Commentaries:
One can search the New Testament and find no calls from Jesus or the apostles to get involved in government to affect change in society. In fact, they tell us that Satan is the ruler of this world and that we should come out of the world (Revelation 18:4), not love it (I John 2:15) or even be friends with it (James 4:4)! Jesus charges the apostles to preach the good news of the coming Kingdom of God: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15). He also says "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations" (Luke 24:47), but makes no mention of a great crusade to change society.
The "church" tried that in the fourth century, hooking its wagon to the Roman Empire under Constantine, and notice what happened: Once it became part of the government, it became the worst abuser of people, law, and morality throughout the Dark and Middle Ages! During the time of the Reformation, Protestants came to power in many European countries—and promptly followed the Catholic example of abuse and persecution of "heretics" and "nonconformists." Would today's "moral majority" fare any better?
No, the focus of the gospel is personal and individual, not societal or national. Even in the apostles' day, mass conversions were rare and worthy of note (Acts 2:41). Certainly, none will occur in these times because of government edict or political action. Each person must hear the words of salvation, respond, repent, and live righteously. Real societal change begins with the individual and expands to his family, his friends and neighbors, and beyond as the result of the witness of godly living (Acts 1:8; I Peter 2:12; Isaiah 43:10).
Besides, the time of the end is characterized by its immorality and rejection of God (II Timothy 3:1-5, 13; Matthew 24:4-13; Revelation 9:20-21; etc.). Though we cannot throw up our hands in defeat, our efforts to turn society back to Christian morality appear doomed to fail. It will take "a strong hand from someplace" to strike this present evil world with a rod of iron and enforce righteousness and peace on stubborn and rebellious mankind (Isaiah 11:1-5; 63:1-6; 66:15-16; Daniel 2:44; Joel 2:1-10; 3:9-17; Zephaniah 1:14-18; Zechariah 14:3, 12; Revelation 19; etc.).
Richard T. Ritenbaugh
Above the Fray
Ephesians 6:12-17 makes especially clear that we are involved in a war, a spiritual war, and thus our weaponry must also be spiritual.
The Christian must tend to his weapons, as every soldier in warfare must, for not only is his life on the line but also the lives of his buddies, as he is their keeper too. Without serviceable weapons, the battle is often lost even before it begins. It is a terrifying thought to imagine oneself on a battlefield with nothing in hand to fight the enemy.
The Bible makes it clear that God has willed that this warfare is an absolute necessity for the development and preparation of His children to live in His Family Kingdom. It cannot be avoided; we cannot remain neutral. In one sense, we really have no choice. We must either fight or be lost.
John W. Ritenbaugh
The Christian Fight (Part Two)
Notice the number of times in these few verses that we are exhorted to stand. We must hold our ground as we fight against the pressures of Satan and this world. In verse 11, Paul tells us to "stand against" the Devil's tricks. In verse 13, he encourages us to prepare "to withstand in the evil day" and "having done all, to stand." In the next verse, he concludes, "Stand therefore" and put on the armor that God can supply.
There are two things to notice here. First, we are to stand firm. Paul does not instruct us to be agile or swift of foot. To the contrary, he advises us not to move; we are to stand on a firm foundation, as it were. We are to be securely grounded, rooted and unmoving. A person living a life of integrity is not shifty, but has solid convictions rather than preferences that vary with circumstances.
Second, Paul details the armor we need to "take up." He lists several pieces of "the whole armor of God," but "the breastplate of righteousness" deals mostly closely with integrity.
Most soldiers in Paul's day wore a breastplate, and even today, the most basic protection offered to police and soldiers is the armored or bulletproof vest. The Roman breastplate, primarily made of bronze and backed with leather, was worn around the chest, protecting the heart and other vital organs. In Paul's spiritual analogy, the breastplate guards the heart, the seat of our attitudes and emotions. In other words, if we are to stand firm in the truth, our heart must be protected!
Interestingly, the translation of the New Testament by J.B. Phillips renders "the breastplate of righteousness" as "integrity your breastplate." Paul instructs us to protect our heart, our love, and our emotions with a breastplate of integrity! As part of the equipment each Christian needs to stand firm in the spiritual war we have been recruited to fight, we must fasten integrity right across our chests to provide protection. What happens when a soldier takes off his breastplate? He opens his soft abdomen to attack; he is unprotected! Spiritually, the heart becomes vulnerable, apt to be turned away.
Mike Ford
Building With Integrity
This verse tells us that our warfare is against demons, and they—angels who rose up against God—look upon us as invaders. As any invaded people would, they see themselves as rising to defend their home and territory despite the fact that they probably know that God has given this earth to us as an inheritance.
This is a spiritual parallel of Israel coming out of Egypt, going through the wilderness to their inheritance in Canaan, but Canaan was already inhabited. The Canaanites rose up to defend themselves against those they saw as invaders. Who knows if the Canaanites knew that God had promised their land to Abraham and his descendants? Rahab seemed to understand this in Jericho, so it is likely that the Canaanites also knew these things.
God does not do things in a corner; He witnesses to people when He acts. The demons are well aware that they are defending themselves from those who will take over their estate—and they are going to fight to hold it.
John W. Ritenbaugh
What I Believe About Conspiracy Theories
In conclusion, be strong—not in yourselves but in the Lord, in the power of his boundless strength. Put on God's complete armor so that you can successfully resist all the devil's craftiness. For our fight is not against any physical enemy: it is against organizations and powers that are spiritual. We are up against the unseen power that controls this dark world, and spiritual agents from the very headquarters of evil. Therefore you must wear the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist evil in its day of power, and that even when you have fought to a standstill you may still stand your ground. (Phillips)
It is clear that we are fighting a spiritual war against enemies who are far greater in numbers, intelligence, subtlety, and power than Israel had to wage war against in terms of the Amalekites, the Moabites, and so forth. In addition, our enemy is invisible.
Paul tells us to "stand," a military term for holding on to a position. In effect, before one can launch an attack, he must first hold the position he is in. In the Phillips translation, the word "against" is used four times, probably to stress the determined hostility that our enemy has. The Christian soldier is confronting something that, as a soldier, he could not overcome except that he himself also has invisible help to draw upon as a resource.
In military strategy, perhaps one of the most basic of all rules is never to underestimate the enemy. Our struggle is not merely against human foes, yet we find, in other places, that it is a war to the death. In fact, here in Ephesians 6, this idea is hidden in the Greek. It is a war to the death against supernatural forces. The word "powers" denotes those who aspire to world control, and ancient writers used the term to designate the savior gods of pagan religions. That is who we are fighting against—demons!
Our warfare, then, has all the trappings of a literal war, but it is something that we cannot see yet happening nonetheless. The qualities that we need to fight this war are not things we have inherently. We have to be given them by God. Our relationship with God is of supreme importance as to whether we are going to have the proper resources to fight this battle. We have to go to Him to get them, and we also need to be on good terms before He gives them to us.
One of the most valuable of all of these resources is the mindset that we are involved in a war. There are times when we, as a soldier, are going to face privation and hardship. There are going to be times of pain—both physical and mental. There are going to be times of sorrow that may lead us to depression or even bitterness. There will be occasions when we will be in fear and feel a great sense of insecurity. There are times we will win our battles, but other times we will lose and thus feel guilty and maybe depressed. There are going to be times of obedience that give a feeling of exhilaration and of being in control, as well as times of disobedience when just the opposite will be the effect.
There will also be times when we will be aware that God is disciplining us—sometimes in terms of punishment for sin and at other times in training to prepare us to master what we are doing. There will be times of sacrifice and even times of death. Nevertheless, all of these are part and parcel of a soldier's life.
John W. Ritenbaugh
Endure as a Good Soldier
In the New Testament, the world is contrasted with the Kingdom of God—the Kingdom into which true Christians have already been conveyed (Colossians 1:13) and which will be formally and dramatically established on earth when Jesus Christ returns. But until this present world is overthrown, we are engaged in a war for our hearts, loyalties, time, and attention. The danger is not that we should be killed, but that we should be enticed to neglect the salvation that God has begun in us (Hebrews 2:1-3), that we could give up on eternity with the Father and the Son by letting the world squeeze us into its mold (Romans 12:2). If Christ overthrows this world at His return—and He will—what will happen to those who love the world and its things, who resemble it rather than the Messiah? This is what happened to Israel and Judah: They loved the world around them so much that they imitated it, which meant turning their backs on God.
Jehoash, Amaziah, Uzziah, and Jotham did what was right in the sight of God, as least for part of their lives. Overall, they were not bad kings, especially compared to the likes of Ahaz, Ahab, and Manasseh. However, God points out that each failed to remove the high places as He had commanded, leading to Judah's eventual captivity.
However, we need not follow their negligence, for God has already given us the means to overcome the world—our faith (I John 5:4-5). True faith in the Father and the Son will motivate us to remove anything from our lives that might hinder our relationship with them. True belief will cause us to "seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness" (Matthew 6:33) and have the presence of mind to resist the world's outposts before they establish themselves in our lives. God is quite willing to help us remove any high places in our lives if we are willing to make the effort.
David C. Grabbe
The High Places (Part Six)
Other Forerunner Commentary entries containing Ephesians 6:12:
Genesis 3:15
Genesis 14:20
Job 1:18-19
Matthew 7:11
Luke 4:6
Luke 14:31-32
1 Corinthians 10:20-21
1 Corinthians 15:26
2 Corinthians 4:3-4
Galatians 4:1-3
Galatians 4:22
Galatians 4:24
Ephesians 2:1-3
Ephesians 2:1-3
Ephesians 2:2
Ephesians 4:1
Ephesians 4:1
Ephesians 4:22-24
Ephesians 6:12-17
1 Thessalonians 5:9
1 Timothy 4:1
2 Timothy 2:26
Hebrews 4:1-2
James 1:12
1 John 5:7-8
Jude 1:6
Revelation 12:4