Ephesians 6:10-11

Around AD 60-62, the apostle Paul was under house arrest in Rome. According to Acts 28:16, he was permitted to stay by himself with a soldier who guarded him. He could receive visitors and write letters, but he could not leave freely.

During this time, Paul writes to the Ephesian church. This is a church he spent three years establishing, and he ends his letter with this urgent message: You are in a war. Put on God's armor.

Paul gave this message to the Ephesian believers who were experiencing spiritual warfare. Ephesus was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire. It was a major commercial center and the center of worship for the goddess Artemis. The temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

Acts 19 records what happened when Paul came to Ephesus. He preached the gospel, and God worked special miracles through him. Evil spirits went out of people. But then some Jewish exorcists tried to use Jesus' name like a magic formula. The evil spirit answered: "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?" Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and they fled naked and wounded.

This terrified the whole city. Many who practiced magical arts brought their books together and burned them publicly. The value was fifty thousand pieces of silver, about 50,000 days' wages. They burned it all because they had encountered real spiritual power.

But the opposition intensified. The silversmiths who made shrines for Artemis saw their business collapsing. A riot erupted. For two hours, the crowd shouted "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" Behind the silversmiths, behind the riot, were spiritual forces fighting to keep their territory. But the gospel was winning.

Now, about eight years later, Paul writes to these same believers from Rome. They know spiritual warfare. They have lived it. They have seen demonic power broken and the gospel triumph.

And Paul's final instruction is this: The war is not over. Keep fighting. Put on the armor.

"Be strong in the Lord" (ἐνδυναμοῦσθε ἐν κυρίῳ / endynamousthe en kyriō)

The Greek word endynamousthe is passive imperative, meaning "let yourself be strengthened" or "receive strength." You do not generate this strength. God gives it. You remain in the Lord, and His power flows into you. This is the same power that raised Jesus from the dead.

"Put on the whole armor of God" (ἐνδύσασθε τὴν πανοπλίαν τοῦ θεοῦ / endysasthe tēn panoplian tou theou)

The Greek word endysasthe means to clothe yourself, to put on. The word panoplian means full armor, complete equipment. This is military language. God provides the armor. You put it on. Not some of it. All of it.

"The wiles of the devil" (τὰς μεθοδείας τοῦ διαβόλου / tas methodeias tou diabolou)

The Greek word methodeias (where we get "method") means schemes, strategies, craftiness. The word diabolou means accuser, slanderer. The devil has calculated strategies to destroy believers. These are not random attacks but methodical warfare.

I declare that the words of Ephesians 6:10-11 are true in my life.

• • I am strong not in myself but in the Lord.
• • God's power makes me strong as I receive His strength.
• • I put on the whole armor of God.
• • My battle is not against people but against spiritual forces.

God,

I am in spiritual warfare right now. I cannot win with my own strength. But I believe Your promise that I can be strong in the Lord and in the strength of Your might.

Help me to see that the people and situations troubling me are not my real enemies. The real battle is against spiritual forces of wickedness. Keep me from hating people and help me to discern the spiritual warfare behind what I see.

Every morning, help me to put on Your full armor. Gird me with truth. Protect my heart with righteousness. Give me firm footing through the gospel. Shield me with faith. Guard my mind with salvation. Let me wield Your Word. And keep me praying without ceasing.

When I feel weak, remind me that You make me strong. When I focus on visible problems, remind me the real battle is invisible. When I try to fight alone, remind me I fight with the body of Christ.

Thank You that the power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power working in me.

In Jesus' name I pray,
Amen.