Thursday, February 22, 2018

Ephesians 6:10-20

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes."  Ephesians 6:10-11

We live in a society which emphasizes self-worth and self-effort.  Our passage today, however, says that we need to live not in self-reliance but in God-reliance.  We need to live our lives not in our own perceived strength but in the Lord's strength.  Ephesians 6:10 tells us that we need to "be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power."  Our self-effort is inadequate and will fail, but the Lord's strength will never fail us!

In Ephesians 6:11 we are told to "put on the full armor of God."  Roman soldiers in Biblical times put on a full armor before they went out to battle.  They wore a belt to hold up their long flowing robes, so their robes would not get in their way in fighting their battles.  They also wore breastplates and helmets.  Soldiers had their feet protected with supportive and proper footwear.  They further held shields and carried swords.  We as children of God are to be soldiers in God's army.  Ephesians 6:11b instructs us that we are to put on God's armor of protection, so we can take our "stand against the devil's schemes."

The Christian life is a warfare.  God promises us His unlimited resources of power in the battle, however!  The Lord desires for you and me to be strong and empowered by Him!  Only in the Lord is there strength to meet the demands of the Christian life!  You and I do not have sufficient strength in ourselves.  We need to be strong in the Lord alone.

Ephesians 6:12 tells us that we are not just fighting against human strength but against the devil himself and his schemes!  We are inadequate to do that in our own puny strength.  We need the Lord's strength and power!  We need His armor of protection, and then we need to stand against the devil and his schemes.  We need to be prayerfully dependent on the Lord alone.  We must listen to the Lord's battle plan and go forth in His strength.  We must put on His full armor so that we can stand our ground against the devil.  If we truly do this; we will live in freedom and joy instead of apprehension, guilt, and doubt.  This is because we are living our lives in the Lord's strength.

Ephesians 6:14 tells us that the first piece of armor we must put on is the Lord's "belt of truth," so we are prepared for action.  We must at all times be prepared for what the Lord wants us to do and for where He wants us to be.  Ephesians 6:14 goes on to say that we also need the Lord's "breastplate of righteousness in place."  As His children we have Christ's righteousness given to us because of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.  We must also seek to show practical righteousness in our day to day lives.  Then we we must have our feet ready for anything necessary for the cause of the Lord and for fighting the devil.  We can do this because of our confidence in the Lord's love for us.  The Lord grants you and me His peace.

Ephesians 6:16 instructs us that the Lord further desires that His children take "the shield of faith" with which we can "extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one."  We need practical day to day trust and faith in the Lord.  We need to fight against Satan's "flaming arrows," the temptations in our lives.  Next, we need to take "the helmet" of His salvation (Ephesians 6:17).  Satan wants to attack our minds and thoughts, so we become discouraged and want to give up.  Therefore, we need the Lord's "helmet" for the assurance of our salvation!  We need a mind truly controlled by the Lord.

Finally, Ephesians 6:17b reminds us that we must not neglect "the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."  This is so important, because we are fighting a spiritual battle.  This spiritual battle must be fought in the Lord's strength and not in our own strength.  We must depend on prayer and on the Lord's promises and commands in His Holy Word.  In our own strength we will fail.  In God's strength we are victorious!


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