Every athlete needs a scouting report. You need to know your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses. You need to know their tactics. You need to know their tendencies. Once you know what to expect, you know what you need to do to win. Paul lets us know the reason we need to suit up in God’s armor. This heavenly powered exoskeleton is our only hope when we step into the octagon against our enemy. We face a nasty foe. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly places” (v12). We’re not taking on a human opponent. It’s Satan himself. And he’s not alone. He’s got his full roster of demons. This is going to be a slobber knocker. But we’re not alone. We have a partner in this metaphysical Royal Rumble. Jesus is right there with us. And whenever He fights, He always has the opposition outnumbered. They ring the bell. It’s time.
Step into the cage.
So do you think I’m crazy to compare this to some sort of supernatural MMA match? Then you need to take that up with Paul. He’s the one who drops the grappling lingo. He wants us to know what kind of combat this is going to be. He uses the Greek word(Gr. pale) that describes an intense struggle in close contact with the opponent. This is from a word that means to swing or throw. Think of swinging fists and elbows. Two fighters doing everything they to get their opponent off his feet. Looking for any way to throw their enemy to the ground and gain the advantage. That’s why they call a nasty fight a throw down! This is a face-to-face fight. It’s hand-to-hand combat. It’s hardcore. The apostle also uses the little word “against” (Gr. pros) FIVE times in this verse. He makes it clear that we’re in a knockdown, drag out fight with our enemy. When we enter the octagon, we’re in for the fight of our lives.
First, Paul wants us to know who were NOT fighting. “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood” (v12). Stop wasting your time fighting folks who aren’t your enemy.
Stop training for human opposition. The apostle wants us to have a clear scouting report of who and what is across the mat. Know who you’re really fighting against. Know your real opponent. That’s part of the enemy’s strategy. He’s trying to distract us to waste our energy on folks that aren’t really a factor. When I focus on those who really aren’t the enemy, I’m vulnerable. Extremely vulnerable. This doesn’t mean that the devil doesn’t use humans in his attempted overthrow of God’s kingdom. Shoot, before Jesus came to our rescue, we “were by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3), rebels fighting against God. Satan will use three kinds of weapons against us. Our flesh. The world’s system and values. And his own demonic forces. But ultimately, we need to know who’s pulling the strings. That, my friends, is the devil. So stop wrestling with enemies that aren’t really enemies.
Stop training for human opposition. The apostle wants us to have a clear scouting report of who and what is across the mat. Know who you’re really fighting against. Know your real opponent. That’s part of the enemy’s strategy. He’s trying to distract us to waste our energy on folks that aren’t really a factor. When I focus on those who really aren’t the enemy, I’m vulnerable. Extremely vulnerable. This doesn’t mean that the devil doesn’t use humans in his attempted overthrow of God’s kingdom. Shoot, before Jesus came to our rescue, we “were by nature children of wrath” (Eph 2:3), rebels fighting against God. Satan will use three kinds of weapons against us. Our flesh. The world’s system and values. And his own demonic forces. But ultimately, we need to know who’s pulling the strings. That, my friends, is the devil. So stop wrestling with enemies that aren’t really enemies.
Since we’re not fighting a human opponent, we can’t use traditional tactics. In a letter to the Corinthian church, Paul tells believers that our strategy has to be VERY different when taking on a supernatural enemy. Our best maneuver isn’t to shoot the leg. It’s not ground and pound. We use the truth of God’s Word to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive” (2Cor 10:3-5). There’s no doubt why the only offensive weapon in God’s armor is “the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God” (Eph 6:17). Do you know Scripture well enough to use it against our enemy?
Now that we know who we’re NOT fighting, let’s look across the cage at our true opponent. Or should I say OPPONENTS. Remember, there’s more than just one. We’re fighting “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the Heavenly places” (v12). If you’re counting, that’s four different gangs on the other side of the ring. MacArthur believes these are four ranks of demons in our enemy’s empire. He’s probably on to something. If we’re stepping into the cage, you might think of them as opponents in various weight classes. “Rulers” would be those gang leaders who are in charge. Think of “the authorities” as middle managers or squad leaders. Next in their satanic starting lineup are “the cosmic powers” (Gr. kosmokrator). This word only shows pops one time in the Bible and that’s right here. It literally means someone who has a death grip on the world. Jesus warned His posse that “the ruler of this world” is headed our way (Jn 14:30). Chances are that these are those demon spirits in Satan’s lineup that specialize in warping the world’s system from bringing God glory. Finally we see the final terrible team we’ll be taking on: “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” The terminology here seems to indicate every other demonic force at the devil’s disposal. It’s kind of a junk drawer term. These are the ground troops. This is his satanic infantry. And there’s millions of them.
That satanic snake may have a full roster of wicked warriors but Jesus has already “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame” (Col 2:15). He’s kicked their butts and pull their trunks down. Pete assures us that Jesus is chilling on His throne now that He’s whooped His enemies (1Pet 3:22). He’s already won the match. He did it at a bloody battle on a hill just outside of Jerusalem one Friday a couple of thousand years ago. So we step into the octagon against a defeated demonic opponent. Are they still powerful? Absolutely. We must remember that they can do some serious damage. But we must always remember that they are also losers. We place our trust in the victory Jesus won for us using a Roman cross and an empty tomb. All we need to do is put on God’s armor and face our opponent. Christ’s victory is OUR victory!
Step into the cage.
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