After studying Ephesians for the better part of 10 months, I’m taking time to reflect on the discoveries I’ve made, and I’m sharing a few of them with you. I previously shared about seeing God’s cosmic plan of redemption, and what the good news of Jesus would have meant to me (an ethnic Gentile) 2,000 years ago. Today’s reflection is on the reality of spiritual warfare and how we are to prepare.

One of the most famous passages in the New Testament is Ephesians 6:10–20. Paul begins this section by saying:

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. ¹² 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. ¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.

Ephesians 6:10–13 (ESV)

I’ve been familiar with this passage for a long time, but I did not realize how important the concept of spiritual warfare is to not only the entire letter but to the Ephesians themselves.

Paul says the whole armor of God will help us stand against the devil “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” (vv.11–12). There is a clear message that followers of Christ have enemies, that these enemies are associated with the darkness of this world, and they are “in the heavenly places.” The phrase “in the heavenly places” is only used in Ephesians. It is used to describe the the beings who are hostile to the followers of Jesus (Eph. 6:12), but it is also used to describe the following:

• the blessings God has blessed us with (Eph. 1:3)
• where Christ sits next to the Father (Eph. 1:20)
• where the followers of Jesus are seated along with Christ (Eph. 2:6)
• where the rulers are who receive the revelation of God’s multi-faceted wisdom through the Church (Eph. 3:10)

Much is happening in the heavenly places, which makes me realize the importance of Paul’s instructions for upcoming hostilities from these beings in the heavenly places.

The hostility Jesus followers face comes from spiritual beings in the heavenly places, not from people. Paul makes this clear in Eph. 6:10–20, but he also mentioned it earlier in ch. 2:1–3. There, he said that prior to Christ, the Ephesians were “following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” Humanity is influenced by the spiritual beings who are in rebellion against God.

Paul’s emphasis on the heavenly places and the hostile spirits from that realm is even more poignant to the Ephesians because of the religious culture within Ephesus. Ephesus housed the temple to Ephesian Artemis, which was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. Additionally, Ephesus was known as a hot-bed for hostile spiritual activity. Itinerant exorcists frequently traveled there, and one of the most hostile spiritual attacks of the New Testament occurred there against the 7 sons of Sceva (cf. Acts 19:11–20). The Ephesians knew the power that Paul was instructing them to stand against.

Realizing this softens my heart towards people who might not look favorably on Christianity. Paul’s instructions informed the Ephesians about whom they were to prepare against– the rebellious spiritual forces. This implies, of course, that we also understand who is not our enemy. In an age of polarization in American culture, this message from Ephesians forces me to reconsider who is my enemy and who is my neighbor.