The issue of warfare and fighting is a controversial one. In terms of the Bible, it also brings up a number of moral issues, such as whether a Christian should fight in the army. However, in this post I will aim not to talk about God as a warrior in a physical war; rather, that He is, along with all Creation, fighting a spiritual war against the effects of the Fall: death, disease, and general pain.

Physical warfare has many references in the Old Testament, and though the wars and battles vary vastly - from huge battles between huge armies, to a single boy against the Philistine hero - they all elude to the spiritual battle that we all fight every day.

In Exodus 17:8-15, the Amalekites attack the Israelites and Moses tells Joshua to lead the army out against them. We see God on the side of the Israelites in this passage, as when Moses holds his hands up the Israelites win; when he lowers them, the Amalekites win (verse 11). Moses recognises God's hand in the battle that the Israelites eventually win, and calls the altar that he builds there 'The Lord is my Banner' (verse 15). This image of God as a military banner - which is mirrored in the hymn Onward Christian Soldiers - gives the image of One who goes before us against all adversaries, be it sin, a bully, or even ourselves.

The second physical battle in the Old Testament to show God's hand in our spiritual battle is in Judges 7, when Gideon leads an army out against the Midianites who have been oppressing the Israelites. Gideon starts with over 32,000 men, but God does not allow him to keep this many for the final battle. He argues that if the army is as vast as the one that they are fighting against, they will boast of their own strength rather than recognising the help God is giving them (verse 2). God orders Gideon to send home certain men, until by the time of the battle the Israelites are up against the Midianites with only 300 men (verse 10). Gideon, who has already doubted and asked to test God (Judges 6:36-40), has to fight with faith that these 300 men will be enough against the whole army that they have to face. In this way, God calls us to fight with Him and trust that God + us = majority over whatever we are facing.

In Judges 7:13-14, Gideon and his servant Purah have gone down to the Midianite camp, and hear one of the Midianites say to his friend about a dream that he has had. The friend then explains the meaning of the dream: that God has given the Midianites to the Israelites. The outcome of the battle has already been decided for them by God. This is also true of our spiritual battle: God, working for the good of all those who love him (Romans 8:28) has already won the battle for us by giving up His Son for us on the Cross. Jesus, by dying and rising again, already secured the outcome of the battle that we fight. Even though we still have to fight it, we can be secure in the knowledge that, having read the final chapter, we know that God wins.

Perhaps the most famous battle - and in some ways the most relevant in the case of our spiritual battle as it is mostly a battle that we fight with little or no human help - is the battle of David against Goliath. Goliath is one of the most formidable opponents the Israelites have ever faced; he is well-equipped, giant, and skilled (1 Samuel 17:4-7). Compared to this, David - a 12-year-old boy - is nothing. He has had no military experience, while Goliath has been trained since youth (verse 33). Yet God does not lead him into battle empty-handed. I'm not talking about the weapons he goes into the battle with - for his simple slingshot and stone from the pond is much less formidable than the advanced weaponry at Goliath's disposal. I am talking about experience. David, from tending his father's flocks, has killed both a lion and a bear (verses 34-37).

Last year, at Soul Survivor, I attended a seminar that outlined seven ways to change the world. The speaker spoke about how we are each equipped perfectly for our individual challenges. He used Moses to illustrate his point: Moses, a Hebrew by biological descent but an Egyptian by upbringing, as the spokesperson for the Hebrew God to the Egyptians. Moses was more suited to this role than anyone else, and that is why God chose him to lead His people out of Egypt. In the same way, the warrior God equips us with the right tools that we need to fight our own individual battles.

As we move into the New Testament, we see the calls to fight the spiritual battle becoming more personal. In 2 Timothy 2:3, Paul instructs Timothy to "endure hardness" like "a good soldier of Jesus Christ", fighting in the spiritual battle against sin. Ephesians 6:10-17 speaks of the "armour of God" (verse 10), which includes the "belt of truth" (verse 14), the "breastplate of righteousness" (verse 14), the "shield of truth" (verse 16), the "helmet of salvation" (verse 17), and "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (verse 17). We use all of these things to fight against the effects of the Fall in our world: death, disease, sadness, and any other thing which goes against the loving nature of God that He would see reflected in His Creation.

But the warrior God, as a loving God, does not only use traditional means of attack in this battle against the Fall. He also uses love as a weapon against evil. Again at Soul Survivor, a woman who was preaching spoke of her little sister who was bullied by others at her school. Instead of talking back to them, she decided to fight them with kindness; for every insult, she would offer them a smile or an encouraging word. As time went on, the bullying stopped, and they even became friends. Indeed, the Bible calls us to be nice to our enemies, for to do so is to "pour hot coals on their head" (Proverbs 25:21-22).

This idea of fighting the spiritual battle with goodness is one which, I think, is (possibly unintentionally) illustrated in the music video for the song Now by Paramore (which you can see here). In the video, a battle is raging as the singer makes her way over to the General of the other army. The singer said in an interview that the two armies (hers and the General's) are more the forces of love versus those who have never known love respectively than simply two waring factions. The battle rages on for the entire video, until at the very end the singer reaches the General and the battle is won... with a hug. The battle, which has been fuelled by the violence of two opposing sides, was won with a single, loving gesture. For me, this is the ultimate illustration of the spiritual battle. We are called to fight the forces of evil by the warrior God, not by fighting in the traditional sense as was the case before Jesus came, but to fight with love in the hope and determination that the light of the warrior God will shine so bright, that the dark opposition cannot hide and - most importantly - cannot win.

Remember, we have read the final chapter: God wins.