Ephesians 6:10-12 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”
Colossians 1:16 “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him….” There is an invisible war being fought all around us 24/7 and we are involved in it. You are aware, are you not, that the Christian life is a warfare, not against visible foes but against invisible? We live in a visible world.
We are material creatures and our entire lives are fashioned and focused upon caring for the material well-being of ourselves and others. As Paul wrote, “the things which are seen are temporal” and that is the realm in which we spend our days upon the earth. We live and move and have our being in a tangible, material world.
However, when we become Christians we become aware of the truth that there is an immaterial, intangible universe, an invisible world, a realm which we cannot see with the material eye. Paul continues, “but the things which are not seen are eternal.” It is in this realm that the conflict of the ages is being fought and we Christians are involved in it. THE CHRISTIAN WARFARE The Christian life is a war zone! We are being attacked, bombed, ambushed, sniped at and threatened every day by the Evil One and his guerrilla demons.
Yet many Christians go about cavalierly and nonchalantly, living as though they did not have an enemy in the world. However, there is a warfare presently being fought in the universe between the “seen” and the “unseen,” between the visible and the invisible. This conflict has been raging since the beginning whether we are aware of it or not. These two realms are two very different spheres, two disparate kingdoms – kingdoms in constant conflict.
Paul wrote about these conflicting kingdoms in Ephesians 6 saying, “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Eph. 6:12)