Ephesians 6:10-12 – Be ready for the spiritual battle

The fact that the enemy of our soul is invisible plus our desire for serenity, has in some ways made us oblivious to the spiritual conflict we are in. Christian living is a spiritual battle. In fact it is a spiritual war. It’s not just a casual struggle but a fierce conflict. The comforting thought about this spiritual war is that we have the Lord, on and by our side in this battle, and that He had made all the provision for us to win this war. But knowing all these only form one part of winning the battle, we need to apply them if we are to win the battle. There are a few things that Paul said here that we must take note, as he shows us how we can stay on top of the battle.

Paul began by calling us to stay connected to the Lord and Commander-in-Chief, and be strong in Him and the power of His might. Then we also need to put on the armor of God, the battle outfit which the Lord had provided. In other words, we must rely on the Lord and be empowered by Him. This is a call to be prepared for the battle. Paul provided the reasons why we need to stay connected and dressed with the Lord’s armor. Firstly, it’s because He has the arsenal that no force can overpower. Secondly, we are fighting in the spiritual realm and it’s in an arena that our naked eyes cannot see. Thirdly, the enemy we are battling against is a spiritual enemy, whose organization is well-structured. Paul calls them rulers, authorities and powers of the dark world. Fourthly, this enemy has many schemes. So we need to be ready for battle.

These verses are also a call to be sure that we are engaging the right enemy. Prior to Paul’s narration of the spiritual conflict, he discussed about relationships within the fellowship, church and homes. He had talked about peace, about obedience and submission, and he had talked about love and the example set by Christ. Hence, this warning to be alert to the enemy’s schemes is needful and logical, to ensure that Christians are not battling against the wrong enemy. It’s obvious that if we are fighting the wrong enemy we lose our focus and dissipate our energy against each other. We need to be mindful that we have a more strategic battle at hand. We need to remember that we are battling the devil, the evil one and his cohorts and allies. At home or in church, when we dissipate our energy, demanding our rights over petty issues and fighting with our loved ones and co-workers, we have the tendencies to forget who our real enemies are.  And when we are at enmity with each other, we won’t have each other to complete the fence, to ward off the guile and wiles of the evil one.

Let’s remember the enemy is a roaring lion, seeking to devour! Let’s know that we can unwittingly be used as his instrument to weaken the fence in the fellowship or the family. We need to stay alert, be armed with the right attitude for the battle! A Chinese proverbs said, “Know your enemy, know yourself, thousand battles, thousand victories.” More accurately, we should say, “Know our Lord, know who we are in Him, rely on Him and His empowerment, identify our real enemy, engage the right battle, thousand battles, thousand victories!”