Strong In The Lord Series

Ephesians 6:10-13 [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. [12] 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[13] Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. (ESV)

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Today, more than 260 million Christians are suffering and persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ. Here in Canada, while our beliefs face increasing marginalization, we still enjoy the freedom to hold and live out those deeply held beliefs. Our different circumstances and our geographical location can leave us feeling separated and unsure of how to help these, our brothers and sisters. Around the world, Christians in more than 130 countries stand in prayer with our persecuted sisters and brothers through the Canadian International Day of Prayer for the Persecuted Church (IDOP) every year. Persecution because of our faith cuts to the core. It is painful. In some parts of the world, choosing to follow Christ can be dangerous, and even life-threatening. Simply practicing one’s faith can lead to physical harm, loss of livelihood, arrest or even death. Persecuted believers live with the added burden of feeling isolated and cut off, possibly even from friends and family. Maybe with the small taste we have had of those kinds of restrictions with Covid-19, we can empathize even just a little bit more with our brothers and sisters isolated and living with persecution.

Yet, even through difficulty, the true Christian described in Ephesians 1–3 who live the faithful life described in 4:1—6:9 can be sure that they will be involved in the spiritual warfare described in 6:10–20. The faithful Christian life is a battle; it is warfare on a grand scale—because when God begins to bless, Satan begins to attack. In this letter, Paul explained the need for unity in the body of believers; here he further explained the need for that unity—there will be inevitable clashes with evil, and the church must be ready to stand and fight (Barton, B. B., & Comfort, P. W. (1996). Ephesians (p. 127). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers.). You cannot afford to be ignorant of this war, for to be ignorant is to be unprepared. You cannot afford to try to be neutral, for those who do that will suffer the most. And this message this morning is a call to arms. The church is not a showboat; it is a battleship. And we need to learn this morning some truths about “The Christian’s Warfare.” (Rogers, A. (2017). The Christian’s Warfare. In Adrian Rogers Sermon Archive (Eph 6:10–22). Signal Hill, CA: Rogers Family Trust.)

Why are we in this battle? If we are walking worthy of our calling, in humility rather than pride, in unity rather than divisiveness, in the new self rather than the old, in love rather than lust, in light rather than darkness, in wisdom rather than foolishness, in the fullness of the Spirit rather than the drunkenness of wine, and in mutual submission rather than self–serving independence, then we can be absolutely certain we will have opposition and conflict.

Given the reality of all of these threats, we must recognize Satan’s schemes. Paul closes his letter to Ephesus by giving his brothers and sisters here both encouragement and warning, much as Jesus did in His letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor over 30 years later in the first few chapters of the book of Revelation. In Ephesians 6:10–13 the apostle introduces the reality and necessity to do battle in the sphere of Spiritual Warfare. In Order to be “Strong in the Lord”, believers must be ready in terms of five things: 1) The Preparation (Ephesians 6:10), 2) Armor (Ephesians 6:11a), 3) Enemy (Ephesians 6:11b), 4) Battle (Ephesians 6:12), thereby experiencing: 5) The Victory of the Believer’s Warfare (Ephesians 6:13).

In order to be Strong in the Lord, believers must be ready in:

1) The Preparation: Strength in the Lord

Ephesians 6:10 [10] Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. (ESV)

Our own strength is never strong enough to oppose Satan, but when we are strong in the Lord, even a little of His strength is sufficient to win any battle. “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me,” Paul said (Phil. 4:13). It is not the amount of the strength we have that is important—only its source. Furthermore, he says, not ‘by the Lord’, though that would be true enough, but again in the Lord. When life is lived in union with him, within the orbit of his will and so of His grace, there need not be failure due to powerlessness (1 John 2:14). Apart from him the Christian can do nothing (John 15:1–5), but there is available all the strength of his might (Foulkes, F. (1989). Ephesians: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 10, pp. 175–176). Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press.).