Mohamed-Ibrahim Yattara, Mali
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
Yesterday, we started looking at the Apostle Paul’s guidance for engaging in effective spiritual warfare. Today, we will look at three additional instructions:
3. Know Your Enemy (6:11b) You need to be able to stand “against the devil’s schemes.” The word rendered “schemes” (“wiles”—KJV) is from the word method. It means art, skill, and cunning. It occurs in the New Testament only here and in Ephesians 4:14. It is appropriately here rendered “schemes,” meaning cunning devices, arts, and attempts to delude and destroy us. The wiles of the devil are the various arts and stratagems he uses to make us feel bad or fall. Remember who he is.
4. Know the Battlefield (6:12) This enemy is not material, but spiritual. Our mind is the battlefield. The enemy tries to distort ideas and values that, like a rain of missiles, bombard us without stopping. We see today the proliferation of philosophies, paganism, and Eastern religions, as well as false gospels. It’s the New Morality, where it is prohibited to prohibit. For this reason we must continuously fight in order not to fall and make shipwreck the values of our faith. This world in which we live is an immense spiritual battlefield. Everywhere Christians live reigns a climate of war. Believers are constantly spied on and will be attacked if they lower their guard or are negligent in their walk with the Lord. We have a host of enemies and we must be alert. Who is going to win the battle in our mind?
5. Have a Clear Objective (6:13) All believers are to be mobilized for combat; there are no exceptions, and nobody must withdraw himself. The Scriptures describe us as pilgrims. We are in transit on earth, but with a mission to achieve. We must be witnesses of the grace of God by making known the person and the work of Jesus Christ around the world. With this intention, we must adopt a humble and submissive attitude as described by Paul, yet we must also adopt the mental state of an athlete who gives the best of himself. We need to take up the “full armor of God,” because evil days are coming. In the evil day, in the day of danger and attack, we must stand and hold firm against the attacks and assaults.
The greatest joys come from the greatest victories; the greatest victories come from the greatest battles; the greatest battles are won when they are fought in the power of the Lord, wearing the armor of the Lord, with the goal to resist the devil and his demons, standing firm. When the day of evil comes, we must take our stand. Stand like Joshua sending troops around Jericho. Stand like Gideon marching toward the Midianites. Stand like David facing the giant. Take your stand!