Ephesians Study 15:

The Power of the Lord

Introduction

Hello again to everyone who is joining me today. My name is Sarah Bradbury, and this is Garden to Glory: The Mystery of God.

You are listening to the fifteenth and last installment in our study on the book of Ephesians. In our last two studies, we read Paul’s instructions for the ways in which being one with Christ transforms the institutions and practices of power and authority in the household positions of the culture at that time.

We saw how power in relationships should be yielded to each other, and that true honor looks like self-sacrifice in submission to one another because of Jesus.

Today, as we read the final verses of Ephesians, Paul talks about a different type of power that we as believers should cling to instead of giving up. It is the power of the Lord.

There is a lot to cover in this last section, so I will break up the reading of this passage into smaller chunks for us to discuss.

We will begin with Ephesians 6:10:

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.

What does it mean to be strong in the power of the Lord?

Worldly Power

In the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s day, visible success in life was seen as proof that a person, family, political party, or nation was blessed by the gods. It was part of their religious conviction that the gods granted favor to those who showed the virtues of manliness, courage, valor, and character, especially in battle. It was a sign not only of ability, but also of worth and morality.

We can see a similar line of thought today when we look at “prosperity gospel” churches. In these spaces, the emphasis is typically not on military power. Yet these churches preach that if you have enough faith, you will be healed, have money, and all things will go well for you. 

They say that if you aren’t experiencing physical blessings, you are not blessed by God. And if you are not blessed by God, it is because of a moral failing on your part – in this case a lack of faith.

Christian nationalism has a similar underlying thought process. The idea here is that if we can use power to force everyone to conform to the Ten Commandments or some other list of laws; pledge our allegiance to God, country, or our president; and keep out everyone who disagrees with us, then we will be blessed as a nation. God will grant us freedom, prosperity, and military strength as a sign of His approval of our worth.

In fact, Christian nationalism in America contends that these are the very reasons why America has been so successful financially and militarily in the past.

It makes sense, doesn’t it? We believe in a just God. We believe in a God who answers prayers. We believe in a God who is in control of all things. Wouldn’t we expect that the people who honor God and follow His commands would experience the greatest blessings in life?

This is also the concept that gets to the heart of the doubts many people have about God’s existence and goodness. If God exists, why do bad things happen to good people?

Yet Jesus says this in His famous Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5:3-12:

God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

“Survival of the fittest.” “Might makes right.” These were the laws that governed the world of Paul’s day. This is what built the rules of human society. To have physical strength, military power, and unquestioning submission of all those under you was proof of your morality and divine approval in the ancient world and in many places even today.

This concept was incorporated in the governing laws of the Greco-Roman world and in the worship of the ancient Roman gods. These values were clear in the secular household codes we learned about in our previous studies. They were the obvious conclusions that a rational person would have by examining the world around them.

The Invisible Power of Jesus

Yet Jesus turned all these principles on their heads. He left his throne to come to Earth. He identified with the weakest and lowliest. His birth was announced to the unclean outcasts of society – shepherds. He spent His life sitting and eating with sinners and His death hanging next to convicted felons on a cross. Jesus purposely identified with and walked with the weak, not the strong.

Philippians 2:6-8 describes Jesus this way:

Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to.

Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.

When He appeared in human form, He humbled Himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.

Is this the God we want to follow? A God who died on a cross? Wouldn’t we rather win and dominate than give ourselves up to dishonorable deaths? Yet Jesus shows us that dying on a cross is what the pathway to true honor, glory, and power looks like.

Philippians 2:9-11 tells us the results of Jesus’ shameful death on the cross. It says:

Therefore, God elevated Him to the place of highest honor and gave Him the name above all other names, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

If we were to evaluate the life of Jesus and we stopped at His death on a cross, His life looks like failure. Those who mocked Him saying, “You saved others but can’t save yourself!” would be right.

This would not be a victorious example to follow. Like the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:19:

If our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

Paul continues to discuss what it would mean for us if we could not count on our resurrection in 1 Corinthians 15:30-32:

And why should we ourselves risk our lives hour by hour? For I swear, dear brothers and sisters, that I face death daily. This is as certain as my pride in what Christ Jesus our Lord has done in you. And what value was there in fighting wild beasts – those people of Ephesus – if there will be no resurrection from the dead? And if there is no resurrection, “Let’s feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!”

And so we see that our success is not found in the visible circumstances that we find in our lives now. Rather, like Jesus, our lives here are often filled with suffering. We look like failures who die in shame.

Yet our lives are successful. It’s just that those successes are generally invisible to us. Colossians 3:3-4 tells us:

For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all His glory.

To be “strong in the Lord and in His mighty power” does not follow any recipe of power and success that we would imagine for ourselves. In Luke 9:23-24, we read Jesus’ instructions on how to follow Him:

Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it.

Our lives are hidden in Christ, which looks like death in this world. This is precisely why 1 Corinthians 1:18 says:

The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God.

This is the power we are supposed to be strong in. This is why Paul says in Ephesians 6:10-12:

A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

The mighty power of God is not meant to be used against people made of flesh and blood. People are not our enemies; God died to save them! Even those who follow after Satan are victims of his deceitful and destructive ways. They are also not our enemies; they are the ones we are trying to save from the clutches of evil. Rather, our enemies are invisible to us. They are the powers of the unseen world.

Invisible Enemies

These rulers, authorities, powers and spirits remain mysterious to us who cannot physically see them, but they are the beings that seek to destroy us and all people in this world. 

They are the soldiers of the devil’s army, and they follow his attack plan. Through fear, lies, and pain, they seek to manipulate people to choose death and destruction.

These unseen powers are at work in and around people, but we – empowered by the Holy Spirit – fight this unseen battle for the souls of those around us.

This is why in John 18:36, Jesus said this at His trial:

Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, My followers would fight to keep Me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But My Kingdom is not of this world.”

I don’t know about you, but I think it would be a whole lot simpler to fight another person than to take on the unseen powers in the world. Can’t I just throw a punch at someone I can see? 

I think this is a temptation we all face – seen things are easier to comprehend. I feel for Peter taking his sword out in the garden of Gethsemane. Cutting off a soldier’s ear makes a lot more sense than standing by while Jesus is crucified!

Yet we read what happens when Peter tries to fight the earthly battle instead of the heavenly one in Matthew 16:21-26. It says:

From then on Jesus began to tell His disciples plainly that it was necessary for Him to go to Jerusalem, and that He would suffer many terrible things at the hands of the elders, the leading priests, and the teachers of religious law. He would be killed, but on the third day He would be raised from the dead.

But Peter took him aside and began to reprimand Him for saying such things. “Heaven forbid, Lord,” he said. “This will never happen to you!”

Jesus turned to Peter and said, “Get away from Me, Satan! You are a dangerous trap to Me. You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow Me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for My sake, you will save it. And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?

Peter wanted to spare Jesus from the pain, sorrow, and humiliation of the cross, but when Peter suggested this idea to Jesus, He responded by calling him Satan! Doesn’t this seem a little backwards? If someone told me they didn’t want me to suffer and die, I’d consider them a friend, not an enemy! How does this make Peter like Satan?

Yet when we read about Satan’s temptation of Jesus in Matthew, we see that he tempted Jesus with the very same ideas. Satan used the earthly trials that Jesus was set to endure to tempt Him to test and doubt God’s goodness toward Him. He told Jesus He should use His power to avoid suffering. He even offered Jesus a path to power in the world without having to die on the cross.

The well-intentioned love of Peter and the determinedly-evil mind of Satan arrived at the same advice for Jesus. How is that possible? The answer is found in the second half of Jesus’ response to Peter’s bold reprimand. Jesus said to Peter, “You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s.”

We do the same thing when our friends come to us with trials and we respond with assurances that praying will take those trials away. We also do this to ourselves and others when the path that seems like the right thing to do feels too hard. We reason that the difficulty is a sign that we are not called to this particular ministry and this task is not God’s will for us.

Yet in John 12:27-33, we read these words of Jesus as He spoke of the impending cross:

“Now My soul is deeply troubled. Should I pray, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But this is the very reason I came! Father, bring glory to Your name.”

Then a voice spoke from heaven, saying, “I have already brought glory to My name, and I will do so again.” When the crowd heard the voice, some thought it was thunder, while others declared an angel had spoken to Him.

Then Jesus told them, “The voice was for your benefit, not Mine. The time for judging this world has come, when Satan, the ruler of this world, will be cast out. And when I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to Myself.” He said this to indicate how He was going to die.

How could Jesus ask to be spared from the very purpose He was sent to accomplish? Jesus wanted God’s plan more than His comfort. He died knowing that it was the way to conquer death for us all. We, too, have hard things in this life that we are meant to accomplish even though we would rather hide from them.

Jesus prayed in Gethsemane for God to remove this trial from Him, but He did so with a caveat. If it was possible for God to complete His plan without Jesus’ suffering, Jesus wanted that escape. However, faith in God understands that our suffering in faith is the means God uses to defeat evil for all of eternity. 

In 2 Corinthians 12:7b-10, Paul says:

So to keep me from becoming proud, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger from Satan to torment me and keep me from becoming proud.

Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. Each time He said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” 

So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

So, in this battle against the evil, invisible powers of the world, how do we stand firm in our weaknesses in order to allow the power of Christ to work through us?

The Armor of God

Ephesians 6:13-17 says:

Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. Put on salvation as your helmet, and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

Let’s break down these items of armor a little bit.

1. The belt of truth. 

In a full suit of armor at this time, the belt would have been used to hold the breastplate, or body armor, onto the body. It also would likely contain a sheath of some sort to hold a sword.

Without the belt, the rest of the ensemble would simply not hold together. Truth in the life of the believer is the same way. Without truth, we can’t make sense of anything else. We can’t withstand the evil powers of this world without knowing what reality is. This is especially important when you consider that the devil’s primary weapon against humanity has always been lies. 

Truth gives us the ability to use all the other aspects of the armor of God. It holds the armor together.

2. The body armor of God’s righteousness.

Body armor protects vital organs. It keeps the enemy from landing critical blows. Similarly, the righteousness of Jesus is essential to the spiritual life of a believer. It provides the core protection of our spiritual life.

In Revelation 12:10-12, we read:

Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens,“It has come at last – salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of His Christ.

For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth – the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony. And they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die.

Therefore, rejoice, O heavens! And you who live in the heavens, rejoice! But terror will come on the earth and the sea, for the devil has come down to you in great anger, knowing that he has little time.”

Satan was the accuser of all those who belong to Jesus. He essentially was a lawyer in the court of Heaven. The same enemy that set out to destroy humanity by tempting Adam and Eve to doubt God also set out to destroy us by making the case that we were unworthy of God’s love. We get a glimpse of this when we read the first chapter of the book of Job.

The problem was, Satan was right. We were unworthy of God’s love, but God loved us anyway. Jesus came to Earth to die. He did this to take away the guilt that our sinfulness had brought and to free us from our slavery to death.

In Colossians 2:13-15, we read:

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for He forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, He disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by His victory over them on the cross.

Because of the death of Jesus, Satan no longer has the power to accuse us of anything. He has lost his power and was thrown out of Heaven. Whatever evil we have done is covered by the blood of the Lamb, as we read in Ephesians 1:3-4:

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. Even before He made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in His eyes.

Because we have the body armor of Christ’s righteousness, the evil powers in this world have been disarmed. They cannot deal a deathly blow to us. We are protected and covered by the righteousness of Jesus.

The belt of truth gives us this knowledge. It allows us to hold that righteousness in place. This way, we won’t believe the lies that we can somehow be separated from the love of God. Romans 8:35-37 tells us:

Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death? 

(As the Scriptures say, “For Your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.

3. The shoes of peace from the Good News.

Shoes are made to protect your feet as you advance. They signify readiness and mobility. In battle, physically advancing is necessary to overtake the territory of the enemy. It shows you are winning.

In spiritual warfare, being ready to share the peace of the Gospel is the way we take over the territory of the enemy. People – flesh and blood – are not our enemies; they are the ground we are fighting for! We do this by extending God’s peace. We share the good news that Jesus is for everyone!

By doing this, we are destroying the occupation of the devil and his angels. We are taking back the territory they have stolen. We are negating the damage they have created, and we are recruiting more forces to fight against them.

The Gospel of peace with God is one of the few pieces of armor that is used offensively. It causes us to gain ground, not just hold our place.

4. The shield of faith.

In this time period, a shield was used to block arrows. It was the first line of defense in the armor. If a blow hit the breast plate, you’d be protected, but you would still feel the force of that blow. However, when blocked by a shield, the hits wouldn’t touch you personally at all.

The shield of faith is what we use to block the fiery arrows of the devil. Whatever Satan throws at you can be extinguished by believing that God is good and is for you.

Satan tempted Eve in the garden by causing her to question if God really loved her. He made her doubt His goodness. Similarly, Satan tempted Jesus by trying to offer reward without suffering. The implication was that God was keeping good away from them both.

By keeping faith that God is loving, powerful, and for us, we strip the power of every attack from Satan, and his flames cannot touch us.

5. The helmet of salvation.

This piece is similar to the body armor of righteousness. The helmet protects a soldier’s head. This is obviously a very important body part and necessary to someone’s survival!

It’s because of Christ’s righteousness that we have salvation, but our salvation is the application of that righteousness to ourselves. We are not in the battle if we haven’t been saved. We need our helmet to be useful in the fight.

6. The sword of the Spirit.

The last item of the armor of God is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. While the shoes of the Gospel help us take territory from the enemy, it is the sword of the spirit that is our only offensive weapon.

I’m sure I don’t have to explain to you that a sword is sharp. It makes deep and precise cuts to the person in its path. With the word of God, we can strike evil. We can use the Bible to destroy lies. We can dismantle any moral excuse someone might concoct for the misuse of power or the oppression of others.

Like Hebrews 4:12 says:

For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 

The word of God is a powerful sword. It can cut away the things that hide our sin.

Like all weapons, this one requires a warning. In the hands of someone skilled, a knife is a powerful tool, but it’s also dangerous. A sword is meant to be wielded against the enemy, but if you accidentally bump it, it will cut you too.

Also, if someone grabs your sword and turns it on you, it will be just as sharp in your direction as it was in theirs. The sword of the Spirit is the same way. If we wield it correctly, it will cut down the enemy. But if we are careless with the Bible, we can injure the people of God. Satan himself used scripture in his temptation of Jesus on Earth. 

The Bible is a sharp sword. It is made to attack the unseen enemies, but people sometimes use it to attack God’s people instead.

If you’ve ever wondered why two people can give completely opposite instructions and both claim the Bible as the grounds for their supposedly correct stance, you will understand what I mean.

The Bible is a large and complicated book. At times, the statements made in it can even be contradictory on the surface. The fact that it was written 2,000 years ago in different languages than most of us are reading it in can also complicate our understanding substantially. 

It’s important that we look at the big picture of Scripture. Much damage has been done by Christians who have dogmatically thrown verses at each other without putting things into the overall perspective of the full instruction of God.

If someone comes at you with an attack from Scripture, use the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the helmet of salvation, and the shield of faith to block those blows. You can counter the misuse of the Bible with a fuller understanding of the entirety of the word of God.

Praying in the Spirit

Paul ends his teaching on spiritual warfare with a final instruction to pray. Ephesians 6:18-20 says:

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for Him, as I should.

The fact that we prepare ourselves with God’s armor does not negate our dependence on God working through prayer. Notice as well from Paul’s prayer requests for himself that fighting against the unseen powers of the world still resulted in the seen – and immensely felt – consequences of battle.

Paul was in chains. He was suffering for the message that he proclaimed. Yet his request was that he would continue to speak boldly.

The power of God is not the earthly power of guns and oppression. It is the power of words and the actions of love that change hearts. This is precisely the type of power we have seen in the lives of Christians who have followed after Jesus.

Before Jesus died on the cross, there was no such thing as being a martyr for a cause. The ideas of rooting for the underdog, valuing peaceful protest, seeking to provide for the needs of the poor and disabled, and recognizing value in all human life regardless of what tangible societal contributions they can make are distinctly Christian values. 

These ideas sprung from the life and influence of Jesus. Unlike the structures of power and empire that humans spread through terror and military conquests, the revolutionary power of Jesus is spread through peace, love, and boldness in preaching. 

We should pray for the advancement of the kingdom of God on Earth. Pray for boldness for believers to spread the message of God’s peace and love.

Final Notes

Ephesians 6:21-22 has some personal information from Paul that doesn’t require a great deal of explanation, but we will read it just because it is there. It says:

To bring you up to date, Tychicus will give you a full report about what I am doing and how I am getting along. He is a beloved brother and faithful helper in the Lord’s work. I have sent him to you for this very purpose – to let you know how we are doing and to encourage you.

And finally, I will send you away from this final study in the book of Ephesians with the last two verses in this book. Ephesians 6:23-24 says:

Peace be with you, dear brothers and sisters, and may God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you love with faithfulness. May God’s grace be eternally upon all who love our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen, and thank you all for exploring Ephesians with me.