Problems are for Solving

Yesterday I posted about the glorious war that the Christian has been called to fight. This war doesn’t look like the wars we see, though it is just as difficult and dangerous for the combatants. Lord willing, over the next few days I’m going to write a series of posts based on Ephesians chapter 6, dealing with our fighting of the war.

Paul, having just finished an extensive section on the Christian walk including a description of various parts of the social order (husbands and wives, workers and masters, children and parents) , turns back to the heavenly perspective with which he began in chapter 1. He wants us to see the Christian walk from God’s perspective—as a war. This is the conclusion to his letter to the Ephesians, his final encouragement to them as they walk with the Savior.

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.
(Ephesians 6:10)

I don’t usually use the King James, but because of the poetic flow of this section I like the way the KJV puts the passage. The added benefit is that the King James, being older English, has distinctive pronouns for singular and plural that have fallen away in modern usage, giving a clearer picture of the original.

Finally: “because of all that I’ve written so far, I want to end here” so to speak. And the apostle goes with the familial “brethren” calling to attention the family ties that we all share in Christ. This is not intended to exclude the “sisters” of the Ephesian church, but to emphasize the family relationship.

The command? Be strong. But not in your own strength—but in Christ. In the power of the might of the Savior.

So we’re going to fight this war. We must be strong. But we can’t. We need the Lord, and that’s where Paul’s been headed the whole time. All the examples of who we are in Christ and what Christ has done that he expounded in chapters 1-3: that’s to point us to Christ. The commands of chapters 4-6: to point us to Christ. We need Him and can’t do this on our own.

We need the power of His might.

The call is to rise up and stand—to be strong—but only to be strong in Christ. Because our strength fails and His never does. So before we ever take up the weapons of the war, before we get to know our enemy, we must stand up and be strong in Christ, and depend upon Him for everything. So have this attitude as you go to war: be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.