The Warfare of the Spirit: Religious Ritual Versus the Presence of the Indwelling Christ

by A.W. Tozer

The life of a Christian is one that is packed full of conflict. It is a persistent struggle against the evil forces of the world, the flesh and even the deceiving ways of Satan. Daunting is the task of deciphering one's purpose on this earth. Christ charges his believers to spread the good news of His death and resurrection to the world, but shouldn't our first concern be to become spiritually worthy enough to even consider witnessing to others? Tozer answers these questions before they result in ailments of the soul. He breaks down the spiritual warfare that is going on all around us, in both the physical and spiritual realms. He examines many aspects of the human experience that can potentially damage us spiritually-- concerns about money, social status, conflict with others, even reminding us to maintain focus on the real meaning of Christmas.

Genres: Christian, Religion, Christian Living

175 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1993

About the author

Aiden Wilson Tozer was an American evangelical pastor, speaker, writer, and editor. After coming to Christ at the age of seventeen, Tozer found his way into the Christian & Missionary Alliance denomination where he served for over forty years. In 1950, he was appointed by the denomination's General Council to be the editor of "The Alliance Witness" (now "Alliance Life").

Born into poverty in western Pennsylvania in 1897, Tozer died in May 1963 a self-educated man who had taught himself what he missed in high school and college due to his home situation. Though he wrote many books, two of them, "The Pursuit of God" and "The Knowledge of the Holy" are widely considered to be classics.

A.W. Tozer and his wife, Ada Cecelia Pfautz, had seven children, six boys and one girl.

Reviews

[Samuel Holbură · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mesajul de Crăciun, când este dezbrăcat de nuanțele lui păgâne este relativ simplu: Dumnezeu a venit pe pământ în forma omului.
A. W. Tozer

[Poiema · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading Tozer for nearly 4 decades, and I have yet to be disappointed in any of his writings. Deep, wise, and insightful, he often examines societal norms, makes the case that the church has embraced those norms, and then with a deft stroke of the pen makes the devastatingly convicting diagnosis of mediocrity.

Because Tozer wrote for a magazine, most of his books are compilations of short articles, each chapter about a different subject. I am glad the chapters are short; the intensity might be lethal in large doses!

This particular book tackles the subjects of holidays and how we can properly honor them without blurring the intent, the pros and cons of using commentaries, conformity and individuality, freedom vs liberty, the shallow reading habits of the average Christian, and what makes a good leader---to name a few. He also writes some powerful thoughts about how the church uses money: " What a church can or cannot do is decided by the state of the treasury. Its spiritual outgo is determined by its financial income, with no margin for miracle and no recognition of a spiritual ministry unrelated to money."

Excellent fodder for the thinking Christian.

[Jana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Attempted to reread. I stopped after a few chapters. This book should really be renamed “Tozer’s warfare on the spirit of the modern church”. I don’t disagree with him. But it’s not what I was looking for, and I had forgotten I had read this. Oh well…

So, I suppose the old adage “You can’t judge a book by its cover” fits here. Though I read the back cover that explained the purpose of this book, my thoughts went with the title of the book, looking for a book on spiritual warfare. This book is not that, not really. Not how I think of it, anyway. This book is more 41 short writings or essays on the many different areas of Christian living in this messy, broken world. So, this book was good. Tons of food for thought. As deep or shallow as one is willing to delve into any one of the 41 chapters to find applicable meaning or life changing strategies. In short, it was a good book overall, but the title of the book was confusing for me.

[Clara Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a compilation of essays or sermon written by A.W. Tozer. Tozer has been dead sixty years so I assume these essays were written eighty to ninty years ago. Much of his work sounds as if it was wriiten yesterday. The examples he used were just that current. This was the first book by Tozer that I have ever read in its entirity. It was well worth the read. Tozer was a part of the Christian Missionary Alliance movement. You would think that someone with Tozer's insights to have multiple degrees but Tozer only had a B.A.

[Mark-robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of Tozer's writings is always good to have handy. Overall it was helpful but not the most compelling collection.

[Hugh Laybourn · Rating 4 out of 5]

changing spiritual thoughts