'In all these things we are More Than Conquerors through Him that loved

us.  For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor

Principalities, nor Powers ... shall be able to separate us from the

love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord'.

Here is the essential basis of Ephesians 6:10.  In Christ, and by

virtue of His resurrection we are already 'more than conquerors' over

'principalities and powers'.  We go forth to this otherwise unequal conflict

in 'the power of His resurrection'.  We go forth to achieve experimentally

that victory already accomplished in Christ.  So far as He is concerned, He

has been raised far above all principality and power (Eph. 1:21,23).  He also

'stripped off principalities and powers, and made a show of them openly,

triumphing over them in it' (Col. 2:15).  To attempt the conflict of

Ephesians 6 in any other power than that of the risen Christ is to seek

defeat.  To attempt it in that power is to make experimental proof of the

fact that in Him we are 'more than conquerors'.

If we allow the typical history of Israel to influence us, we may

conclude that only those who have reached spiritual maturity are called upon

to take up the armour:

'From twenty years old and upward, all that are able to go forth to war

in Israel' (Num. 1:3).

It was no light matter to be 'chosen as a soldier' as both 2 Timothy 2

and Numbers 14 will show:

'Your carcases shall fall in this wilderness; and all that were

numbered of you, according to your whole number, from twenty years old

and upward, which have murmured against Me' (Num. 14:29).

The two exceptions to this statement are Caleb and Joshua.

Of Caleb

the Lord said:

'He had another spirit with him, and hath followed Me fully, him will I

bring into the land' (Num. 14:24).

Now the words 'hath followed Me fully' are literally 'hath filled after

Me', and Colossians 1:24 comes to mind as a close parallel:

'And fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ'.

To Joshua the Lord had said:

'Moses ... is dead ... arise ... be strong' (Josh. 1:2 -6).

Just as the inheritance of Israel was in possession of the giants who

had to be overcome in the strength of the Lord, so entrance into the

inheritance of the church in the heavenlies is held by spiritual foes of high

rank and power.  The soldier has something to win or to lose:

'Thou therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus

... endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ' (2 Tim. 2:1 -