Ephesians 6:10-18 Be Strong
Ephesians 6:10-18 (Evangelical Heritage Version)
10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13For this reason, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to take a stand on the evil day and, after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness fastened in place, 15and with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace tied to your feet like sandals. 16At all times hold up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. 17Also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18At every opportunity, pray in the Spirit with every kind of prayer and petition. Stay alert for the same reason, always persevering in your intercession for all the saints.
Be Strong
I.
Grizzled veterans, they were. Slash marks covered their breastplates. Dents dotted their helmets. Deep gashes graced the leather covering their shields. Nicks in their swords gave mute evidence of the recent ring of steel on steel as they parried what would otherwise have been a lethal blow.
He had plenty of time to notice it all. Paul was, after all, their prisoner. To these vets on a rotation back from the war zone, Paul didn’t seem to be much of a threat. As they guarded they took out the sharpening stone to remove the nicks and put a keener edge on their swords before the next deployment.
Tales of battle might not have come up while just Paul was sitting there, but at the shift changes the guards would talk with one another. Dents in their armor and scars on their bodies would punctuate the loss of comrades in arms that came with the near misses they, themselves, experienced.
War is not pretty. War is brutal. Soldiers have to be strong, even amid chaos. Sometimes as they spoke at shift changes, perhaps one of them admitted how terrifying it had been.
Writing his Letter to the Ephesians, Paul could look over at the soldier guarding him. Remembering the stories he had overheard and seeing the soldier’s uniform provided a fitting illustration to living a Christian life.
Be strong. So easy to say; not so easy to do. Life in general comes with so many challenges. You know the familiar ones: difficult bosses or coworkers, disobedient children, making the budget stretch when finances are tight, anxiety over any one of a thousand things.
The regular challenges of life are not petty or insignificant. They have to be dealt with. So much attention and energy goes into dealing with those things that it leaves you spent; tired, not strong; exhausted; ready to call it quits.
Right when you are feeling weak and weary and spent from the struggle of daily life, you hear Paul say, “Be strong.”
Already not feeling strong, you hear the follow-up to “be strong.” “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 6:12, EHV).
Those daily struggles of life are only the beginning of your struggle. Those things don’t even merit a mention. The real struggle, says Paul, is a spiritual one. It isn’t flesh and blood, it’s this scary bunch of stuff that threatens your faith.
“Stand against the schemes of the Devil.” (Ephesians 6:11, EHV).
“The flaming arrows of the Evil One” (Ephesians 6:16, EHV).
Nothing has changed since Adam and Eve. The Devil has been lying and scheming and shooting flaming arrows from the very beginning. He keeps on twisting the truth, filling you with uncertainty, just as he did with them. Do you really have to fear, love, and trust in God above all things? Won’t God understand if sometimes you misuse his Name? Can’t you set aside God’s Word for a little while and not worry about believing it or living it? Do you really have to be content with what you have? Are those in authority worthy of your obedience? Do hurtful words really count as hurting or harming your neighbor?
II.
Be strong for the spiritual struggle against Satan and powerful forces of evil. Perhaps you need some spiritual barbells. Maybe a spiritual coach could set up a training program. Just like training to run a marathon, increase the load gradually until you are ready for the big event.
In today’s Gospel a man from the crowd tells Jesus that he had brought his son to the disciples. The son had been possessed by an evil spirit, and he asked the disciples to drive it out.
This was nothing new to the disciples. They had seen Jesus drive out demons many times. They themselves had driven out demons on the mission trip when they had been sent out. They had been training. They had trained hard.
The Devil uses his schemes and flaming arrows to convince you that you have trained hard. You can stand on your own. When you believe him, you will experience the same thing the disciples did.
They failed.
Then Jesus came into the picture. With no problem Jesus dispatched the evil spirit that had proven too much for the disciples.
After it was done, the disciples asked Jesus why they had failed. “He said to them, ‘This kind cannot be driven out, except by prayer and fasting’” (Mark 9:29, EHV). Fasting and prayer would have displayed their simple faith in God. Instead of relying on God, they had depended on themselves and their own abilities.
Be strong. The failure of the disciples might make you realize you have been weak, rather than strong.
III.
“Be strong” is one word in the Greek. It’s an imperative—a command. But it’s in the passive voice. When something is in the passive voice it is something that happens to you, not something you actually do. That means that what Paul is really saying is: “be strengthened.” “Be strong” takes on a whole new meaning when it is something done to you.
Of course, Paul doesn’t leave “be strong” hanging out there by itself. “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” (Ephesians 6:10, EHV). The Lord Jesus and his almighty power is what will strengthen you for the spiritual battle that will rage against you day after day.
There are schemes and flaming arrows. All these spiritual forces of evil are lined up against us. Satan is chief among our enemies. Be strong? In the face of Satan himself?
“For this reason, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to take a stand on the evil day and, after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:13, EHV). Relying on your own reason or strength won’t get you very far with Satan. Since he’s been lying and scheming and shooting flaming arrows from the beginning, he knows every trick in the book. There is only one way to take a stand: use the armor of God. Don’t just use bits and pieces of it—don’t try to be selective—use it all.
“Stand, then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness fastened in place, 15and with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace tied to your feet like sandals” (Ephesians 6:14-15, EHV). Make sure you have a bunch of protective gear.
One of Satan’s favorite lies comes when you despair in weakness. After you realize your failure to be strong on your own, he tries to convince you that God doesn’t love you. But the objective truth of God counters every lie of Satan. Jesus’ death on the cross was sufficient to pay for every sin, even the sins of the worst criminals. The Holy Spirit has given you faith in what Jesus has done. The sandals of the gospel of peace keep us on firm footing as Satan continues his attacks; they remind us that the righteousness of God is ours by faith and protects us from all the Devil’s attacks.
“At all times hold up the shield of faith, with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the Evil One. 17Also take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God” (Ephesians 6:16-17, EHV).
Flaming arrows could be snuffed out by the soldier’s leather shield soaked in water. Satan’s flaming arrows of doubt and confusion are no match to a faith that is regularly strengthened and nourished by the Word of God. The head is vulnerable to attack, especially when you consider Satan’s main weapon of deceit. Wear the helmet of salvation to protect you from all his deceit.
“One little word can fell him.” So said Luther in his famous Reformation hymn. Fight back against Satan’s attacks the same way Jesus did when the Devil was tempting him in the wilderness—with the Word of God. Counter the Devil’s lies with the unchanging truth God has given you in his Word.
IV.
“At every opportunity, pray in the Spirit with every kind of prayer and petition. Stay alert for the same reason, always persevering in your intercession for all the saints” (Ephesians 6:18, EHV).
Prayer is important. Luther used to say that he needed lots of prayer and Bible study time or he wouldn’t complete everything that needed to be done. Bring your prayers and petitions to God—all kinds of prayers and petitions. Pray for God’s help with your coworkers and family. Pray for God to intervene in your finances and health. But don’t forget the model of the Lord’s Prayer; most of it deals with spiritual things. Concentrate your prayers on the battle against Satan and his spiritual forces of evil. Pray that God would help you to use his full armor efficiently and effectively.
Don’t forget to pray also for others. They face the same eternal struggle you do. Of course pray that those who don’t know Jesus would come to learn of him and depend on him to be strong—to be strengthened. Pray also for those who are weak in their faith and struggling; pray that they would put on the full armor of God to make their stand.
Be strong—be strengthened. Whether you are a grizzled veteran in the war that is Christian life or new to the faith, there will be dents and dings and gashes and nicks in your armor from the devil’s attacks. Stay strong in your faith always. Pray in the Spirit for yourself and for all the saints as we continue in this battle until the Lord Jesus returns. Amen.