As individual believers we must embrace three principles of truth in order to win the battle over evil and overcome darkness. They are: know your enemy, the life of Christ in you, and your relationship in His corporate body. In this chapter we will learn about knowing the enemies we face. In chapters two, three, and four we will study the life of Christ that dwells in us. In chapter five we will learn the importance of the corporate body of Christ and our relationship to warfare. Hosea wrote:
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. Hosea 4:6 NKJV
This was a severe statement to Israel as they faced the destructive forces of their enemies. It is also instructive to us in understanding how important knowledge of the Lord is with regards to our ability to battle the spiritual enemies that we face daily.
Many of God’s people have struggled in life, even experiencing devastation because of a lack of knowledge concerning the spiritual warfare in which we are to be engaged. Jesus has defeated Satan and all of his minions. However, the churches responsibility is to clean up with the help of the Holy Spirit the mess that the kingdom of darkness has made on the earth. God purposed that His redeemed people would finish the work with the help of the Holy Spirit through intercession, proclamation, and demonstration of the Good News of triumph over the kingdom of darkness, by setting captives free, and discipling the nations until the whole earth is full of the glory of the Lord. Habakkuk declared:
For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:14 NKJV