«　WEEK 2　DAY 2　»

　　Eph. 6:10-11 Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil.

　　13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

　　The passage from Ephesians 1:1 to 6:9 completes the revelation on the positive side concerning the church for the fulfilling of God's eternal purpose. Yet on the negative side, that is, for dealing with God's enemy, something still remains to be covered. In the first five chapters the church is portrayed in many ways, on the positive side, to fulfill God's eternal purpose. On the negative side, the church is seen in chapter 6 as a warrior to defeat God's enemy, the devil. To do this, the church must put on the whole armor of God.

　　Not only must God's eternal purpose be fulfilled and the desire of Christ's heart be satisfied, but God's enemy must be defeated. For this, the church must be a warrior. Even in the Song of Songs we see that as the seeking one enjoys the Lord's presence, the fighting is going on. Therefore, we walk according to truth and by grace, we live in love and light, and we fight to subdue the satanic will. Our walk is for the fulfillment of God's purpose, our living is for the satisfaction of Christ, and our fighting is for the defeat of God's enemy. Hence, for these three things the church must be the new man, the bride, and the warrior. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 526-527, 529-530)

　　The Greek word rendered "empowered" in Ephesians 6:10 has the same root as the word power in 1:19. To deal with God's enemy, to fight against the evil force of darkness, we need to be empowered with the greatness of the power that raised up Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavens, far above all the evil spirits in the air. The fact that we are to be empowered in the Lord indicates that in the spiritual warfare against Satan and his evil kingdom, we can fight only in the Lord, not in ourselves. Whenever we are in ourselves, we are defeated.

　　The charge to be empowered implies the need to exercise our will. If we would be empowered for spiritual warfare, our will must be strong and exercised. We should not be like jellyfish, those who are weak-willed and vacillating. Actually, it is those with a strong will who are most able to repent.

　　The fact that we need to be empowered in the Lord indicates that we cannot fight the spiritual warfare in ourselves; we can fight only in the Lord and in the might of His strength. In 6:10 Paul refers to power, might, and strength. First, we are empowered by the power that raised Christ from among the dead and made Him to be the Head over all things. Then we know God's might and strength.

　　To fight the spiritual warfare, we need not only the power of the Lord, but also the armor of God [v. 11]. Our weapons do not avail, but God's armor, even the whole armor of God, does.

　　The whole armor of God is for the entire Body, not for any individual member of the Body. The church is a corporate warrior, and the believers together make up this unique warrior. Only the corporate warrior can wear the whole armor of God; no individual believer can. We must fight the spiritual warfare in the Body, not individually.

　　We need to put on the whole armor of God so that we "may be able to stand" (v. 11). In chapter 6 the word stand is crucial. In chapter 2 we sit with Christ in the heavenlies (v. 6), and in chapters 4 and 5 we walk in His Body on the earth (4:1, 17; 5:2, 8, 15). Then in chapter 6 we stand in His power in the heavenlies. To sit with Christ is to participate in all His accomplishments; to walk in His Body is to fulfill God's eternal purpose; and to stand in His power is to fight against God's enemy...[and] to stand against the stratagems of the devil,...the devil's evil plans. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 530-532)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 63