Both/And: A Balanced Understanding of Spiritual Warfare
Is it mental illness? Is it spiritual warfare? Both? Neither? Our culture, especially this generation, is very aware of the mental pressures that affect each one of us. Seeing a therapist is no longer taboo like it once was. Most young adults would readily admit they deal with things like anxiety on a regular basis. Yet the Bible is clear: "For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 6:12, New Living Translation). The spiritual realm is real, and Scripture takes it seriously. So what are we supposed to do with that? How do we hold both of these realities together? The good news is that we do not have to choose between them.
The "OR" Problem
In American culture, we tend to think of things in terms of a single causation. A caused C. But things can have dual causation and often do. A + B = C. This is why we are likely to ask, "Is this spiritual warfare OR mental illness OR something else?" And then, based on our culture, we tend to default to one or the other. If it is spiritual warfare, then we can ignore looking at it from a mental or emotional standpoint, and vice versa.
In his book The Screwtape Letters, C.S. Lewis noted in the preface, "There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors and hail a materialist or a magician with the same delight."
Lewis is highlighting something important. Our culture, even church culture, tends to produce one of two kinds of people: those who dismiss the spiritual realm entirely, and those who see a “demon behind every bush”. Both errors create problems. The first leaves people without the spiritual resources they genuinely need. The second produces fear, hypervigilance, and an unhealthy preoccupation with the demonic. Neither posture serves us well.
So instead of "or," we need to start thinking in terms of "and." And that is exactly where we are going next.
Why It’s “AND”
I work for an organization called Wellsprings of Freedom International (WFI), where our mission is to help wounded, tormented, and spiritually oppressed individuals find freedom, hope, and restoration through the power of Jesus Christ. In our fundamental training, we teach how God created us as whole beings with a mind, body, and spirit. In 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (NLT), Paul says, "Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again." God created and cares about our mind, body, and spirit. We often do not need help in just one area, but rather in multiple areas.
In his book The Evangelical's Guide to Spiritual Warfare, Dr. Charles Kraft, professor emeritus at Fuller Theological Seminary, gives a helpful analogy to help us understand this. He notes that bad things that happen in our lives (sins, wounds we have experienced, etc.) are like garbage that piles up in our lives mentally and emotionally. Demonic spirits are like rats. They love to come in and infest the garbage, and start telling us lies to make things worse. So if you want to get rid of rats, you have to first deal with the garbage. Clean out the garbage, and then it is easier to clean out the rats. It is not deal with mental and emotional issues OR spiritual warfare, but rather it is deal with mental and emotional issues AND spiritual warfare.
The Three Open Doors
So, where does this garbage come from specifically? How do we let it come into our lives? WFI teaches a concept called "three open doors." There are three doors we open in our lives that allow the enemy access. Scripture itself points us in this direction. In Ephesians 4:26, Paul says, "Don't let the sun go down while you are still angry, for anger gives a foothold to the devil" (NLT). In his book 3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare, Clinton Arnold points out that the Greek word Paul uses for "foothold" is "topos," which means "an inhabitable space." So, another way of saying this is, "for anger gives an inhabitable space to the devil." In other words, it is an open door.
So what are the three open doors? The first is the things we do. When we do something God says not to do, we open the door to the enemy in our lives. We give them an inhabitable space.
The second is things done to us. Things like abuse, rejection, or any other sin committed against us can be used by the enemy in our lives. In his book Two Hours to Freedom, Charles Kraft says, "The first thing to recognize is the fact that reactions, even more than the abuse in focus, usually cause the most damage." We get hurt, the enemy jumps into the mix, we react, and even more harm is done. Things done to us is yet another open door, as unfair as it might seem.
Third, there are the generational effects of sin (see Exodus 20:5). If you stop to consider your own family, you can probably point to where generational sins have repeated. Things like alcoholism, divorce, suicide, abuse, and anxiety. Again, while it is certainly not fair, the enemy will seek to keep these things going in our family lines.
So this becomes the key to healing and freedom in our lives. If we can identify what doors are open and what garbage has come in, we can identify what is giving the enemy power in our lives, and we can start to deal with it by cleaning up the garbage, removing the rats, and closing the doors.
So What Do We Do?
This is why balanced care is important. Brian Burke, the President of WFI, points out that if a person has cancer, for example, they can go to a medical doctor to treat the cancer, but at the same time, they may need to go to a counselor to help them work through the grief and fear that often accompanies such a diagnosis. And on the spiritual side, there are trained teams such as the ones trained by WFI that work in local churches helping people look at it from the spiritual side as well. (College Wesleyan Church does have a trained WFI team that serves this purpose.)
And here are some important points as we think about this. First, we are not fighting for victory in these spiritual battles, but we are fighting from victory. Ephesians 6:10-18 talks about the spiritual armor God has given us. Colossians 2:15 (NLT) says, "In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross." In Luke 10:19 (NLT), Jesus says to his followers, "Look, I have given you authority over all the power of the enemy, and you can walk among snakes and scorpions and crush them. Nothing will injure you." The snakes and scorpions here are a reference to our spiritual enemies. We do have and can have victory in Christ.
Second, we are created for community. We are not meant to do these things alone. Going to a team like Wellsprings for ministry helps me see my blind spots to what the enemy is doing. There are things that a Wellsprings team, a good Christian counselor, and a doctor can all see that I cannot see on my own. So we should go to those who can help us in all of these areas as we seek to clean out the garbage in our lives.
Freedom, Not Fear
Of course, we also want to follow spiritual disciplines in our own lives each day. In Ephesians 6, while listing the armor of God, Paul identifies two offensive weapons in our arsenal: the Word of God, which he calls the Sword of the Spirit, and prayer. James 5:16b (NLT) says, "The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."
It is good to know that we are on the winning side in spiritual warfare. We are not told in Scripture to be afraid of the enemy, but rather to be alert and aware. Peter says, "Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8, NLT). Notice he says, "Stay alert!" not "be afraid."
Paul also says, "Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power" (Ephesians 6:10b, NLT). And in Romans 8:37-39 (NLT) he writes, "No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow — not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love."
We are on the winning side. So put on the full armor, and do not do it alone. Find allies in the fight. Seek help in every area where you need it. And then rest in this: "If the Son sets you free, you are truly free" (John 8:36, NLT).
Rev. David Kelly is the Director of the Indiana Regional Hub of Wellsprings of Freedom International. David has been a long-time member of College Wesleyan and partner in ministry. He is passionate about teaching and equipping people in intercession & discernment. He is a husband to Maria and father of two. If you get to meet him, ask him about owning birds, how to have consistent date nights with your spouse, or completing Lego builds.