To look at warfare is to look at parenting. God’s warfare interventions are only part of His overarching parenting of a person or nation. Spiritual warfare cannot be separated from who God is, for what He does rest in who He is. So as the church starts to look more and more at warfare these days-as the spiritual reality makes itself more and more unavoidable in the day to day, it also must enter His Life as Father. How is He fathering this person or nation? And then we begin to see why He is using this or that particular warfare tactic. To have His authority to take dominion over local evils in our lives is basic, but to start to do so AS HE IS starts to move us into His Wisdom. Force should always be used with wisdom. Warfare requires this heavenly wisdom.
Colossians 3:16 (another of the great 3:16s) tells us to, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in ALL WISDOM..” Wisdom has to do with how to apply knowledge. We are to let His words in us do the work, and we are to release these words in us AS HE IS RELEASING THEM ABOVE. That is aligned use of weaponry, and it will keep us from many unnecessary casualities.
You see this played out among the nations right now. Force needs to be aligned with heavenly purposes for it to accomplish its purpose. We need The Father’s wisdom in order to war as He is. We need to become good spiritual parents with His words within us!