Ephesians 6:10-20 is the first passage I ever purposely memorized.  I did so because it seemed to me that when I read this passage the first thing in the morning, my day went much better than it did on days when I didn’t read the passage!  To this day, I still believe that as a soldier of Christ I need to put on my armour the first thing upon rising, after greeting the Lord.  So I set about memorizing it so it would become a part of me, as something that is as needful for my spirit as getting dressed is for my body!

It starts out:

 Eph 6:10-12:  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.

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places

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What does it mean to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might?  How do we do this?

Well, by contrast, if we are strong in our own might, we will always fail.

Gal 5:17  For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.

Our physical bodies will not allow enough strength for us to stand against the spiritual power of principalities and powers, against the wiles of the devil, against spiritual wickedness in high places!  We are talking about taking a spiritual stand against Satan here, and his evil fallen, fellow angels.  This verse also speaks of principalities, powers, and spiritual wickedness which could also be doctrines, beliefs, traditions, thought, motives and other spiritual things that are against the truth of God!

Our battle is not against the flesh! It is against the wiles of the devil, who is the embodiment of all evil.  He is the one who brought down the human race!  Without our Redeemer/Saviour we would have no chance in this battle at all!  Jesus Christ won the war, but we still must understand that we are in a constant spiritual battle while we are here on earth.  If we are going to win this battle, we need to be prepared with the provisions that have been provided for us by the One who won the war!

In the world there are different shades of black, but in the spiritual realm where we battle, there is only black and white, a stark delineation between good and evil.  If you are the Lord’s you are of the light; if you are not the Lord’s, you are of the darkness—plain and simple, with no in between at all.

We have all known people who do not believe on the Lord at all, yet they seem to be wonderful people.  Often, to our shame, they are kinder, sweeter people than some Christians we know or have known—but don’t be fooled!  Without faith in the Son of God for salvation, they are Christ’s enemy, because they are of the darkness, working in their own strength to do what they think is right for their own reasons.  And the Lord tells us they are without excuse before Him:

Rom 1:20-22  For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse

Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.  Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

It is not God who works in these unbelievers, but rather the power of principalities, powers, rulers of the darkness and spiritual wickedness (Eph. 2:2).  And, we should never forget that before we knew God we were in the very same place!  Darkness! We too were under the leadership of evil, unable not to sin, facing an eternal death, separated from all goodness.

We have tools now that we believe! We have information from the word of God, the facts about who our enemy is, and what we need to do to protect and defend ourselves against such a formidable foe…Satan and his minions!  And the first order given by our Commander (Jesus Christ) is to battle in His strength, in the power of His might!

So how do we do this?  How do we get His strength and power?

When I was first saved, I read Ephesians 6 every morning to provide myself with spiritual safety for the day. Perhaps I was simply a slower learner, but I probably read this passage a thousand times before the words finally provoked the deeper meaning to my understanding.  You see, I came out of the Catholic faith, a religion in which we would read and recite prayers as a sort of a good luck charm to keep ourselves spiritually safe.  After I was saved, I finally realized that it was not the reciting of these Ephesians 6 words like a talisman that was protecting me from the wiles of the devil.  It was the meaning and understanding and knowledge of what God was telling me and providing me through Him!

I was living in my strength when I said the prayer and blithely went on with my day, never once remembering the battle I was in!  Then I began my search on how to walk in His strength and power!  It was then that I learned that one of the first devices that Satan uses against us is to keep us ignorant!  Ignorant of what?

Ignorant of God’s Word!  He does not want us to be in His word because we grow and mature in His word!  Reading our Bibles! Satan would rather we were floundering, rarely reading and studying the word of God, forgetting that we are walking in Christ’s strength and righteousness!

We learn that God has provided us with everything we need for doing battle in His strength, however it is up to us to put the armor on! To the extent that we train with our armor in place, and use it in battle we can experience the power and strength of God working in us through what He has already given us!

Read here:

2Co 12:9 a And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. 

If we keep this in mind, we won’t be distressed and frustrated by our weakness.  In fact, we can glory in our infirmities and our weaknesses, because they make us call upon the Lord for His power and strength, which always, always comes by grace, and is sufficient for all of our needs!

2Co 12:9b  Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

It is when we draw near to God that we are strengthened with His strength!

Psa 105:4a Seek the LORD, and his strength:

We draw near to Him in courage (boldness) and in faith! David went out to face Goliath in courage and in faith!  We must similarly face our battles with courage, and with faith in God. The Word of God strengthens us and can be relied upon with utter confidence! The word of God is powerful and living!

Psa 119:28  My soul melteth for heaviness: strengthen thou me according unto thy word.

Heb_4:12  For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

As we spend time meditating on the word of God, studying to show ourselves approved unto God (2 Tim 2:15), we can be “strengthened in our inner man.” But make no mistake, when we feel powerful we can begin to drift away from the nourishment that we need in the Word and try to become strong in ourselves again…leaving us with no strength at all!  This is one of the reasons we are to pray without ceasing (1Th 5:17), and study of His Word.

Remember too, God not only strengthens us, He strengthens us so that we may help strengthen others!

As we lean on Him, He is faithful to strengthen us.  So get in the Word, prayerfully consider what God has to say to you, and you will be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might!