Both Jesus and Paul say that one of the main ways we fight against the rulers and authorities of this world is by never fighting against other human beings. No matter what, we always stand with other human beings, even when they are against us. The battle is not “church versus world” but “church on behalf of the world versus the principalities and powers who are enslaving those in the world who are not yet freed by the gospel”.

Persecuted Christians understand this well. That is why Pastor Wurmbrand always loved his torturers and prayed for them, forgiving them even as they tried to destroy him.

But scripture says that Christ defeated the principalities and powers on the cross. If that’s true, then why does Paul talk in Ephesians 6 about a battle, and why does he call us to put on armor?

Answer: Satan and the principalities and powers are defeated in Christ. When we enter into Christ’s death through our baptism, we experience the defeat of Satan and the principalities and powers. But in this old fallen creation, Satan and the principalities and powers still rule, in open rebellion against God.

Now, the good news is that even in this fallen creation, Christ holds all power and authority. So Christ uses even their disobedience to accomplish his purpose. But in this old creation the only way to be free from slavery to Satan and the principalities and powers is to be in Christ. So when the church moves outside of Christ with its political strategies and protest marches and trying to “win people for Christ” by giving them money and material things, the church again falls under the power of Satan, because it is actually no longer the church. It is just a religious organization in the old creation.

So the armor Paul writes about in Ephesians 6 is armor to keep us in Christ. The battle that the church faces is whether it is going to try to live in this old creation, according to the powers available to it in this old creation—things like money, nice buildings, church coffee shops, using human wisdom instead of preaching the gospel, using idols like celebrities to attract people, using protest marches to show its power—or whether it will live in the new creation even while still existing in the old creation. That means giving up the things the old creation values and using the armor of God.

Now we can understand the reason for and nature of the armor:

How does the church fight its battles? Through mutual submission to each other in all our relationships, and by relying only on truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, the word of God, and prayer. Those are the only weapons and the only armor the church should ever use in any circumstances. And they are the only weapons and the only armor that the church ever needs in any circumstance.