The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians, perhaps more than any other New Testament epistle, describes the spiritual blessings that God has given to the believers in His Son.

He has "blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ" (1:3).

"He hath chosen us in Him [that is, Christ] before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love (1:4).

He has "predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself" (1:5).

"He hath made us accepted in the beloved" (1:6).

In Him "we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins" (1:7).

"He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence" (1:8).

He has "made known unto us the mystery of His will" (1:9).

In Him "we have obtained an inheritance" (1:11).

He has "put all things under His feet, and gave [Christ] to be the head over all things to the Church" (1:22).

He "hath quickened us together with Christ. . . and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (2:5,6).

"We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (2:10).

"He is our peace" (2:14).

In Christ we "are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit (2:22).

He has given "gifts unto men . . . apostles . . . prophets . . . evangelists . . . pastors and teachers" (4:8,11).

He has sealed us by the Holy Spirit "unto the day of redemption" (4:30).

"Christ . . . loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish" (5:25-27).

We are not to take these blessings lightly, or for granted. God intended that we should appreciate them, meditate upon them, enjoy them, use them for His glory, and worship Him because of them. As we grow spiritually, we will find ourselves spending more time meditating upon Christ, seeking to understand and lay hold of our blessings in Christ, seeking to discern God’s perfect will for every aspect of our lives, and attempting to serve God through the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Correspondingly, as we grow spiritually we more and more will be reckoning ourselves dead to sin (Rom. 6:11), not allowing sin to reign in our mortal bodies (Rom. 6:12), fleeing youthful lusts (2 Tim. 2:22), and gaining victory over the world through faith (1 John 5:4). As we become increasingly victorious in our conflicts with fleshly lusts and worldly pleasures, and as we focus our attention more on the Lord and those things that are pleasing in His sight, we increasingly will be brought face to face with another foe_Satan and His demons.

As long as we are content to live our Christian lives in a lukewarm fashion, on a plane of mediocrity, bestirring ourselves only occasionally to engage in any activity that brings us face to face with God, the presence of Satan and/or his henchmen will not be very evident to us. If we are content to conform outwardly to the customs of Christianity_attending worship, prayer, or Bible study meetings once or twice a week, mindlessly reading a Bible chapter occasionally, saying prayers by rote each night, etc._we are not likely to experience very much of the combat described in Eph. 6. Rather, I suggest, Satan’s activity in our lives will take the form primarily of (1) keeping us content with our lukewarm involvement in the Christian life and keeping us from even beginning any serious meditation upon Christ, His will for us, etc.; or (2) tempting us to sin in such a way as to cause upset among and/or estrangement from our brothers and sisters in Christ; or (3) leading us to behave in ways that will tend to hinder our unsaved friends and neighbors from responding to the gospel. Each of us_even as true believers in Christ_has such a native ability to sin, to be self-willed and self-centered, that Satan and his demons often do not have to exert much effort to keep our hearts on self and off of Christ.

However, once a believer starts taking positive steps to learn more about his God and his Saviour, to know and to do His will, and to be of service to Him, Satan’s cohorts are immediately stirred into a new kind of action_action aimed at putting a quick end to such exercises and activities. In Eph. 6 we find instruction for combatting Satan’s attacks in such instances. This is spiritual warfare of the highest kind. It does not so much have to do with resisting temptations aimed at stirring sinful flesh into activity, but with defending against attacks designed to discourage us from pursuing our course of seeking to honor, obey, serve, and worship God.

"Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor 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. Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand" (Eph. 6:10-13). God does not leave us to our own strength in defending against the host of spiritual enemies arrayed against us (6:12). Every spiritual weapon and piece of armor is provided by God. All He asks of us is to use this armor faithfully and entirely_"Put on the whole armor of God" (6:11); "Take unto you the whole armor of God" (6:13).

Our enemy is wily, shrewd, cunning. He knows the weak nesses of each one of us and exploits these weaknesses to the fullest. And He attacks when we least expect it_often right on the heels of a great victory over sin or Satan (compare Judg. 7:19-22 with 8:24-27; compare 1 Kings 18:40 with 19:1-4). Clad with the whole armor of God, our areas of weakness will be protected and we will be ready to stand against the devil "in the evil day," that is, the moment of special attack.

Our combatants include a whole host of spiritual powers of wickedness. Satan himself, unlike Christ, does not possess the divine attributes of omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, self-existence from past eternity, and the like. He is, indeed, extremely powerful, highly knowledgeable, intelligent, and wise, and moves very rapidly. But he does not have the power to be all places at all times. Therefore, he has set up a vast system of under-devils, with different ranks (such as "principalities" or arch-demons, 6:12) and different charges, such as the responsibility to watch over a specific person to keep him from setting his mind too much on spiritual things and from being obedient to God (compare Dan. 10:12,13).

"Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but against principalities, against authorities, against the universal lords of this darkness, against spiritual power [or powers] of wickedness in the heavenlies" (6:12 JND). Note that the battle takes place, at least in part, "in the heavenlies." We have been blessed "with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ" (1:3 JND). God has raised up Christ and "set Him down at His right hand in the heavenlies" (1:20 JND). God "has raised us up together, and made us sit down together in the heavenlies" (2:6 JND). As we find ourselves more and more led by the Spirit to enter into the heavenlies to meditate upon Christ and upon our blessings, we will find our enemies_"spiritual powers of wickedness"_also there in the heavenlies, arrayed against us to keep us from the enjoyment of our Lord and Saviour and the blessings He has imparted to us.

Some of the specific schemes and stratagems used by these satanic powers to attack God’s children, and the specific pieces of armor provided by God to protect His children against these attacks, will be discussed in the next issue, God willing.