Lessons #267 and 268
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+ 1. It is best to use this note after you have listened to the lessons because there are +
+ comments given in the actual exposition not in the note. +
+ 2. The Bible abbreviations are as follows: CEV =Contemporary English version, +
+ CEB = Common English Bible, ESV= English Standard Version, +
+ GWT = God’s Word Translation, ISV = International Standard Version, +
+ NAB=New English Bible, NASB= New American Standard Bible, +
+ NEB= New English Bible, NET = New English Translation, +
+ NLT = New Living Translations NJB = New Jerusalem Bible, +
+ NJV = New Jewish Bible, TEV = Today’s English Version. +
+ 3. Notes have not been edited for grammatical errors. +
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Complete spiritual armor in the spiritual warfare (Eph 6:11-13)
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 13 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…
The second major point we are considering in the final exhortation of the apostle with respect to living as a Christian in the spiritual warfare is that living as a Christian in the spiritual warfare requires believers put on the complete spiritual armor that will consists of offensive and defensive weapons in order to be able to resist evil forces that are waging war against us. We started developing this second major point by indicating that there are several facts the apostle wants us to be aware with respect to the command to put on the full spiritual armor. Thus far, we have considered two facts in connection with this second major point. A first fact, if you recall, is that the full spiritual armor originates from or belongs to God. A second fact with respect to the command to put on the full spiritual armor is that it has a purpose. So, we proceed to consider the third fact.
A third fact the apostle wants us to know with respect to the command to put on the full spiritual armor is that it has a reason, that is, a cause, explanation or justification. We present this third fact this way because of the word for that begins verse 12 that is translated from a Greek conjunction (hoti) that here is used as a marker of cause or reason so that it may be translated “because, for.” Majority of our English versions translated it using the meaning “for” although a handful of English versions such as the CEV and the CEB did not translate it. Nonetheless, its meaning here is best taken as “because, for.” In effect, the word “for” is used to introduce a statement offered in explanation or justification for the command to put on the full spiritual armor that God provides.
An important factor in any war is the proper identification of the enemies and their location. It is a difficult undertaking to wage a war in which the enemies and their locations are not easy or properly identified. This is one of the reasons soldiers involved in what is known as “urban warfare” have a hard time defeating their enemies because they are unsure who they are fighting. It is easier to defeat an enemy where the battlefield is clearly identified and so the enemy soldiers. When the enemies are not clearly identified then there is the tendency for soldiers to be quite suspicious of anyone that they see and may kill those who are not involved in the war because they do not know who is who. The point is that without knowing the enemy, it is difficult to wage a successful war. It is this point that is conveyed in the third fact that there is a reason for putting on the full spiritual armor.
The reason we must put on the full spiritual armor is that the warfare we are engaged consists of a spiritual one. This, the apostle tells us by indicating that humans are not the enemies in this warfare. It is this fact that is given in the sentence our struggle is not against flesh and blood of verse 12. The word “struggle” of the NIV is translated from a Greek word (palē) that was sometimes used in a wider sense, embracing all gymnastic exercises with the exception of dancing, that is, it was used in engagement in a challenging contest but then it was used primarily for wrestling and thereafter it was used for fights and battles. Hence the word means “struggle against”, “fight, struggle”, “battle.” It appears only here in the Greek NT and so it is used figuratively to describe believers’ engagement in spiritual warfare or conflict.
What is this struggle or fight about that Christians are engaged? The apostle did not elaborate on this at this point but the context of the Scripture helps us to answer this question. Our first answer is that it is first a struggle against sin. The human author of Hebrews makes reference to this struggle against sin in Hebrews 12:4:
In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.
The fact that there is a struggle against sin implies that the spiritual warfare is evident whenever believers are faced with moral decisions; for, at that point they face a struggle to do what God demands as against what the sinful nature desires. It is true the apostle simply mentioned the struggle without further elaboration but the context of the exhortation the apostle had already indicated that it is a struggle against sin. Take for example, the apostle had exhorted believers to maintain the unity already established by the Holy Spirit. Sin is the thing that brings division; consequently, the struggle to maintain unity is a struggle against sin. Take another example, the Holy Spirit through the apostle instructs believers in a household to live in a way that reflects they are Christians. So, the wife is commanded to obey the husband while the husband is commanded to love the wife. Each of these responsibilities is a struggle that every married believer is involved. It is a struggle for a Christian wife to be obedient consistently to the husband as it is a struggle for the husband to continue to love the wife. The reason a wife will not obey the husband or the husband will not love the wife is sin. This again implies that the struggle is against sin.
We ask: What is this struggle or fight about that Christians are engaged? Our second answer is that it is a struggle that concerns knowing God. This struggle to maintain correct knowledge about God is implied in what the apostle stated in 2 Corinthians 10:4–5:
4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
The apostle says he and his companions keep in check pride or any thought that keeps anyone from knowing God. The implication is that as a believer you are involved constantly in a struggle to ensure your thoughts are not such that they keep you from knowing God. You see, pride can keep a believer from going to a local church where the word of God is taught either because he thinks the pastor is beneath him or her or because he thinks that those who are in such a congregation are also beneath him or her. A person who faces this kind of situation must struggle to keep in check such kind of thinking.
Again, we ask: What is this struggle or fight about that Christians are engaged? Our third answer is that it is a struggle for the faith in the sense of defending its truth, whether it is the gospel or the doctrines of the Christian faith. It is this struggle that the apostle conveyed in Philippians 1:30:
since you are going through the same struggle you saw I had, and now hear that I still have.
The apostle’s struggle is one of defending and preaching the gospel as well as the doctrines of the Christian faith. It is a struggle to be consistent in learning Christian doctrines. No wonder may Christians fail to attach importance to learning of the word of God. So, we should be aware that the struggle in view in the clause our struggle is not against flesh and blood of Ephesians 6:12 involves at least the three things we have mentioned: sin, knowledge of God, and the good news of the Christian faith that involves the salvation message and the doctrines of the Christian faith.
We indicated that the apostle did not directly tell us the nature of this struggle Christians are involved; instead, he tells something about the opponents involved in the spiritual warfare. He did this first by eliminating opponents that may be appealing to us as our enemy, only that he did it negatively. Therefore, the apostle tells us that believers’ conflict in the spiritual warfare is not with fellow human beings. It is this fact that is expressed in the phrase not against flesh and blood. You probably would be wondering as to how we could say that the spiritual warfare is not against fellow human beings because we have the phrase flesh and blood. It is because this phrase refers to humanity as we will proceed to demonstrate.
The phrase flesh and blood is one that is used in several ways in the Bible. In the OT, it is used to describe two kinds of relationship. It describes males from the same father in the sense that they are brothers, so Judah used the phrase to describe Joseph from a different mother as a brother to the rest of Jacob’s sons when he suggested for him to be sold instead of killed, as we read in Genesis 37:27:
Come, let's sell him to the Ishmaelites and not lay our hands on him; after all, he is our brother, our own flesh and blood." His brothers agreed.
The phrase flesh and blood is used to describe a man’s son, when Solomon, during his dedication prayer of the temple, recalled the prophecy Prophet Nathan gave to David, his father, concerning who will build the temple, according to 2 Chronicle 6:9:
Nevertheless, you are not the one to build the temple, but your son, who is your own flesh and blood — he is the one who will build the temple for my Name.'
In the NT, the phrase flesh and blood refers to human or man. It is in this sense that the Lord used it after Peter’s great confession about His identity in that He indicated that it was not a human being that revealed the information that allowed Peter to identify correctly Jesus as the Christ of God in Matthew 16:17:
Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven.
The translators of the NIV were interpretive in their translation in this passage of Matthew, although correctly, for the phrase by man is literally from the Greek by flesh and blood. The Apostle Paul used the phrase to describe the bodily existence of man in this world in contrast to the world to come when he indicated that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God in 1 Corinthians 15:50:
I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
He used it in the sense of human being in Galatians 1:16:
to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not consult any man,
The sentence I did not consult any man is literally I did not consult with flesh and blood. The author of Hebrews used the phrase flesh and blood in the sense of being human which will include the whole physical and sensuous nature of mankind. In other words, the author of Hebrews used it to describe humans in contrast to purely spiritual beings like the angels who are without physical bodies in Hebrews 2:14:
Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—
Anyway, we have demonstrated that the phrase flesh and blood is used as a reference to humanity. Thus, when the apostle wrote our struggle is not against flesh and blood in Ephesians 6:12, he meant that the conflict believers are involved in the spiritual warfare is not against fellow humans. In effect, the apostle tells us that the enemies we are engaged with in this spiritual warfare are not fellow human beings.
Why did the apostle eliminate humans as not the opponents in the spiritual warfare? The context demands we answer this question to be because he wants to convey to us that the warfare we are involved is not physical but spiritual and so requires spiritual weapons. Nonetheless, there is a secondary reason. It is because our struggles often involve human agents. Sin, for example, quite often comes through human agents as we interact with each other. For instance, you will not struggle not to hate if people did not do something that causes you to want to hate them. Likewise, we will not have to struggle to defend the faith if there were no people who attack our faith. So, the apostle wants us to know that the human agents are not really our enemies but the ones behind them. The application of this is that when a human being does that which will draw you to sin of hate, for example, you should look pass that human being to recognize that there are spiritual forces behind that individual so that your target will not be a fellow human being but the spiritual forces behind the person’s action.
In any case, to ensure believers understand the phrase flesh and blood is a reference to humans, the apostle began the second clause of Ephesians 6:12 with a contrasting word but. The word “but” is translated from a Greek particle (alla) that has several usages. For example, it may be used to indicate a transition to something different or contrasted in which case it may be translated “yet, and yet” although in some contexts, it is often best left untranslated. In our context, it is used as a marker of contrast so that it is translated “but.” It is therefore used to indicate that there is an emphatic contrast between what was stated in the preceding clause to what follows. In other words, it is used to convey that there is an emphatic contrast between what the apostle stated that is not the object of our spiritual warfare and what it is. He has indicated that it was not flesh and blood, that is, human so he used our particle to introduce the object of our spiritual warfare in such a way that it is clear that the phrase flesh and blood is a reference to humans.
The apostle informs us that the opponents of our spiritual warfare or the beings we contend against in the spiritual warfare are spiritual beings that are hostile to God. It is this truth that is given in the last clause of Ephesians 6:12 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. As this reads in the English, it will seem that the apostle described four different beings or, as some have labored to do, that he was concerned with different classes of spiritual being but that is not the case since such classification is difficult to justify in this context. Instead, he identified the spiritual beings that are at war with believers and certainly hostile to God in three different ways that consist of their function, their character, and their location. We are saying that the descriptions of spiritual beings given in the last clause of Ephesians 6:12 should not be interpreted as involving different classes of spiritual beings or three types of spirit but it is the apostle’s way of describing the spiritual beings in terms of their function, their character, and their location or the sphere of their residence. This interpretation, which will become clearer as we expound it, is one that does not require any unusual forced interpretation of the clause beyond what is permitted in the context.
The description of the spiritual beings with reference to their function is given in terms of ruling that involves authority, that is, the spiritual beings exercise some form of authority as they rule. It is this description that is given in compound phrase against the rulers, against the authorities. This compound phrase is to be understood as referring to the spiritual beings who rule or exercise authority. In effect, the second phrase against the authorities explains the first phrase against the rulers. Let present facts to you that should convince you that the two phrases are essentially synonymous to each other so that we can say that the second explains the first. A first fact is that the words “rulers” and “authorities” are translated from two different Greek words that overlap in their meanings. The first word “ruler” is translated from a Greek word (archē) with a range of meanings. It can mean “beginning” as the Apostle Paul used it in making reference to the election of the Thessalonians in 2 Thessalonians 2:13:
But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.
The Greek word may mean “ruler.” The rulers can be human as it is used for those in governmental office in Titus 3:1:
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
Or the rulers may be angelic or transcendent powers, as the word is used in Ephesians 3:10:
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
The Greek word may mean “sphere of influence” or “domain”, as it is used to describe fallen angels in Jude 6:
And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
The phrase their positions of authority may alternatively be translated their own domain or their sphere of influence. The second word “authorities” in the compound phrase against the rulers, against the authorities of Ephesians 6:12 is translated from a Greek word (exousia) that also has a range of meanings. It may mean “right” or “freedom of choice” as the apostle used it to describe to the Thessalonians that as an apostle, who preached and taught God’s word, he has the right to be supported by believers although he does not call upon that right as he used our Greek word in 2 Thessalonians 3:9:
We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow.
Another meaning of our Greek word is that of “bearer of ruling authority”. The bearer of authority could be humans as it is used by the apostle in instruction for believers to obey those in authority in Romans 13:1:
Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.
Or the rulers can be transcendent beings, as it is used in Colossians 2:15:
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
Interestingly, commentators are agreed that “the rulers and authorities” are spiritual, supernatural, powers. Our Greek word may also mean “domain”, that is, the sphere in which power is exercised, as it is used in Colossians 1:13:
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves.
Our examination of the two Greek words translated “rulers” and “authorities” reveal they have overlapping meanings of “ruling authority” and “domain.” The implication is that the two Greek words are synonymous in some contexts, which is the case in Ephesians 6:12.
There is more to the reason for stating that there is no difference between the two Greek words translated “rulers” and “authorities” used in Ephesians 6:12 so that the two words simply describe created spiritual beings that have the ruling function. The Greek words translated “rulers” and “authorities” in our passage are used together in ten passages in the NT, eight of them by the Apostle Paul. In each of its usages, the Greek word translated “rulers” always preceded the Greek word translated “authorities”, implying that there is a unique relationship between the two words in which the second word is linked to the first in a unique way that is to be discovered by considering the context of the use of the two words. For example, Luke used the two words together in two passages. He used them to state the Lord’s promise to believers not to worry when they are brought before ruling authorities in Luke 12:11:
“When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say,
He also used it to describe the religious leaders who hoped to trap Jesus with what He said so they could hand Him over to the Roman authority in Luke 20:20:
Keeping a close watch on him, they sent spies, who pretended to be honest. They hoped to catch Jesus in something he said so that they might hand him over to the power and authority of the governor.
The phrase to the power and authority of the governor is more literally to the ruler and to the authority of the governor. In these two passages of Luke, the word “ruler” is used first and followed by the word “authority” but both are linked with the word “and.” In each of these two passages, the Greek word translated “and” may be understood in an explanatory sense, that is, that it has the meaning “that is,” or “namely”, implying that the second word “authority” is used to explain the first word ruler.
Luke’s use of the two Greek words aside, the Apostle Paul’s use of the two words translated “ruler” and “authority” together in eight passages reveal he considered them synonymous or that second word explains the first. Five times the apostle used a Greek conjunction (kai) that is often translated “and” in our English versions to connect the two Greek words. He used it three times when the Greek words are both in the singular. In conveying to the Corinthians the final work of Christ, he used our words in the singular in 1 Corinthians 15:24:
Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power.
The phrase all dominion, authority and power is more literally all rule and all authority and power. Writing to the Ephesians, the apostle used both words in the singular to indicate the supremacy of Jesus Christ over any rule or authority in Ephesians 1:21:
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
He used it in the singular to describe the supremacy of Jesus Christ over all created beings, human or angelic in Colossians 2:10:
and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority.
The apostle used both words in the plural to described the victory of Jesus Christ on the cross that involved disarming Satan and other fallen angels in Colossians 2:15:
And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
The phrase powers and authorities is more literally rulers and authorities. The apostle used the plural in a passage we cited previously, that is, Ephesians 3:10:
His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms,
The phrase to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms is not describing two different beings, instead it describes angelic beings in terms of the authority they have. We are saying that the Greek conjunction (kai) translated “and” in Ephesians 3:10 should be understood as being used in an explanatory sense so that it means “that is” or “namely”. Thus, the apostle mentioned “rulers” and explained that he meant those who are bearers of authority in the heavenly realm. We can say the phrase is a hendiadys where a single concept of exercising ruling authority is the concern. There can be no doubt that the apostle conceives of the two Greek words translated “rulers” and “authorities” as synonymous. This can be seen where the apostle connects the two words in such a way to indicate they are synonymous, as we can gather from Colossians 1:16:
For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.
The use of the word “or” imply there is no difference between “rulers” and “authorities” since the conjunction “or” may be used to introduce a synonym or explanation of a preceding word or phrase. So, it is undeniable that the apostle considers the Greek words translated “rulers” and “authorities” as synonymous. It is not only because of the conjunction “or” that we make this assertion but also because when the apostle used the two words together in referring to human rulers, the Greek syntax he employed indicates the two words are synonymous so that the second explains the first. I am referring to the apostle’s use of the two Greek words in the passage we cited previously, that is, in Titus 3:1:
Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good,
It is true the translators of the NIV used the conjunction “and” here but the Greek does not. The phrase to rulers and authorities is more literally to rulers, to authorities. However, the Greek syntax involved implies that we should consider rulers and authorities as referring to the same persons so that here in Titus the two words “rulers” and “authorities” are synonymous. In fact, the two form a hendiadys so that one of the words modify the other leading to such translation as “authorities who rule” or “powerful rulers” that in the context of Titus refers to governmental rulers. Thus, it should be clear that when the apostle used the Greek words translated “rulers” and “authorities” in Ephesians 6:12, he described the same created spiritual beings and not classes of spirit beings. The point is that the phrase against the rulers, against the authorities of Ephesians 6:12 is a first description of the created spiritual beings who are at war with believers as those with the function of ruling with authority.
A second description of the created spiritual beings that are at war with believers is with respect to their character. They are described as sinful or morally corrupt. It is this description that is given in the compound phrase against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil of Ephesians 6:12. By the way, the Greek does not contain the word “and” but it is added by the translators of the NIV for smooth reading in the English since literally the Greek reads against world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of the wickedness. The phrases against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil are concerned with the same description of the moral corruption of the created spiritual beings that are at war with believers as we will proceed to show. To demonstrate that it is the moral corruption of the created spiritual beings that the apostle was concerned in the compound phrase we mentioned, we need to consider each phrase separately.
The moral corruption in the first phrase the powers of this dark world of the NIV is not readily apparent until we consider the interpretation of the phrase. To help in interpreting the phrase, it may be useful if we consider its literal translation as given in the Greek that reads world rulers of this darkness. There are two key words we need to consider to help in interpreting the phrase. The first word is “powers” of the NIV. It is translated from a Greek word (kosmokratōr) that appears only here in the Greek NT; it means “world ruler.” Outside the NT, the Greek word was used of the gods who rule the world such as Zeus or Hermes. The word was used as a title for Emperor Caracalla in an Egyptian inscription. Then the word was used in general to describe spirit beings who control parts of the cosmos. In our passage, it is used for Satan and his associates, the other fallen angels. It is because the word is in the plural that we interpret it as a reference to Satan and the fallen angels. Satan by himself is described as the ruler of this world in John 12:31:
Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
The phrase the prince of this world is more literally the ruler of this world which in the gospel of John is a clear reference to the devil who is also described by the Apostle Paul as “the god of this age” in 2 Corinthians 4:4:
The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
It is because the Greek word used in Ephesians 6:12 that we indicated means “world ruler” is in the plural that we interpret it as a reference to Satan and all the fallen angels.
The second key expression in the phrase the powers of this dark world of Ephesians 6:12 in the NIV is “dark world.” It is translated from a Greek word (skotos) that literally refers to absence of light as it is used to describe one of the events connected with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ in Luke 23:44:
It was now about the sixth hour, and darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour,
However, the predominant use of the Greek word in the NT is in figurative senses, especially in the epistles of the Apostle Paul. The apostle used the word “darkness” as a reference to the state of being unknown in 1 Corinthians 4:5:
Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.
The clause what is hidden in darkness of the NIV is literally the hidden things of darkness. The literal translation implies that darkness refers to hidden things. The apostle used the Greek word in a sense that it refers to Satan in a passage we cited previously, that is, Colossians 1:13:
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves,
The phrase the kingdom of the Son helps us to understand that phrase the dominion of darkness. The phrase the kingdom of the Son refers to the rule of the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and so the dominion of darkness refers to the rule of Satan implying that “darkness” is used here for Satan. Anyway, the predominant figurative usage of our Greek word translated “darkness” in the epistles of the apostle is as a reference to a state of spiritual or moral darkness so that the word is used for ignorance, sin, and misery. It is this sense that the word is used in 2 Corinthians 6:14:
Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?
The context of 2 Corinthians 6 helps us to understand “darkness” here refers either to sin or unbelief or ignorance of truth. In effect, “darkness” is used here in the sense of moral darkness. The range of meanings of the figurative usages of the Greek word translated “darkness” raises the question as to the sense in which the apostle used it in Ephesians 6:12. We contend that it is in the sense of moral darkness, specifically in terms of sin. We are saying that darkness in our passage of primary study refers to “sin.” This should not be difficult to accept since it is in the same sense that the apostle used our Greek word in Ephesians 5:11:
Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
It is because we argued in this passage that “darkness” refers to sin that we indicated that the phrase the fruitless deeds of darkness refers to useless deeds that are either characterized by sin or deeds that are produced by sin.
Having considered the two key words in phrase the powers of this dark world of the NIV or literally world rulers of this darkness, we are now in a position to interpret it. The Greek syntax involved in the phrase of this dark world or literally of this darkness allows for at least three possible interpretations of the phrase. First, it could be interpreted that the “world rulers” are responsible for darkness, that is, they are responsible for sin and ignorance on this planet. Second, the phase could be interpreted to mean that the “world rulers” are characterized by darkness, that is, sin and ignorance. Third, the phase the powers of this dark world may be interpreted to mean that the “world rulers” are associated with darkness, that is, with sin and ignorance. Any of these interpretations makes sense in the context. Regardless of how one interprets the phrase, one thing that should be certain is that the phrase is concerned with the character of these spiritual beings with respect to sin and ignorance. In our context, the three interpretations say essentially the same thing. Therefore, the phrase is to be understood to mean that the “world rulers” in view are characterized by sin so that the phrase the powers of this dark world or literally world rulers of this darkness is concerned with the character of the world rulers, that is, satanic forces. So, we consider the second phrase of Ephesians 6:12.
The second phrase of Ephesians 6:12 we focus our attention is against the spiritual forces of evil. The phrase the spiritual forces refers to created spiritual beings that are at war with believers. The word “evil” is translated from a Greek word (ponēria) that is used in our Scripture only in the ethical sense with the meaning “wickedness, maliciousness, sinfulness, evil”, as it is used in 1 Corinthians 5:8:
Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.
The real issue is to determine how our word is related to the phrase the spiritual forces of Ephesians 6:12. Because of the Greek syntax of the phrase of evil of the NIV, the spiritual forces can be understood as characterized by evil or associated with evil or produce evil. As in previous phrase, the context implies that the three interpretations say essentially the same thing. Therefore, the phrase the spiritual forces of evil of Ephesians 6:12 of the NIV means that the spiritual forces that are against us are characterized by evil or wickedness. Thus, it is the character of these created spiritual beings that are at war with believers is the concern of our phrase. The implication then is that the phrases the powers of this dark world and the spiritual forces of evil are simply concerned with a description of the character of created spiritual beings that are at war with believers. Hence, our point is proven that the second description of the apostle with regard to these spiritual beings concerns their character. This brings us to their final description.
The third and final description of the apostle with respect to these created spiritual beings is that they are located in heaven. It is this that is given in the last phrase of Ephesians 6:12 in the heavenly realms. This phrase is not to be read as related only to the last phrase against the spiritual forces of evil but it applies to all the descriptions of the created spiritual beings that are at war with us. The phrase in the heavenly realms helps us to be certain that the rulers and authorities could not possibly apply to humans. You see, the expression “heavenly realms” is translated from a Greek word (epouranios) that pertains to being in the sky or heavens as an astronomical phenomenon, hence means “celestial, heavenly”, as it is used in 1 Corinthians 15:40:
There are also heavenly bodies and there are earthly bodies; but the splendor of the heavenly bodies is one kind, and the splendor of the earthly bodies is another.
The word also pertains to being associated with a locale for transcendent things and beings and so means “heavenly, in heaven”, as it is used in 2 Timothy 4:18:
The Lord will rescue me from every evil attack and will bring me safely to his heavenly kingdom. To him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
It is in this second sense of the locale for transcendent beings that it is used. Hence, the created spiritual beings that are at war with believers reside in heaven but not in the third heaven, the throne room of God. In any event, the Holy Spirit through the apostle wants all believers to come to grip with the fact that spiritual warfare they are engaged are with spiritual forces with ruling authority, sinful in their character and who resides in second heaven. Thus, we should struggle against sin, against any attempt not to know God, and against any attempt to distort the truth of Christian doctrines. In these struggles we should keep reminding ourselves that our enemies are not fellow humans but satanic forces.