The Book of Ephesians Pt. 52 Seeking Strength for Spiritual Warfare

Paul has taught us about the three types of human inter-relationships between a husband and wife, a parent and child or a master and slave. He is addressing Christians and their responsibility before God in fulfilling these roles. 

Next, the apostle is going to dedicate a section to teaching us about spiritual warfare and the armor of God, before he closes this epistle. 

Imperative to seek strength from Christ. 

Ephesians 6:10  Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. 

Paul begins this section with the words "Finally my brethren" because in the preceding verses he had distributed the Ephesians into groups, giving an appropriate counsel to each. He had addressed them separately as part of a group (a husband, wife or a slave, for example). 

The words "my brethren" show that he is addressing all of the believers at Ephesus again because he wants to teach them about this battle that each believer is a part of.   

Our command is to "be strong in the Lord." 

The word "strong" means to receive strength, be strengthened, increase in strength and this strength comes from being born again and being "in Christ." 

The word "power" means to use great, overwhelming strength and unstoppable force. The word "might" means the ability to fully use such great power.  

The recurring formula "in the Lord" or "in Christ" indicates that being in Christ is the only way a believer can receive strength necessary to live for God's glory and for spiritual warfare.  Christ is our source of spiritual strength which through faith is granted to believers.  

Strong trust, strong courage, strong endurance, strong hope, strong love, or strong discernment may be had from Christ if our fellowship with Him is maintained with uninterrupted vigor.

Colossians 1:10-11  That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God; 11) Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; 

Paul also spoke to the Colossians about walking the worthy walk. They were learning to walk in a way that is pleasing to God, by learning to do the good works that God ordained for them to walk in, and growing in their faith. Those believers took steps of faith and their obedience brought strength and might from the Lord's glorious power. 

Paul tells us that being strengthened in the Lord helps us become patient rather than impatient, longsuffering instead of short tempered and joyful instead of frustrated.  This is the same truth that Paul is communicating in Ephesians 6. 

Old and New Testament believers were called to be strong in the Lord.

Deuteronomy 31:6  Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the LORD thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.

Moses taught a generation of Hebrews who would enter the promised land and his encouragement was for them to be strong and have good courage, because Jehovah Elohim was with them and would fight for them. 

1 Corinthians 16:13  Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong.

Paul encouraged the Corinthian believers to stay spiritually alert and stand fast on the doctrinal truth he taught them. He urged them to put all their effort into running the godly race of life for Jesus Christ and to finish all of their labors for Christ like men, being strengthened by the Lord. 

Ephesians3:16  That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; 

Paul previously prayed that the Ephesians would receive spiritual strength from the Lord (Ephesians 3:14-21). He knew that they would face false teachers including some who sprang up from inside the church (Acts 20). 

All believers need strength and might from God's Spirit in our inner man, the new creation in Christ. Without His strength we will fail and will lack spiritual discernment necessary for detecting error. With His strength, all things are possible (Philippians 4:13). 

Put on God's armor to withstand the Devil's wiles.

Ephesians 6:11  Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 

Paul uses another "put on" in this text to show us a positive action we must take. The imperative is strong and clear in this text. We must "put on" all of the spiritual armor that God provided for us. 

The words "put on" literally mean to sink down into a garment. We must "put on" armor because new life in Christ means we have entered the battlefield of spiritual warfare. Believers are not called to a life marked by softness, enjoyment of pleasures and ease. Rather we are called to a life of hard conflict and spiritual warfare with foes within and without. 

God provided this armor for our protection. The "whole" armor of God is complete and we will see later on that it includes a shield, sword, lance, helmet, and a breastplate. This armor protects each part of us and is primarily defensive armor. 

Why did God give us spiritual armor to put on? Our chief enemy does not engage us in open warfare, but deals in wiles and stratagems, which need to be watched against and prepared for with peculiar care. 

The phrase "that ye may be able" means to be able or have power by Christ's resources in order to be able to do something. Jesus Christ empowers believers for the great purpose of being a soldier in His army. 

Christ's armor makes us able to "stand" which means to stand firm and fixed, immoveable, not giving up any ground in the battle we are in. 

We are standing against the "wiles" of the devil The word "wiles" means using deception and trickery to gain an advantage over us. The Greek word translated "wiles" is contained in the word "method" or "methodology." 

The word "methodology" means having a set of methods, rules or a set of procedures. It implies that the devil observes believers and has some definite principles that guide his plots against us. For example, Jesus said our spirit was willing but our flesh was weak (Matthew 26:41). Therefore, part of the devil's methods will be attacking us through the lust of our flesh. This is what happened to King David with Bathsheba (2 Samuel 11-12).

Thoughts to Ponder...

2 Corinthians 2:11  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. 

Paul urged the Corinthians not to allow Satan to gain an advantage over them because they failed to forgive a repentant believer. 

The word "advantage" means the devil seeks to extend his power over us in order to derail our faith, destroy our lives and ruin our testimony for Jesus Christ. 

The word "devices" means that Satan has evil, malignant plans based upon his evil thinking and warped desires. 

We are told that we are not ignorant about his devices. We know what Satan is generally attempting to do and we must be prepared to stand against his efforts to work against Christ by attacking individual believers or faithful churches.  

We must heed what Paul told the Ephesians. We must run to Christ and seek His strength because His power and might are without limits. In Christ we can be strengthened to complete the tasks that He has given us to do. 

We must "put on" the entire armor that God has prepared for each believer to wear because we are fighting in a spiritual battle. Every day, our enemy seeks to ruin us, derail our faith and inflict as much pain and misery upon us as he can. Everyday, we can stand and not give up any ground when Christ strengthens us and when we put on God's armor. 

May the Spirit of God work these truths into our hearts. There is much more to the universe than the physical beauty and order that we see. There is a spiritual beauty and order established by God and spiritual battles are being fought each day. We need help, strength and protection. Our Father has provided all that we need in Christ. May we be wise enough to do as God commands us to do so that we successfully stand for Christ right where He put us.

Bob