Koine Foundations

¹⁰ Finally, be made strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. ¹¹ Wear the full armor of God so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this dark domain, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you can hold your ground in the evil day, and stand firm because you have made everything ready.

¹⁴ This being the case, take your stand having fastened truth around your waist, wearing the breastplate of righteousness, ¹⁵ and having shod your feet with the readiness that comes from the Good News whose message is peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all these*, having taken up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. ¹⁷ Also receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

¹⁸ Take your stand praying in every situation in the Spirit by means of every kind of prayer and petition, and to this end, staying alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

*Or perhaps, “In all circumstances…” instead of “In addition to all these…“

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Word Focus
struggle
πάλη / palē
<Hear It>

In this post I continue with comments on Ephesians 6:10 to 18 – the Armor of God. Paul uses the picture of a Roman soldier preparing for battle to teach about the spiritual conflict in which the Christian is engaged. There are forces at work attempting to defeat and destroy the believer and Paul explains the resources that will assure victory over these forces.

As noted in the previous post, the Devil (verse 11) is the commander of powerful spiritual forces that oppose believers. He cunningly and maliciously plans and implements schemes to deceive believers and lead them away from the faith. He is tactically shrewd and often attacks when believers are not prepared or not on the alert.

Many people in western cultures would scoff at the idea of a personal Devil. Any sense of the spiritual has been demolished by veneration of science that believes only in the natural, material world. But the Bible clearly teaches that there is a spiritual realm as real as the natural realm, and there are personal agencies of evil that reside in both realms. This is another shrewd tactic of the Devil – to convince people that he does not exist.

In verse 12, the Apostle Paul uses five phrases that begin with the word “against” (πρός / pros – G4314) to define the nature of the opponents that believers battle against:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world powers of this dark domain, against the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly realms.

This is probably not a comprehensive classification of all evil forces. But rather an illustration of the variety and extent of their supernatural power.

• The opponents are not “flesh and blood” meaning they are not human, but rather the evil spiritual forces that stand behind and influence humans and human institutions. This does not mean that believers will not do battle with humans, but that the real enemies are the spiritual forces. The objective of the believer is to defeat the spiritual forces and liberate people from darkness.

• The opponents are “rulers” and “authorities” (see also Ephesians 1:21 and 3:10) which are cosmic spiritual powers that have authority to oppose the purposes of God. However, because of Christ’s death and resurrection He has disarmed them (Colossians 2:15) and rules over them (Ephesians 1:18-23, see 1:21). They can still menace and intimidate believers but are not a threat to those who wear the full Armor of God.

• The opponents are “the world powers of this dark domain“. These are the evil spiritual powers behind the world’s rulers who are used to keep people in darkness – living apart from God and from enjoying the good life He has planned for them. Those who believe in Christ had been rescued from the darkness (Colossians 1:13-14; Ephesians 5:8).

• The opponents are “the spiritual powers of evil in the heavenly realms“. These are spiritual forces whose essential character is evil. This is probably not a separate class of spiritual forces compared to “the world powers of this dark domain“. Rather the focus is on their location. “Heavenly realms” probably refers to the unseen spiritual world where both good and evil spiritual forces reside, as opposed to the dark domain of this world.

The believer’s “struggle” (πάλη / palē) is against these spiritual forces. In Greek literature, the word πάλη / palē was used in the context of wrestling or combat. The focus is on the intense, personal, hand-to-hand nature of the struggle. Brute strength is required to win. The believer’s struggle is not long range like a drone attack, but up close and personal, against an enemy whose goal is total destruction.

Because of the intense and deadly nature of the struggle, Paul says in verse 13:

For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you can hold your ground in the evil day, and stand firm because you have made everything ready.

Paul reiterates the need to wear the full armor of God. The spiritual forces arrayed against the believer are powerful and evil so the believer must be “made strong” (verse 10) by God and equipped with God’s full armor. God provides everything needed for victory.

The “evil day” probably refers to any time the enemy attacks, whether through temptation, persecution, false teaching, disunity in the church, or personal crisis. But it may be broader and refer to the whole of the present evil age in which believers live and/or to the final day of evil or tribulation at the end of the world.

And finally, Paul says that it is important that “you have made everything ready” – Properly empowered, armored, and armed the believer can stand firm and hold his ground.

In the next post I will comment on the belt of truth.

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Here are links to all the posts for the Armor of God:

The Full Armor of God
Spiritual Opponents
Belt of Truth
Breastplate of Righteousness
Good News Boots
Shield of Faith
Helmet of Salvation
Sword of the Spirit
Pray and Stay Alert

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Word Focus Lexicon

Lexical Form: ἡ πάλη πάλης <Hear It>
Gloss: struggle, wrestling
Part of Speech: First Declension Feminine Noun
New Testament Frequency: 1
Strong’s Number: G3823 (Link to Blue Letter Bible Lexicon)

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Bibliography

Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (Editor). Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, Abridged. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1985.
Bruce, F.F. The Epistles to the Colossians, to Philemon, and to the Ephesians (The New International Commentary on the New Testament). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1984.
Danker, Frederick William (Editor). A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and other Early Christian Literature, Third Edition (BDAG). The University of Chicago Press. 2000.
Foulkes, Francis. The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries). Inter-Varsity Press. 1956.
Gilbrant, Thoralf (Editor). The New Testament Greek-English Dictionary. The Complete Biblical Library. 1990.
Kent Jr., Homer A. Ephesians, The Glory of the Church. Moody Press. 1971.
Lincoln, Andrew T. Word Biblical Commentary, Ephesians. Word Incorporated. 1990.
Salmond, S.D.F. The Expositors Greek Testament, Volume III. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. 1990.
Stott, John R.W. The Message of Ephesians (The Bible Speaks Today). Inter-Varsity Press. 1979.
Wood, A. Skevington. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Volume 11. The Zondervan Corporation. 1978.

Unless otherwise noted, English translations of Bible verses are by the author from the Greek text and are not quotations from any copyrighted Bible version or translation.