WRESTLING AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD

In his letter to the church that was in Ephesus, Paul mentions many types of human relationships that we all experience in our lifetimes; and how we, as believers, ought to function harmoniously within those various relationships.  He expresses the idea that, in Christ, both gentiles and born-again Jews are now joint heirs of eternal life, and have access to the Father through the Holy Spirit that has been poured out on them.  Together, they have been placed in the same body, and are being built up into a spiritual temple, and a household of faith, so that the enmity that once existed between these two groups is now abolished in Christ (2:11-22).  Later, Paul addresses the oneness of the body of Christ and the importance of maintaining the unity of the Spirit in a bond of peace.  He recites the core beliefs that every believer should hold in common with one another: one body, one Spirit, one hope of our calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all; and that we should all use our diverse spiritual gifts (of which we all have been given) to build up the rest of the body - not to tear down.  By so doing, we will all eventually come into the unity of the faith and a perfected knowledge of the Son of God (4:3-16).  In chapter 5, Paul tackles the mystical union between a husband and wife.  The principles of self-sacrifice and submission are woven together to form the picture of a bond so holy it can only be likened to that of Christ and His church (5:22-33).  Paul gives very sound advice to children, advising them to be obedient to their parents and to honor them according as God has commanded.  To fathers, Paul warns that they should never provoke their children to anger by unreasonable or unjust punishments, but to nurture them in the Lord, admonishing them in the truth of the Word (6:1-4).  Finally, Paul examines the master/servant relationship which today may be applied to the employer/employee relationship.  He encourages servant-employees to be as obedient to their bosses as, ultimately, they would be to Christ, not doing well only when the boss is looking, but at all times knowing that they are serving the Lord, and not man.  To master-employers Paul says to never use threats to motivate, knowing that they also have a Master in heaven.  They are told not to think themselves better than their servants because with God there is no respect of persons (6:5-9).

 

What I find most interesting about Paul's instruction in this letter is that he follows up all of this relationship counseling with this statement: "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.  For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:10-12).  This is very fitting.  After all, most of the spiritual battles that we fight in our lifetime stem from our inter-relations with other people.  Persecution, doctrinal divisions and strife, marital conflict, youth rebellion, frustration and anger over issues with our children, workplace stress over how we are treated by our employer, and pressure from our employees who don't want to perform to our expectations - all of these are sources of warfare in our spiritual lives.  The important lesson, though, is that WE DO NOT WAR AGAINST FLESH AND BLOOD.  We are fighting against principalities and powers in heavenly places.  It is the enemy of our souls that uses circumstances and people (often those we love) around us to try to cause us to falter.  Yes, it may be a fellow Christian, a son or daughter, a husband or wife, or a boss that we are dealing with; but it is Satan himself who seeks to exploit such ones to tempt us to fight in the flesh.  These loved ones may be completely ignorant of the spiritual battle they may be creating for us.  It is at this moment that we need to remind ourselves to be strong in the Lord, and not in our own power or strength.  This is spiritual warfare and so must be fought in the Spirit, not in the flesh. 

 

At one point in His earthly ministry, Jesus was trying to tell the disciples about His subsequent death and resurrection when Peter spoke up and said, "Be it far from Thee, Lord: this shall not be unto Thee."   His love for the Lord would not permit him to entertain the thought that Jesus was to be delivered up to those who hated Him, and be killed.  This show of emotion, however, was in opposition to what God's eternal plan for His Son was.  Therefore, Peter's outburst was playing right into Satan's purpose of trying to sidetrack the Lord from what was foreordained.  Jesus was very direct in addressing Peter's lack of vision.  He said, "Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto Me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men."  (Matthew 16:21-23).

 

We must be very grounded in our faith at all times, and keep in mind the purpose that God has for our lives.  We have been called to be witnesses of the grace of God, and to show the power of His Spirit working in and through us.  Allowing ourselves to "go off" on other people because they do not agree with us, submit to us, or even like us, does not bring glory to the Father.  We have weapons and armor that we have been given to wage an effective warfare against our real enemy.  These weapons are mighty through God and capable of pulling down some very formidable strongholds.  We have been given truth to gird us, the righteousness of Christ to be a breastplate for us, the gospel of peace for us to walk in and guide our feet in the right way, faith to shield us from every fiery dart sent from Satan to wound us, salvation as a helmet, and the Word of God to act as a sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:13-17).  As we learn to wield these mighty weapons, we will find just how effective they are against the enemy's onslaughts.  We may walk in this flesh day by day, but we must not war in this flesh.  Love must always be our underlying motivation.  If we walk in the Spirit, we will not fulfill the temptation to fight and devour, and so Jesus' words will come to pass, "Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God" (Matthew 5:9).