“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:11-12).
No reconnaissance in the history of warfare has accurately reported a more powerful, fearsome enemy force. Arrayed against the Christian soldier is a band of foes incomparable to any other. What enemies oppose a member of God’s spiritual army!
- Superhuman—These forces of darkness are not mere flesh and blood. They rank higher in the created order than the human family which originated with Adam and Eve.
- Powerful—“Principalities”, “powers”, and “rulers of the darkness of this age” are not descriptors of weaklings. These allies of the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) exercise their wickedness in powerful places beyond the scope of human existence.
- Abundant—The enemy’s allies are not a single principality, power, or ruler but a plurality of each entity. “Hosts” implies many.
- Hostile—Unafraid of intense hand-to-hand warfare, these brawlers relish combat in which no hold is barred.
- Purposeful—Every millimeter of ground matters to these forces of evil. Any compromise of God’s will and God’s word is deemed a victory and serves as a catalyst for a relentless pursuit of another and another and another.
- Cunning—“Wiles” identifies the crafty, scheming, deceptive methodology employed by these relentless foes.
The enemies of a Christian soldier are superhuman, powerful, abundant, hostile, purposeful, and cunning.
Christianity is not for the cowardly (Revelation 21:8).
