Two Things We Tend to Get Wrong About Spiritual Warfare

I doubt it’s on any top-ten list of the greatest movies ever made, but it definitely should be. With an all-star cast, an award-winning director, witty dialogue, and utterly atrocious special effects, The Princess Bride is nothing short of a cinematic masterpiece. One of the best lines in the film is when Inigo muses about Vizzini’s constant use of the word inconceivable. After the third (or fourth) event that’s dubbed “inconceivable,” Inigo wonders aloud, “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” 

Sometimes interpreting Scripture is like that. You think you know exactly what a passage means until you really dig your teeth into it. After grappling with the text for a while, the lights start to come on, and you realize that your initial interpretation wasn’t the right one after all. And you say to yourself, I got it wrong? Inconceivable! 

Ephesians 6, famous for its instructions regarding spiritual warfare, might be a bit like that. You’re familiar with the belt, breastplate, shield, and sword; you know that the true enemy isn’t flesh and blood. But maybe—just maybe—you’ve missed one or two things about the passage. Or maybe you’ve known them all along, and you’ll be happy to see that I’ve finally caught up. Either way, it’s worth a look.

Strong in the Lord

The passage begins simply enough: 

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. (Ephesians 6:10 ESV)

Easy enough, right? Paul tells us not to rely on our own strength when it comes to fighting the devil. We need to depend on God. It’s not us; it’s Him. Right. Check. Moving on. 

Yes, but what if there’s more? Let’s not move past that seemingly inconsequential prepositional phrase quite so quickly. We are called to be strong “in the Lord.” Any time you see the phrase “in Christ” or “in the Lord,” your ears ought to perk up and your eyes should twinkle. Most likely, a beautiful truth about union with Christ is just ahead. Such is the case in this verse. 

Paul spent a lot of time in the opening chapter of his epistle to the Ephesians explaining the beauty and bounty of being “in Christ.” In a long, run-on sentence, Paul tells the Ephesians that they are blessed “with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ” (Eph. 1:3, emphasis added). These blessings include being chosen from the foundation of the world, adopted into the family of Christ, redeemed, forgiven, and sealed with the Holy Spirit (see verses 3–14 for the whole list). 

After rhapsodizing about the multitude of blessings that come with our union with Christ, Paul tells the Ephesians how he prays for them. He does this because he is determined that they know just how great their union with Christ is. The whole book of Ephesians is predicated on this principle. 

So he tells them that he wants them to know the “hope of [God’s] calling” and “the wealth of his glorious inheritance in the saints” (v. 18). Finally, he prays that they would know “the immeasurable greatness of his power” toward them (v. 19). God displayed this power, he says, in raising Jesus from the dead and giving Him a position at His right hand, far above every “ruler and authority, power and dominion” (vv. 20–21). Paul prays that the Ephesians would know that this power is at work in them because they are in Christ! 

Now back to chapter 6. When Paul tells his audience to “be strong in the Lord,” perhaps the astute listener will remember what they had just heard a few minutes earlier. Paul is calling the Ephesians to remember their identity in Christ. They are united with the Savior, so the power that raised Him from the dead is theirs! According to Ephesians 2:6, we too are seated in the heavens with Christ, far above the rulers and authorities we wrestle against (Eph. 1:20; 6:12). We can be strong because we are in Christ. 

And that leads us to the next thing we might have missed about this passage. 

Stand Fast

If you were asked to find a passage about spiritual warfare, Ephesians 6 would probably be at the top of your list. Even if you can’t remember the reference, you might say something like, “The one with the armor and the shield and stuff.” And you’d be right. But if you look closely, you’ll realize that Paul really doesn’t say much about war. He never calls us to fight, advance, march, fire, or attack. Instead, he repeats one command several times: “Stand” (see vv. 11, 13–14). 

Stand. That’s all. Be equipped with the armor. Keep your shield up, and stand. 

Why? The answer, once again, is found in our union with Christ. 

Let’s circle back to the power that Paul told us about in chapter 1: 

He exercised this power in Christ by raising him from the dead and seating him at his right hand in the heavens. (Ephesians 1:20)

By rising from the dead, Christ crushed the head of the serpent (Gen. 3:15) and rendered him powerless. 

And when you were dead in trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, he made you alive with him and forgave us all our trespasses. . . . He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him. (Colossians 2:13, 15)

Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through his death he might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the devil. (Hebrews 2:14)

In the resurrection, Jesus won the war! We don’t have to fight the battle that has already been won. Thus, we are called to stand upon the ground that Jesus has already conquered. 

Jesus’ ascension into heaven assures us of His victory and supremacy, for there He is seated “far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion, and every title given, not only in this age but also in the one to come. And he subjected everything under his feet and appointed him as head over everything for the church” (Eph 1:21–22). 

We aren’t called to fight because our King already has the high ground. The enemy is defeated, and the King’s throne is secure. 

We’re called to stand. 

So while it’s not inaccurate to say that Ephesians 6 is all about spiritual warfare, perhaps it would be more accurate to say that it’s really about living in light of all that Paul said in the first five chapters of the book. It’s about standing fast in the reality of who you are in Christ. It’s about appropriating the gospel—that is, putting on the armor—every day and not giving up ground to the enemy. We’re strong in the Lord because we’re in Christ, and His victory is ours.

Sound too good to be true? Inconceivable, even? 

No way. Not if you are united with Christ.