‘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’ (Eph. 6:12).
Who or what are ‘the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms’ if not the Devil and his demons? From Genesis to Revelation, Scripture reminds us that satanic forces are trying to thwart God’s work in creation and redemption. Yet how often do we preach, teach or even think about this issue? For many of us, the answer would probably be “Not often”.
We are reluctant to talk about the Devil for understandable reasons. Who wants to focus on the Devil when our love for the Lord would turn us instead to Christ in grateful worship? There is also the delicate issue of Christians who take the whole Devil thing too far, seeing demonic opposition in every setback and introducing teaching that has more to do with a Hollywood exorcism movie than real spiritual warfare.
Paul writes this reminder to the Ephesians after focusing on the need for spiritual wisdom and humility in human relationships. Indeed, these are areas where a lot of the Devil’s work is done. Sooner or later, we all need to be reminded that our real struggle is not against people of ‘flesh and blood’. When confronted with human beings who damage the local church or oppose the gospel, we need to remember that they are controlled by Satan’s puppet-strings, and he is the real enemy.
One of our difficulties in thinking of this issue is that the Devil often has all the hold he needs over humanity, without demonic possession. We only need to look at the ravages of greed and pride, of addiction and lust, in human hearts, families and churches. These are areas of daily spiritual warfare for God’s people, and those who serve Him in spreading the good news can become specific targets in this battle. Yet many people live under the shadow of an even more obscure evil. I have spoken with wise, experienced missionaries from African countries where voodoo is practised and heard their accounts of possession and violent magic. It is said that in Paris there are more fortune-tellers than medical doctors. We forget the reality of these ‘forces of evil’ at our peril, and some mission field environments can be particularly oppressive for this reason.
There may be one further reason for our reluctance to consider the Devil’s activity in our world - we often don’t really know what to do about it. And that is where we need to look again at Paul’s advice in the wider context of Ephesians 6 (vv13-18) which echoes the example of the Lord Himself during His desert encounter with Satan (Matt. 4:1-11) Paul recommends no bizarre exorcism ritual, no sacrifice or spell. He points us to the armour of God: truth and righteousness, zeal for the gospel, faith in the power of Jesus over evil, the assurance of salvation, well-honed skill in using the sword of Scripture and sustained, faithful prayer. These are valuable and effective weapons to be wielded in a dangerous battle, at home and on the mission field. But I smile in gratitude to our powerful Lord when I remember this: the weapons of spiritual warfare are not found in some mysterious ceremony, but are taught, almost weekly, in Sunday school classes around the world. They are accessible to every child of God.
Jonathan Hanley