Think Again!

Appendices • 161

more like saying, “pick up milk, eggs, butter, cake mix, and finally make a cake.” In that sense, this passage is a summary of the whole book of Ephesians. We In verse 12, Paul says that we wrestle (we don’t do this alone). While this passage is often taught as a personal struggle, the whole book of Ephesians underscores that the Christian life is to be lived together with other believers. Walter Wink noted, “The metaphor of the church is like the Roman wedge, the most efficient and terrifying military formation known to that time and for some thousand years later. In fact, the instruction in this whole section is plural.” 79 When we recognize the full weight of danger we face against the evil one, we will instinctively draw near to our comrades, even those with whom we may not otherwise be friends. Those who cause division show they don’t recognize the terrible threat that is around them. They put themselves in harms way by going it alone. Wrestle Next, Paul reminds us this is a wrestling match. As a child, I went to a summer sports camp that introduced me to several sports including wrestling. I quickly learned to hate wrestling. It was so sweaty, so invasive of another person’s body. Wrestling involves all-out energy, struggling against another person as you look at him in the face. As much as I despised it, wrestling is a good metaphor for the Christian life, because we engage an opponent in a visceral way. This battle is not like the image of remotely-located generals, lobbing missiles at far-away armies. This is hand-to-hand combat; messy, full of smoke, explosions, confusion, pain, and screaming.