10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. (Ephesians 6:10-11)
Strength is the subject now in this portion of Ephesians. Paul writes about strengthening the inner man in Ephesians 3:16. And, it isn’t our strength, it’s the Lord’s strength in us, made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9). And, our strength is dependent upon us putting on armor. The nature of this armor, it’s all internal stuff.
In v.11, the word stand is used. When we’re in a battle and we’re standing, we’ve still got a chance to win. Standing is all-important in a fight. Paul uses the Greek word stenai, which is best translated "establish." Stenai was a military term used of a Roman soldier maintaining a critical and strategic position over a battlefield. The point of the believer's sanctification is this charge to stand guard over the victory that God has given to the church.
“Stenai” demands taking authority over the poor theology that most in the churches have garnered. Too much emphasis is placed upon the believer and not enough on the Lord. We spend more time pursuing other things, like our goodness, rather than the Lord, and, as a result, we end up with poor and shallow theology.
Recently, I had a believer tell me that he thought he lost his salvation. I ask why he thought this. He went on to describe the poor choices that he had been making and high God and the things of God were distant to Him. I said, "you have an awfully high view of yourself." He said, "actually, I don't." I told him that he did and the evidence was he thought he could undo by his bad behavior what God had done. When we think we can out sin God's grace, we have a terribly low view of God and His grace.
You will notice that all of the weaponry that Paul presents in Ephesians 6:14-20 is stuff that we must appropriate. These are weapons that we have been provided through the life, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. We do not produce and develop these weapons. We are responsible to appropriate them, and when we do not, we miss out on the battle. We also miss out on helping others in their faith walk with the Lord, which is largely what our sanctification is all about.
At the end of v.11, Paul mentions the Devil's schemes. Among others, one prominent scheme of the Devil is "distractions." The Devil knows that if he can distract us from what is most important, knowing God and making Him known to others, he can render us useless. I trust that you are giving your heart to the Lord on a daily basis. When you do this, He will give to you His heart for Himself and for others. This will render the purpose for your sanctification which is helping others to know the Lord for who He is rather than what we think He is, like us.
