We’ve all heard the cliché description of a Christian who sees a demon behind every bush. Rightly, we try to avoid that “devil made me do it” mentality. But we dare not forget “our adversary, the devil” who waits to pounce on our souls, though perhaps not from behind the shrubbery.
In our churches today people want to understand spiritual warfare, but much of the popular teaching is built upon an elaborate framework of shaky interpretation and quasi-biblical psychology, not on Scripture. With that in mind, the new book Spiritual Warfare in the Storyline of Scripture, by William F. Cook III and Chuck Lawless, provides needed clarity on this subject.
Cook and Lawless define spiritual warfare as “the ongoing battle between the church and the devil and his forces, with the church standing in the armor of God, defensively resisting the devil, and offensively proclaiming the gospel in a battle already won.” This 340 page collaboration is really two books in one. The first half, written by Cook, briefly surveys all the Bible passages related to Satan, demons, or spiritual warfare. The second half, written by Lawless, gives “practical insights for living obediently in light of that warfare.” Cook’s background in New Testament interpretation makes him a good fit for the commentary section. Likewise, Lawless’s experience in evangelism and missions dovetails nicely into the practical application.
I found the first half of the book especially helpful. Much of what we know about Satan and his demons comes in isolated bits and pieces, verses easily misinterpreted alone. By taking a systematic look at these texts, we see a more cohesive picture. Cook treats easily misunderstood concepts like strongholds, deliverance, and demon possession with care, meticulously explaining them within their original contexts. He avoids unsubstantiated conjecture, the temptation of all commentators, and does a good job of offering multiple viewpoints where interpretations differ. I especially enjoyed the Greek word studies throughout. For those who want to dig deeper, copious footnotes point to further resources.
In the second half of the book, Chuck Lawless builds upon this foundation by outlining the spiritual battle on five specific fronts: the local church, evangelism, missions, family, and leadership. I found this to be a helpful, though sometimes redundant, approach. “It is best to begin not by focusing on the enemy,” Lawless clarifies, “but by focusing on what God wants his church to be.” He emphasizes the importance of discipleship for strength both defensively against temptation and offensively through evangelism.
This book works well as a solid primer on spiritual warfare, but also as a reference. The Scripture index in the back makes it easy to look up individual passages in the commentary and the application chapters can provide specific encouragement as needed.