Ephesians 6:10–18
‘For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.’(v12)
That the devil has already been defeated and his kingdom laid waste – in the past tense for the New Testament authors – exposes him as little more than a raging beast, one with decidedly more bark than bite.’ Whilst the defeat of the counterfeit court of Satan is assured, the most that such principalities and powers can hope for is to usurp God’s commitment to bring humanity to salvation. His weapons? Chaos, destruction arising from fear, in contrast to God’s love. His planned assault on God (Isa. 14:13–15) failed when Jesus rose from the dead, depriving Satan of his authority over mortals, and gave Christ’s followers the power to bind the strong man so that his possessions might be taken (Mark 3:23–27).
Paul celebrates God’s complete victory in Colossians: ‘having disarmed the powers and authorities, he [Jesus] made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross’ (Col. 2:15). So now the remnants of Satan’s failed assault operate throughout the earth, with only one purpose: to whisper lies, as Satan did to Adam and Eve, in a vain hope of demoralising and drawing mortals away from God’s rule.
We are to be on full alert so that we might recognise the subtle deceit of these insurgents and ensure daily we put on God’s provision for the fight of our lives by submitting ourselves to God, resisting the devil for he must then flee (Jas 4:7). Satan fights hard for he knows total obliteration is his final end (Rev. 12:12).
SCRIPTURE TO CONSIDER: Ezek. 28:11–19; Ps. 68:1–18; Col. 2:6–15; Heb. 2:14–18.
AN ACTION TO TAKE: What can you learn from the nature of this final cosmological battle between the outright purpose of God and Satan’s misplaced attempt to supplant it?
A PRAYER TO MAKE: ‘Lord, help me to fight the good fight knowing that You, the God of peace, will soon crush Satan under your feet. Amen.’ (Rom. 16:20)
Image by Peter Schmidt from Pixabay
