Focal Passage: Ephesians 6:10-20
The Christian life is warfare. We make war on our sin. We make war on the desires of our flesh. We are at war.
Which is why Paul commands us to put on the whole armor of God (Ephesians 6:11). The war is not optional. Only your day-to-day success in battle is optional, which is why John Piper famously preached, and hip-hop artist Tedashi sang about, the need for Christians to “make war.”
Yet, Paul knows that we will likely misunderstand his appeals for battle. So, he rightly reminds us that our war is not against people, it is against cosmic powers (Ephesians 6:12-13). If it has flesh and blood, it is not your enemy. Thankfully, Christ has given us all we need to not only survive this war, but to win. We have truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation and the Spirit, which is wielded when we use the Word of God (Ephesians 6:13-17). But these defenses and weapons are of no use unless you wear them.
But we cannot do it alone. We need each other, which is why Paul tells us to pray for one another (Ephesians 6:18). Our ultimate victory is guaranteed. Nevertheless, here and now, we fight. We fight our enemy as we pursue Christlikeness. We will win. We have won, because Christ has already won, is winning, and will win.