In a familiar passage in Ephesians 6, Paul calls us to put on the whole armor of God. And he tells us so clearly why we need that armor in verse 12. “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.”
So often people make enemies of one another in this life, and we become distracted from our true enemy. We fight with other people about silly things, all the while, all the spiritual forces of evil are waging war against us, seeking to draw us away from God and the Salvation He freely offers us. These forces know that in the end they will lose and they’ll be destroyed, so they will do everything they can to make sure we share the same fate.
Our enemy is very real, church. And we need to be ready when he strikes. Paul goes on in Ephesians 6 to describe the armor God has provided to enable us to withstand the enemy’s attacks. That armor includes truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, God’s word, and prayer. We would all do well to
consider whether we’re armored up with these things or not. Without our armor, we are vulnerable to the enemy’s attacks.