The Real Enemy
There’s a key principle of spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6:12 that a lot of believers don’t understand. Notice our enemies are “the spiritual forces of evil.” In other words, people are not your problem. You may think people are your problem because they’re what you see, feel, touch, and hear. But according to God’s Word, people are just the conduit for the battle going on in the spiritual realm. The battles we have in life are not fundamentally physical in nature, but spiritual—not primarily on earth, but in the “heavenly realms.”
This means if you don’t know how to navigate the spiritual realm, you can’t fix what’s wrong in this physical realm. Spiritual warfare is the battle in the invisible, spiritual world that is responsible for the battles in the visible, physical world.
Paul uses the term “heavenly realms” uniquely in the Book of Ephesians to describe the Christian’s activities. For example, your blessings are located in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:3). Everything God is going to do for you is located in the unseen realm. Then in Ephesians 1:20, Paul says that God raised Christ and seated Him in the heavenly realms. Not only are your blessings located there; Jesus, the One who is in charge, is there also. So if you want to get to Jesus, you have to go to where He is in the spiritual realm.
But that’s not all. We also as believers have been raised with Christ, and we also are seated “in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 2:6). So the solutions you need to your problems emanate from the spiritual realm where your blessings are, where Jesus is, and where you are located.
In Ephesians 3:10 we read that the wisdom of God has been made known through the church “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” The angels are also in this realm. That’s important because you need your angel. Every believer in Jesus Christ has at least one angel that has been assigned to him or her. The Bible says in Hebrews 1:14 that the angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.”
So if you’re a believer, you have at least one angel who’s assigned to you, to operate on your behalf in the spiritual realm.
So let’s review. Your blessings are in the spiritual realm; Jesus is seated there; you are seated with Him, and your angelic assistance is located in the heavenly realms. But as we read in Ephesians 6:12, the forces of darkness are also located in the spiritual realm—and their job is to make hell break loose in your life.
This means if you don’t know how to navigate the spiritual realm, you can’t fix what’s wrong in this physical realm. Spiritual warfare is the battle in the invisible, spiritual world that is responsible for the battles in the visible, physical world.
Paul uses the term “heavenly realms” uniquely in the Book of Ephesians to describe the Christian’s activities. For example, your blessings are located in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 1:3). Everything God is going to do for you is located in the unseen realm. Then in Ephesians 1:20, Paul says that God raised Christ and seated Him in the heavenly realms. Not only are your blessings located there; Jesus, the One who is in charge, is there also. So if you want to get to Jesus, you have to go to where He is in the spiritual realm.
But that’s not all. We also as believers have been raised with Christ, and we also are seated “in the heavenly realms” (Eph. 2:6). So the solutions you need to your problems emanate from the spiritual realm where your blessings are, where Jesus is, and where you are located.
In Ephesians 3:10 we read that the wisdom of God has been made known through the church “to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.” The angels are also in this realm. That’s important because you need your angel. Every believer in Jesus Christ has at least one angel that has been assigned to him or her. The Bible says in Hebrews 1:14 that the angels are “ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation.”
So if you’re a believer, you have at least one angel who’s assigned to you, to operate on your behalf in the spiritual realm.
So let’s review. Your blessings are in the spiritual realm; Jesus is seated there; you are seated with Him, and your angelic assistance is located in the heavenly realms. But as we read in Ephesians 6:12, the forces of darkness are also located in the spiritual realm—and their job is to make hell break loose in your life.