Ephesians 6:10-24
Friday, 15 December 2023
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” -Ephesians 6:10
When Paul says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” he begins with what we can call “a battle cry.” The reading today calls our attention to spiritual warfare.
Living a victorious Christian life is one of the hardest challenges we face daily. Have you ever wondered why sometimes it is difficult to get yourself to go to church or to open your Bible, read and study God’s Word, spend quality time in prayer with God daily or to keep your lives pure in seeing, thinking and speaking? The answer is simple: ‘spiritual warfare!’ We still live with the sinful flesh coupled with the wicked influences of this world that engage us in a warfare all throughout our life.
In this battle we cannot be good soldiers of Christ, unless we are strong and powerful. Before you can have victory in/over the world, you need to have victory in your own life! So Paul says, “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” This battle cry that would launch us on to victory involves the following:-
1. The call of preparation – “Finally, my brethren…”
Paul’s final section of his letter to the Ephesians comes with final instructions. And Paul directs these words to his brethren and in using this word he means he is not a General giving orders but a brother, a fellow soldier in the war. We all need to see each other as a “band of brothers” who fight side by side who protect and defend each other. This is the key—when you see another brother or sister in Christ undergoing a problem, you come alongside and help—see what you can do to serve and support them. In a battle, the heroic ones are those who stay, defend and help the wounded; those who flee just to protect themselves are cowards. As Christians, it’s good to know we are in this battle together; we are not fighting alone but watching out for one another. That is what Paul means by the encouraging words, “my brethren.”
2. The need of Power - “be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might”
The Power we get for spiritual battle is not ours, but it’s God’s. It is available for all who believe in Jesus Christ for eternal life. All of God’s power and strength and might are given to us for use. The theme of the “power from on high” runs throughout Ephesians. In Eph.1:19, Paul tells us that “the exceeding greatness of God’s power has been given to us who believe.” In Eph.3:16-20, Paul prays that “we may know and experience the great power of the Spirit in our lives”. If so, why is it that we don’t feel, experience or see its effects in our lives? It’s because we lack in faith, disciplining and training!
The phrase ‘be strong’ comes from the Greek word dunamai, where we get our word dynamite. But here Paul uses the word, with an added prefix to it, which makes the word endunamao, mean become strong conveying the idea: grow stronger and stronger and STRONGER! This strength comes from God as we engage in the spiritual work-out by disciplining in our Bible reading, prayer, fellowship, giving, evangelism, etc. Training in these spiritual disciplines we become strong in the Lord and in the power of His might so that we will be ready for spiritual warfare.
Hence Ephesians 6:10 is a battle cry- a motivational challenge! How are we going to respond?
Promise from Jesus: “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you.” - Luke 10:19
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