Ephesians 6:12

Ephesians 6:12. For explains why we need to stand against this foe.

Our wrestling; the conflict in which we are engaged; the term being applied to hand to hand contests in athletic games.

Is not against flesh and blood. (The original has the unusual order: ‘blood and flesh.') Our real conflict as Christians is not with men, nor even with our own human nature. There is no need of softening down the word ‘not.' The men with whom we may contend ‘are vessels which another uses, instruments which another touches' (Augustine).

But against principalities, etc. The contrast with what precedes compels us to explain this clause as meaning Satan and his organized forces. ‘Principalities' and ‘powers' refer to classes of superhuman beings in his kingdom; the former apparently superior (comp. chap. Ephesians 1:21). But more than this we cannot even conjecture.

Against the world-rulers; a peculiar term, also referring to the evil angels who serve the prince of this world (John 14:30; John 16:11; 1 John 5:19).

Of this darkness. So the best authorities; the other words having been inserted, probably to explain the peculiar term ‘world-rulers.' The evil angels exercise dominion in the world, and its depraved character is expressed by ‘this darkness.'

Against the spiritual hosts or wickedness in the heavenly places. There can be little doubt that this is the sense of this difficult clause. The reference is still to evil spirits, but to their collective bands, hosts, armies, forces (the form of the original being indefinite); all these are characterized as being ‘of wickedness.' The main difficulty, however, is with the last phrase: ‘in the heavenly places, ' which is found in chap. Ephesians 1:3 also. ‘High places' is a gloss to avoid using ‘heavenly' in a description of evil spirits. Some have attempted to obviate the difficulty by connecting the phrase with the former part of the verse, and explaining that the contest is about heavenly things or has its scene in the heavenly places, or, in the Church, etc. But the obvious connection is with what immediately precedes, either with ‘spiritual hosts of wickedness,' or with the last word alone. The former is preferable on grammatical grounds. ‘That habitation of the evil spirits, which in chap. Ephesians 2:2 was said, when speaking of mere matters of fact, to be in the air, is, now that the difficulty and importance of the Christian conflict is being forcibly set forth, represented as “in the heavenly places,”

over us, and too strong for us without the panoply of God' (Alford). The word ‘heavenly' usually has either a local or an ethical meaning; the latter disappears here, but in this connection the local sense has added to it the idea of might, in contrast with ‘flesh and blood.' The one great practical purpose is to warn us against misapprehending the nature of the spiritual conflict Satan is a read person; his emissaries are numerous and powerful, though like him unseen. It increases their advantage to have us deny their existence. The three great mistakes are: not knowing our own weakness; not knowing the strength of our spiritual foes; not knowing God's provision for our defence (Ephesians 6:11) which is next set forth in detail.