The Evangelical's Guide To Spiritual Warfare

THE EVANGELICALS GUIDE TO
SPIRITUAL
WARFARE
SCRIPTURAL INSIGHTS
AND PRACTICAL INSTRUCTION ON
FACING THE ENEMY
CHARLES H. KRAFT
G
Charles H. Kraft, The Evangelical's Guide to Spiritual Warfare
Chosen Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2015. Used by permission.
(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Kraft_GuideSpiritualWarfare_NS_kf.indd 5
12/15/14 8:25 AM
2015 by Charles H. Kraft

Published by Chosen Books
11400 Hampshire Avenue South
Bloomington, Minnesota 55438
www.chosenbooks.com
Chosen Books is a division of
Baker Publishing Group, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Printed in the United States of America
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,
or transmitted in any form or by any meansfor example, electronic, photocopy, recording
without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in
printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Kraft, Charles H.
The evangelicals guide to spiritual warfare : scriptural insights and practical instruction on facing the enemy / Charles H. Kraft.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Summary: A seminary professor and former missionary offers an accessible, comprehensive resource to help readers lay aside doubts and embrace a biblical, balanced approach to spiritual warfare Provided by publisher.
ISBN 978-0-8007-9615-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Spiritual warfare. 2. Evangelicalism. I. Title.
BV4509.5.K685 2015
2014041706
235 .4dc23
Portions of this book were previously published
by the author and adapted for this book with
permission. The portions revised and adapted
for this book include: Charles H. Kraft, Confronting Powerless Christianity: Evangelicals
and the Missing Dimension, 4662, 7172,
115137, 180186, 192233; Charles H. Kraft,
Christian Animism or God-Given Authority? in Spiritual Power and Missions: Raising
the Issues, ed. Edward Rommen, Evangelical
Missiological Society Series, no. 3, 9294,
103106, 117120, 123132; Charles H. Kraft,
Defeating Dark Angels: Breaking Demonic Oppressions in the Believers Life, 3364, 94107,
151172; and Charles H. Kraft, I Give You Authority: Practicing the Authority Jesus Gave Us,
rev. ed., 4348, 307329. Full publication details
of all titles in bibliography.
Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Good News Translation
Second Edition. Copyright 1992 by American
Bible Society. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations identied nasb are from
the New American Standard Bible, copyright
1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973,
1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.
Used by permission.
NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by

Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.
zondervan.com
Scripture quotations identied nkjv are from
the New King James Version. Copyright 1982
by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission.
All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identied nlt are from the
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright
1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House
Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188.
All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations identied Phillips are
from The New Testament in Modern English, revised editionJ. B. Phillips, translator. J. B. Phillips 1958, 1960, 1972. Used by
permission of Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc.
Scripture quotations identied tlb are from
The Living Bible, copyright 1971. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.,
Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
To protect the privacy of those who have shared
their experiences with the author, details and
names have been changed.
Scripture quotations identied niv are from

the Holy Bible, New International Version.
Cover design by LOOK Design Studio
15
4 3
16 17 18
19
20 21
6 5
2 1


12/15/14 8:25 AM
I dedicate this book to my friend and mentor John Wimber,

in gratefulness to God for the miracle that He performed
through John in leading this evangelical into a powerful
version of Christianity. As a lifelong evangelical, I enjoyed
my relationship with Jesus. But I always felt that there was
more to Christian faith than I was experiencing. Listening
to John and seeing how God used him did the trick. I have
not been the same since January 1982, when God used
John to change my worldview and then to change my
practice. We all miss John, but I will never stop praising
God for bringing him across my path.


12/15/14 8:25 AM
Contents
Foreword by Stephen A. Seamands 11
Acknowledgments 13
Introduction 15
Part 1: Introduction to Spiritual Warfare
1. A Concern for Spiritual Warfare 21

2. Issues in Spiritual Warfare 29
Part 2: The Perspective
3. Principles of Interpretation 43
4. Our Power and Authority 53
Part 3: Worldview Blockage
5.
6.
7.
8.
Our Problem as Westerners 75

Forms, Meanings and Empowerment 94
Toward a More Complete Christianity 102
Issues and Insights 116
Part 4: Ground-Level Spiritual Warfare
9. Eight Controversial Issues 135

10. Demons and Their Activities 160
9
12/15/14 8:25 AM
Contents
11. Ten Myths Concerning Demonization 176

12. Inner Healing Before Deliverance 198
13. Deliverance 210
Part 5: Cosmic-Level Spiritual Warfare
14. Cosmic-Level Spirits 235

15. Authority in Cosmic-Level Warfare 252
16. What Now? 264
Select Bibliography 275
Index 279
10

12/15/14 8:25 AM
Foreword
began reading a digital version of the manuscript of this book as I ew

back from Malaysia. I had just nished teaching a three-day seminar
on spiritual warfare to about three hundred church leaders. As I read, I
found myself reecting on the many ways Charles Kraft had shaped what
I had just taught and the profound impact he has had on my own life over
the years.
I had read Chucks book Christianity with Power in 1991, but I rst
met him in person at a conference on spiritual warfare in Southern California in February 1994. I was there because I hoped to learn some things
that would help me with the course on spiritual warfare I was teaching at
Asbury Theological Seminary. I had never taught a course on the subject
and knew very little about it. But because of what God had recently done
in my own life and the direction the Spirit was leading, I believed such a
course was needed in preparing Christian leaders. So that spring semester
I stepped out and offered it.
Much to my surprise, almost a hundred students signed up! Realizing
I was in way over my head, I told them the rst evening we met that I was
not qualied to teach the class, but we would learn together as we went.
A few weeks later, I ew out to California for the conference, hoping to
learn all I could and meet some people who could help me. That is where
I was introduced to Chuck one morning at breakfast.
11
12/15/14 8:25 AM
Foreword
Then a few months later, he visited our seminary campus in Kentucky to

speak at our School of World Mission. He also came to the class I was teaching. But Chuck wanted to do more than just speak. He wanted to minister
to students. And it was during those days that I got to work with him as he
engaged in healing prayer ministryespecially deliverance ministrywith
several of our students. I had never seen anyone minister like he did in such
an authentic, credible and pastoral way. What he modeled for me during
those days changed my life. Soon afterward, I found myself involved in a
similar kind of ministry with seminarians.
Over the years since then, I have connected with Chuck at several conferences and read almost every one of his books. So much of his understanding
and practice of spiritual warfare has now become an integral part of my
own approach. We do not always agree. His understandings and practices
are often different from mine. Sometimes he makes the systematic theologian in me wince! But no one has shaped and inuenced me the way he has.
I often tell students they need to make spiritual warfare one of the strings
on their ministry guitar. It should not be the only string, but certainly
should be one of them. It is rmly rooted in Scripture and the Christian
tradition, an important dimension of the Christian life and often needed
in the practice of ministry. The guitar denitely plays better and sounds
better with this string on it.
Unfortunately, for most of us evangelical Christians in the West, because
of our longtime captivity to the naturalistic worldview of the eighteenth
century Enlightenment, the spiritual warfare string has been noticeably
missing. Since the mid-1980s, Chuck, a lifelong evangelical himself, has
been on a mission to help us put that string back on our guitar.
The book that you hold in your hands will denitely help you do that.
Here you will nd a wonderful compilation of all his writings and his seasoned, best thinking on a wide range of topics related to spiritual warfare.
Surely, it is the best of the best of Charles Kraft!
Whether you are a spiritual warfare novice or a seasoned veteran, get
ready, then, to be informed and inspired, encouraged and challenged. It is
a tting testament to Chucks faithful and fruitful life and ministry.
Stephen A. Seamands, professor of Christian doctrine,
Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, Kentucky
12

12/15/14 8:25 AM
Acknowledgments
want to give special thanks to my editor, Christianne Squires, for carefully going over every word. This is a much better book because of her
painstaking attention to the little things. And I am grateful to work
again under Jane Campbells supervision. She and Christianne made the
nal editing a pleasant experience.
13
12/15/14 8:25 AM
Introduction
he central theme of Christianity is love. God so loved the world . . .

(John 3:16) is the central verse of the Scriptures. All else in Scripture
and life is founded on this one great central theme. We are even told
that God is love (1 John 4:8).
So, in writing about spiritual warfare, we dare not forget that the reason for a focus on this theme is to enhance our commitment to the central
love theme.
However, once we have pointed out that Gods love is the central theme,
we need to recognize that there is an enemy, a very active and powerful
enemy whose main commitment is to counter whatever God is doing. He
is anti-love, anti-God, anti-everything God does and stands for. He hates
God and uses every means at his disposal to thwart Gods activity, especially
His loving relationship with His favorite creaturesus.
But many evangelicals act as if that enemy does not exist. In preaching
and teaching and our daily lives, we act as if Satan and his forces are not a
problem. We go about our business as if the evil in the world is explainable
in some way other than that there is an enemy behind it. We emphasize the
love part as we should but tend to ignore the context in which that love is
expected to ourisha context of warfare. We live in a battle zone, and
we usually do not know what to do about it.
The book you have in your hands seeks to deal with the anti-love context
in which we live. I focus on that anti-love context and the enemys activity
15
12/15/14 8:25 AM
Introduction
not because they are more important than the love message but because
they have been neglected, allowing our enemy to work with little hindrance
due to our ignorance.
I speak as one who has lived in an evangelical, no-spiritual-warfare
type of Christianity. The church I grew up in was a sound evangelical
church where I was challenged to read the Scriptures and to follow them.
I was so sincere that during my high school days I got up faithfully at 5:00
a.m. to study the Scriptures and to read biographies of Christian heroes,
especially of missionaries. During those days I pledged my life to become
a missionary. This commitment was strengthened in Christian camp and
my home church, soon leading to a focus on Africa. But there was never
a solid focus on dealing with the spirit world. In fact, we learned to steer
clear of hyperemotionalism and Pentecostals.
To prepare for missionary service, then, I applied to Wheaton College,
the college one of my mothers cousins had attended to prepare for missionary service in Africa. I applied nowhere else. I simply assumed I would
be admitted. And I was.
At Wheaton I followed the recommendation of a prospective missionary to major in anthropology, which I did. I also fell in love with a woman
who agreed to marry me and go to Africa with me. But I cannot recall ever
meeting a Pentecostal or charismatic there, either, or in the evangelical
seminary that I attended after Wheaton. To this point, still no attention
was paid to the Holy Spirit or to spiritual warfare.
In Nigeria, however, it became obvious that within my strong evangelicalism I had learned nothing to assist me in dealing with the spirit world.
I asked the Nigerian leaders I was expected to help what was their most
important problem. Without hesitation, they answered, Evil spirits. It
became clear, then, that I could not help them with their biggest problem.
The Lord was good, however. I was never pressed into embarrassing
situations in this area. And the Nigerian leaders were able to handle things
on their own. But I was left with a guilty conscience and a feeling of deep
inability to help my Nigerian brothers.
We came home and were not able to return. But the Lord led me into a
missionary training position at Fuller Seminary in Pasadena, California,
where I was to teach and write about issues of Christianitys relationship
16

12/15/14 8:25 AM
Introduction
with culture. Among our student body, there was a trickle of charismatic
students who kept asking, Where is the Holy Spirit? I did not know.
In 1982, my thirteenth year of teaching at Fuller, we invited John Wimber
to teach us on healing. Though it was a course for students, I decided to
attend, in hopes that the course would help me to understand what was
missing in my Christianity. I was not disappointed. John was not hyperemotional. That would have put me off. He was scripturally sound and
personally balanced. What he offered, I could accept and t into that hole
in my theology.
I still consider myself an evangelical, though one who believes in and
practices a more biblical Christianity than I had been trained in. That part
of Christianity that my mentors ignored has been lled in, both theoretically
and, most importantly, in practice. I have become a practitioner of what
Jesus practiced in setting captives free. Christianity is brand-new for me.
My prayer is that this book can be of help in transforming you into
a more completely biblical Christian. Not all of the book is new. I have
written chapters in other books on this subject, and since those chapters
embody my latest thinking on the subject, I have included several of them
in this book. Much of this material was taken from Confronting Powerless
Christianity, Defeating Dark Angels, I Give You Authority and my chapter
in Spiritual Power and Missions.
To counter this ignorance, we need to deal solidly with our basic assumptions. These make up our worldview. I have written comprehensively about
worldview in my book Worldview for Christian Witness1 but summarize
some of that material here to alert us to a basic problem that affects us as
we attempt to move from ignorance to understanding in this area.
I also deal with the very important subject of experience. The enemy
has no problem with those who believe in his existence but do not practice
against him. He has the most trouble with those who have correct assumptions and oppose him activelythose who believe he is alive and well and
who practice setting people free from satanic captivity.
Jesus was a practitioner, and He expects us to be practitioners as well.
He expects us to ll His shoes in todays world by freeing captives from
1. Charles H. Kraft, Worldview for Christian Witness (Pasadena, Calif.: William Carey
Library, 2008).
17

12/15/14 8:25 AM
Introduction
the enemys clutches. Let this book, then, be a call to action, a call to participate in the warfare that made up so much of Jesus life and ministry.
It is not enough to know the truth academically. We need to know it in
practice. That kind of knowledge and experience is the kind of love Jesus
has called us to incarnate.
There are two major events in a Christians lifesalvation and freedom.
Millions of Gods people are saved but not free. But as the apostle Paul
points out, it is freedom that God calls us tofreedom beyond salvation
(see Galatians 1:4; 5:1). A major aim of this book is to enable Gods people
to bring freedom to those who are saved but still in captivity. May God
bless you richly as you read and apply what you learn.
Charles H. Kraft
Pasadena, California
February 2015
18

12/15/14 8:25 AM
Part 1
Introduction to
SPIRITUAL
WARFARE


12/15/14 8:25 AM
1
A Concern for
Spiritual Warfare
ecently, I attended a two-day gathering of evangelical leaders where

a series of presentations was made with the aim of instructing and
challenging the leaders to greater effectiveness in their ministries. The
leaders would all claim to be biblical, but not a word was said to help us
challenge Satan. To that group of evangelical leaders, it is as if the enemy
does not exist, as if the softer themes of love and faithfulness are all there is
to focus on in ministry, as if the considerable amount of attention Jesus, our
model, gave to challenging and defeating this enemy was not to be imitated.
But there is another group of evangelicals just as committed to the softer
themes but also concerned about what the enemy is doing and what we
need to do to confront and defeat him. These leaders have been awakened
by the many books and seminars that have come into existence recently.
They recognize that our enemy is alive and well and very active in our world
and even in our churches. This group has discovered that we do not have
to become weird to be concerned about spiritual warfare.
21

12/15/14 8:25 AM
Introduction to Spiritual Warfare
The fairly recent cooling of the historical antipathy of evangelicals

toward Pentecostals has opened many of us up to learning from Pentecostals and charismatics. We have even been named. We are called the
Third Wave. We have been learning to take more seriously than evangelicals usually do the spiritual power aspects of biblical Christianity. Jesus
predicted, Those who believe in me will do what I do (John 14:12). We
note that what Jesus did and predicted we would do includes challenging
Satan in spiritual warfare.
My experience as a card-carrying evangelical is a case in point. I was
led through a paradigm shift and a practice shift into power ministry,1
which has transformed my life and allowed me to work with God to bring
spiritual freedom to hundreds of Gods children.
One of the authors who has awakened many is Frank Peretti, through
his books This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness. With regard
to him, the question in many peoples minds is,
Since Perettis books are ction, how well does
his portrayal of spiritual warfare correspond to
I grant a high
what happens in real life? The answers given to
degree of credibility
this question, then, divide us into two camps:
to Perettis picture
those with experience dealing with the spirit
of the spirit world.
world and those without experience.
My thirty-plus years of working in spiritual warfare, during which I have ministered
to several hundred demonized people, leads me to grant a high degree of
credibility to Perettis picture of the spirit world. He portrays a very active,
well-organized realm of evil spiritsa realm assumed by the authors of
Scripture. He then imagines what goes on between the spirits that inhabit
that realmevil spirits and angels of Godand human beings. He clearly
describes the great evil power that operates as satanic conspiracy and the
attempts of the evil spirits to defeat God by thwarting and attacking the
people of God and their institutions. He observes the need for partnership
between humans and God to counter that power. He correctly views prayer
1. For more information on power ministry, see Charles H. Kraft, Christianity with
Power: Your Worldview and Your Experience of the Supernatural (Eugene, Ore.: Wipf &
Stock, 2005). (Originally published Ann Arbor, Mich.: Vine, 1989.)
22

12/15/14 8:25 AM
A Concern for Spiritual Warfare
as an act of warfare and the primary means of obtaining the spiritual power
that enables us to attack the enemy and win.
Many, especially those coming from a theological perspective, have tried
to discredit Peretti.2 These critics usually have had no experience in dealing
with the spirit world. Those with experience join me in recognizing that
Peretti knows better than his critics what he is talking about.
So, when evangelicals ask me how to gain insight into what is going on
in the spirit world, I frequently recommend reading This Present Darkness
and Piercing the Darkness. Though Peretti uses imagination to construct
his stories, he offers great insight into what probably goes on in the invisible spirit world. He knows what he is dealing with and deserves to be
taken seriously.
Other helpful books have also sprung up recently. Just to mention my
own, I have written Christianity with Power; Confronting Powerless Christianity; I Give You Authority; Deep Wounds, Deep Healing; Defeating
Dark Angels; Behind Enemy Lines; The Rules of Engagement and Two
Hours to Freedom. You can also nd an extensive list of resources in the
bibliography at the end of this book.
Is It Right for Us to Ignore This Topic?

For generations, spiritual power issues have belonged to Pentecostals
and charismatics. We evangelicals have tended to reject such concerns and
connect them to emotionalism and going overboard on tongues, prophecy and other gifts of the Spirit. We take a more rational, less emotional
approach that we claim is more biblical than Pentecostal emotionalism.
Though our major doctrines are pretty much the same as those of the
Pentecostals, we consider ourselves more composed, more reason-oriented
and less emotional. We know. We dont need to feel, we say, for feelings
will mislead us.
Typical of our attitude is the response of an evangelical pastor I once
asked about demons. I said, If demons exist, would you rather know or
2. See, for example, Robert Guelich, Spiritual Warfare: Jesus, Paul and Peretti, in
Pneuma 13 (1991): 3364.
23

12/15/14 8:25 AM
not know? He answered, as probably most evangelicals would if they were

being honest, Id rather not know! He was living rather comfortably in
a kind of Christianity quite unlike that of Jesus.
Jesus Christianity had a lot of room for demons. Yes, His was a message of love. But it was also a message of freedom, recognizing that many
people are in captivity both to sin and to Satan. His mandate was to free
them from that captivity (see Luke 4:18). And just before Jesus left the
earth, He promised that anyone who has faith in Him would do the works
He was doing here on earth (see John 14:12).
When Jesus left the world, He gave us the Holy Spirit. Since the Holy
Spirit lives within us, then, in the spirit world we are like elephants and
demons are like mice. The myth is that elephants are terried by mice. They
run when they see them, even though elephants have much more power
than mice. Mice win in their encounters by bluff, not by power. They bluff
elephants into fear.
So it is with us. The enemy easily bluffs us into fearing evil spirits, even
though we carry innitely more power than satanic mice. We choose
to be ignorant rather than to challenge our enemy, though he terrorizes
our people. We fear, giving the enemy a victory he should not have. We
have enough to do, we say, dealing with other aspects of our message and
mission without opening this can of worms. The result, though, is a subbiblical Christianitya Christianity without power, a secular Christianity
so affected by Western secular assumptions that we deny in practice, if not
in theory, the existence of the invisible supernatural world. But our people
are looking for a faith with power as well as insight. Our worldview is a
basic problem here, and we will deal with this worldview in the following
chapters.
Evangelical theologians, to the extent that they deal with the spirit world
at all, tend to spend their time discussing whether or not demons exist
today. Often they follow liberal thinking by suggesting that what the New
Testament portrayed as demons was merely a pre-scientic understanding of what we know now were psychological problems. Many pastors
join them, eliminating spiritual warfare from their agendas. In addition,
evangelical scholars and pastors have bought into the secular assumption
that emotional problems are all psychological, not spiritual. The result of
24

12/15/14 8:25 AM
such assumptions is that Jesus is trusted when He talks about love or sin
but not when He assumes demonic inuence, as He often did.
But should we not assume that Jesus is as right about demons as He is
about love and sin? Could it be that people in our churches are inhabited
by demons, as they were in the synagogues of Jesus day? Is it right to assume that Jesus war against satanic emissaries is over? Did Jesus rid the
world of demons once and for all? Or are demons smart enough to keep
themselves hidden from people who question their existence, lest Christians
wake up to the power they have and start using it?
We notice that some go to excess. Some blame everything on demons
and avoid their own responsibility for their actions. The devil made me
do it is their way of explaining aberrant behavior. We do not want to be
associated with people like that. We do not want a reputation of believing
what they believe and behaving like them. Some of us would rather turn
away from this area that was important to Jesus
than to be labeled Pentecostal or charismatic.
But Jesus knew something we may not. He
Should we not
could see that the world is full of spirits, many
assume that Jesus
of them on Satans side, whose job is to make
is as right about
life as difficult as possible for the followers of
demons as He is
Jesus. And He showed us what to do about it.
about love and sin?
He did not treat demonization as a psychological
problem. Psychological problems do not talk to
us. Demons do.
Jesus was not simply accommodating to a pre-scientic worldview that
believed psychological problems were demonic beings. He saw what I have
called capital R Reality (Gods reality) and acted accordingly. He knew
that there are alien beings who serve Satan, hate humans and actively disrupt whatever they can. He knew that these beings were very much a part
of His world. They are also an active part of our world.
With Jesus on our side, do we do well to fear or ignore this area? No.
We should not approach this area fearfully. But we do need to learn a few
things. We have all the power of God on our sidemuch more power
than our enemy has. But there are rules of engagement. Jesus did not go
into battle unprepared. Nor dare we. There is help. And we do not have to
25

12/15/14 8:25 AM
become like the hyperemotional, weird ones whoso unlike Jesusmake

spiritual warfare look so distasteful to us evangelicals.
The Bible Does Not Ignore It

The Bible has a lot to say about Satan and demons. These issues are taken
very seriously throughout Scripture. Throughout the Old Testament, the
evil kingdom is always lurking in the background and affecting what goes
on in the human realm. Each of the kings of Israel and Judah were evaluated
as good or bad on the basis of what each did with the satanic strongholds
called high places. They were not simply graded on a human scale. They
left as their legacy what they did spiritually. That is what the biblical authors
considered most important.
Satan is not omnipresent. He has to depend on his principalities, powers, rulers and ground-level demons to carry out his plans (see Ephesians
6:12). Whether in the Garden of Eden or afflicting Job, whether through
activities during Israels wars or by inuencing Israels kings and the pagan
nations, these messengers of evil have been the agents of Satan.
In the New Testament, ground-level demonic spirits inuenced those who
killed the babies when Jesus was a child (see Matthew 2:1618). Though
Satan himself confronted Jesus in the wilderness (see Luke 4:113), he was undoubtedly accompanied by a host of demonic spirits. Satan and his minions
were very active when Jesus was on earth. We frequently see Jesus exposing
and casting them out. Satanic beings must have been behind the Pharisees
and the other Jewish leaders as they developed their opposition to Jesus.
We see demonic beings visible in many of the events recorded in the
book of Acts (e.g., Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5:111; the demonized
slave-girl, Acts 16:1618) and in activities recorded throughout the epistles
and Revelation (e.g., the table of demons, 1 Corinthians 10:21; the blinding
of those who do not believe, 2 Corinthians 4:4; the teachings of demons,
1 Timothy 4:1; and many of the activities recorded in the book of Revelation). The apostle Paul summarizes the situation as follows: For our
struggle is not against esh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual
forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12 niv).
26

12/15/14 8:25 AM
Jesus and the other New Testament personages took Satan and his
hosts seriously, but they were not alarmed by the satanic kingdom or its
activities. They did not fear evil spirits. They were not impressed by them
at all. When confronted, they dealt with them matter-of-factly, knowing
that Gods Kingdom and His power are innitely greater. They acknowledged the existence of these evil spirits and used the power of the Holy
Spirit to ght them.
The satanic kingdom wants us to fear it. But when we realize how little
power that kingdom has when compared to the power of God, very little
fear is left. We should respect Satan and demons and never take them
lightly, but most of what looks like power on their part is either deceit or
bluff or both. They really have little more power than that given them by
the person they inhabit. If that persons will is engaged against the demons
in partnership with Jesususually with the help of someone elseit is
only a matter of time before the demons must go. A struggle may take
place at rst if the persons will is not yet on Gods side or if he or she has
a lot of inner healing work to do. But as soon as the person is willing to
deal with their inner work and someone knowledgeable helps them, the
tough part is over.
Speaking about the Kingdom of God and demonstrating the power
that is its hallmark were among the most important things Jesus did. He
pointed to this power when He stated that His driving out demons proves
that the Kingdom of God has already come to you (Luke 11:20). Jesus
clearly operated in God-anointed spiritual authority and power. He came
to defeat Satan both during His life and through the cross and resurrection. He ministered in power, defeating the enemy every time He took him
on. A major part of the gospels is devoted to accounts of the authority
and power demonstrations that characterize Jesus battles with the enemy.
Jesus made it plain that He wanted His followers to minister in His
power and authority. During His earthly ministry, He conferred on His
apostles (see Luke 9) and the 72 (see Luke 10) the power and authority to
drive out all demons and to cure diseases (Luke 9:1). With this authority and power, Jesus followers were to heal the sick and let people know
that the Kingdom of God has come near (Luke 10:9). Then Jesus said
to the disciples and to us, As the Father sent me, so I send you (John
27

12/15/14 8:25 AM
20:21). His intent was that His followers imitate His approach to witness,
accompanying words with power (see Acts 1:8).
From Matthew 28:20, we learn that Jesus
meant for His followers to pass along to
their followers the things He had taught
Jesus made it plain that
them. He stated that they were to teach
He wanted His followers
their followers to obey everything [He
to minister in His
had] commanded [them]. He then prompower and authority.
ised, Whoever believes in me will do the
works I have been doing, and they will do
even greater things than these, because I
am going to the Father (John 14:12 niv). We can assume that doing what
Jesus has been doing includes exercising His power to deal with demons.
So lets turn our attention to a deeper reection on what this means.
28

12/15/14 8:25 AM

The Evangelical's Guide To Spiritual Warfare

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Evangelical's Guide To Spiritual Warfare

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

The Evangelical's Guide To Spiritual Warfare

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

What is the book about?

What is the book about?

What authority does Jesus give his followers?

What authority does Jesus give his followers?

THE EVANGELICALS GUIDE TO

FACING THE ENEMY

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

2015 by Charles H. Kraft

NIV. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by

Scripture quotations identied niv are from

Cover design by LOOK Design Studio

Charles H. Kraft, The Evangelical's Guide to Spiritual Warfare

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

I dedicate this book to my friend and mentor John Wimber,

Charles H. Kraft, The Evangelical's Guide to Spiritual Warfare

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

1. A Concern for Spiritual Warfare 21

Our Problem as Westerners 75

Part 4: Ground-Level Spiritual Warfare

9. Eight Controversial Issues 135

11. Ten Myths Concerning Demonization 176

14. Cosmic-Level Spirits 235

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

began reading a digital version of the manuscript of this book as I ew

Then a few months later, he visited our seminary campus in Kentucky to

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

he central theme of Christianity is love. God so loved the world . . .

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Charles H. Kraft, The Evangelical's Guide to Spiritual Warfare

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

ecently, I attended a two-day gathering of evangelical leaders where

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Introduction to Spiritual Warfare

The fairly recent cooling of the historical antipathy of evangelicals

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

A Concern for Spiritual Warfare

Is It Right for Us to Ignore This Topic?

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Introduction to Spiritual Warfare

not know? He answered, as probably most evangelicals would if they were

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

A Concern for Spiritual Warfare

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Introduction to Spiritual Warfare

become like the hyperemotional, weird ones whoso unlike Jesusmake

The Bible Does Not Ignore It

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

A Concern for Spiritual Warfare

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

Introduction to Spiritual Warfare

(Unpublished manuscriptcopyright protected Baker Publishing Group)

You might also like