

In this article, we will examine how the invisible war in the spiritual realm manifests in real life—what it looks like, how it behaves, and its impact on both individual believers and the church as a whole.

A manifestation is a sign or event that shows something exists or is happening. In the previous parts (1, 2, and 3), it has been made clear that Christians are engaged in a spiritual war, where it began, and who is at the helm of this opposing force—none other than Satan. Now we turn to the results of this ongoing war.

The key thing to remember throughout this teaching is this:

What happens in the natural world happens first in the spiritual.

If you have not read parts 1, 2, or 3, I encourage you to review them. This article builds on that foundation.

The Prince of the Power of the Air

Before we look at the manifestations, we need to remind ourselves who the enemy is.

Satan is a formidable foe. Before his fall, he was the most powerful angel in heaven, as described in Part 1. When he was cast out of heaven, he did not lose his power—he took it with him, along with a third of the angels (Rev. 12:4).

Paul describes him in Ephesians 2:2, speaking of the condition of Christians in Ephesus before they accepted Christ and walked in His Spirit:

“…in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience.” (Ephesians 2:2, NKJV)

Notice this title: “the prince of the power of the air.”

·       He is called a prince – a title of authority, an exalted position.

·       But a prince is still subject to the King, so he does not have all authority.

·       However, he has more than enough to cause devastation, because he influences “the power of the air.”

Where is the air? Everywhere. There is no place on earth where there is no air. Air sustains life. So, if Satan is the prince of this power, he is exercising influence all over the world. Jesus Himself acknowledges this in John 16:11, referring to Satan as “the ruler of this world.”

What does this mean for us?

It means that Satan’s influence is all over this world. That is why the Scripture says in James 4:4:

“…Friendship with the world is enmity with God.”

His influence reaches into everything. He even tried to use that influence on Jesus Himself. Look at Matthew 4:8–9:

8. “Again, the devil took Him up on an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory.

9. And he said to Him, ‘All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me.’” (Matthew 4:8–9, NKJV)

This reveals Satan’s ultimate goal: he wants worship. He wants all worship. And he uses his influence to get it.

He did not get it from Jesus (thank God), but he is getting it from others—including professing Christians. Hence, the spiritual warfare and the ongoing battle for souls.

One of Satan’s most effective tools is deception. When Jesus spoke His prophecy to the disciples regarding the end times, the very first thing He said was:

“Take heed that no one deceives you.” [Matthew 24:4]

But are we listening?

Satan’s Influence on This World

Understand this: Satan’s influence is in everything:

·       The government and politicians

·       The entertainment industry—Hollywood

·       The music industry

·       The sports industry

·       Wall Street

·       Big Pharma

·       And yes—even the schools

Take the music industry for example. Music originated in heaven, but you would never know it listening to much of the music today. That is a manifestation of spiritual warfare.

Satan has many of these industries pretty much sewn up.

But his main target is Christians.

Fence-Sitting Christians: A Frightening Manifestation

Satan’s attack on Christians is so strong that he has many believers sitting on the fence.

For those who may not be familiar with that expression, picture someone sitting on a fence along a path between two forces. They are not on one side or the other—stagnant, suspended between two choices.

This is a figurative illustration of a Christian who is professing Christ, but at the same time is friends with the world—living and thinking like a worldly person. It is a position of compromise and a manifestation of spiritual warfare.

There are professing Christians who walk—live—in that position:

·       Sitting on the fence between two worlds

·       The world pulling from one side.

·       Christ calling from the other.

They face both directions but follow neither, even though they profess Christ. They are not walking with the world…they are not walking with God…they are:

·       Spiritually stuck

·       Spiritually stalled

·       Spiritually powerless

·       Ineffective

No good to God and no good to themselves.

This is exactly what Paul warned about in 2 Timothy 3:5. The context in verses 1–9 is the coming apostasy in the last days—which is now. Verse 5 says:

“…having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!” (2 Timothy 3:5, NKJV)

These, my friends, are fence sitters. They may look toward Christ and even have an outward appearance of religious godliness, but they lack a true, transformative inner faith. They inadvertently deny God’s power.

They are paralyzed on the fence.

This is a manifestation of spiritual warfare.

Satan has injected so much false doctrine into the church, and there is so much of the world in the church these days, that the fence can hardly hold all the compromised Christians.

False Doctrine #1: “Once Saved, Always Saved”

One of the popular false doctrines is: once saved, always saved—that when an individual accepts Christ, they can never be lost, even if they later backslide into sin.

Is that true or false?

In Part 3, The Mind Is the Battlefield, I explained how we are led either by the flesh or by the Spirit of God. The choice is always ours—even after we are saved—because Satan’s tactics are always on the offensive.

If we can choose not to follow the Spirit, can we not backslide into sin?

Let us look at some Scripture.

In Ephesians 4:23–24, Paul exhorts Christians to “put on the new man”:

23. and be renewed in the spirit of your mind,

24. and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”

Then in verse thirty, he adds:

“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)

The Greek word translated “grieve” is lupeō—to distress, to make sad. When we grieve the Holy Spirit, we grieve God. Christians are to live in such a way that we do not grieve God by our conduct—our attitudes, and actions.

Wrong attitudes and actions hamper the Spirit’s work, making Him less effective in our lives.

Some will say, “But it says we’re sealed until the day of redemption.” Seal here refers to a mark or stamp, as with official documents in biblical times. It does not mean a container sealed shut that can never be opened.

And notice it says, “sealed for the day of redemption,” not “sealed until the day of redemption.”

We carry this seal of God if we do not grieve Him. The fact that we can have this seal for the day of redemption should motivate us to maintain righteousness.

Paul gives another warning in 1 Thessalonians 5:19:

19. “Do not quench the Spirit.”

Here, Paul goes further—not just “do not grieve” the Spirit, but “do not quench” Him. The Greek word translated “quench” is sbennumi—to extinguish, to put out, like water putting out a fire.

We can literally put out the Spirit’s influence on our lives by our conduct.

Quenching the Spirit involves any action that hinders the work of the Lord in our lives or in the lives of others. Many Christians are guilty of quenching the Spirit when they throw cold water on His leading.

So, what happens when we quench the Spirit? Look at Romans 8:9:

9. “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9, NKJV)

Romans 8 is one of my favorite chapters. Here, Paul is informing the Christians in Rome how the Spirit delivers from the power of the flesh. He tells them straight-up: anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Christ.

Now let us connect the dots:

·       Scripture tells us we can quench—put out—the Holy Spirit.

·       Scripture also tells us that if we do not have the Spirit, we do not belong to Christ.

So, at that point, are we still saved?

I don’t think so!

There is no exception in Scripture that says, “Those who have once accepted Christ are exempt from this.” In fact, Paul is writing to Christians in Ephesus, Corinth, Rome, and Thessalonica.

In Ephesians 1:1–2 he opens:

1. “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God,

2. To the saints who are in Ephesus, and faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”

He is speaking to saints—believers. The epistles are written to Christians, admonishing them not to grieve or quench the Spirit and warning that if they do, they do not belong to Christ.

Bottom line:

We are saved as long as we do not quench the Spirit.

Therefore, this business of “once saved, always saved” is, in a word…

HOGWASH!

It is a manifestation of spiritual warfare—teaching that we can sin and still be saved. That is just dreaming.

If all we had to do was accept Christ once and be perpetually saved no matter what, Satan would be out of business. But he is not. He continues to harass Christians in the hope that they will capitulate—as many do.

Excuses for Sin: Another Manifestation

The sad fact is that we make so many excuses for sin that are contrary to the Word of God.

Take fornication, for example. Some will say, “God knows I have needs. He understands.”

Well, of course, God knows you have needs—He created you. But what does His Word say?

“For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication:” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, KJV)

This is just one of many Scriptures that address fornication. None of them say, “according to your needs.”

The New Living Translation puts it plainly:

“God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3, NLT)

That is as clear as the rising sun. Fornication is the umbrella covering all sexual sin. When individuals go against this Word, it is another manifestation of spiritual warfare.

“All sexual sin” includes homosexuality. Some professing Christians will say, “They’re still human; they were born that way,” or “God loves them too.” Homosexuals may say, “I was born this way.”

Well, you were born that way? Welcome to the club. We were all born this way—born in sin.

David said in Psalm 51:5:

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.”

Romans 3:23 says:

“…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”

All of us have some form of sin in us. All of us are experiencing some manifestation of sin because of spiritual warfare:

·       Some of us struggle with lying.

·       Some with stealing

·       Some with covetousness

·       Some with anger that turns into sin.

·       Some with murder in the heart

The list goes on.

The point is: we are all victims of spiritual warfare. We all need a Savior.

And God has made a way for all of us to be saved through His Son, Jesus Christ. John 3:16–17 says:

16. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

17. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  

“The world” means everybody. We all need to be saved.

Sin is sin. Being “born this way”—whatever that way is—is no excuse. It is not a “get out of jail free” card.

False Doctrine #2: The Myth of the “Carnal Christian”

Another false doctrine circulating in Christian circles is the idea of a “carnal Christian”—that someone can be a Christian yet live carnally, led by the flesh.

To be carnal is to be:

·       Worldly

·       Fleshly

·       Led by the flesh

Is there such a thing as a carnal Christian? Let us see what Scripture says in Romans 8:1–8:

1.“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.

3. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh,

4. that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.”

5. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit.

6. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.

7. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

8. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”  

Scripture says:

·       “To be carnally minded is death.”

·       “The carnal mind is enmity against God.” (Enmity = hostility, antagonism, hatred.)

·       “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.”

Now, how can an individual have a carnal mind—a mind at enmity with God—and yet be a Christian?

It is impossible. It will never work.

It is like throwing a sugar cube into a cesspit.

This business of being a “carnal Christian” is—what is my word? —HOGWASH!

It is an oxymoron. According to Scripture, there is no such thing. We are either Christian or carnal. Period!

This, too, is a manifestation of spiritual warfare, because this kind of thinking is what keeps us on the fence:

·       We want to live the way we want to live.

·       We still want to be saved.

·       We want to have our cake and eat it too.

Now, yes, when we first accept Christ, we are still immature and carnal in many ways. But we are required to grow. For more on that, see the full article on this Website titled “How to Grow in Christ.”

Lukewarm Christianity: The Laodicean Condition

What does God—what does Christ—say about this fence-sitting condition?

Jesus calls this state “lukewarm.” Individuals in this state are neither hot nor cold for God.

In Revelation 3:15–16, addressing the church of Laodicea, Jesus says:

15. I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish you were cold or hot.

16. So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth.

There is no room here for a so-called “carnal, fence-sitting Christian.” Christ has nothing for a lukewarm Christian. He says, “I will vomit you out of My mouth.”

Why do we vomit? Because the body rejects what is:

·       Distasteful

·       Harmful

·       Of no value

Lukewarm is ineffective. Lukewarm water is not hot enough to kill germs, and not cold enough to refresh. What good is it?

Personally, I like my coffee or tea either hot or ice cold. A lukewarm cup of tea is tasteless, of no value, forcing me to make several trips to the microwave to heat it up.

Some professing Christians need to make some trips to the “microwave” to heat up their spirits for the Lord.

Why does Jesus have such disdain for lukewarm, fence-sitting Christians? Consider this:

A lukewarm Christian is only half-committed:

·       Half-committed to Christ

·       Half-committed to proclaiming Jesus as the Son of God

·       Half-committed to studying the Word

·       Half-committed to evangelism and missions.

·       Half-committed to holy and pure living.

·       Half-committed to self-denial and sacrificial living.

Half-committed all the way down the line—lukewarm and of no value to God and His kingdom.

The present church is in the Laodicean age, full of lukewarm Christians.

Jesus sums it up in Matthew 6:24:

24. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other.” (Matthew 6:24)

He also says in Luke 11:23:

23. He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters. (Luke 11:23)

There are only two masters:

·       The Godhead—God and Jesus

·       And Satan

We can only serve one.

If we walk through life with one eye on Christendom and one eye on the world, we are only fooling ourselves.

Manifestations in Church Leadership

Up to now, we have focused on individual manifestations, but there are also collective manifestations—especially in the church.

Satan’s attacks on the church have risen exponentially. He has been causing havoc with the church for centuries, but in the last twenty years, this assault has really stepped up.

Satan knows his time is short. He knows that to wipe out a body, you strike the head. So, he targets the church’s leadership, and the damage permeates the entire body.

I have a friend who is a Christian counselor, and some of the things shared with me have made me want to do a backward flip:

·       Pastors (plural) involved in adulterous affairs.

·       Pastors hooked on drugs

·       Pastors addicted to pornography

·       Pastors beating and mistreating their wives.

These are well-known leaders. No names are given—of course, that would be unethical. But the point is to shed light on manifestations of spiritual warfare—even on the heads of the church.

This is no game. It is a fierce, unseen spiritual war manifesting itself in the natural.

To women chasing after pastors, wanting to be “first ladies”:

Be careful what you ask for. Satan is chasing pastors like a fox chasing chickens. If the pastor is strong and will not relent, guess what? The next in line is the family.

In my growing up, some of the most rebellious children I saw were those of pastors and ministers.

Forget about status—you could end up sleeping with the enemy.

Pastors who allow themselves to become victims of this warfare had better repent before they become casualties instead of victims.

Jeremiah 23:1–2 says:

1. Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.

2. Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people;

Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them:

behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.”  

This prophecy was initially directed at Israel—at leaders tasked with guiding the people in accordance with God’s will. But instead, they contributed to the nation’s troubles, leading God to pronounce severe judgment on them.

Prophecies like this often express principles of God that have multiple applications, leading to more than one fulfillment. Here, the principle is: we are answerable to God for the people we guide and influence under His authority. Leaders bear responsibility for those entrusted to their care.

When pastors fall, they scatter the sheep—the congregation. People leave, they gossip, confusion erupts, and the church becomes crippled. As God says, they “destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture.”

Yet another manifestation of spiritual warfare.

Some may say, “Well, pastors are only human.” That is true. But look at the instruction in 1 Timothy 4:12. Paul is charging Timothy, a young pastor:

12. Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.”

Pastors are expected to serve as role models. Though they are human, they are called to exemplify a visible commitment to living in Christ.

If a pastor becomes so “human” that he can no longer be that example, he needs to step down, so the church can remain effective. Otherwise, he will be held accountable not only for himself but for the whole congregation—double jeopardy.

Cultural Movements as Manifestations of Spiritual Warfare

We have only touched on a few manifestations of spiritual warfare. They are far too numerous to cover in one teaching.

But know this: all the destruction and chaos in the country and the world are manifestations.

Consider the Postmodern era, which ushered in:

·       The sexual revolution

·       The Women’s Liberation movement

·       The pro-choice movement

·       The gay rights movement

All of these are manifestations of spiritual warfare, shaping culture to move further and further away from God’s design, against the will of God.

Conclusion

Get Off the Fence and Walk With Christ

We must get off the fence and walk the path with Christ.

If we stay on that fence, we are not only stagnant—we are lost.

We must make a choice. Since we are born with a sinful nature and, as Scripture says, “walked according to the course of this world,” it is vital to understand this:

Not to choose Christ is to make a choice against Him.

But if we choose Christ, then we must walk with Him—in Spirit and in truth.

The effects of spiritual warfare are all around us and are always knocking at our door. So, we must follow the Scripture, which reads:

“Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” (1 Peter 5:8, KJV)

Be on guard—and fight when necessary.

Closing Call to Action

If you see these signs and manifestations of spiritual attacks in your own life, do not ignore them and do not stay on the fence.

Take time to:

·       Examine your walk with Christ honestly.

·       Repent where the Holy Spirit brings conviction.

·       Ask the Lord to renew your mind, your zeal, and your love for Him.

·       Pray for your pastors, leaders, and fellow believers who are also under assault 1 Tim. 2:1-2).

This article is part of a larger journey. In the earlier teachings on spiritual warfare, we looked at what the battle is and where it is fought. In the next part of this series, we will not only talk about the attack—we will talk about the fight.

Watch for the next installment on Overcoming Spiritual Warfare, and in the meantime, stay sober, stay vigilant, and keep walking with Christ—off the fence and firmly on His side.

Questions, comments, and concerns may be left below.

Blessings!

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