I’m taking a couple of weeks off from writing, so I’m reposting some of my most popular articles.
Paul often writes about the spiritual battle we’re in. I think that the church gets in trouble when it loses sight of this. If we don’t understand the battle, then we’ll never walk in victory.
For our struggle is not against flesh 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
The Scripture is clear. The battle takes place in the unseen world. My fight isn’t against people or even the issues that I can see with my eyes.
It would be so much easier if I could see my enemy. The fact is that there’s no group you can point to and say, “They’re the enemy.” People and organizations are not the enemy.
We want to blame someone. “It’s their fault.” That’s not the attitude we should have. It’s clear from Scripture that the enemy is unseen. There’s a whole spiritual world that’s just out of reach to our five senses. It cannot be felt or touched, yet it’s just as real.
The people around me are the casualties – prisoners of war held captive in unseen detention centers. Sometimes they don’t even want to be set free because the deception feels so good at the moment. My job is not to try and convince them to join with me.
The role of the church is to fight the unseen enemy. Tear down the invisible walls. Then turn the light on in the prison cells so that the captives can see the truth of their situation. Only then will they run to Christ the Savior.
But this seems to be the hardest thing to get believers to understand. Our struggle is not in the physical world, but the spiritual. It’s not us vs. the world. I’m not trying to get them to change sides. That will never bring about the desired results.
I want the same mindset that Jesus had when He walked the earth.
…The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
1 John 3:8b
We need to know that there’s a spiritual world, and that’s where our battle is being fought right now. But how many of us really understand what that means? While many believers can quote 2 Corinthians 2:4 – the weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world – we don’t get the whole picture.
We don’t use physical weapons, but does that mean that the war itself is any different than a natural war? The enemy’s kingdom is very organized. The verse I started with talks about many levels of authority in their ranks. It’s time that the church gets organized for battle as well.
We also need to realize that this unseen world is organized. Actually, it’s more organized than the church. The enemy knows that the battle for souls goes on 24/7. We like to take breaks and holidays from the struggle. We think that because we did something special for God today, we can take the next few days off – “let our hair down” for a while. I believe that’s why the church in America seems to be so ineffective for the most part.
Do you realize that Satan has never personally attacked you? He has probably never even planned anything to come against you. We only face the lower levels of the dark forces; the rulers and authorities.
That’s why when you step up in ministry there’s a shift to a more intense battle. You find yourself moving up the ranks and facing tougher opponents in the spirit.
It’s time for God’s people to take this unseen battle seriously. We need to begin living our faith the way God intended us to. We need to lift up the Word of God as an offensive weapon against the darkness of this age. It’s time for the light of Christ to shine through us to set the captives free.
Be a part of God’s victorious church. Arm yourself for the unseen battle through prayer and the Word. It’s time to strike fear into the heart of the true enemy – the unseen kingdom of darkness.
We need a revival.
Question: What needs to take place for the church as a whole to wake up?
© 2025 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 