Ephesians 6:10-11 Be Strong in the Lord
Ephesians 6:10-11 (KJV) Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
Finally, my brethren … the Apostle Paul , is not giving here the conclusion to this epistle to the Ephesian church, rather, he is saying to us, what he has been exhorting since the first verse of chapter 1 to the 9th verse of chapter 6, The culmination of all that he had said to the church in Ephesus through this epistle that he has been writing in the bond of imprisonment.
The church is a reflection of His Creator, pointing men and women to the living and true God. This is the glory of the church, that the world by her witness may know God. What hope, what riches, what strength we have as God’s children to live as a people destined for heaven, a people endowed with all hope, all spiritual riches through Christ and having the strength to overcome sin in our lives.
The Apostle Paul sounds the alarm that our witness as a church is a spiritual battle, we are in warfare, and the church needs to be equipped for the Lord’s use, to fight the Lord’s battle. We are living in momentous days leading to Christ’s return. How can the church be victorious during such dark days leading to the ushering in of the world system of the Antichrist? The darkness that envelopes the earth is deep and disturbing but in the Lord is the power of His penetrating light to dispel all darkness. We are in spiritual warfare. And the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds (2 Corinthians 10:4). We are to put the whole armour of God so that we can be victorious for the Lord’s sake to His glory in the day of battle.
“To stand” is a keyword in v11, 13, and 14. Here is the word “withstand”. It means “to resist, to oppose” (Eph. 6:13). It comes from the root, “to stand,” meaning literally to stand against. It is a military term for holding on to a position that is under attack.The verb requires that the believers themselves do so individually and thus collectively. It means “to stand” for the Word of God, the doctrines of the Bible. The Word that gives life and direction to life.
May His people be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man. Amen.