Be Strong in the Lord

Ephesians 6: 10 - 12

Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power. Clothe yourselves with the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.

Do you have a favorite passage of Scripture? I think many people have a particular verse or a particular passage from the Bible that really speaks to them.

One of my favorite passages is the image that Paul creates in the latter half of Ephesians 6, where he compares the elements of the Christian life with various pieces of armor. More than likely most of us have, at one time or another, heard a message on Ephesians 6 about the Whole Armor of God. It is a popular, and I think very meaningful passage.

But just before Paul begins painting this wonderful picture for us,[1] in verses 10- 12, he gives us an introduction to this famous picture, and without that introduction, our understanding of the picture that is coming will not be as complete. So, though my original thought, when preparing these messages, was to start with verse 13 and jump right in to the picture of the Whole Armor of God, when I actually started to dig into this passage, I quickly realized that we need to start with the introduction.

So, for our Musings today, we’re going to spend some time doing just that: looking more closely at the introduction that Paul gives us in verses 10 – 12, which you saw at the start of this post.

This is the introduction that Paul gives us, to help us more fully understand what he means when he speaks of the Whole Armor of God.

The Transition Word

As I see it, there are basically three themes in these verses, essentially one in each verse. And in some ways, they are rather disconnected. When I was originally planning this message, I spent a fair bit of time trying to organize them into some kind of logical progression or outline. And there is such a progression, which we’ll talk about in a bit.

But there is another idea I want to mention first, an idea that all of these themes appear to be centered around which Paul expresses in one word. In the NET (as well as the NIV), this word is translated as Finally. In Greek, the word is loipon, which means, “whatever remains.” Most of the commentators I read were happy with the translation of “finally,” feeling it was an appropriate and adequate way to express what Paul’s word means. In slight contrast, the New Living Translation renders this One final word; such a reading would make this section simply the last piece of advice or bit of teaching Paul had to offer the Ephesian church before he ended his letter.

But one commentator suggested that the fact Paul used this particular word means he is actually continuing the theme that he began in Chapter 5. As we have seen in the last several Musings, starting in verse 21 of Chapter 5, and continuing through the first half of Chapter 6, Paul teaches us how we ought to relate to others in three basic relationships in our lives: between husbands and wives, between children and parents, and between employers and employees. In each of these relationships, the assumption Paul makes is that both members of the relationship are believers, that both are under the authority of Jesus. Then, according to this interpretation of Chapter 6 verse 10, Paul concludes with the fourth basic relationship in our lives as believers: whatever remains.

In other words, in all other relationships, outside of those three he specifically discusses, this is how we should act. These are the basic operating principles you ought to follow in all other relationships within your life.

The First Principle

And the first principle Paul gives us is that we should be strengthened in the Lord. On one level, this is a fairly straightforward statement. Our strength for all things in this life comes from God. In fact, if you recall from some of my previous Musings on this epistle, Paul spends a fair portion of the first three chapters of Ephesians outlining how our strength comes from the Lord, because we’ve been adopted into the family of God.

But this general idea of needing God’s strength for all things in our lives does not seem to be what Paul is aiming at here, because he immediately sets up the militaristic images that he expands on in the next two verses.

Interestingly, the King James version includes another phrase at the start of verse 10 which the NET and the NIV both leave out. The King James reads, Finally, my brethren, and the word translated “brethren” or “brothers” is a term that was often used by soldiers to refer to others in their unit. In that context, it meant, “those who fight alongside me.”

So Paul begins setting up the military image almost with his first words in this passage, which, to me, implies that the strength and power of God that Paul is referring to here is the power to withstand our enemies. It harkens back to language used in various passages throughout the Psalms, where God’s strength and mighty arm led the armies of Israel to victory over all their foes.

I think the idea Paul is aiming at, with all of these militaristic words, is summed up well by Matthew Henry:

“Those who have so many battles to fight... have need of a great deal of courage. Be strong therefore, strong for service, strong for suffering, strong for fighting. Let a soldier be ever so well armed without, if he have not within a good heart, his armour will stand him in little stead. Note, ... We have no sufficient strength of our own. Our natural courage is as perfect cowardice, and our natural strength as perfect weakness; but all our sufficiency is of God. In his strength we must go forth and go on.”[2]

So the first principle we need to remember in this fourth relationship is that we must rely on the strength and mighty power of the Lord, above all else.

The Second Principle

Secondly, Paul tells us that we must put on the full armor of God. Matthew Henry rightly points out that, without strength and courage, arms and armor would do little to help a soldier, but the reverse is certainly true as well. The most courageous soldier in the world is in a lot of trouble if he heads to battle without his weapons and protective armor. If he tries that, his courage will allow him to stand firm as he is easily overcome and slaughtered by the enemy!

So, in verse 11, Paul extends his image to include the armor a Christian warrior needs. We stand in the strength of the Lord, and we are protected by the armor of God. Albert Barnes makes two significant observations about this verse. First, that we are to put on God’s armor. We are fighting a battle, but we are not free to use whatever weapons come to hand. As Barnes puts it, “we are not to provide in our warfare such weapons as men employ in their contests, but such as God provides.”[3] There are weapons and defenses that God has provided for us to use, and only these will bring us victory. Of course, Paul outlines in great detail exactly what those weapons and defenses are in the verses of the following passage, which we will get into more specifically in the next two posts.

Barnes’ second observation is that we should put on the whole armor. Within the metaphor Paul is building, this makes perfect sense. A warrior who went into battle without some of his armor would be going in without his full protection. He would have an area of weakness that his enemy could exploit. When walking into a physical battle, you want all the protection that is available to you, and the same is true in this spiritual battle. Again, as Barnes puts it, “A man needs all that armour if he is to fight the battles of the Lord.”[4] God has prepared these things for our protection in this battle, so it makes sense to assume that we need all of them to be successful. If we are not fully equipped as God has provided, we are leaving ourselves open to attack.

And, as Paul notes, our enemy is crafty; we need to be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. The word translated “schemes” here implies trickery that is well planned out, with cunning and skill. The Devil is actively laying traps for us, seeking to defeat us. And he is very good at what he does! Without all the protection God has provided, we don’t stand a chance against him.

The Third Principle

And that thought leads Paul into the third principle we need to remember in this fourth relationship: we need to know who our enemy is. To that end, Paul gives us, in verse 12, a very detailed account of who we are fighting against.

But first, the word that he uses here tells us something interesting about the contest that we are in. The NET (and the NIV) begin verse 12 by saying we “struggle.” The King James translates this word as “wrestle.” And that is, literally, what the Greek word means. It referred to the wrestling matches that were held during the original Olympic games. These matches were a test of strength, stamina and skill between two opponents. To win, you had to hurl your opponent to the ground and hold him there.

That is, I think, the image that Paul is trying to communicate. We are standing alone, facing an opponent that is infinitely stronger and smarter[5] than we are. In other words, we are in serious trouble! This is why we must rely, not on our own strength, but on the mighty power of God! And, this is why we must put on all of His armor: that we might be able to stand against such a foe.

Then Paul begins to clarify exactly who that foe is, but he begins with who it is not. We do not struggle against flesh and blood; our primary opponent is not other people. Now this, of course, does not mean that followers of Jesus will face no opposition from other men and women. Paul could not have meant that, when he himself had faced such extreme persecution from men who sought to quench the spread of the Gospel! The people he wrote epistles to, both in Ephesus and elsewhere, had also experienced great persecution at the hands of other men. I suspect some of you reading this today can also testify to the difficulties other people can sometimes raise against us simply because we are followers of Jesus!

But Paul’s point is that, though human oppressors exist, they are not the primary foe we have to deal with, and when he speaks of the warfare we are involved in, human opposition is not primarily what he has in mind. Rather, our struggle is against the rulers, against the powers, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavens.

Many of the commentators I read tried to organize this list of powers into a hierarchy of demonic authority in the world, arranging them based on their supposed power and sphere of influence. Others noted (somewhat condescendingly, it seemed to me) that Paul, in his day, actually believed that there were evil spirits with which Christians had to contend. They explained the meaning of this verse as primarily metaphorical, a list of symbols representing the various forces that Christians must stand against in this world.

Though I do have some pretty strong opinions on that question, for now, I’m not going to address either of these interpretations. Rather, I’d like to make a few general observations about the enemy Paul describes here.

First, it is incorporeal. If we do not struggle with flesh and blood, then our foe is a spiritual one. Whatever your view on evil spirits and demons might be, I think that this verse fairly clearly establishes that there are spiritual beings that stand opposed to the followers of Jesus. You can call them whatever you like, but apparently they are real, and they are out there.

Second, our enemy is vast. The titles Paul uses in this verse denote a huge empire. I like the way Barnes describes it:

It is a wide and a powerful empire. It has been consolidated by ages. It is sustained... by all the power of selfish, corrupt, and base passions. No empire has been so extended, or has continued so long, as that empire of darkness; and nothing on earth is so difficult to destroy.[6]

This is the enormous foe that stands against us. I imagine Paul, sitting in his cell, mentally comparing our spiritual enemy with the vast, invincible might of the Roman army. And his conclusion is that it would be easier to take on the Romans than to do battle with the spiritual foe that we face as believers!

And that ties in to the third observation: our enemy is powerful. Just look at the titles Paul gives them: rulers, authorities, powers of the dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavens. This is not some two-bit playground bully we’re facing. We are up against all of the powers that Hell can muster, from the infernal rulers all the way down to the lowest demon. This is a power so vast and unstoppable that we can scarcely even imagine it much less fight against it!

And this is what Paul calls us to stand against.

But perhaps more importantly, this is the description of what we face in this fourth area of human relationships. This is the “whatever remains” that Paul refers to in verse 10. And if that interpretation is accurate, if he is, indeed, continuing in this passage his list of relationships from Chapter 5, then Paul is essentially laying out a dichotomy in the world. There are those within the Church, who we are to treat as Paul outlines in Chapter 5 and the first half of Chapter 6, in those sections dealing with submission. And, there are those outside of the Church, who we are to stand against, empowered by God and with the protection of His armor.

Final Thoughts

Now, obviously much of my interpretation of these three verses hinges on my interpretation of that one word back in verse 10: Loipon, whatever remains. And I freely admit that I may be reading too much into this one word. I certainly wouldn’t insist that this interpretation is absolutely true and we ought to defend it to the death!

But I think it is worth considering, at least for a moment, the implications of this idea. Reading it the way I have, it appears that Paul is setting up a contrast that, I believe, consistently appears in Scripture, a contrast between the redeemed, the chosen ones of God (in this case, specifically the Church) and the world. Not only that, but within that contrast, Paul seems to be drawing some very definite lines, lines which are, again, completely consistent with the rest of Scripture. We are enjoined in many passages to hold ourselves, as believers, apart from the world. We are called to live as aliens in this world[7], as citizens of Heaven[8], to be in the world but not of it[9]. To be holy[10], which essentially means to be separate, set apart for God’s special service.

Paul makes it fairly clear that relationships within the church, which he describes in Ephesians 5:21 – 6:9, ought to be very different from the relationships outside the church, from “whatever remains.” Within the church, we are to submit to one another, following Christ’s example, while outside the church, we are to stand firm, resisting the devil. Or to put it in terms of the metaphor Paul uses here, inside the church is our home territory, where we can trust others and where those around us have a claim to our loyalty and, in some cases, to our obedience. Outside the church is the battleground. That is where the enemies lie, where we encounter those who must be resisted, where we need the power and protection of God to stand firm.

I don’t know about you, but I’m a little uncomfortable with that clear cut delineation. My mind immediately protests, Aren’t we supposed to love those outside the church like Jesus did? Aren’t we supposed to reach out and serve whoever needs it? Aren’t we supposed to love our enemies just as we love ourselves?

How can these clear, unambiguous teachings of Scripture be reconciled with the “us and them” mentality that I am suggesting exists in this passage?

The answer, I think, is twofold. First, I think we must make a distinction, as Paul does in this passage, between those outside the church and the enemy we are striving against. That’s what verse 12 is all about. There is a good illustration of this idea in the classic movie The Matrix. In one scene, Morpheus is teaching Neo about their primary opponents, the Agents. He explains that Agents are, “sentient programs that can move in and out of any software still hardwired to the system.” In other words, anyone who has not been freed from the Matrix is potentially an Agent. Thus everyone in the Matrix is a potential threat, and must be guarded against. But, at the same time, those who are still hardwired to the Matrix are, as Morpheus puts it, “the very minds we are trying to free.” But because they are still part of the Matrix, the system can use them against those who have been unplugged, the very people who are working to save them.

This is the kind of situation Paul is describing here. As followers of Jesus, one of our primary missions is to offer freedom to those who are still slaves to sin, as we once were ourselves. But we must always remember that those who are still slaves to the powers of this world can be used by those powers against us. And thus, we must always be on our guard, even as we strive to bring them out of the darkness and into the light of Christ Jesus. Not only that, but we must also always remember that our true foe is not flesh and blood. The people who work against us are simply the tools that our true enemy is employing.

We must resist that true enemy, while seeking to free the tools that it sends against us.

Second, we need to remember where our home is. Though we are called to seek the lost, to love them and be Christ to them, by our words and our example allowing Christ to draw them to Himself, we must always remember that our home is not among the lost. We make forays out into the world, as soldiers invading enemy territory, but we don’t make our dwelling there. When the mission is over, we go home, back into safe territory.

This is the part of the message that really struck me. I think I resist the dichotomy of the world that Paul seems to outline in these verses at least in part because I have become comfortable living in the world. I have ceased to see the world as a battleground, a place where the enemy lies in wait, seeking to trap and deceive me. A place of great danger where I face an implacable and impossibly powerful foe. A place where I must constantly be on my guard, protected by God’s armor and relying on His strength to get me through.

Rather, I fear I tend to look at the world as simply a place full of people who don’t quite agree with my worldview. They don’t see things the way I see them, they do things that I don’t always agree with, but I need to be tolerant with them while I try to explain how I believe, in the hope that some of them might be interested in learning more about my faith.

I have to admit that I find it rather disconcerting when I discover that my natural perspective is so different from Paul’s. But I suspect I’m not the only one who feels this way. This is a powerful deception, a scheme that Satan has been actively trying to convince the modern church of for quite a long time. We are not really involved in a war, we do not really have to be on our guard when we are in the world, because there really isn’t an enemy out there waiting for us.

Don’t be fooled. Don’t ever forget that when you step into the world, you are entering a battleground, and you are facing a vast, impossibly powerful foe who hates you completely, who desires nothing more than to see you utterly destroyed.

Take up the protection that God has provided for us, that you might be empowered by His might and protected by His armor. So that, in this battle, you might be able to stand.

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[1] The Whole Armor of God section begins in verse 13, where Paul starts to elaborate on each piece of the armor, what each one is called and what each one is for. We’ll get to these images in the final two posts in this series on Ephesians, which will come out in the next few weeks.

[2] Matthew Henry’s Commentary on the Whole Bible, accessed in The Power Bible software.

[3] Commentary on Ephesians 6:11. Albert Barnes’ New Testament Commentary, accessed in The Power Bible software.

[4] Ibid

[5] This is not to say, of course, that Satan has infinite power or wisdom; only God is truly infinite. I mean simply that, in comparison to our strength, unaided by God, Satan’s power might as well be infinite!

[6] Commentary on Ephesians 6:12. Albert Barnes’ New Testament Commentary, accessed in The Power Bible software.

[7] 1 Peter 2:11

[8] Ephesians 2:19

[9] 2 Corinthians 10:3

[10] 1 Peter 1: 15 – 16