Even though our battle is not against physical “flesh and blood” this does not mean our battle is against purely ethereal spirits who have no concrete presence within this world. The principalities are grounded in all sorts of ways, ideas, and – yes – people. This means we are to wield our spiritual sword (Eph. 6:17) against those people who oppose the Gospel. We are to do so wisely and lovingly, but also boldly. 

One of the cleverest ways for cowards to undermine those who threaten them is to accuse them of being “disagreeable”. When the person responds disagreeably to the accusation of disagreeability – say, by citing where the Bible teaches righteous disagreeability – they may then be further accused of “weaponizing” the Word of God in their defence.

The Bible does not need a disagreeable person to weaponize it. It already weaponized itself. Just two chapters after Paul’s famous exhortations on tender-hearted gentleness in Ephesians 4 (the kind the hard-hearted coward loves to cite against his opponents), we then find the most famous militaristic metaphor in the New Testament, where Paul highlights the specific armour and weaponry of a Roman soldier.

We tend to quote those verses a lot, but it’s worth thinking about them afresh in the context of the strange new world of “weaponised words” of which we hear so much in these therapeutic times of ours. Here again is what Paul says:

“Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:11-17)

There have certainly been times in church history when believers may have needed to remind one another of Paul’s point that our battle is not against “flesh and blood” but against spiritual principalities and powers. But there are few Christians today – even the most “combative” – who wish to go around using direct physical force to challenge sin or false teaching.

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