Ephesians 4:17-6:24
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.
Ephesians 6:12
We do ourselves — and everyone else — a tremendous disservice when we forget who the real enemy is or when we ignore or downplay spiritual forces of evil. Satan and his minions are happy for us to divert our attention away from them, especially when we go so far as to think they don’t exist at all or when we envision a clownish devil in red tights. That does not mean that we need to become obsessed with demonology or blame the devil for every little mishap. That is likewise unhealthy and unrealistic. But we need to be clear-eyed about the fact that the physical realm is not all there is; otherwise, we are prone to waste tremendous energy and resources using the wrong weapons in fighting the wrong battles against mistaken foes. So recognize the true enemy and fight accordingly.
Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
Ephesians 6:10-11
See also:
This explains the first…maybe third of my day. I wake up needing gentle reminders most days. Jeremiah Johnson has a radio show on from 8:00 to 8:15 on 91.1. He opens usually with something like, “Good morning. God loves you and wants the best for your life.”
The adversary is the enemy. The rest of us are fallen and broken and deserving of grace from each other rather than spite. I’ll need to hear it again.