Our fight is not against human beings. It is against the rulers, the authorities and the powers of this dark world. It is against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly world. (NIRV)

Our fight? Do you think of fists flying, a verbal altercation, or something else? I am familiar with the first sentence in this verse, but only while writing this devotional did I contemplate the last two. The first one offers hope, but the last are dark! As I dove deeper into Ephesians, I was also curious about the placement of this verse. In chapters 4-6, Paul, who is the author of Ephesians, has been teaching about living a Christ-like life. He has written to the individual, as well as the relationships of marriage, families, and the workplace. Then, in the middle of chapter six, he abruptly switches to teaching about a fight, evil forces, and spiritual warfare. Why?  

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What are Satan’s favorite targets? Our relationships – the human beings with whom we interact – so the connection for the abrupt switch is revealed. But wait, relationships involve human beings, and we just read that our fight is “not against human beings.”  

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So, what is our fight against? When in a fight, we need to know our enemies and the strength they have, so let’s look at who or what we fight against. Some scholars interpret the last two sentences in today’s passage as a vague list of the “ranks” within Satan’s army. Rulers represent the top level of evil spiritual forces, which includes Satan, that oppose God and His believers. Authorities are general forces of evil that act contrary to God’s will, like forces that result in murder or robbery or other evil acts. Powers of this dark world describe the worldwide nature of evil that competes for souls. In summary, these are spiritual forces of evil that are powerful and organized in the unseen world that we battle! Our real fight is spiritual, and not against human beings.

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Evil can be defined as anything that contradicts the holy nature of God. These spiritual forces of evil create chaos, uncertainty, and confusion throughout the world. We are all too aware of the many effects of evil in the world. The whole gamut of Satan’s powers that oppose God’s holiness, goodness, righteousness, love and light are evil. We know that Satan and his armies roam the Earth (Job 1:7). Satan is described as a roaring lion that prowls around looking for someone to devour (I Peter 5:8); therefore, Christians are being pursued by and stalked by a lion and unseen forces of evil.  

How can Christians fight the lion and his army? We fight with the armor of God that is described in Ephesians 6:13-17, right after the description of the evil forces. We have the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Bible. Armed with His armor, we are well-equipped soldiers in God’s army, ready for battle. There are instructions for us to stand firm (Eph. 6:11) while wearing His armor, and to “at all times, pray by the power of the Spirit. Pray all kinds of prayers. Be watchful, so that you can pray. Always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Eph. 6:18). God provides protection from the evil forces so we can pray for all people in this world.

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Now I understand the importance of the order of Paul’s writings in these few chapters. Satan and his spiritual forces of evil will attack human beings at vulnerable places like our relationships. Christians need to put on the armor of God for protection in battles, and we are to pray for people. We can intercede, or pray, to impact people throughout the world to resist these spiritual forces of evil, and instead spread God’s holiness, goodness, righteousness, love, and light to shine throughout the world.

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The Bible tells us that God has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves (Col. 1:13). Do you grasp that you can be rescued from these dark powers by believing in His Son, Jesus? Satan does have power, but he does not have authority. God has power and authority! Satan is roaming the Earth because he is not omnipresent. God is omnipresent, meaning He is present everywhere at the same time! God is sovereign. What joy to know that these spiritual forces of evil will be defeated in the end. God’s army will win the war!  

Abba, I come to you thanking you for the armor You have given me to fight evil and that You have rescued me from darkness! Thank you for the reminder that I do not battle people – I love people! I do not love these dark, evil forces that I battle. Your plans are for good and not for evil (Jer. 29:11). Knowing that I am deeply loved and rescued by You inspires me to intercede for the world against the spiritual forces of evil that roam the Earth. Help me to stand firm to pray for protection for others against all attacks of evil today. I love you, Sovereign Father!