Ephesians 6:10-12 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”
St. Paul ends his exhortations with instructions for the followers of Christ in Ephesus, instructions that should still be followed by all Christians today. He creates imagery to portray the Christian life as spiritual warfare that can only be won by using God’s strength. The passage is broken down into three sections: verses 10-13, 14-17, and 18-20.
To introduce the armor of God, Paul focuses on the strength it provides. Christians are not strong enough on our own to stand against superhuman powers. Our only chance is through relying on God’s strength.
Paul’s list of spiritual rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers provides a sobering reality of the spiritual forces of evil. The devil’s allies are far more powerful than humans due to exercising cosmic powers over the present darkness. Still, Scripture teaches that the enemy is no match for God. He has “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them” through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Many of us who’ve been following Jesus for a while are familiar with Paul’s description of the armor of God. It’s one of the most popular New Testament passages and can be found on t-shirts, posters, and almost anywhere we look.
Similar to many other Christians, I have read this passage almost daily for years. I’ve memorized the pieces of armor, know the importance of what is needed where, and realize that the armor in its entirety has to be worn to be most effective.
I became so focused on memorizing verses 13-20 word for word that I failed to spend time truly grasping verse 12. All of that changed when I began covering the Middle East as a journalist. I’d grown up in a conservative area in northern Indiana with a list of people who were supposed to be my enemies. While individual names were never part of the list, more people were added following what happened on September 11, 2001.
Today, more than ever that I can remember during my lifetime, American Christians have a long list of people whom we’re to regard as our enemies. People who’ve entered our country illegally, people who live in specific parts of the world, and people who do not worship a triune God. Too many American Christians will go as far as saying Catholics or Protestants are the enemy. The problem with any of this is the Bible.
St. Paul writes that “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.” Let’s look at this for a minute. Catholics and Protestants are both flesh and blood. The same can be said about Muslims, Palestinians, refugees, people who come to America without the proper paperwork, people who receive food stamps, individuals on Medicaid, even republicans and democrats are flesh and blood.
Yes, spiritual warfare is real. As followers of Jesus Christ, we are in a fight and constantly have a bullseye on our backs. This is our reality, regardless of whether we choose to acknowledge what is happening or not.
It’s impossible to win the fight as long as we are focused on the wrong thing. Divide and conquer is a scheme of the devil. Our hating other people is one of the enemy’s most effective flaming darts. This is part of how he diverts us from what is really going on.
How seriously do you take spiritual warfare? If you were your enemy, how would you take you out of the fight? Most importantly, how can you better prepare for that specific attack?
I need to read this more than once. Amazing, as always.