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.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (Eph.6:10-13)

There is an armor that has its origins with God. Paul instructs each of us to put on that armor – literally to dress ourselves. There is an intentionality in that directive. Each believer must initiate the process and, in order to be fully ready for the battle, must put on the whole “panoplia” which includes not only armor but weapons as well. Paul is clear that without the armor and weapons that God supplies we cannot stand against the assaults of the enemy. Paul’s statements here echo his directives regarding divine weapons in 2 Corinthians 10. We cannot stand against the enemy in our own strength or defeat him in our own wisdom. We must receive and wield what God provides.

Paul continues to emphasize the necessity of standing in God’s strength and putting on God’s armor because our real struggle is not against human adversaries but against those that exist in the spiritual realm. Paul uses the word “wrestle” to describe the struggle. It is a Greek word that specifically describes wrestling in the Greek game, the Olympics. When you think of Olympic wrestling, it is not guys in striped tights flying off the top ropes and whacking each other with folding chairs. Rather, it is a sport involving strategy (schemes), strength, and endurance. One interesting rule dictates action on the mat. Wrestlers are expected to force the action, and they receive passivity warnings from the referee if they don’t. A wrestler deemed passive is then at the mercy of his more active adversary, who is given the option of putting his opponent in the par terre (on the mat) position, which generally makes it easier to score points. Passivity on our part, in the realm of spiritual warfare, also gives the enemy a great advantage.

Paul goes on to speak about rulers, authorities and cosmic powers in this spiritual realm we war against. He is speaking about ranks of demons and their roles. Several translations use the word principalities instead of rulers. In the book of Daniel, the prophet prays for an interpretation of a dream God has given him. After twenty-one days of praying and fasting, an angel appears and tells him, “Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia” (Dan.10:12-13).

The first angel is one of the hosts of heaven (a member of the armies of heaven – See Rev.19:14)). As he attempted to fulfill his mission, he was opposed by a demonic spirit referred to as the Prince of Persia. This high-ranking demonic spirit ruled a spiritual principality over the nation of Persia. We can assume that his mission was to promote Satan’s agenda in that nation and to command lesser demons under his authority. He was powerful enough that he withstood the angel that had been sent by the Lord for twenty-one days. Only when Michael, one of the chief princes (an archangel), was sent to aid him and take up the battle was the first angel able to fulfill his mission.

This section of scripture reveals that both angels and demons have specific territories and people to whom they are assigned. In the book of Revelation, it also appears that angels are assigned to churches (see chapters 2-3). If angels are assigned to churches it is not a stretch to believe that demons have also been assigned. If we have guardian angels then it is also a small stretch to believe that we may also have demonic spirits assigned to harass us and oppress us, at least from time to time. In the spiritual realm there are armies with different ranks of commanders who receive orders from the top. Jesus is the commander of the armies of heaven (Rev. 19) and Satan commands those in the dominion of darkness. There are strategies, campaigns, wars, etc. that take place in the invisible realm and we, as believers, play a significant role in those wars. More about our part in the next blog.

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.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (Eph.6:10-13).

In my last blog, we looked at Paul’s teaching regarding worldly weapons and divine weapons in 2 Corinthians 10. He is clear that the church must employ divine weapons infused with divine power because the real battles are fought in the spiritual realm. Paul pulls back the curtain on the spiritual realm in the text above.

He begins by counseling us to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Strength is found in the Lord as he releases his mighty power. The word for power here is not “dunamis” but “kratei” which means the force inherent in a person or thing such as the withering force of a category five hurricane. When we speak of the power of a king, we usually mean the power that he can command in his armies. The power does not rest in him personally but in the numbers of those that serve him. This power (kratei) actually rests in God with or without angelic armies to back him up. That word makes sense when we remember that God alone not only spoke the natural universe into existence but the spiritual realm as well – including his angelic armies. So our strength is to come from trusting in the Lord and the power that he personally brings to bear on our situation. That power is greater than anything we can imagine, so that is a very good place to stand.

Secondly, we discover that God expects us to take up the battle and to stand against the enemy. My first response to that revelation is that I would much rather God just handle things for me. He has the power and might to sweep away the enemy without me leaving the house and some days that would be my great preference. That however, is not how God operates. Many of the events and doctrines of the Old Testament were “types” and “shadows” of things to come (see Rom.5:14; Heb.11:19; Col.2:16-17; Heb.10:1). In other words, they were imperfect forerunners or hints of greater realities that God would bring to pass in the future that still give us insights into the reality. For instance, Moses was a “type” of Jesus who was sent by God as a deliverer for God’s people. The temple sacrifices and the festivals were “types” and “shadows” of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God. The Red Sea crossing was a “type” of baptism. The Promised Land of Canaan was a “type” of our salvation.

After forty years in the wilderness, God brought a believing generation of Hebrews to the brink of the Jordan River to enter the land he had promised to Abraham and his descendants. The problem was that Canaan was still full of powerful tribes and walled cities like Jericho who had no intention of giving up the land. It would have been no problem for God to destroy these enemies without any effort on the part of the Hebrews. In 2 Kings 19, the king of Assyria laid siege to Jerusalem. King Hezekiah truly was helpless to defend the city but cried out to God for deliverance. The text says, “That night the angel of the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew” (2 Kings 19:35-36). God is clearly able to deliver us from our enemies without us breaking sweat. On occasion he does, but that is not the norm.

The norm is that God’s people fight. He goes with us and goes before us but we are called to put on armor and fight. Even when previous generations have won victories, God still leaves us battles to be fought. Joshua did not drive out all of the opposing tribes in Canaan. After his death there were still tribes and cities that had to be conquered. We are told, “The Lord had allowed those nations to remain; he did not drive them out at once by giving them into the hands of Joshua. These are the nations the Lord left to test all those Israelites who had not experienced any of the wars in Canaan (he did this only to teach warfare to the descendants of the Israelites who had not had previous battle experience)” (Judges 2:23-3:2).

Those tribes were tribes who worshipped idols and those idols represented demons (Dt.32:16-17). God still calls on us to fight against demonic forces today. In the battle, we draw closer to God, increase our faith, and gain strength. In the battle we learn the realities of the spiritual realm, the authority of our King, the heavenly joy of victory, and the comradeship of those who go to battle together.   More about Ephesians 6 in my next blog.