Ephesians 6:10-13

          There is a simple, 3-word outline of Ephesians: Sit, Walk, Stand.  Chapters 1-3 spoke of our position in Christ, being raised to sit with Him in the heavenlies.  4:1-6:9 speaks of our walk with Him.  The rest of chapter 6 teaches us how to stand in the ongoing spiritual battle. 4 basic truths help the believer to stand firm.

¨     Standing firm demands a powerful power, 6:10.

          This short verse brings together 3 “power” terms.  First believers are told to be strong or to be empowered.  This is the kind of advice we often hear in this world, but we are usually told to find the power within ourselves.  The believer on his own is no match in the spiritual battle so he is told to be strong in the Lord.  We must be in a saving and abiding relationship with Him to have the strength we need.  

          Further, our strength is to be found in the power of His might.  Power emphasizes God’s manifested greatness is that which He displays in creation and in salvation.  Might emphasizes His indwelling strength.  So literally believers are made strong when God’s might that dwells within us by the Spirit is manifested through the believer.  As John says, He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world (1 John 4:4).  

          In one sense we are still building off of Eph. 5:18, Be filled with the Spirit.  As we live our lives we will find ourselves in difficult situations spiritually.  It is at those times that the believer must remember that he cannot stand in his own strength.  As we yield our lives to Christ (Rom. 12:1; Phil. 4:13) Christ has the opportunity to fill us with His strength, and His strength is that power that raised Him from the dead and exalted Him to God’s right hand (Eph. 1:19-23).

¨     Standing firm demands a proper perspective, 6:11-12.

          These verses remind us of the nature of this battle.  We often think that the people we can see are our real enemies but in fact the real enemy is the devil (slanderer, accuser).  A study of the devil in Scripture (and not necessarily in the myriad of popular books on spiritual warfare which often go beyond the Bible) is of value.  We need to know that he is powerful, and that he has authority from God.  Already from Ephesians we have seen that he is the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience (2:2).  He rules this world and has authority from God to tempt men to sin.

          We need to know too that Satan has wiles or schemes.  2 Cor. 2:11 indicates believers should be aware of these schemes.  We see some of these at work in the temptations of Christ (Matt. 4:1-11).  The Bible indicates he lays traps for people, often appearing as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14-15).  And we must be mindful of the legions of demons (fallen angels) at his disposal (v12).  

          His goal is to deceive people.  Since he is the god of this age (2 Cor. 4:4) believers must always be aware of possible deception.  Satan is not to be the focus of the believer’s life; but the believer must have a proper perspective about what.  No soldier can stand firm without good intelligence.