A 4th-century theologian of the Church, John Cassian, tells a story of a distracted monk. He was mouthing the words of a prayer, but his heart and mind were far from them. So, he went outside, hoping the fresh air would help clear his head.
But when he stepped outside, he saw a terrifying sight. The devil and all his demons were rushing toward him in all their force and fury. Frightened, he turned to run away. It was then that he saw Christ with His army of angels, coming toward him, as well. They were rushing to the monk just as ferociously. The monk then realized that he was living his life between God and the devil.
If you’ve read Martin Luther, that was also a theme that weaves its way in his writings. Luther contended that since Adam’s fall into sin, human history takes place on a battlefield between God and the devil, which continues until the Last Day.
Well, back to the monk. In that vision, he saw what the Apostle tells us in today’s epistle reading. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, the authorities, and the cosmic powers of the darkness around us, even against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens” (Ephesians 6:12).
Now, we might disagree with the Apostle Paul, saying:
I do wrestle against flesh and blood. That happens every day of my life, as my body continues to betray me, as I get old and fall apart. I even fight against my sinful flesh wanting to control me, which wants to tell God to sit in the corner and only come out when I need Him. So, I do wrestle against flesh and blood.
But did you catch what the Apostle Paul was saying? He says that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, not that flesh and blood aren’t involved in this conflict. For what we suffer isn’t simply a symptom of our physical reality, whether from ourselves or others. If that were so, then the right 12-step program could cure us of any addiction, perversion, sinful yearning, or misdeed. But no such 12-step program exists, does it.
Flesh and blood aren’t at the heart of our torments. Flesh and blood aren’t at the root of our afflictions, which magnify our fears and sow the seed of sinful yearnings in our mind. Flesh and blood aren’t even our primary opponents. No, it’s the devil; he must be cast out. For it’s our human spirit that the Holy Spirit must convert, and our mind, which is to give way to the mind of Christ.
Now, let’s not be foolish. Of course, Satan uses flesh and blood against us. For, in his greatest deception:
Satan has cleverly transformed himself into an angel of light. He is striving to persuade us to regard him as a messenger of goodness…. Then, when he has so ensnared us that we trust him, he says to us, ‘Thus says the Lord.’ This is not flesh and blood deceiving us…. It is the work of principalities and powers, the ruler of darkness and spiritual wickedness [Jerome, ACCS, Ephesians, Galatians, Philippians, pg. 209].
And when that truth grabs hold of us, we can quickly come to the wrong conclusion. We can think, “If some all-encompassing, spiritual war is taking place, then I’m just ‘collateral damage.’ In such a massive conflict, I’m just some powerless pawn stuck in the middle. So, why should it matter what I do or how I live my life?”
It’s easy to think that. After all, we like decisions that are expedient for us, which allow us to live the way we want. And if “our struggle is not against flesh and blood,” then what part do I have in this spiritual conflict, anyway?
But that’s not where Paul runs with the truth, the truth that some battle beyond our imagining is taking place in the spiritual realm. What does Paul say? “This is why [because of this war] you are to take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you can stand your ground” (Ephesians 6:13).
Know this: God the Father never carries out our salvation apart from flesh and blood. Again: God the Father never carries out our salvation apart from flesh and blood. Think about it. To save us, what did God become in the person of Jesus? He became flesh and blood, by becoming incarnate.
And since our salvation only comes about through flesh and blood, that’s why the devil never works his devious schemes apart from flesh and blood. The devil is striving to be the “anti-cure” against the cure that we receive from, and in, Christ. To do this, Satan must harness flesh and blood for his purposes, trying to nullify what Jesus does in His flesh and blood to save us.
Although we don’t wrestle against flesh and blood, we certainly do wrestle with it. For, behind that flesh and blood, are the evil spiritual forces that use flesh and blood for their evil purposes. Didn’t Jesus experience that? He endured temptation, affliction, torment, and abuse—not just in His spirit—but also in His flesh and blood!
Shortly after Jesus was born, Satan tried to kill Jesus in His flesh and blood. Satan inflamed Herod’s lust for power and darkened his paranoia, so Herod would plot to kill Jesus. And the infant boys of Bethlehem died as a result. And didn’t Satan seek out Jesus when His flesh and blood was weak from fasting for 40 days in the wilderness?
But, of course, Satan failed in His effort to get Jesus to sin. Scripture then says that Satan waited for a more suitable time (Luke 4:13). That time was Jesus on the cross. It’s no wonder then that Satan thought that he had won the spiritual war when Jesus died by crucifixion on a Roman cross.
The cosmic, spiritual battlefield and our flesh and blood are inseparably intertwined. But do not despair. Now, on your own, you would already be spiritually dead. But God provides you with armament for your struggles, strivings, afflictions, and crosses.
God has even designed and crafted these weapons, which He places into your hands. But notice that these weapons come with God’s power. The belt of truth is His truth. The breastplate of righteousness is His righteousness. The Gospel of peace that makes your feet firm is His Gospel, which gives you His peace.
But God still has more weapons for you. He hands you His shield of faith, which douses the flaming arrows of the evil one. That’s the faith that God gives you. God’s not only giving you the armament. His weaponry even does what it does because God is doing the doing. Your part is to wield those weapons, not throw them off in unbelief.
Next is the helmet of salvation, which is God’s salvation for you. Then comes the last weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. When you hear “word of God,” think first of Jesus, for He is not only God, but also the Word made flesh (John 1:14). Then, think of Scripture. But for a word to be a word, it must be spoken. And the Holy Spirit uses the Word of Jesus that you speak to wound your mortal enemy.
When all is said and spoken, it’s God’s Son and the Holy Spirit whom the Father sends to protect you in this time of war, to keep you alive in the one, true faith. God’s weapons even testify that He is a Trinity, Three in One. And so, when you put on the armor of God, which God gives you, He protects you through His Son in the Holy Spirit.
And when the three-in-one God is with you, in you, and through you in the weapons that He gives you to wield, Satan and his demons no recourse but to flee. After all, the Lord fights for you against them.
Well, let’s go back to the monk. What happened to him? He went back into his room, back to the prayers. For, although he saw the cosmic battle, even for his soul, he was no longer troubled or restless. For when he saw the face of Christ, he knew the end of the story. Seeing Christ, he saw his salvation, hope, and joy.
So, that monk did what everyone living in the Lord’s salvation does: he prayed. But that monk is not the end of the story. For I also told you of Martin Luther. And although what the monk did was proper and right, Luther goes one further!
Luther tells a story of the devil coming to him one night. Luther said:
The Devil came and wanted to debate with me; he rebuked and reproached me, arguing that I was a sinner. To this I replied: Tell me something new, Devil! I already know that perfectly well; I have committed many a solid and real sin…. not fabricated and invented ones… [Jesus] took all my sins upon Him so that now the sins I have committed are no longer mine but belong to Christ. This wonderful gift of God I am not prepared to deny, but want to acknowledge and confess [which means to speak]. [Luther, Weimarer Ausgabe “Table Talk” 6:215-216, translated by Heiko Oberman]
Luther spoke the word, the Word of Jesus Christ. And all was well. Yes, pray. We learn that from the monk. But do more than speak the word of God back to God, which is prayer. Also, speak the Word of God against Satan. For when you have God’s weaponry, you can “stand against the tactics of the Devil.” We learn that from Luther.
But even Luther is not the end of the story. For if God never carries out our salvation apart from flesh and blood, which is true, then the story ends with Jesus. Jesus not only became flesh and blood for your salvation, but He also delivers that salvation to you… in His flesh and blood. So, come now, and receive Jesus’ flesh and blood for your salvation. Indeed, the story ends with Jesus. Amen.
