“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” – Ephesians 6:12
If we read our verse today, we get to be ushered into an image of war. Even if we don’t like it, we have to face the fact that our lives are an ongoing battle. We have battles inside us that we are always trying to win, and we have external wars that we are also trying to win. Now, Paul wants to center our minds into the right thinking about who we are our enemies. Paul wants to remind us and to carefully clear to us that we are struggling not against flesh and blood, but against all the forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Yes, we got a lot of enemies lurking in the corners. We even have literal enemies, it might be someone we know, or someone we hate over the past few years, or just someone who loves to destroy our day. However, we have to understand that those are not just our enemies, our real enemies are the spiritual forces that will try to destroy both our flesh and our spirit. After all, the Bible reminded us to not be afraid of someone who can only destroy our bodies, but be afraid of someone who can destroy both our bodies and souls. Thus, we have to always remember that everyone is actually struggling with their own small battles and external war.
All of us are trying to win day by day against all our anxieties, all our worries, all the forces that are whispering in our ears that we are not enough, and to all the forces that are trying to take us away from Christ. So, we must understand that we are saved by grace through faith. We are saved because of Christ, we are now freed from the bondage of sin and death. So, our enemies will always try to take us away and enslave us again. After all, we are saved and have been given a new spirit, but our desires are still there. Therefore, we must always look forward or look straight to Christ and hold on to His promises that He will always be there, and He will guide us.
Again, our struggles are not against flesh and blood, but against the forces of all evil. The evil will try to take us away from Christ again and want to take over our lives again. However, we must take up the full armor of God, and abide in Him to fight these battles and external war. Let us always put in our minds that we will only win against these evil forces through Christ, for He is our strength and our victory. May we put our hope in Him, and always focus our minds on Him.
