Henderson Hills Baptist Church

Becoming Strong in the Lord

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." (Ephesians 6:10-11, ESV)

In an economy of words, Paul sets the stage for one of the most important sections of the Book of Ephesians. We are to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.” Being a Christian definitely does not mean going with the flow. We are more like salmon swimming upstream against the river of society rather than simply riding it down to the sea of destruction. The calling to follow Christ is countercultural in that God’s ways are not the ways of our world. Jesus was often under attack by the evil one and as His followers, we share His experience. That is why Paul calls us to be strong in the Lord in verse 10. Verse 11 takes us beyond the exhortation to be strong to show us how to be strong, introducing us to our source of strength.

Demonstrations of power must come from the source of that power. For example, when you plug an appliance into the electrical wall outlet in your home, you are tapping into significant power. Of course, we know that that power isn’t generated from the wall outlet; it is carried by cables from a generating source to your home. The power had to come from somewhere else for it to be used to power your refrigerator or warm your coffee pot. Likewise, our strength to resist temptation, live a godly life, and to bring glory to God must come from a source outside of ourselves. What is our source of power? The last phrase in verse 10 describes it clearly; it is the "strength of His might." We must plug our lives into the ultimate source of power, Christ Jesus.

That is what we must do, but how is it to be accomplished? The way we experience our source of power in the spiritual battle that we are engaged in is the various pieces of armor that are mentioned in the coming verses. Now, before we get to the specific pieces of God’s armor, let’s consider the whole.

"Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." (Ephesians 6:11, ESV)

It is easy to see that Paul is concerned with us putting on the whole armor of God not just certain aspects of it. This is a metaphor that reveals the nature of our faith in the gospel of Christ. Each of the pieces that are about to be described are aspects of Christ’s work on our behalf. Notice we are to “put on” the whole armor. “Put on” is a fairly common command in the New Testament. A few of these instructions are:

• Put on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 13:14).
• Put on immortality (1 Cor 15:53).
• Put on the new self (Eph 4:24; Col 3:10).
• Put on the breastplate of righteousness (Eph 6:14).
• Put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience (Col 3:12).
• Put on love (Col 3:14).

Obviously, it is important for the well-dressed Christian to put on certain things but what does it mean to put them on? “Put on” gives the sense of sinking into a garment. My wife, Marcia, and I were talking about this very concept yesterday. She is speaking on the concept of how Christians are told to put certain things on in the near future. So, in her study of the verb she found that it meant something like slipping into a dress that was perfectly tailored to fit you. Take that idea and apply it to the command that Paul gives. We are in the midst of a great spiritual battle, whether we know it or not. Therefore, it is essential for us to slip into the “armor” that God has prepared for us. This armor will both protect us against the blows of the enemy but also give us a powerful weapon to inflict great damage against his forces.

Let’s put this together. We are involved in a cosmic battle that began in eternity past when Satan rose up against God and was consequently cast out of Heaven by the our victorious Savior. One day in the future, Satan will be finally cast into Hell and chained there eternally. However, for the time being, he wages war here on earth against God and the people of God. Therefore, we need to put on the full armor of God, that is, take up every piece and apply it to our lives, so that we may be fully protected and have the weapons that we need to win the battle. In fact, that is the great promise that we are given here. If we put on the full armor of God, we will be “able to stand against the schemes of the devil.” We never have to be defeated, overcome, or overwhelmed by temptation, setbacks, or difficulties. However, we must never believe that the power to win this battle is in us. Our source of power is the strength of Jesus as expressed to us in the Gospel, the full armor of God.

Today, I would encourage you to acknowledge that you are in a spiritual battle. Understand that your enemy is great and you need the strength of Christ to stand against the strategy of the evil one. Finally, ask God to teach you to put on the full armor that He has provided for you. In other words, submit yourself to Him and rely on Him to work in and through you to accomplish His will. Stand strong my friend.

2 Peter 3:18
Dennis Newkirk

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