One way we know that spiritual warfare is an actual war is by the spiritual warfare terminology the Bible uses to describe it. Now, you might think: 'Couldn't these just be powerful metaphors about moral struggle?' That's a fair question—however, consider this: If you're involved in a war, you use war language. Moreover, Scripture uses military terminology throughout when describing the Christian life.

So, let's look at some verses that highlight the language you'd expect to find if we're truly in a battle.

War

The most basic term is simply the word "war" itself. For example, 

1 Peter 2:11 (ESV) says: "Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against your soul." 

Indeed, all of us struggle with that inner battle Paul describes in Romans chapter 7. We want to do the good thing, but we're pulled away, and no matter how much we try, we end up doing what we don't want to do, and then we regret it. There are times we have victory too, but there's this internal struggle that sometimes seems to overpower us. We make commitments and rarely follow through—it's like a war is going on within us.

This reminds me of a guy in an office who decided he needed to lose weight. Every day he'd stop at the bakery and bring in a Danish. Finally, he told his coworkers, "I want to be accountable to you. I'll drive by the bakery as always, but I won't stop and get a Danish unless there's a parking spot right in front." The next day, however, he walked in with a Danish. "Are you telling me there was a parking space right in front?" they asked. "Yeah," he said, "and I only had to drive around the block 10 times to find it."

In fact, that's the war we fight—knowing what we want to do but battling against another part of ourselves.

Soldiers

In addition, Paul wrote to Timothy: 

Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him. 2 Timothy 2:3–4 (ESV)

So, what do you think about songs like "Onward Christian Soldiers"? What about The Salvation Army? Do you think these are outdated, out of touch with where we are in the world today? Should we stop singing that song, and should The Salvation Army change its name and get rid of those uniforms?

Actually, I think those are closer to the truth than we realize. We are soldiers.

Enemies

Now, if you're in a battle, you have enemies. For instance, we read of this in the book of James.

You adulterous people, do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. James 4:4 (ESV) 

So if you're a friend of the world and you're God's enemy, what does that make the world? An enemy. Moreover, Jesus said the world hates Him, and it's going to hate us too. We have spiritual enemies.

Also, notice that the flesh is part of spiritual warfare, but it's different from Satan. This verse talks about the world as another enemy we face.

Weapons and Armor

The Bible makes it clear we have weapons and armor.

Second Corinthians 10:4 tells us: "The weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but have divine power to destroy strongholds."

Similarly, Romans 13:12 says: "The night is far gone, the day is at hand. So let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light."

Kingdoms

Here's an interesting concept: when a person becomes a Christian, we become part of God's kingdom. 

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, Colossians 1:13 (ESV)

This isn't metaphorical citizenship—rather, it describes an actual transfer of authority and allegiance.

We used to walk according to "the prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). We followed him without even knowing it.

The Full Picture

In fact, the sheer volume and consistency of this spiritual warfare terminology across different authors and contexts suggest intentional description, not poetic flourish. Moreover, we could keep going with more terms: fight, adversaries, strongholds, fortresses, victory, overcome, conquer. so, are you getting the picture? We are part of a spiritual war.

Unfortunately, if you've been a Christian for a long time, these terms have become so familiar that we don't pay attention to them anymore. However, the Bible repeatedly emphasizes that we are in a spiritual war.

You didn't choose this—God chose you, and Satan knows it. Your only choice now is whether you'll fight like a soldier or wander around like a civilian wondering why you keep getting ambushed.