Ephesians

Facing Reality, Facing the Battle¹⁶

We can only truly understand life when we see it as the Bible sees it. When we come to the Bible, we learn the truth. Here the world is set before us as it really is.

One of the most fundamental truths the Bible presents to us is that, behind the facade of this world, there is an invisible battle raging. This battle takes many casualties, and there are no innocent bystanders, no noncombatants. Every human being on this planet, whether he or she is aware of it or not, is forced to take one side or the other in this great cosmic war.

Paul writes:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 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. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. (Ephesians 6:10-13)

In this passage we see that Paul’s view of life can be summed up in a single word: struggle. Life, he says, is a conflict. The reality of Paul’s words is confirmed constantly by our experience.

We don’t like to hear this. We would rather think of life as an idealized, peaceful journey, drifting from birth until the moment God calls us home to be with Him. It is disturbing and troubling to think of life as a struggle and the world as a battleground.

Paul wants us to understand the struggle we face so that we can withstand the onslaught and emerge victorious. And the only way we can hope to survive is by understanding the nature of the battle and the enemy we face. “Therefore put on the full armor of God,” he tells us, “so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground” (Ephesians 6:13). What “day of evil” is Paul foreshadowing in this passage? Clearly, Paul implies that all days are not the same. Some times are more evil than others. There are seasons in life when pressures are more intense, when problems are more insoluble, when everything seems to come upon us at once. Sometimes it is an actual day, sometimes it is a week, sometimes months. But thank God, all of life is not that way. There are good days, and there are evil days.

Tragically, most of us take the times of refreshment, blessing, and glory for granted, never returning a word of thanksgiving to God for the good times in our lives. We see the good times in life as our due, and see the evil days as unfair intrusions into our perfectly ordered lives. The fact is, evil is our due as sinners, and all the good we receive is a gift of God’s grace, for which we should be continually grateful. Instead of complaining about the evil days, we should recognize—with the realism of the apostle Paul—that life is a constant struggle, varying in intensity over time, but extending from the cradle to the grave. That is reality.