Ephesians 6:10-12 — The Satan?

READ THIS: Ephesians 6:10-12

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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.

WHAT’S THIS MEAN, ANYWAY?

These verses use a lot of words and phrases that have to do with war (strong, armor, stand against, schemes, struggle, powers, and more). If Christians are called to be peacemakers, what are we doing talking about going to war? An important part about being a believer is that we really are involved in a war, but it doesn’t get talked about very often by Christians.

So who are we at war with? Sometimes it feels like we are at war with people who don’t like us, people who are mean to us, or people who disagree with us. It may feel like we are at war with our bosses, our parents, our siblings, and even with ourselves at times, but the Bible says we are fighting a battle against something entirely different. We are fighting against the spiritual forces of evil, led by the enemy that people call the devil or Satan (fun fact: the word Satan literally means “adversary,” which is why we tend to use that name… but he really should be called the satan!).

So… what are we supposed to even do in this battle? Paul says what we need to do: be strong in God (not ourselves), be fully armored and ready for battle, and be willing to take a stand against evil. Over the next couple of days, we will talk about how we can be on guard and ready to fight back, so stay tuned!

THINK ABOUT IT:

1. Do you feel like you are at battle right now? If so, what makes you feel that way?

2. How can you take a stand against evil today, whether that’s at home, at school, or somewhere else?
 
TRY THIS:
 
If you have 5ish minutes, check out this cool video by the Bible Project about the adversary and what we know about the evil forces we are up against!

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