Jonathan Edwards on Spiritual warfare
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"The devil has ever shown a mortal spite and hatred towards that holy book the Bible"
THE POSITION
Edwards writes about the devil as a counterfeiter inside a revival rather than as an enemy to be fought: Satan mixes his delusions into a true work of God and imitates it as an angel of light. His concern is telling the Spirit's work from the devil's by its fruits, since the devil would never raise esteem for Jesus, convict of sin, or honour the Bible. He also warns against rejecting a whole revival because some of it is Satan's.
1 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God. For many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you will know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and which is already in the world at this time. 4 You, little children, are from God and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. 5 They are of the world. That is why they speak from the world’s perspective, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. That is how we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of deception.
WHAT OTHERS HOLD HERE
ABOUT THIS FIGURE
New England pastor, revival theologian and philosopher of the First Great Awakening, dismissed from his Northampton pulpit in 1750 over who may come to the Lord's Table. This entry rests on Freedom of the Will (1754), Original Sin (1758), Religious Affections (1746), An Humble Inquiry (1749), Distinguishing Marks (1741), Some Thoughts on the Revival (1742), An Humble Attempt (1747) and A History of the Work of Redemption, read in the Hickman edition.
Cite this page
"Jonathan Edwards on Spiritual warfare", Examined Doctrine, July 2026 edition, https://examineddoctrine.com/position/edwards/spiritual-warfare (archived at https://examineddoctrine.com/editions/2026-07/position/edwards/spiritual-warfare).