What does First B Jackson teach about spiritual warfare?
Drawn from the messages where it was actually addressed: the words said from the front, the passages taught, and where to hear the whole thing.
At First B Jackson, the teaching on spiritual warfare starts with a reframe that cuts against most of what people assume. Pastor Ray has pressed this repeatedly across multiple messages: the enemy is not the person who argues with you, opposes you, or makes you furious. As he put it plainly, 'Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. Those are people that Jesus wants to save.' The actual opposition named in Ephesians 6 is a spiritual hierarchy, rulers, powers, and what the Greek calls kosmokratoras, world-rulers, a word that appears only once in the entire New Testament. That enemy operates within a designated jurisdiction and no further, because Satan is not God's equal. He is a created being whose rebellion has already been judged. A missionary Pastor Ray knew in Mexico named Joe Parker put it simply: the devil is God's devil.
The armor itself, taught from Ephesians 6, is not a personal checklist for individual Christians. Every 'you' in the passage is plural, a 'y'all,' and that communal shape is inseparable from the larger argument of Ephesians, that the church gathered in unity is how the multifaceted wisdom of God is displayed to the spiritual powers of this world. God has no plan B. Each piece of the armor defends against something specific: the belt of truth stands against misinformation and outright lies, the breastplate of righteousness means walking in a victory already given rather than performing goodness for an audience, and the gospel of peace carried on the feet is good news the church is meant to bring to people who are not enemies but objectives. The shield of faith and the armor as a whole make no real sense apart from the prayer section that closes the passage, because armor apart from ongoing connection to God is just equipment.
The victory itself is already settled. Pastor Ray described it this way: 'The victory has already been won, but we're living in the midst of a day where a defeated foe is still making all kinds of racket.' That framing shapes how First B Jackson approaches the fight. Believers are not primarily sinners who keep failing; they are saints who have access to God's power, called to stand in what has already been accomplished rather than to manufacture strength of their own. The command to 'be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might' is not a motivational push directed at individual willpower. It points entirely to who God is and what He has already done.
Taught from Ephesians 6:10-20 · Ephesians 6:12 · Ephesians 3:8-10 · Ephesians 2:1-10 · Hebrews 11:1
The passage taught · Ephesians 2:1-10
1 You were made alive when you were dead in transgressions and sins,
2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the children of disobedience;
3 among whom we also all once lived in the lusts of our flesh, doing the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
World English Bible
The messages that teach on it
- June 21, 2026 The Full Armor of God and the Comms Check Pastor Ray works through Ephesians 6, showing that the armor of God is a collective calling, not an individual one, and that our fight is never against other people.
- June 14, 2026 Strong in the Lord and the Strength of His Might Ephesians 6 sermon on the armor of God, spiritual warfare, communion, and what it means to stand firm not by your own strength but in the Lord's.
Mentioned along the way
- July 13, 2025 Who Are You Acts 19: miracles, a mob, and a silversmith's riot in Ephesus. What happens when the gospel upends business, pride, and everything people thought they controlled.
- September 11, 2024 Women's Bible Study - September 11th, 2024 - Overcoming Temptation Through God’s Strength Natalie Yates teaches on Matthew 4, tracing how Jesus faced the lust of the flesh, pride of life, and lust of the eyes, and how we can follow His example.
- September 13, 2023 Women's Bible Study - September 13th, 2023 Deborah teaches on truth, spiritual awakening, and rooting into Jesus as the only defense against lies that lead to bondage, in a fallen and confused culture.
- October 19, 2022 Women's Bible Study - October 19th, 2022 Deborah teaches First Baptist Jackson women how praise, humility, and bold faith in God can move us from surviving hard circumstances to truly thriving.
- September 21, 2022 Women's Bible Study - September 21st, 2022 Deborah teaches on the "little g gods" competing for our attention, how Satan works through false philosophies, and four idols that keep us from trusting God fully.
- June 26, 2022 Power Over the Supernatural Realm Jesus confronts a demon-possessed man across the Sea of Galilee, showing His power over the supernatural and sending the freed man home to tell what God had done.
- June 26, 2022 Power Over the Supernatural A Wyoming pastor walks through three Gospel accounts of Jesus freeing a demon-possessed man, asking why people who witness God's power sometimes beg Him to leave.
- June 12, 2022 Humble Yourselves Under the Mighty Hand of God From 1 Peter 5, four clear commands for anyone who feels stuck: humble yourself, stay sober, stay alert, and resist the devil. God promises to do the rest.
- November 11, 2018 Humble Yourselves Under the Mighty Hand of God Pastor Nathan walks through 1 Peter 5:6-11, showing what believers are called to do about anxiety and pride, and what God promises to do in response.
- May 20, 2018 Seared Consciences and Deceitful Spirits A Wyoming pastor walks through 1 Timothy 4:1-5, warning against false teaching, seared consciences, and the pull of deceitful spirits in the latter days.
- April 8, 2018 Dead in Trespasses, Made Alive in Christ Todd Lampa walks through Ephesians 2:1-10, showing how Christians were once dead in sin, deserving judgment, and what God's mercy and grace mean for how we live now.
- April 8, 2018 Dead People Made Alive Ephesians 2:1-10 explored through the lens of worldview: why we were dead in sin, how God's grace made us alive, and what purpose He has prepared for us.
- March 25, 2015 Pick Up the Armor and Claim It A women's Bible study closes its Ephesians series by walking through the armor of God, showing how truth, righteousness, peace, faith and Scripture guard against spiritual attack.
- January 28, 2015 Dead Man Walking, But God Deborah teaches Ephesians 2 at First Baptist Jackson, tracing how God rescues spiritually dead sinners by grace and calls them His masterpiece with purpose.