Across much of Africa, the phrase “life is spiritual” has become a defining lens through which many Christians interpret everyday life. It expresses the belief that everything happening in the physical world is merely a reflection of activities in the unseen spiritual realm. According to this view, the spiritual realm holds ultimate control over people’s lives and circumstances.
In practical terms, this means that almost nothing is considered ordinary. A prolonged illness, financial hardship, delayed marriage, or any other challenge isn’t considered part of life in a fallen world. Instead, such things are often interpreted as signs of hidden spiritual forces at work. Those forces, so this teaching goes, must be identified and confronted, overcome. Only then can change occur.
They promise an insider’s look into the spiritual world.
Part of the reason this belief has grown in popularity is the rise of testimonies from people who claim to be former Satanists or agents of darkness. Their stories haven’t only found a ready audience. They’re also gobbled up on social media. And if you’ve been in and around African churches, you’ll know just how captivating such testimonies can be. They promise an insider’s look into the spiritual world. And for many, they seem to confirm that life is, indeed, spiritual.
Yet while scripture affirms the reality of the spiritual realm, the way this idea is emphasised and applied distorts the gospel and reshapes Christian living in four deeply unbiblical ways, as we are going to see.
1. A Misplaced Emphasis on the Spiritual Realm
The Bible certainly acknowledges the existence of spiritual forces (Ephesians 6:12). But in many parts of Africa, men and women of God have taken this truth to unbiblical extremes, where their devotion shifts towards diagnosing the “kingdom of darkness”—with efforts to: trace generational curses; identify territorial spirits; and break demonic covenants and altars.
The result is a brand of Christianity that lives in fear rather than faith in Christ.
Now, there’s nothing wrong with recognising that life has a spiritual dimension. Scripture makes that clear. The problem is when that reality overshadows the supremacy of Christ and the sufficiency of his finished work. In the name of being “spiritually alert,” many have become more devil-centred than Christocentric; more conscious of spirits than concerned with the Holy Spirit. The result is a brand of Christianity that lives in fear and superstition rather than in faith and assurance in Christ. We end up with a Christianity that talks more about the enemy’s schemes and power than about the Saviour’s victory.
2. Externalising Sin and Misunderstanding the Human Condition
Within this framework, sin is often exclusively treated as something outside of us. Sin is considered something caused by evil spirits, curses, or demonic strongholds. A believer struggling with anger, greed, or lust is told they have a “spirit of anger” or a “spirit of lust” that needs to be cast out. In this way, responsibility for sin is shifted away from the sinner’s own heart and placed on invisible forces outside them.
Sin is often exclusively treated as something outside of us.
But Scripture paints a very different picture. Sin, the Bible tells us, comes from within. “Each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire, when it has conceived, gives birth to sin” (James 1:14-15). The heart of the human problem is, quite literally, the problem of the human heart.
When sin is externalised, the call to sincere repentance and faith in Christ is replaced by a focus on deliverance rituals and endless “spiritual warfare” sessions. Instead of confronting the sin within, many are taught to chase after the demons without. In doing so, they miss the transforming power of the gospel that changes hearts from the inside out.
3. Redefining the Christian Life as Continuous Spiritual Warfare
The natural outcome of this worldview is that “spiritual warfare” becomes the very essence of Christian living. Believers are taught to focus much of their time “binding,” “rebuking,” and “cancelling” every spiritual force believed to be standing in the way of their destiny. In many churches, prayer meetings sound more like battle commands where shouting at the devil, rebuking the “spirit of delay,” “spirit of poverty,” or “spirit of rejection” is the norm.
Beneath all this activity lies a troubling implication: Christ’s finished work isn’t enough.
Over time, this not only produces a Christianity marked by fear but one that knows little rest. One where believers live in a state of constant suspicion and spiritual anxiety, always watching for unseen threats and hidden enemies. Not to mention, being swamped in never-ending rituals and practices that promise protection or deliverance.
And beneath all this activity lies a troubling implication: that Christ’s finished work is not enough. Moreover, this way of thinking subtly reinforces the idea that the devil and the powers of darkness are more powerful than, or at least match, God. Yet Scripture clearly teaches that Satan and the demons are created beings, entirely subject to the authority of the one true and sovereign God.
4. The Biblical Perspective: Christ’s Triumph and the Believer’s Assurance
When it comes to the demonic, the Bible startlingly declares that Christ “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them by the cross” (Colossians 2:15). Just a few verses earlier, Paul reminds us that Christ “has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son” (Colossians 1:13). This means that believers have no reason to live in fear of demonic powers, curses, evil covenants or even invisible “altars.” In Jesus, the ultimate victory has already been won.
Believers have no reason to live in fear of demonic powers, curses, or evil covenants.
The Christian’s focus, then, isn’t to uncover the workings of darkness; it is resting in Christ’s triumph and walking in obedience to him. As Paul writes about Christ, “he reigns as head over all rule and authority” (Colossians 2:10). Everything—even the unseen spiritual realm—is subject to his sovereign rule. Christ reigns supreme over them all.
So is true spirituality marked by a hyper-awareness of the demonic, or by a confident grasp of the gospel? Life is indeed spiritual. But not in the ways often suggested. Life is spiritual because those who are in Christ live by the Spirit (Romans 8:9-11). While the devil and his demons still exist and tempt believers, Christ has overcome them. Through Christ, we have the assurance that “greater is he who is in you than he who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). And the most spiritual thing a believer can do is to confidently trust Christ. Let us walk in that truth, living each day in the sufficiency and peace of his victory.
This articles was originally published on The Gospel Coalition Africa website.
