“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might,” Ephesians 6:10
We turn from the topic of submission to each other to soldiering in the Spirit as we resist the devil and his agents. Both our submission and our soldiering are sustained by the grace and power of the Holy Spirit. The life that Paul has been setting forth to the people of Ephesus since the beginning of this epistle, is one that cannot be lived without encountering great conflict. There is a protracted conflict to be endured by believers between their regeneration and their entrance into heaven. That conflict is very real, it is most arduous and difficult and very dangerous. There have been no true believers but who have suffered grievous wounds and injuries in this conflict. It is a conflict in which many who are not true believers have fallen never to rise again. It is easily understood by us all how that ignorance of this warfare, of the enemy and of the appropriate means of defence, will result in great harm and hurt. It is to combat this ignorance that Paul now writes. We will consider verse 10 as an introduction to this last section of the epistle.
I. KNOWING OUR DUTY IS NOT ENOUGH, WE MUST BE ACQUAINTED WITH THE MEANS OF CARRYING IT OUT.
Ignorance is a great troubler of God’s people, Rom 7:18-24. Paul takes up what, if not the most important part of his instruction, certainly a most vital aspect of it, in the verses that remain. To know WHAT but not HOW is an awful dilemma.
1. Here, Paul moves to complete his instruction.
Finally. No minister’s duty has been completed until the issue of the conflict with sin and Satan have been properly dealt with. He must forewarn and forearm his people. Acts 20:28-31.
2. Though acting as an instructor in war, Paul uses tender terms.
“My brethren.” There is nothing of man’s army about this scene. No warfare was half so vital, or a fraction as dangerous as this warfare yet there is nothing of the harshness of the world’s method of instruction here.
3. Paul send the Ephesians to Christ for help in this warfare.
It is to the Lord He directs them. Never let that be forgotten. It is not by seeking to imitate other men that we gain the victory over our spiritual enemies. It is looking to Christ alone.
II. WE MUST BECOME STRONG.
“Finally, my brethren, be strong . .”
1. Because there is a battle to fight.
How often the terms of war are linked with the Christian’s pilgrimage. The Christian is called a soldier and our Redeemer is called the Captain of our salvation. The Christian is engaged in a battle at all times. He is engaged in a conflict on many fronts.
There is the battle within against our sinful nature -- But I see another law in my members . . . Romans 7:23, I Corinthians 9:26-27, I Timothy 6:12, II Timothy 4:7, James 4:1, I Peter 2:11. What a war this is! It is sufficient to occupy a thousand armies!
There is the battle without against the devil and his agents.
Verse 12, I Peter 5:8, Revelation 12:17, Revelation 13:7. It is an unceasing warfare in which no quarter may be sought or given. The most serious consequences result from defeat in this warfare. Honour has been lost; purity has been lost, families have been lost; thrones have been lost; life’s toils and labours have been lost; lives have been lost; eternal rewards have been lost. We must not allow our guard to fall or our vigilance to slack.
It is a warfare of which we need not be ashamed.
Rather, wear your battle scars with honour, Galatians 6:17.