“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood.” – Ephesians 6:12
In the final chapter of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul shares with us the idea that the church is an army or battalion, in which we are soldiers. But who are we fighting?
Paul wastes no time as he moves into this section, making sure that he answers this question first. And his answer is clear: our primary enemies in life are not people.
At first, this surprises us. Our lives are filled with people we are wrestling with. A boss. A neighbor. A family member. A politician. Change them. Get rid of them. Divorce them. Vote them out, we tell ourselves, and our lives would get instantly better. But Paul says, Not so fast.
He’s not saying that there are no such thing as problem people. Jesus said we’re to love our enemies, not pretend that we have none. There are people who hate you, despise you, slander you, mistreat you, misunderstand you. Such people exist. (And the Bible gives us a surprising number of strategies for dealing with them. Loving enemies can move in different directions, depending on the situation.)
Paul was surrounded by enemies; by people who wanted him dead, and who were directly responsible for him being in prison. But still Paul is the one saying we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood. People are not our primary problem.
There is someone else behind the curtain, manipulating events, deceiving hearts, and moving the chess pieces on the board. Paul doesn’t leave us guessing who it is. He told us the verse before. “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” Our primary enemies are spiritual, not physical.
How Is This Idea Helpful?
Recognizing the truth that we wrestle not against flesh and blood is profoundly useful for the follower of Christ once we grab hold of it. For starters, it gives me a different way of looking at all the people I’m at odds with in my life. It inserts grace into the friction and animosity I’m feeling about them. It creates the opportunity, where none existed before, for forgiveness or reconciliation or something redemptive.
How else could Jesus have forgiven from the Cross the very people who nailed him to it, who were right then gambling for his clothes? Father, forgive them, Jesus prayed over them in that moment. They don’t know what they’re doing. Yes, they were culpable and responsible for what they had done. But they were also pawns in a far greater struggle that they couldn’t even see. But Jesus could see it. And it enabled him to summon pity for them.
Could you do that in a moment of intense conflict with someone? Could you see past their immediate behavior, and picture other realities? Maybe their fatherless childhood. Or the abuse that scarred them. Or their living in a culture that breeds such hate and selfishness. Could it be that in some way, they don’t know what they are doing? And could you for even a second summon compassion or pity for them, even though they are responsible for their behavior.
This idea would help heal the church today that’s in so much personal and political turmoil. The evangelical church is a mess today, largely because far too many Christians have forgotten that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. Far too many in the Church today have made people the primary enemy, and turned to politics for their primary salvation.
Politics is important. No question about it. Where we are given freedom to stand up for righteousness and justice, we should use it. (Of those given much, much is expected.)
But the early church of the first two centuries had no political power whatsoever, and even worse, was relentlessly hounded, hunted, and persecuted. Yet Rome could not stamp out the army of love and light that Jesus Christ unleashed on the world.
We have forgotten that above the little kingdoms of men that we act so frantic about, is the one eternal kingdom of God that rules over it all. And that kingdom is what we are to put first and seek first.
So why all this fear, and anger, and infighting? Paul would ask us. Stop acting like some politician is your savior when you already have one. Even better, start acting like your Savior, instead of these politicians. You’ll be far more useful to God.
And why? we would ask Paul. Because we wrestle not against flesh and blood.
For Further Reflection (From This Week’s Bible Study)
1. The Bible gives numerous strategies for dealing with problem people. “Loving an enemy” means different things depending on the situation. So we need to seek the Lord closely and talk to Christian friends to discern what to do. What are some of the ways we can love an enemy or a problem-person?
Luke 4:28-30; Acts 9:23-25
Romans 12:14-21
2 Timothy 4:2; Ephesians 4:15a
2. What are some things we can do to help win this battle against the dark powers of evil?
Luke 10:19-20; John 14:13-14
Ephesians 4:27
Ephesians 6:18
James 4:7
1 Corinthians 10:13
2 Timothy 2:24-26; Colossians 1:13-14
Revelation 12:10-11