We have been redeemed from the curse of law, we have been set free, but we still are in a constant battle. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
The Battle
The text doesn’t say that we do not wrestle against anyone or anything, because we surely do. Why do we have to be in this battle? God has so chosen that we show the exceeding riches of His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus, as Ephesians 2:7 says. The devil doesn’t want that to happen, so he, and the demons under his authority, are constantly coming against us to try and keep us beat down, so that the riches of God’s kindness toward us in Christ Jesus doesn’t look like all that much to those who observe our lives. He also wants us to doubt the truth of it. Just this week, I learned about one of my dearest friends in ministry, whom I’ve not seen for some time, that he has gotten away from living for the Lord, saying that God disappointed him in a crucial area of his life. He went to a church and was treated very badly by some people who took issue with his preaching. The Lord never said that wouldn’t happen. As a matter of fact, He said that would happen. Here is what Jesus said: John 15:20-21: “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.” The point is, the devil wants to destroy confidence in God’s goodness, whether it be your own or those who observe your life.
We are in a battle, but the war has been won from the beginning. Genesis 3:15 is a prophecy to that effect, where the Lord said to Satan, “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” We are told in Genesis 1:26 that God gave man dominion over every living thing, and Psalm 8:6 says that God gave man dominion over the works of his hands and has put all things under his feet. When Adam and Eve sinned they gave that dominion over to Satan. That’s why John12:31 called “Satan the prince/ruler of this world.” That’s why in Luke 4:6-7, when Jesus was being tempted, and Satan said “all this is mine to give to whomsover I want to,” Jesus didn’t rebuke Him for lying. But, when Jesus came up out of that grave on the 3rd day, He had taken back everything that the devil stole. Jesus took the authority back, and in the Great Commission, He extended it to all believers. (Go ye therefore means go in My authority.)
The Enemy
It is not flesh and blood, in other words, it is not people. People may unwittingly become pawns in the hand of the enemy, but they, themselves, are not the enemy.
It is also not with the spirit of someone who has died and has returned to trouble you. Luke 16 tells us that there is a great gulf fixed and nobody can return from the dead to communicate with those on the earth. I don’t care what experience you think you’ve had, or what movies you’ve seen, let God be true and every man a liar.
These battles that we encounter are with the demonic forces of Satan. Surveys have shown that many people who say they believe in the reality of Satan, say they do not believe in the reality of demons. Satan is not omnipresent. Therefore, he uses the demonic host, i.e., demons, to cover the earth, tempting every individual. So, demons are real. Principalities, powers, rulers of darkness of this world, and spiritual wickedness all speak of this demonic host.
The Battle Ground
The text says it is “in high places,” which is more literally, “heavenly places.” This means in the spirit realm. It is the same word that was used in Ephesians 2:6, where the Bible says, “He made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Now, if the battle were only somewhere over the rainbow, we would not be all that bothered by it. I submit that since it means the spiritual realm, the battle takes place within us. It takes place in the deep recesses of our minds, the very seat of our soul and spirit.
The Strategy Of The Enemy
We’ve already touched on it, but it is to destroy confidence in the goodness of God. It is exactly as it was in the Garden of Eden, when Satan successfully convinced Adam and Eve that God wasn’t really all that good, that He was holding out on them. It is to get people to doubt the word of God. The tactic is to convince you to believe a lie. It is ultimately to convince you that your life is going to better outside the parameters of God’s word. I heard Adrian Rogers say, “The freedom the devil offers is freedom to do what you want to do, and the freedom that God offers is the freedom to do what you ought to do. You have freedom to choose to yield to the devil’s temptation, but you don’t have freedom to choose the consequences! You can freely choose to jump off a tall building, but you can’t choose to change the law of gravity.”
The Promise Of Victory
It’s a battle that is really serious, but we are supposed to win it. Ephesians 6:13 tells us to “take up the whole armor of God...” The fact is, this battle is not a power struggle, but a truth struggle. The power of Satan is in the lie, but the power of child of God is in knowing and believing the truth. In John 8:32, Jesus said, “You shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free.” Ephesians 6:14 names the girdle of truth as the first piece of equipment in the Christian soldier’s uniform. That belt holds everything else together. That belt is the truth of God’s word! In every case, when Jesus was tempted, he resisted the devil with the word of God. The last part of verse 14 tells us that the breastplate of righteousness is also to be put on. This is to cover our heart. . Where do we get this righteousness? It is imputed! As Abraham believed God, and God counted it to him for righteousness, so it is with us. The preparation of the gospel of peace in verse 15 is a willingness to talk about Jesus. Verse 16 tells us to take the shield of faith. Faith is believing God when you can’t see the end result. Faith says, “God said it, and that settles it!” Verse 17 says to take the helmet of salvation. It seems that each article of armor mentioned gets a little more foundational. Then, at the end of verse 17, we are to have the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God. Satan can quote the word of God, but he can’t stand it! The listing of the pieces of the armor started and ended with the word of God. Then, verse 18, saturate everything with prayer. The Bible teaches that we are not worry about anything, but that we are to pray about everything.
We are in a battle, but we are not alone, and we’re not losers. As a matter of fact, we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us. Verse 13 says, “having done all, to stand.” This is a stand of faith, standing on the promises of God, as given in the word of God. Don’t just do something, stand there!
