Wednesdays Words

“The Enemy”

This is the first in our study of “The Armour Of God” from Ephesians Chapter 6, verses 10 – 18.

Any good General will tell you that you need to understand who your enemy is before you enter into battle.

Ephesians 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. (NKJ)

Principalities - arche (ar-khay') chief (in various applications of order, time, place, or rank) Someone in authority. Used to describe human rulers, demonic spirits, angels and demons.

Powers - exousia (ex-oo-see'-ah); privilege, i.e. (subjectively) force, capacity, competency, freedom, or (objectively) mastery (concretely, magistrate, superhuman, potentate, token of control), delegated influence:

Those who may have the physical strength to do something but lack the Spiritual Strength. Jesus Christ had both. One can have power to perform a task but not authority to do it. Jesus Christ had both power and authority, and He bestowed these upon His followers <Luke 10:19>.

Rulers of darkness - kosmokrator (kos-mok-fat'-ore); a world-ruler, an epithet of Satan: + skotos (skot'-os); shadiness, i.e. obscurity (literally or figuratively): Old Slewfoot himself

Spiritual hosts of wickedness - pneumatikos (pnyoo-mat-ik-os'); non-carnal, i.e. (humanly) ethereal (as opposed to gross), or (daemoniacally) a spirit (concretely), or (divinely) supernatural, regenerate, religious: + poneria (pon-ay-ree'-ah); depravity, i.e. (specifically) malice; plural (concretely) plots, sins: + epouranios (ep-oo-ran'-ee-os); above the sky: Old Slewfoots minions.

Remember, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves – NOT battle against them. We fight against our true enemies: Everything that is not of God.