Armed For Battle

“Praise the Lord, who is my rock. He trains my hands for war and gives my fingers skill for battle…”

- Psalm 144:1

     In this life, we face battles and struggles so often it feels as if we are in a war. According to the Scriptures, this is not far from reality. In fact, the apostle Paul writes about this very topic.
     There are two places, in Ephesians 6:10-18 & 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, where we find words concerning “the battle.” If we allow the thoughts developed by Paul in these two passages to overlap, we will see some interesting things. For instance, we learn about the battle ground. The battle ground is obviously where the battle takes place. While the wars throughout human history lie within the physical domain, Paul indicates he is not referring to these in particular. “We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do ( 2 Cor. 10:3 NLT).” The NIV captures the thought this way, “For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.” From this Paul launches into a discourse allowing us to understand a few important ideas.
     It is imperative to know where the battle ground is. Unless we know where the battle is, we can never enter into fight. Paul identifies the battle ground like this: “For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12 NLT).” Let’s try and put a finger on what Paul is telling us. He writes in 2 Cor. 4:3-6 about the light of the Gospel in conflict with Satan’s blinding darkness. I am going to take liberty at shifting the order of two verses to help us see the battle. “For God, who said ‘Let there be light in the darkness,’ has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus (v.6).” “(But) Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory Christ, who is the exact likeness of God (v.4).” Do you see the battle? Do you see where the battle ground is?
     Listen carefully to Paul’s next words. “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world” (2 Cor. 10:4 NIV). Two questions come to mind. First, what are these weapons? Paul answers, “…the belt of truth…the breastplate of righteousness…the shield of faith…the helmet of salvation…and the sword of the Spirit” (Eph 6:14-17 NIV). Secondly, what is the purpose of these weapons? Paul asserts, “We use God’s mighty weapons…to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God.” (2 Cor. 10:4-5 NLT). Stay tuned for more…