The Church of the Lord Jesus Christ simply needs to learn how to maintain balance. By emphasizing one verse to the exclusion of other passages, or by exalting anything other than the Word of God—including unbiblical practices—believers can stray into major doctrinal errors.

A person can take any theme from the Bible, give it too much importance, and make Scripture say what it doesn’t actually say.
That’s exactly what some Christians have done with the idea of “fighting” the devil. They have resorted to carnal practices, such as shouting and screaming at the devil in an effort to “defeat” him.

However, the believer’s battle against the forces of evil does not take place in the natural realm with carnal methods. It is fought in the spiritual realm, through faith in the Word.

Some believers even take out of context the passage about evil spirits in the heavenly places (Ephesians 6:12) and claim that we need to physically rise up in prayer to fight evil spirits in the heavens! In reality, what they need to do is come down to where the real battle is happening: in their minds and in their flesh!

These people are essentially trying to physically reach a position where God has already placed us—in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6). We are already far above principalities and powers because of our position in Christ. Not only that, but the Bible says:
“…whatever you bind ON EARTH shall be bound in heaven…” (Matthew 18:18), and
“…if two of you agree ON EARTH about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.” (Matthew 18:19)

The Bible clearly states that we are to take these actions on earth; it doesn’t say we should rise into the spiritual realm to try and deal with the devil! Everything Jesus and the disciples did, they did on earth, not in the heavenly realms above the earth.

Through their prayers, Paul and Silas brought down the power of God.
If you ever wonder whether a spiritual practice is scriptural or not, open the Word and check if Jesus and His disciples ever engaged in it. For example, what did the disciples do when they faced strong satanic opposition?

Certainly, Paul and Silas experienced spiritual warfare when they were beaten and thrown into prison (Acts 16:18, 22-23)—there’s no doubt about that. It wasn’t God causing the problem, but the devil working behind the scenes, stirring up the people against them. He was opposing the Church and the message of the gospel, using men to wage his war.

So, did Paul and Silas find a way to rise up into the atmosphere to fight the devil? Did they wage war, struggle, shout at the devil, and fight demons by speaking in tongues?

No! When they were thrown into prison, their feet were put in stocks. They couldn’t move, trapped in the inner cell (Acts 16:23–26). How could they have physically ascended to the heavenly places to fight the powers of darkness that opposed them? They didn’t need to. They praised God until the power of the Holy Spirit came down.

Here on earth, at midnight, Paul and Silas prayed and sang hymns to God, and He heard them and delivered them (Acts 16:25). You see, praying and praising are scriptural forms of “battle” in the spiritual realm because you must remain in faith to engage in them!
And because God responds to faith (Hebrews 11:6), He came down, shook that old prison, and set Paul and Silas free.

We don’t need to physically rise to higher realms to deal with evil spirits. Instead, we should focus on using the power of God that is already available to believers here on earth! Yes, the word “fight” indicates a spiritual conflict between the believer and the devil, but that fight takes place in the arena of faith, in the spiritual realm—not in the natural.

It’s a struggle that requires us to firmly rely on the promises of God’s Word and the finished work of our redemption.

The Scriptural “Fight”: The Fight of Faith

Once believers become aware of their authority in Christ and begin to walk in the finished work of the Cross, they will understand exactly what kind of “fight” they are called to engage in.

They don’t need to subdue or defeat the devil by their own strength. We can only “fight” demonic forces through our faith in the Word of God, from a position of victory, seated with Christ—because in Him, we have authority over demons. That’s why the only fight we’re called to engage in is the fight of faith. If we’re involved in any other kind of fight, we’re not fighting “the good fight of faith…” (1 Timothy 6:12).

Of course, there are times when we must “fight” to remain in faith. As long as the devil can keep you in the realm of the senses—his domain—and as long as you focus on your circumstances, he’ll strike you at every opportunity.

But when you remain in the realm of faith, relying on the Word of God that always brings victory, you will be the one striking the enemy every time…

This text is an excerpt from the book “The Triumphant Church: Dominion Over All the Powers of Darkness” written by Kenneth E. Hagin.

We invite you to read the next article: “THE TRIUMPHANT CHURCH, NOT A DEFEATED FIGHTER”.