Ephesians 6:12 NKJV
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.
Stop Fighting the Wrong Enemy
MY NOTES
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.—Ephesians 6:12 NKJV
It is easy to forget who the real enemy is. When someone criticizes us, spreads a lie, or stands against what we believe, our first instinct is often to see that person as the enemy. Paul stops that thinking cold. Our struggle is not primarily against other human beings. Flesh and blood can wound us, frustrate us, and oppose the gospel, but the deeper fight is with the spiritual powers that stir those things up.
The Apostle Paul helps us see things clearly and reminds us of something important: our biggest challenges aren’t always with people. The tough coworker, the mean neighbor, or the cultural differences aren’t the ones causing the problems; they’re often just caught in the crossfire. When we fight people, we swing at shadows while the real adversary maneuvers unseen. True spiritual growth means learning to see beyond the person in front of us and understanding the unseen, spiritual forces that are really at work.
Spurgeon put it this way: Christians are not at war with any people who walk the earth. We are at war with infidelity, but we love and pray for the people who hold it. We are at war with heresy, but we hold no personal hatred toward the heretics. We oppose everything that stands against God and His truth, yet toward every person we are still called to love our enemies and do good to those who hate us. The Christian does not fight with guns and swords. The battle is with spiritual wickedness in high places—principalities and powers that do not sit on visible thrones.
Matthew 5:44 NKJV
But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you,
Luke 6:27 NKJV
“But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
Luke 6:35 NKJV
But love your enemies, do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.
That distinction matters more than we often admit. When we treat people as the main enemy, we waste energy on the wrong fight and usually end up sinning in the process. The people who oppose us are still image-bearers. Many of them are simply being influenced, deceived, or driven by forces they do not even see.
The enemies Paul names are real and organized. Principalities and powers refer to ranks of spiritual beings that hold influence and authority in opposition to God. The rulers of the darkness of this age preside over the ignorance, sin, and misery that still cover so much of the world. Spiritual hosts of wickedness operate in the heavenly places—the unseen realm—watching for openings, stirring pride, fueling division, and whispering compromise. These are not vague ideas. They are active, intelligent, and hostile.
We see the same reality elsewhere in Scripture:
1 Peter 5:8 NKJV
Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.
Paul reminds the Corinthians
2 Corinthians 10:3-4 NKJV
For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds,
This does not mean we ignore evil when it shows up in people, systems, or ideas. We still speak the truth, stand against error, and refuse to compromise. But we do it knowing the root is deeper than the person in front of us. Jesus told Peter that flesh and blood had not revealed the truth about who He was; the Father in heaven had:
Matthew 16:17 NKJV
Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven.
In the same way, the opposition we face often has a spiritual source that flesh and blood alone cannot fully explain.
Yet, the Christian calling is clear and unyielding: we are stationed in this world as soldiers of the Redeemer, commissioned to make war against this kingdom of darkness wherever it rears its head—whether in the corrupt tendencies of our own hearts, the usual injustices of society, or the subtle snares of false doctrine. The good news is that the battle has already been decided, and spoiler alert: our Savior was victorious:
1 Corinthians 15:24-36 NKJV
Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that will be destroyed is death.
So we stay alert. We refuse to make people the enemy. We put on the whole armor God supplies, and we stand against the real powers of darkness while still loving the people those powers try to use. We stand in spiritual armor, resist invisible wickedness, and rest in the ultimate victory already won by Jesus Christ.
Prayer
Abba, thank You for making the real battle clear. Forgive me for the times I have treated people as the enemy and forgotten the spiritual forces at work. Give me a heart that loves those who oppose me, while giving me courage to stand against every form of darkness. Keep me sober and vigilant. Help me put on the armor You provide and trust the victory You have already won. Strengthen me to fight the right fight today. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Key Takeaways
- Our primary struggle is not against other people, but against spiritual powers of evil.
- We are called to love people—even those who oppose us—while resisting the evil that works through them.
- The enemy is organized: principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual hosts of wickedness.
- We do not ignore or compromise with evil; we stand against it in every form.
- Our weapons are spiritual, not carnal, which is why we need the whole armor of God.
Proverb for Today
Do not exalt yourself in the presence of the king, And do not stand in the place of the great; For it is better that he say to you, “Come up here,” Than that you should be put lower in the presence of the prince, Whom your eyes have seen. Proverbs 25:6-7 NKJV
Daily Scripture
Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, And spirit to those who walk on it: “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Isaiah 42:5-9 NKJV
Closing
“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” Numbers 6:24-26 NKJV
Grace be with you. Amen.
Please enter your email and click subscribe to be notified whenever I submit a new post.
Commentaries:
Charles Spurgeon
In a sermon delivered January 11, 1857 (at the Music Hall, Royal Surrey Gardens):
“We wrestle not with flesh and blood.” Christians are not at war with any people who walk the earth. We are at war with infidelity, but the infidel people we love and pray for; we are at war with heresy, but we have no enmity against heretics; we are opposed to, and cry war to the death with, everything that opposes God and his truth, but towards every human being we would still endeavor to carry out the holy maxim, “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you.” The Christian soldier has no gun and no sword, for Christians do not fight with flesh and blood. It is with “spiritual wickedness in high places” that we fight, and with other principalities and powers than with those that sit on thrones and hold scepters in their hands.
Key points from Spurgeon on Ephesians 6:12:
- The primary struggle is not against other human beings (“flesh and blood”), but against spiritual powers of evil.
- Christians are to love people (even opponents) while fighting the evil ideas, sins, and spiritual forces at work through them.
- The enemy is real and organized: principalities, powers, rulers of darkness, and spiritual wickedness in high places.
- Believers must not ignore evil or compromise with it; they are called to stand against it in every form.
- The weapons are spiritual, not carnal—hence the need for the whole armor of God.
Spurgeon consistently applied the verse to keep the focus on the spiritual nature of the conflict rather than turning the Christian life into personal hostility toward people.
______________________________________________________
Enduring Word
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers: Paul did not call the believer to enter into spiritual warfare. He simply announced it as a fact: we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but (we do wrestle) against principalities and so forth. You are in a spiritual battle. If you are ignorant or ignore that fact, you probably aren’t winning the battle. (Guzik)
For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood: The fact that our real battle is not against flesh and blood is forgotten by many Christians, who put all their efforts in that direction. Paul’s idea here is much the same as in 2 Corinthians 10:3-4: For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds. (Guzik)
i. Foulkes says a more literal translation is, Not for us is the wrestling against flesh and blood.
Principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places: Paul used a variety of terms to refer to our spiritual enemies. We should regard them as being on many different levels and of many different ranks, yet they all have one goal: to knock the Christian down from their place of standing. (Guzik)
i. Ephesians 6:11 tells us that all of our warfare is combating the wiles of the devil. At the end of the day it is completely irrelevant if the particular opponent we face is a principality, a power, or a ruler of the darkness of this age. Collectively, they are all members of spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. They are all part of a spiritual army that is organized and established into ranks and is under the headship of Satan who comes against us. (Guzik)
ii. We learn more about these principalities and powers from other passages in the New Testament.
· Romans 8:38 tells us that principalities cannot keep us from God’s love. Therefore, there is a limit to their power.
· Ephesians 1:20-21 tells us that Jesus is enthroned in heaven, far above all principalities and powers. Colossians 1:16 tells us that Jesus created principalities and powers. Colossians 2:10 tells us that Jesus is head over all principalities and power. Therefore, Jesus is not the opposite of Satan or principalities. (Guzik)
· Ephesians 3:10-11 tells us that the church makes known the wisdom of God to principalities and powers. 1 Corinthians 15:24 tells us that principalities and powers have an end; one day their purpose will be fulfilled and God will no longer let them work. Therefore, God has a purpose in allowing their work. (Guzik)
· Colossians 2:15 tells us that Jesus disarmed principalities and powers at the cross. Therefore, our victory is rooted in what Jesus did, not in what we do. It isn’t that there is no doing on our part – but our doing is the appropriation and application of what Jesus did. (Guzik)
______________________________________________________
Albert Barnes
For we wrestle — Greek, “The wrestling to us;” or, “There is not to us a wrestling with flesh and blood.” There is undoubtedly here an allusion to the ancient games of Greece, a part of the exercises in which consisted in wrestling; see the notes on 1 Corinthians 9:25-27. The Greek word used here – πάλη palē – denotes a “wrestling;” and then a struggle, fight, combat. Here it refers to the struggle or combat which the Christian has to maintain – the Christian warfare.
Not against flesh and blood — Not with people; see the notes on Galatians 1:16. The apostle does not mean to say that Christians had no enemies among men that opposed them, for they were exposed often to fiery persecution; nor that they had nothing to contend with in the carnal and corrupt propensities of their nature, which was true of them then as it is now; but that their main controversy was with the invisible spirits of wickedness that sought to destroy them. They were the source and origin of all their spiritual conflicts, and with them the warfare was to be maintained.
But against principalities — There can be no doubt whatever that the apostle alludes here to evil spirits. Like good angels, they were regarded as divided into ranks and orders, and were supposed to be under the control of one mighty leader; see the notes on Ephesians 1:21. It is probable that the allusion here is to the ranks and orders which they sustained before their fall, something like which they may still retain. The word “principalities” refers to principal rulers, or chieftains.
Powers — Those who had power, or to whom the name of “powers” was given. Milton represents Satan as addressing the fallen angels in similar language:
“Thrones, dominations, princedoms, virtues, powers.”
Against the rulers of the darkness of this world — The rulers that preside over the regions of ignorance and sin with which the earth abounds, compare notes on Ephesians 2:2. “Darkness” is an emblem of ignorance, misery, and sin; and no description could be more accurate than that of representing these malignant spirits as ruling over a dark world. The earth – dark, and wretched and ignorant, and sinful – is just such a dominion as they would choose, or as they would cause; and the degradation and woe of the pagan world are just such as foul and malignant spirits would delight in. It is a wide and a powerful empire. It has been consolidated by ages. It is sustained by all the authority of law; by all the omnipotence of the perverted religious principle; by all the reverence for antiquity; by all the power of selfish, corrupt, and base passions. No empire has been so extended, or has continued so long, as that empire of darkness; and nothing on earth is so difficult to destroy.
Yet the apostle says that it was on that kingdom they were to make war. Against that, the kingdom of the Redeemer was to be set up; and that was to be overcome by the spiritual weapons which he specifies. When he speaks of the Christian warfare here, he refers to the contest with the powers of this dark kingdom. He regards each and every Christian as a soldier to wage war on it in whatever way he could, and wherever he could attack it. The contest therefore was not primarily with people, or with the internal corrupt propensities of the soul; it was with this vast and dark kingdom that had been set up over mankind. I do not regard this passage, therefore, as having a primary reference to the struggle which a Christian maintains with his own corrupt propensities. It is a warfare on a large scale with the entire kingdom of darkness over the world. Yet in maintaining the warfare, the struggle will be with such portions of that kingdom as we come in contact with and will actually relate:
(1)To our own sinful propensities – which are a part of the kingdom of darkness;
(2)With the evil passions of others – their pride, ambition, and spirit of revenge – which are also a part of that kingdom;
(3)With the evil customs, laws, opinions, employments, pleasures of the world – which are also a part of that dark kingdom;
(4)With error, superstition, false doctrine – which are also a part of that kingdom; and,
(5)With the wickedness of the pagan world – the sins of benighted nations – also a part of that kingdom. Wherever we come in contact with evil – whether in our own hearts or elsewhere – there we are to make war.
Against spiritual wickedness — Margin, “or wicked spirits.” Literally, “The spiritual things of wickedness;” but the allusion is undoubtedly to evil spirits, and to their influences on earth.
In high places — ἐν τοῖς ἐπουράνιοις – “in celestial or heavenly places.” The same phrase occurs in Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 2:6, where it is translated, “in heavenly places.” The word (ἐπουράνιος epouranios) is used of those that dwell in heaven, Matthew 18:35; Philippians 2:10; of those who come from heaven, 1 Corinthians 15:48; Philippians 3:21; of the heavenly bodies, the sun, moon, and stars, 1 Corinthians 15:40. Then the neuter plural of the word is used to denote the heavens; and then the “lower” heavens, the sky, the air, represented as the seat of evil spirits; see the notes on Ephesians 2:2. This is the allusion here. The evil spirits are supposed to occupy the lofty regions of the air, and thence to exert a baleful influence on the affairs of man. What was the origin of this opinion it is not needful here to inquire. No one can “prove,” however, that it is incorrect. It is against such spirits, and all their malignant influences, that Christians are called to contend. In whatever way their power is put forth – whether in the prevalence of vice and error; of superstition and magic arts; of infidelity, atheism, or antinomianism; of evil customs and laws; of pernicious fashions and opinions, or in the corruptions of our own hearts, we are to make war on all these forms of evil, and never to yield in the conflict.
______________________________________________________
John Gill
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood,…. The Syriac, Arabic, and Ethiopic versions, and some copies, read “you,” instead of “we.” This is a reason why saints should be strong in the Lord, and why they should put on the whole armor of God, and prepare for battle, since their enemies are such as here described: not “flesh and blood”; frail mortal men, such as were wrestled against in the Olympic games, to which the apostle alludes. For this wrestling, as Philo the Jew says, concerning Jacob’s wrestling, is not of the body, but of the soul; see Matthew 16:17; and the meaning is, not with men only, for otherwise the saints have a conflict with men; with profane men, and wrestle against them, by bearing a testimony against their enormities, and by patiently enduring their reproaches, and conquer them by a constant adherence to Christ, and an exercise of faith upon him, which gets the victory over the world; and with heretical men, and maintain a conflict with them, by watching and observing the first appearance of their errors and heresies, and declaring against them, and by using Scripture arguments to confute them, and by rejecting the stubborn and incorrigible from church communion: yet they wrestle not against these only,
but against principalities, against powers; by whom are meant not civil magistrates, or the Roman governors, though these are sometimes so called, Titus 3:1, and may be said to be the rulers of the darkness of this world, or of the dark Heathen world, and were in high places, and were of wicked and malicious spirits, against the people of Christ; yet these cannot be opposed to flesh and blood, or to men, since they were such themselves; and though they were in high, yet not in heavenly places; and the connection with the preceding verse shows the contrary, the enemy being the devil, and the armor spiritual; wherefore the devils are here designed, who are described from their power, rule, and government, See Gill on “Eph 1:21,” both in this clause, and in the next:
and against the rulers of the darkness of this world; that is, over wicked men in it, who are in a state of darkness itself; and so Satan is called the prince, and god of the world, John 12:31. The Jews use this very word, the apostle does here, of the angel of death; who is called darkness; and the devil is called by them, Kvwx lv rv, “the prince of darkness”; and mention is made by them of amle ykwvx, “the darkness of the world”; from whom the apostle seems to have taken these phrases, as being in common use among the Jews; who also use it of civil governors, and render it, as here, “the rulers of the world,” and say it signifies monarchs, such as rule from one end of the world to the other: some copies, and the Ethiopic version, leave out the phrase, of this world. It follows,
against spiritual wickedness in high places; or wicked spirits, as the devils are, unclean, proud, lying, deceitful, and malicious; who may be said to be in “high” or “heavenly places”; not in places super celestial, or in the highest heavens, in the third heaven, where God, angels, and saints are; but in the aerial heavens, where the power or posse of devils reside, and where they are above us, over our heads, overlooking us, and watching every advantage against us; and therefore we should have on our armor, and be in a readiness to engage them; and so the Syriac and Ethiopic versions render it, “under,” or “beneath heaven”; and the Arabic version, “in the air.”
______________________________________________________
Matthew Henry
What our danger is, and what need we have to put on this whole armor, considering what sort of enemies we have to deal with-the devil and all the powers of darkness: For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, etc., v. 12. The combat for which we are to be prepared is not against ordinary human enemies, not barely against men compounded of flesh and blood, nor against our own corrupt natures singly considered, but against the several ranks of devils, who have a government which they exercise in this world.
(1.) We have to do with a subtle enemy, an enemy who uses wiles and stratagems, as v. 11. He has a thousand ways of beguiling unstable souls: hence he is called a serpent for subtlety, an old serpent, experienced in the art and trade of tempting.
(2.) He is a powerful enemy: Principalities, and powers, and rulers. They are numerous, they are vigorous; and rule in those heathen nations which are yet in darkness. The dark parts of the world are the seat of Satan’s empire. Yea, they are usurping princes over all men who are yet in a state of sin and ignorance. Satan’s is a kingdom of darkness; whereas Christ’s is a kingdom of light.
(3.) They are spiritual enemies: Spiritual wickedness in high places, or wicked spirits, as some translate it. The devil is a spirit, a wicked spirit; and our danger is the greater from our enemies because they are unseen, and assault us ere we are aware of them. The devils are wicked spirits, and they chiefly annoy the saints with, and provoke them to, spiritual wickednesses, pride, envy, malice, etc. These enemies are said to be in high places, or in heavenly places, so the word is, taking heaven (as one says) for the whole expansum, or spreading out of the air between the earth and the stars, the air being the place from which the devils assault us. Or the meaning may be, “We wrestle about heavenly places or heavenly things;” so some of the ancients interpret it. Our enemies strive to prevent our ascent to heaven, to deprive us of heavenly blessings and to obstruct our communion with heaven. They assault us in the things that belong to our souls, and labor to deface the heavenly image in our hearts; and therefore we have need to be upon our guard against them. We have need of faith in our Christian warfare, because we have spiritual enemies to grapple with, as well as of faith in our Christian work, because we have spiritual strength to fetch in.
______________________________________________________
Calvin’s Commentary
For we wrestle not. To impress them still more deeply with their danger, he points out the nature of the enemy, which he illustrates by a comparative statement, Not against flesh and blood. The meaning is, that our difficulties are far greater than if we had to fight with men. There we resist human strength, sword is opposed to sword, man contends with man, force is met by force, and skill by skill; but here the case is widely different. All amounts to this, that our enemies are such as no human power can withstand. By flesh and blood the apostle denotes men, who are so denominated in order to contrast them with spiritual assailants. This is no bodily struggle.
Let us remember this when the injurious treatment of others provokes us to revenge. Our natural disposition would lead us to direct all our exertions against the men themselves; but this foolish desire will be restrained by the consideration that the men who annoy us are nothing more than darts thrown by the hand of Satan. While we are employed in destroying those darts, we lay ourselves open to be wounded on all sides. To wrestle with flesh and blood will not only be useless, but highly pernicious. We must go straight to the enemy, who attacks and wounds us from his concealment, — who slays before he appears.
But to return to Paul. He describes our enemy as formidable, not to overwhelm us with fear, but to quicken our diligence and earnestness; for there is a middle course to be observed. When the enemy is neglected, he does his utmost to oppress us with sloth, and afterwards disarms us by terror; so that, ere the engagement has commenced, we are vanquished. By speaking of the power of the enemy, Paul labors to keep us more on the alert. He had already called him the devil, but now employs a variety of epithets, to make the reader understand that this is not an enemy who may be safely despised.
Against principalities, against powers. Still, his object in producing alarm is not to fill us with dismay, but to excite us to caution. He calls themκοσμοκράτορας, that is, princes of the world; but he explains himself more fully by adding — of the darkness of the world. The devil reigns in the world, because the world is nothing else than darkness. Hence it follows, that the corruption of the world gives way to the kingdom of the devil; for he could not reside in a pure and upright creature of God, but all arises from the sinfulness of men. By darkness, it is almost unnecessary to say, are meant unbelief and ignorance of God, with the consequences to which they lead. As the whole world is covered with darkness, the devil is called “the prince of this world.” (John 14:30.)
By calling it wickedness, he denotes the malignity and cruelty of the devil, and, at the same time, reminds us that the utmost caution is necessary to prevent him from gaining an advantage. For the same reason, the epithet spiritual is applied; for, when the enemy is invisible, our danger is greater. There is emphasis, too, in the phrase, in heavenly places; for the elevated station from which the attack is made gives us greater trouble and difficulty.
An argument drawn from this passage by the Manicheans, to support their wild notion of two principles, is easily refuted. They supposed the devil to be (ἀντίθεον) an antagonist deity, whom the righteous God would not subdue without great exertion. For Paul does not ascribe to devils a principality, which they seize without the consent, and maintain in spite of the opposition, of the Divine Being, — but a principality which, as Scripture everywhere asserts, God, in righteous judgment, yields to them over the wicked. The inquiry is, not what power they have in opposition to God, but how far they ought to excite our alarm, and keep us on our guard. Nor is any countenance here given to the belief, that the devil has formed, and keeps for himself, the middle region of the air. Paul does not assign to them a fixed territory, which they can call their own, but merely intimates that they are engaged in hostility, and occupy an elevated station.
- Exploring the Beauty of Psalms: Insights and Commentaries
- Monthly Breakdown of Our Blog Content
- Psalms Commentary: Faith and Inspiration
Leave a Reply