In Ephesians 6: 10-13 Paul tells us several times to stand against the devil. However in Ephesians 6:12 Paul says,
"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."
It might seem strange that Paul uses the metaphor of wrestling against evil. Today, you and I, envision wrestling as something done on the floor with one person trying to pin down the other. However, back in Roman times wrestling was done standing up. The winner was the person who threw the other to the ground preventing them from standing.
Wrestling Against Evil Not Flesh and Blood
Paul explains in this verse that our struggle is not against flesh and blood men. We may war against one other, we may struggle against other humans, other humans we think of as the enemy, but that is not where the real struggle lies. The real struggle is not with the humans but with the forces that hold sway over them. These people may be violent or angry toward us, but if we treat them the same way they treat us then all that proves is that our true enemy has defeated us as well.
What Should We Really Fear?
The Lord says in Matthew 10:28,
"And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell."
The true thing to fear in this struggle, this wrestling match, is the one who destroys the soul. Jesus says not to worry or be fearful of someone who can kill you, what you need to be concerned about is the one who can drag you to hell.
The Devil's Influence
We can read in the Bible about the influences of the Devil on people who were demon possessed. We read of demon possessed people who were blinded, had symptoms similar to epilepsy, or were unable to talk. Sometimes they caused people, like Judas, to do evil. They may be troubled by an evil spirit like Saul. They may have super human strength like the Gadarene demoniac. Obviously a person does not have to be demon possessed to be influenced by the Devil or demons.
The Three Temptations of Satan
I John 2:16 describes the 3 main areas that Satan uses to tempt people; lusting in our flesh, with our eyes and in the pride of life. Lusting is an intense desire for something - sex, food, power, money, etc. Lusting in our flesh, Satan takes our physical weaknesses and tries to convince us to meet our needs our own way, ignoring God. Lusting with our eyes is pretty obvious. We often see things that we want. We don't ask God should I have this thing or person. We just know it looks like what we think will satisfy us. Lusting in the pride of life we want to place ourselves at the center of our life instead of God. What we want becomes more important than what God wants.
We Walk According to the Spirit
In Romans 8:4 Paul tells us that Christians walk according to the Spirit, not the flesh. God's desires should be our desires. Satan attempts to make evil things look good. He makes us feel guilty over things we shouldn't. Things that God has forgiven us of. The Devil manipulates scripture in our mind to mean things that it doesn't. He convinces us to believe lies. The Devil tries to make us doubt God's love. When we walk in the Spirit we can see through Satan's deceptions. In all things we should humble ourselves before God to resist the Devil's temptations.
Our Adversary
Satan, the Devil, is our accuser before God, our adversary, the one who slanders us. Slander is a lie that hurts a person's reputation. In Revelation 12 we are told that the Devil is the "accuser of our brethern". He goes before our Lord and points out our every failing. I Peter 5: 8 says that the Devil is an adversary that wants to devour us. He is patient, waiting for just the right moment to attack. Satan is clever, wily, full of trickery. He is the "father of lies" (John 8:44). Thank God for Jesus who is our wonderful advocate.
Our Strength Comes from God
Humanly we have no ability to defeat Satan, only God can do that. Like David before Goliath, we must know that our strength comes only from God. I John 4:4 reminds us that the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us is greater than the evil one of this world. Colossians 2:15 tells us that the cross has triumphed over principalities and powers. Romans 8:38 tells us that the principalities and powers mentioned in Ephesians 6:12 can NOT separate us from the love of God.
Unseen Evil
These principalities, powers and rulers of darkness are the evil spirits influencing humanity to strive against God. Principalities are demons that control huge areas of the world, cities or even countries. Satan is called the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). These unseen evil forces are around us and at this moment they control the world. Satan, who is described as a prince, cannot however be king because there is only one King Jesus. The Devil's time will soon be over. As R.C. Sproul explains,
The devil's "power is restricted, limited, and temporal. What has happened briefly is this: The power and authority of Satan has been dealt a fatal blow by Christ. The Cross, the Incarnation, the Resurrection, and the Ascension tremendously weakened any power or authority that Satan enjoyed, but it didn’t annihilate him. That will come later, when Christ completes his work of redemption with the consummation of his kingdom. All things will be brought into captivity to him, and every knee will bow to him, including the fallen angels, who will bow in submission to his authority."
Jesus Strengthens Us for Battle
As Ephesians 6 continues, Paul describes the armor that we must put on to defeat Satan, to literally throw him down. If we don't put on this armor we will be defeated. Satan attacks us at the weakest place in our armor. He is always looking for a way in. Every part of our armor is necessary for our successful defense. Our armor is created and fashioned by our Father. He knew that we would need a strong defense to protect us from the Devil. To wrestle successfully you must be very physically fit. To wrestle spiritually you must be spiritually fit. You should feed your soul on the Word - the bread of life - on Jesus who strengthens us for the battle.
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