Proverbs 20.18
“Plans are established by counsel; by wise guidance wage war.”
Ephesians 6.10-14
“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 resist in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore …”.
The proverb quoted above tells us that the wise person seeks counsel before going into battle. The book of Ephesians goes into even more detail; it alerts us to the hidden reality that every day in our world — beneath surface appearances — there is an unseen spiritual battle being waged. It addresses our engagement with the powers of evil, and the grim necessity of hand-to-hand combat.
The Ephesians passage is a battle cry. It is a call to arms. Paul gives us a pre-game speech. We are about to take the field against a formidable opponent, and Paul wants us to be prepared mentally and spiritually. His core message is to be strong and to stand in the face of the enemy. He is telling us to be warriors. The whole tone is martial. We are being roused for battle.
Paul wants us to understand that in order to live the life to which the Lord calls us to, we must fight. The true Christian life is not for the faint of heart. And there is no suspension of hostilities, no cease-fire or truce …at least not until Christ returns and brings his kingdom in fullness. The truth is that the whole of the interim period between the Lord’s two comings is to be characterized by conflict. The peace which God has made through Christ’s cross is to be experienced only in the midst of a relentless struggle against evil. For this the strength of the Lord and the armor of God are necessity.
The forces arrayed against us have three main characteristics.
First, they are powerful. “Principalities and powers” most likely refers to different ranks of evil spirits in the hierarchy of hell. They are also called “the world rulers of this present darkness.” Satan and his lieutenant’s have considerable power in this world. Jesus called the devil ‘the ruler of this world.’ John’s gospel says that “the whole world is in the power of the evil one.” Remember when the devil offered to give Jesus all the kingdoms of the world? That’s a lot of power!
Second, they are wicked. Power itself is neutral; it can be used well or it can be misused. Our spiritual enemies use their power four wickedness. They use their power to distort, deceive, and destroy. As we said above, they are the worldwide rulers of this present darkness. They hate the light of truth, and shrink from it. Darkness is their natural habitat, the darkness of falsehood and sin. They are also described as the spiritual hosts of wickedness which operate in the heavenly places, that is, in the sphere of invisible reality.
We are the agents of the kingdom of God on earth, and our adversaries are the agents of darkness on earth. As we engage and do battle with the spiritual forces of evil, we must understand that they have no moral principles, no code of honor, no higher feelings. They are ruthlessly malicious and do their evil work with deadly intent.
Third, they are cunning. In verse 11 Paul speaks of standing against the “schemes” of the devil. The word for schemes is the Greek methodia, from which comes the English word “method.” Satan has a method, a strategy. He uses specific tactics. The devil seldom attacks openly, as he prefers strategies of deceit and distortion. He especially likes to counterfeit. “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, disguising themselves as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.” (2 Cor 11.13-15).
It is for this reason that the Lord warns us in Matthew 7 to “beware of false prophets who are wolves in sheep’s clothing.” These are false teachers who disguise their true intentions by outwardly speaking and acting like Christians, but who inwardly are agents of darkness. These false teachers exist in every generation, including our generation today. It is for this reason that we must know the truth of God’s Word and be very discerning with respect to what teachers and preachers we listen to.
When Jesus says beware, he means exactly that. The enemy is powerful, wicked, and cunning. In our battle against him we must have the discernment to recognize his schemes and the discipline to defeat him.
Trust God and do the work.
