Ephesians 6:10 “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.”
As Paul’s letter to Ephesians begins to come to a conclusion, he is going to finish strong by teaching how a believer can be strong in the ongoing spiritual warfare they face daily. Paul knows believers have an enemy that the Apostle Peter described as a roaring lion who is seeking whom he may devour. Thus, to conclude, Paul lays out the equipment to do battle with our enemy as well as equipping the believer on how to use the equipment as they encounter our vicious enemy.
Going into this pivotal teaching on the section normally called the Armor of God he starts with an exhortation that provides the resources needed for implementing the exhortation. More than a pep talk or cliché about being strong, Paul INSTRUCTS the believer (brethren) to be STRONG by utilizing the strength and the power that comes from the Lord.
To handle spiritual warfare, we must have the Savior’s strength.
This idea of reliance on the Lord’s strength is not a knew concept. For instance (and I will only give a few as there are many verses):
Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
Ephesians 3:14 For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man,
Colossians 1:9 For this reason we do not cease to pray for you, and to ask that you may be…11 strengthened with all might, according to His glorious power, for all patience and longsuffering with joy;
Nehemiah prayed that God would strengthen his hands. Nehemiah 6:9
We have a resource to handle life – to handle the spiritual battles of life! “The whole secret of spiritual strength resides in union with the Lord.” (Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges) As He is in us and we are in Him and we abide in Him, we have the strength and the power to handle any temptation that the world, the flesh, or the devil presents to us.
We can be confident when having encounters with our enemy because of who is in us, and He who is in us is stronger than he that is in this world. (1 John 4:4)
Continue Strong in HIM,
And remember to daily DATE the Word