6:12 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.
As a child, I was fascinated with wrestling. Convinced it was real, I obsessed with the larger than life characters that would parade into the squared circle and go to battle. The drama and storytelling developed around this entertainment would depict good versus evil and championships won at the highest stakes.
While solely intended for show, this imagery does apply to Ephesians 6:12. In this verse, Paul uses a word that is only used one time in Scripture. Pale means to struggle and is translated as wrestle. This significance of this word is that it implies close quarter combat with high stakes. Using this word to a mostly Greek audience, Paul knew that his readers would understand the significance of this battle.
For a Greek wrestler, the traditional consequence of losing was to have their eyes gouged out, therefore living the rest of his life in blindness. For the Christian, Paul paints a picture of this close quarter combat on a spiritual mat that is even more significant and with eternal consequences.
In a world filled with human relationships, we often consider our enemy to be those we hate or who have hurt us. Paul urges us to recognize that our battle is not in the physical, but in the spiritual world. Our real enemy is the Devil and his legion of demons. They work in a world we cannot see and tempt us with thoughts that move us to sinful conduct, resulting in relational pain that is very physical.
Seeds of discord, temptations of self-satisfaction, arrogant personal gain, and lust for more are just a few of the tactics used in this cosmic war. This close quarter combat takes place in the mind every second of every day. Another way of saying it is that there is a world we cannot see that directly impacts the world that we can see. It is critical that a Christian be aware of the spiritual warfare around them.
This is not a matter of dramatic entertainment but is one of life and death. People in our life are not the enemy but are being tempted and influenced by the Enemy. We must engage in the war at the spiritual level through intense prayer and use of God’s Word. Jesus modeled for us that temptation is most effectively resisted by using Scripture. Paul is waving the flag of battle to capture our attention so that we will see the importance of choosing to put on the full armor of God each day and walk in the victory of the Enemy that has already been provided by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Wuest, K. S. (1997). Wuest’s word studies from the Greek New Testament: for the English reader (Eph 6:12). Grand Rapids: Eerdmans.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Eph 6:12). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.
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