down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God, and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ;” (2 Corinthians 10: 2–6) In this discourse, the apostle clearly demonstrates that Christians can have spiritual battles and armor, because it can be said in truth that people are clothed in physical armor when they are not given spiritual armor. When they lose the truth and the devil has power over them, they do not have peace, fall into strife and conflict against one another, and seek to overcome one another through carnal armor and weapons. They are goaded on with their physical armor, and David professes that God is not the avenger of those who He sent to fight in the Old Testament with the sword or the spear. Instead, He is the avenger of those who do battle by praying, overcoming with faith and prayer. The apostle clearly says to us Christians that the armor of our battle is not physical like that of others. Instead, we have power from the riches and wisdom of God and the strength of the Holy Spirit so that we discern Satan’s awfulness, the way he seduces people with his cleverness, and how he provokes the faithful everywhere to violence. We should have God’s armor on so that we overcome in this battle with the strength of the Holy Spirit, with His wisdom, and with other spiritual armor, which he clearly names next. That is why he commands us to take that spiritual armor, so that we are able to stand against a person. Even if someone overcame a person like himself in fleshly armor and killed him, he would not be righteous or blameless for it or enjoy peace for his victory. But whoever dresses in the armor of God and stands against the devil’s cunning will be the victor to salvation. Such a man conducts himself blamelessly, and the Son of God will grant him to sit on His throne with Him and give him spiritual pleasure.
Therefore, it is most important to be clothed in the armor of God and to stand against the devil’s cunning. The apostle commands us to have peace with people since we are subject to people, but he commands us to be clothed in spiritual armor against the cunning devil and to stand against him, keeping up the fight powerfully because, although we might be defeated physically by men, the enemy of mankind harms us for eternal life. But whoever neglects the battle with and the victory over the devil has already lost the truth and eternal life. That is why the apostle does not give instruction for the physical battles that bloody people are able to conduct themselves, battles that sow discord and consign human souls to damnation. Instead, he gives instruction for those battles in which souls, in truth, keep themselves from damnation. He does not care for a lot of physical defenses and security that preserve temporal life, because such life always ends in death. No one will avoid it or put a distance between himself and death with battle, but instead falls into death through it. That is why the apostle diligently cares for the health of faithful souls and commands them to put on the armor of God and to stand against their mortal enemy, so that they may not put precious souls redeemed by the blood of Christ to death.
Showing the difficulty of this battle further, the apostle says, “For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world’s rulers of the darkness of this age.” It is worth understanding this discourse correctly because of the evil understanding of some people, who tempt others in this when he says, “our wrestling is not against flesh and blood.” They liberate themselves in this way so that they do not have to fight against flesh and blood, living licentiously and employing their bodies in lust as they demand. Saint Paul would judge this sort of living as an overt lie, because it would contradict the rest of the whole gospel.
Other people maintain that, due to the sanctification of new life, some people will be or already are without struggle here in the body, and that they will not have passions and inclinations in the flesh towards lustful desires, anger, pride, and other sins. These are also great liars, because as yet none of those who claim it can profess such a thing of themselves. Their lie will be exposed in the judgment of Christ, where
3
