CONQUERING YOUR ADVERSARY
EPHESIANS CHAPTER 6

While a prisoner in Rome, bound with chains, and facing the stigma of being a common criminal, Paul wrote powerful, positive letters to individuals and to churches expounding the glory of being a Christian. If negative physical circumstances were be the measure of his serenity and joy, he would have none. It seems that his life was a constant mixture of troubles, perplexities, persecutions, and humiliations.

Reading the events of the last few years of Paul’s life staggers our understanding. In twelve days in Jerusalem prior to being sent to Rome, Paul suffered the following: while in the Temple, he was overtaken by an angry crowd; he was thrown out of the temple and the doors were slammed shut behind him; certain Jews went attempted to beat him to death; rescued by the chief captain, he was bound with chains; he was believed to be the leader of a band of 4,000 murderers; he was scourged, bound with thongs, slapped on the mouth, and caught in a crowd who threatened to pull him to pieces. A band of forty Jews swore an oath that they would not eat until they had killed him.

Paul would have been killed by the Jews in Jerusalem had he not been a Roman citizen. The local leaders of Rome found that he had done nothing worthy of death or to be held in prison. Since he had appealed to Caesar, he was sent to Rome with other prisoners.

After having sailed many days and Paul’s warning of dangerous seas being ignored, the ship was caught in a tempestuous storm. For three days the ship was tossed by the winds and the waves. In desperation, the cargo was thrown overboard to lighten the ship. For days neither the sun nor the stars could be seen and all but Paul lost hope that they would be saved. Finally, fourteen days later the ship ran aground attempting to navigate a small inlet seeking relief from the storm. The ship was destroyed but those on board made it safely to shore by using the broken pieces of the ship to keep them afloat.

If the perils of the storm were not enough, Paul’s ordeal was not over. While gathering wood for a fire to warm himself, a poisonous snake bit his hand. The people of the island thought that Paul surely was a murderer having escaped the sea only to be bitten by a snake that meant certain death.

Although Paul was delivered from the effects of the venomous snake on the island of Melita, he was not spared the bonds of prison. When he finally arrived in Rome, he was securely chained to a Roman soldier. He would spend the remaining days of his life in prison. How could one man endure so much suffering and yet continuously share uplifting words of encouragement to others?

He experienced the good life behind the doors of prison. The secret of Paul being able to say, ". . . I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content" (Phil. 4:11) is found in the simple truth of the essence of life. Is the contented life determined by the flesh and blood reality of the physical world--including the trying circumstances of the perils of Paul? Or, does the contented life originate in the spiritual realm of the heavenly domain--regardless of the physical circumstances in which one might find himself? What makes the quality of life good?

While a prisoner in Rome, Paul shared the secret of how the adversary of his life was conquered.:

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints; And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the gospel, For which I am an ambassador in bonds: that therein I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. (Eph. 6:10-20)

In this often quoted passage of Scripture that contains a very descriptive allegory of a soldier’s armor to illustrate the successful life of a believer, Paul began his admonition with a definitive statement of the source of the contented life. He describes the warfare that each believer must prepare himself for and exactly where the believer will have to fight the battle to be victorious. He makes it clear at the beginning who actually does the fighting and the source of power for the victory.

He tells the readers, "my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." With the verb "be strong" being in the passive tense and not the active tense, he is not telling the believer to be strong within his own power and action. In the passive tense of a verb, the subject does not have the power to act but something acts upon the subject (the believer) that enables him to demonstrate strength. The more literal translation is "be made strong in the Lord." The strength will come "in the power [vigor--literal translation] of his might [forcefulness—literal translation]. Paul says in just a few more statements how the believer experiences this strength, this power, and this might.

He simply tells them that they need to be strong and to "put on the whole armor of God, that [they might] be able to stand against the wiles of the devil." By looking at the original language of the New Testament, it can be seen that this putting on the armor of God is not something the believer does, but something that God does for him. The words put on, in the original language, means "(in the sense of sinking into a garment); to invest with clothing (literally or figuratively)." The believer can have on the whole armor of God because he finds himself invested with it, as if he has been let down into it.

The reason why the believer should have on the whole armor of God is that he might be "be able to stand against the wiles of the devil" (Eph. 6:11). The first clue in this passage of Scripture for the spiritual warfare that all believers must face. With wiles meaning, "traveling over, i.e. travesty (trickery)," the heart of the battle will involve deception (this same word is also translated by the King James Version as "lie in wait"). The traveling over of the events of life will be used in such a way that will make a travesty out of the strength, the power, and the might the believer should be experiencing in the Lord. Nothing can limit God’s strength, power, and might. God is always there in all of His power and in all of His glory, but because of the trickery of the believer’s own mind he often lives as if God is not there.

This trickery would be the "wiles of the devil." With devil being translated from a word meaning, "a traducer" with its root meaning, "to throw," the deception that has the possibility of overcoming the believer will be something that will be constantly thrown at the believer. With the King James Version translating this original word as "false accuser," "devil," and "slanderer," Paul is implying that the warfare of every believer will be fought in his mind.

Who has not said, when coming face to face with devastating circumstances, "Why, God?" "How could you let this happen to me?" "Don’t you love me?" Because we often do not understand the ways of life, we sometimes find it is our own mind which falsely accuses or slanders God. We often play out the role of the devil in our mind.

Spiritual warfare always takes place in man’s mind. Paul says in his next statement: "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Eph. 6:12). Paul knew that the real battle was not in the physical circumstances that he had to endure but in how he was responding to them.

Although flesh and blood people were doing evil things to a flesh and blood Paul, the real challenge to experiencing the good life was more in what was going on in Paul’s mind than in the physical circumstances he was encountering. This truth is clearly seen when the literal meaning of the word translated wrestle is understood. The literal meaning of the word is, "I exist." The real essence of the believer’s existence does not hinge upon anything physical--does not hinge upon flesh and blood. The good life depends upon the perception of the believer’s mind. The struggle to experience the good life will be fought not in the physical, but in the psyche of the mind.

It will be a spiritual battle because the believer will be tempted continually to fall from his complete dependency upon God for his life. The battle for the good life will not be in the conflict of physical circumstances. Spiritual warfare should be fought by the strength, the force, and the might of God flowing through the believer--the grace of God. The real battle will always be in the mind of the believer for the control of his life. The believer will always be susceptible to fall away from God’s grace--to frustrate the grace of God in his life by thinking he can control his life (Gal. 2:20,21).

This falling away from God always occurs in the mind of the believer through the same process. In this passage of Scripture, Paul stated the struggle would be against principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness of this world, and wickedness in high places. Earlier in his letter to the Ephesians, he told them: "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart" (Eph. 4:17,18).

In this passage, the battle is lost first in "the blindness of their heart." Then, this blindness produces an "ignorance . . . in them," which in turn brings about "being alienated from the life of God." Finally, the alienation from the life of God causes them to be controlled by a darkened understanding.

The good news of the gospel is that the believer does not have to fall to this temptation because of ". . . the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion . . . " (Eph.1:19-21).

With the phrases "principality, and power, and might, and dominion" and "principalities, powers, rulers of darkness in the world, and spiritual wickedness in high places," being synonymous with "Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart" is the essence of spiritual warfare that is given by Paul.

Principalities in the first two phrases mean the same thing, "(properly abstract) a commencement, or (concretely) chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank)." In the process of the fall away from the life of God, there is a commencement, something other than God in the life of the believer. Power, also, in the first two phrases mean the same thing, "privilege, i.e. (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence." Whatever becomes the chief thing in a believer’s life other than the life of God has absolutely no power within itself. Although it has no power within itself, it becomes powerful in the believer’s life because the believer gives it the privilege to have power over him.

Might in the first phrase and rulers of the darkness of the world in the second phrase appear to be different, but the meaning is the same. With the meaning of the first being "force (literally or figuratively)" and the meaning of the second being "a world-ruler," whatever the believer gives the privilege to have power over him eventually forces the believer to let it rule him in this world.

Finally, dominion in the first phrase and spiritual wickedness in high places (literal meaning is spiritual depravity in the heavenly) in the second phrase both have the same emphasis. The believer’s life is now under the mastery (meaning of dominion) of whatever the believer has given the privilege to rule his life. He is no longer under the strength, the might, and the power of the life of God of the heavenly realm. He has committed spiritual wickedness by turning from the heavenly realm to something other than the life of God to control him.

In summary, dominion and spiritual wickedness in high places occur because the believer how has his understanding darkened. The might and rulers of the darkness of the world can control the believer because he has become alienated from the life of God. This power has been given the privilege to control the believer through the ignorance that is in him. Something has become chief in his life, a commencement of something other than the life of God, because of the blindness of his heart.

The real essence of the existence of the good life does not depend upon the particular circumstances of life in which the believer finds himself. It depends solely upon what is transpiring in the believer’s mind. He can rest in the faith and confidence that His God is in control of the prison of any physical circumstance. Or, he can lose the control of his mind by giving into the fiery darts of doubt and despair to turn to something other than the life of God for hope to rescue him from the current circumstance of life. Since the battle for his existence is not the physical circumstance but what is transpiring in his mind, Paul simply stated, "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Eph. 6:13).

In this powerful statement of victory, notice where Paul puts the emphasis. The believer stands because he first withstands something. By being invested with the whole armor of God, the believer will be able to withstand, to stand, having done all. Standing for the believer is not accomplished by his attempt to stand in his own might but more importantly the battle of life is not even in the standing. It is in the withstanding before the standing ever occurs. The battle is always fought within the mind before any blows are ever encountered.

This great truth is emphasized in the next several statements of Paul. Paul simply stated that the believer can stand because something has already occurred in him. The "having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:..." (Eph. 6:14-17) are in the past tense. Paul is not telling the believer to put the armor on so he can stand. He is stating the believer can stand because he has the armor on.

The believer’s loins have been girted with truth. The emphasis is that which has the capability to produce new life must function in truth. The good life can only be produced by Jesus, who is the Truth.

The believer’s heart has been covered with righteousness. The significance of the breastplate of righteousness is that the believer’s heart is not of self-righteousness but of God’s righteousness. The righteousness of the believer is the manifestation of Jesus in his life. Jesus is always the righteousness of the believer.

The believer’s feet have been shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Wherever the believer travels, he is prepared to encounter people with the gospel of peace. When he engages in destructive behavior, the message of peace comes forth. He is enabled to bring forth peace, not war, because Jesus is Peace. "For he is our peace..." (Eph. 2:14).

The believer’s persuasion is grounded in the sovereign power of his Creator. Operating in the essence of that faith, he is able to extinguish hurtful darts of contentious people. As Paul stated, "Above all, taking the shield of faith" (Eph. 6:16) for the spiritual warfare the believer will face will often start in the encounters with mean-spirited people. The believer can withstand the onslaught of hurtful, vindictive barbs because Jesus did. Living in the power of the resurrected Jesus, this warfare can be won. Jesus is the Pacifier.

Finally, Paul stated, "And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:..." (Eph. 6:17). As the first prophecy of the coming of Christ predicted (" . . . it [the serpent] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" Gen. 3:15), salvation for man always comes to his head. It is the mind of man that needs the helmet of salvation. Jesus, the "mind of Christ," (1 Cor. 2:16) is how man’s mind is conquered, which is his salvation.

The conquering of man’s mind is a continual warfare. The Spirit of God must continually reveal Jesus, the Living Word, to the mind of man. Since the gospels and the letters of what we now know as the New Testament had not been brought together yet (some had not even been written at the time of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians), the reference to the "word of God" does not refer to what we know as the Bible. It is a reference to what the early followers of Jesus knew--the Word of God made flesh in Jesus of Nazareth. They knew that the continual hearing of Jesus Himself through the Holy Spirit was the source of their strength, their power, and their might.

They knew that the warfare for the good life was not in the circumstances in which they found themselves, but it was in their own minds. Because they were made strong in the Lord and they had been invested with the armor of God, they were not going to fall prey to the cunning devices of their own minds.

Empowered by the grace of God, they were not going to let any circumstance have mastery (spiritual wickedness in high places) over them, which they knew would occur if they first (principalities) gave anything the privilege (powers) to control (rulers of the darkness of this world) their lives.

There is no mystery in spiritual warfare--the carnal mind is enmity against God. The mystery is in the gospel--how God can conquer the adversary of His ways by conquering the mind of man.