10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.
11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.
12For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.
Strength is most important to a man. Men since the beginning have desired to show their strength over their fellow men. Often it was a combination of their own physical strength and their ability to sway others to their cause, so that with a great following of other men, they could enforce their will upon weaker people. This is how men rose to power over tribes, villages, cities, nations, and kingdoms.
The Bible speaks of strong men. Joshua and Caleb were strong men. They fought mightily in the armies of the LORD. Samson was a strong man. He was a judge of Israel between the time of Joshua and the appointment of the kings. David, though perhaps small before he slew Goliath, became very strong in vanquishing the enemies of Israel. All of these men; anywhere strength is spoken of in the Old Testament, it is often written that, "The Spirit of the LORD came upon them." Their strength was from the LORD. Without this strength from the LORD, many a strong man perished. But when God fought for them and gave them strength, they never lost. When the LORD fought for them and made them strong, their enemies came at them one way and retreated 7 ways. "One man of you puts to flight a thousand, since it is the LORD your God who fights for you, just as He promised you." (Joshua 23:10)
And there was no stronger man than Jesus. Jesus once asked the question, "How can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?" (Mt 12:29). He was speaking here of taking over Satan's dominion, which is the exact thing Paul is talking about in Ephesians chapter 6. "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Jesus came to bind that strong man in his own house. And knowing He, Himself did that by His atoning work on the cross, and by His resurrection from the dead, He can, through Paul, tell us to be strong in the LORD and in the strength of His might. The only way to true strength is if the LORD is on our side. Or, perhaps to put it the most correct way, if we are on His side. If we are on God's side, we are strong and we will never be shaken, because we are in His kingdom that cannot be shaken (Heb 12:28).
But we are only strong when the LORD is with us; when the Spirit of the LORD comes upon us. The difference between we men now, and Joshua, Caleb, Samson, and David of old, is that we have the promised Holy Spirit at all times. We do not have to wait for the Spirit to come upon us, if we are Christ's, then we have His Spirit now (Rom 8:9). He dwells within us once He replaces our hearts of stone with a heart of flesh (1 Cor 3:16). This is the only way we can be strong.
However, it is also clear from this passage in Ephesians 6, that though strong, we are still vulnerable. We must put on the whole armor of God if we are to withstand the schemes of the devil. When we were in the camp of the enemy, we did not have to fight with him and he took no notice of us. This is the difference between those who are in Christ and those who are not. When we became part of God's kingdom, and stopped our rebellion against Him, this is when the enemy took notice of us, and this is why Paul says we wrestle not against flesh and blood. When we were in the enemy camp, we were dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph 2:4-6). The enemy wanted to keep us in our graves, but the Spirit made us alive and translated us from the domain of darkness to the kingdom of His beloved Son (Col 1:13). Now we are spiritually alive instead of dead. Now the enemy must fight with us because we are alive. And though alive, we are only effective against the enemy if we take up the whole armor of God. We will take the next several weeks to delve into these pieces of armor.
May God keep us strong as we learn about these things.
Assignment:
1. Memorize Ephesians 6:10-12.
2. Read Judges 13-16, this is the story of Samson. Journal about how you believe Samson used his strength either foolishly, or courageously. Journal also about what you believe Samson's greatest weaknesses were.
3. Journal about what you believe the enemy is using against you in your individual battles of life. List your weaknesses and pray about them, asking the Lord for strength to overcome them.
