Ephesians 6:10-12

CRITICAL AND EXPLANATORY NOTES

Ephesians 6:10. Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.—In Ephesians 1:19 the phrase “power of His might” is reversed. See note there.

Ephesians 6:11. The whole armour.—“The panoply.” “A complete suit of armour.” The wiles of the devil.—A craftily designed plan of attack.

Ephesians 6:12. For we wrestle.—We need not suppose a transference of the metaphor. It may describe the hand-to-hand fight in which equally matched opponents refuse to back an inch. Not against flesh and blood.—With “vulnerable crests” (Macbeth). When ghostly combatants appear, unassailable, and with powers of injury against which we are helpless, we may well say:

“Take any shape but that, and my firm nerves
Shall never tremble.”

MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Ephesians 6:10

The Christian Warfare—

I. Can be fought only with divine help.—“Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10). The apostle has dwelt like one enraptured on the sublime constitution and glorious destiny of the Church; now he deals with the formidable foes with which the Church will have to contend. He sees the evil forces gathering, and hears the clash of arms among the approaching enemies. He warns believers that unaided they will be powerless in the strife and must suffer defeat. They are secure and will be victorious only as they make the strength of God their own. The strength of the general, in other hosts, lies in his troops; he flies, as a great commander once said, upon their wings; if their feathers be clipped, their power broken, he is lost. But in the Christian army the strength of every saint lies in the Lord of hosts. God can overcome His enemies without their hands; but they cannot even defend themselves without His arm. Man is impotent without the strength of God. If the ship, launched, rigged, and with her sails spread, cannot stir till the wind fills them, much less can the timber in the carpenter’s yard hew and frame itself into a ship. Power to contend with the spiritual foes must come from God.

II. Involves a fierce conflict with the powers of evil.—

1. A conflict, not with men, but with unseen spiritual enemies. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities” (Ephesians 6:12). The apostle brings out in bold relief the terrible foes they are summoned to encounter.

(1) As to their position. They are no subalterns, but foes of mighty rank, the nobility and chieftains of the spirit-world.

(2) Their office. Their domain is this darkness in which they exercise imperial sway.

(3) Their essence. They are not encumbered with an animal frame, but are spirits.

(4) Their character. They are evil—their appetite for evil only exceeds their capacity for producing it (Eadie). The Church is engaged in a double conflict—of the flesh and of the spirit. We are assailed with the temptations of the world of sense, and with seductions of error that attack us in the world of mind; and in both spheres we have to contend with the subtle influences set in motion by the rulers of the darkness of this world. Our foes invade “the high places” of our faith and hope, and would rob us of our heaven.

2. A conflict with unseen spiritual enemies led by an astute and subtle commander.—“That ye may be able to withstand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). The New Testament assumes the personality of Satan. This belief runs counter to modern thought, governed as it is by the tendency to depersonalise existence. The conception of evil spirits given us in the Bible is treated as an obsolete superstition; and the name of the evil one with multitudes serves only to point a profane or careless jest. To Jesus Christ, Satan was no figure of speech, but a thinking and active being, of whose presence and influence He saw tokens everywhere in this evil world. Satan’s empire is ruled with a settled policy, and his warfare carried on with a system of strategy which takes advantage of every opening for attack. The manifold combinations of error, the various arts of seduction and temptation, the ten thousand forms of the deceit of unrighteousness constitute “the wiles of the devil.” Satan is no longer the God of this world since Christianity lose to its ascendant. The manifestations of demonism are, at least in Christian lands, vastly less conspicuous than in the first age of the Church. But they are more bold than wise who deny their existence, and who profess to explain all occult phenomena and phrenetic moral aberrations by physical causes (Findlay).

III. Is victorious only as the warrior is armed with the divine panoply.—“Put on the whole armour of God” (Ephesians 6:11). They who put on Christ are well clothed; they are armed from head to foot, and are proof against the darts of the devil. The Christless man is defenceless; his own understanding and gifts do not sufficiently arm him. The soldier comes into the field with no arms but what his general commands: it is not left to every one’s fancy to bring what weapons he pleases; this would breed confusion. So the Christian soldier must put on the armour God provides, and be completely clothed with it. To leave one part unguarded will bring disaster. In one of the famous battles between the English and French, that which lost France the day was a shower of English arrows which so galled the horses that they became unmanageable, put the whole army into disorder, and trod down their own men. So if there be the least loophole in our armour the wily adversary will quickly discover it and shoot through his fiery darts which will effect confusion and defeat.

Lessons.—

1. The Christian life is a conflict between good and evil.

2. God is always on the side of the good.

3. The Christian warrior must fight with weapons divinely provided.

GERM NOTES ON THE VERSES

Ephesians 6:10. A Call to Christian Fortitude.

I. Here is an exhortation to Christian fortitude.—“Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.” It is not bodily but mental strength which is here intended. True fortitude or courage is a temper of mind by which we steadily follow the calls of duty, without being deterred by danger or diverted by difficulty. It is a virtue founded in a regard to God and supported by faith in Him. It is cool and deliberate, not rash and impetuous; it is kind and compassionate, not cruel and revengeful; it is steady and patient, not fickle and inconstant; it continues in well-doing, persuaded that its labour is not in vain.

II. A warning against the enemies to be opposed.—The apostle mentions two sorts of enemies.

1. The first he calls flesh and blood.—The motions of our animal nature. The phrase may further intend those sensible objects which are suited to gratify fleshly desires; or it may intend mankind, who are partakers of flesh and blood.

2. The other kind of enemies with whom we are to contend are evil spirits.—These spirits are enemies to mankind. Their number is great, and the terms used denote a subordination among them. They are not divided against themselves, but act in concert under the direction of one leading spirit, who is called the devil and Satan. They have great power over such as submit to their dominion. Their chief influence is over the ignorant and superstitious. They most successfully carry on their designs in the dark. When the gospel began to shine, Satan began to fall. Among those who reject the gospel he recovers his full dominion.—Lathrop.

Ephesians 6:11. The Christian Warfare.

I. Consider the danger to which we are exposed.—As in other cases so it is in this: our greatest danger lies in not feeling our danger, and so not being prepared to meet it.

1. View the enemy we have to contend with.—He is one who bears an inveterate hatred against us, and seeks nothing less than our destruction or eternal overthrow.… He hates us as God’s creatures, but especially as those who have been rescued from his power and taken up arms against him; nothing now will satisfy him but our eternal ruin.… It is therefore a struggle of life for life; if we do not overcome him, he will overcome us. It is in vain to think of being neuter, or making peace with him.

2. He is mightier than we are; and unless we have help from above, we are no match for him.… We know but little of the power of wicked spirits, abstractly considered; but viewed as the god of this world, Satan has all its temptations in alliance with him.

3. He is an artful enemy.… We are told of the “wiles of the devil,” hiding his designs, and falling upon us when we least expect it. We are in his net before we are aware, and when Providence seems to smile upon us (Deuteronomy 8:12).… He studies our propensities, and suits his temptations to them (Ephesians 4:14).

4. He is invisible.… If he were “flesh and blood,” like ourselves, we might beware; but his influence is like the mighty pestilence, which walks in darkness.… When least suspected, danger is nigh.

5. He is near us, as it were, within our gates. The safety of a nation menaced by an enemy often depends on his being kept at a distance, by walls or seas, or fortresses of defence. But here it is supposed that the enemy has entered into our borders, and that we have no other resource left but to struggle as it were for life.…

6. What is still worse, he has a strong party within us.

7. On the issue of this warfare depend all our hopes.—If we “stand” not in this, our loss when defeated can never be retrieved.

II. The armour provided for us.—

1. In general, this armour is the grace of the gospel believed and trusted in. In common warfare it is usual for the commanders to persuade their enemies to think highly of their strength; but in this it is quite the reverse. We must go as Israel was always taught to do, as having no might of our own, but deriving all our strength from the Lord.

2. It is described as a whole or perfect armour.—Sufficient to defend us in every part.… “Truth” is the girdle to strengthen us; “righteousness” a breastplate; the “gospel” of peace as shoes, by which we shall be able to trample upon the lion and the adder, the young lion and the dragon; “faith” is a shield; “salvation,” or the hope of eternal life, a helmet.… All this armour is to be drawn from the truths of the everlasting gospel.

3. The use to be made of it is, that we may be able to “withstand,” and to face the enemy. There is no armour for the back; he that fleeth is wholly defenceless, and must inevitably fall.

III. The necessity of putting on this armour.—Armour is of no avail, unless it be used. The application of the gospel is that which proves our security.

IV. The inducement to put on this armour.—“That we may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil” (Ephesians 6:11). Many neglecting this armour have been foiled in the day of battle.—Theological Sketch Book.

Ephesians 6:11. The Wiles of the Devil.

I. Some of those artifices by which the devil entices men to sin.—

1. He often presents to man the pleasing advantages of sin, while its judicial consequences are kept in the background. Sin is often presented to man under the form of virtue or religion. The names of sins are changed in order that their natures may seem changed. Sin is thus recommended to the more tender conscience. The vileness and criminality of sin are often extenuated to man by plausible excuses. They need an apology—youth, old age, strong temptation, a desire to please, to prevent loss of place, provision for a family, etc. The inconsistencies of the acknowledged people of God are often pleaded as an apology for sin. The falls of God’s people have been recorded for good; but the record has been perverted to evil. A legitimate use of the record is to prevent despair on the part of God’s people who have fallen. But, by Satan, the beacon has been converted into a decoy.

2. The sinner is often freed from his difficulties in sinning by false views of God’s character and of the design of Christ’s work.—God is regarded as a Being of mere mercy. Christ is thought of as saving from sin’s consequences, rather than from sin itself. The individual is often persuaded to expose himself to temptation, under the impression that he will resist it.

II. Some of the artifices by which he entices men from the performance of positive duty.—

1. Many are restrained from duties by a consideration of their hardness in themselves (Matthew 10:34).

2. Many are persuaded to let duty alone, on account of the sacrifices which a performance of it involves.

3. Argument against a full devotedness to the service of God may sometimes be drawn from the fewness and meanness of those who are engaged in it (John 7:48).

4. An argument against the necessity of duty is drawn from the doctrines of grace (Romans 6:2; James 2:17).

5. The worth and value of all performances are taken away by the trust in them for righteousness to which Satan prompts the heart.—Stewart.

Ephesians 6:12. The Invisible Enemies of Man.

I. Spiritual forces are much greater, much more efficient, much more formidable than any mere material forces.—A strong will is a more formidable thing than the most highly developed muscle. An idea which appeals to the intelligence and heart of the multitude is likely to do more work and to wield a greater sway in the end than any number of batteries and parks of artillery. It is in the encounter, not of brute force with conscience and with thought, but in the encounter of ideas with ideas, in the encounter of wills with wills, that the destiny of the world is ultimately decided. St. Paul knew that the Church had to contend with the thought and the reason of paganism much more truly than with its proconsuls and its legions; and as he wrote to the Ephesians, he did not mean merely human principalities and powers, since he contrasts the beings of whom he is speaking with mere flesh and blood.

II. Behind all that met the eye in daily life the apostle discovered another world that did not meet the eye.—He discerned other forms hovering, guiding, marshalling, arranging, inspiring that which met the eye. “Do not let us deceive ourselves,” he cries, “as if we had only to encounter so many social or political forces, so many human minds and wills, so many human errors, human prejudices, human traditions, human passions; our real enemies are not human, they lie in ambush behind the manifold activities of man; they are really supersensuous. Two great departments of moral life among men are watched over, each one of them beyond the sphere of human life, by beings of greater power, greater intelligence, greater intensity of purpose than man in the world of spirits. These spiritual beings, good and evil, act upon humanity as clearly, as certainly, and as constantly as man himself acts upon the lower creatures around. It is not any mere disposition, inseparable from the conditions of human thought, to personify, to externalise passion, which has peopled the imagination of Christendom with demons. It is within ourselves that we meet now, as the first Christians met, the onset of the principalities and powers. It is in resisting them, in driving from us in the name of Christ the spirits of untruthfulness, of sloth, of anger, and of impure desire, that we really contribute our little share to the issue of the great battle that rages still.”

III. To love truth and righteousness is to hate their contraries.—Hatred of evil is distinct from any hatred of those who do evil, and who are objects of sincere sorrow, and have claims on Christian charity. The easy tolerance of moral evil is one of the most alarming features of our day. Only when the struggle with evil is a matter of personal experience do we hate it, and enter even remotely into the apostle’s stern language about its agents and its champions.—H. P. Liddon.

The Enemies of Believers.

I. The enemies referred to are here described as numerous.—

1. They are here spoken of in the plural number, as they are also in other passages: “The angels which kept not their first estate,” “The devil and his angels.” The names here employed are collective, and imply numbers. We read of a single person being possessed with many devils.

2. Hence the whole world has been filled with their worship and studded with their temples.

3. Hence the strength of the temptations with which each one is tried.

4. Hence the intensity of human wickedness.

5. Hence the need of watchfulness.

II. The enemies here spoken of are represented as being in a kind of subordination the one to the other—there are “principalities.”—

1. There may be remains among them of that diversity of rank which originally existed.

2. It may be a submission called for by difference of intellectual and innate power.

3. It may be made conducive to the more successful waging of the war in which they are engaged—giving unity of aim, of plan, of co-operation. They leave no point neglected; turn all their strength to account. All unity is not of God.

III. The enemies here described are singly and as detached mighty for evil.—They are “powers.”

1. Power intellectual.

2. Power physical.

3. Power directed.

4. Collective power.

IV. The apostle characterises these adversaries as the rulers of the darkness of this world.—

1. Here a limitation of Satan’s dominion is expressed. “Rulers of the darkness of this world”—of the hiding and blinding errors which abound—of those deceived and misled.

2. It is as the prince of darkness that he contends, using falsehood and the wicked as his instruments.

V. The enemies are spiritual in their nature.—

1. They are intelligent and crafty.

2. Invisible.

3. Active and unwearied.

VI. They are wicked spirits.—

1. They are in themselves wicked.

2. They would make others wicked.

3. They employ the most wicked means.

Lessons.—

1. Watch. 2. Pray.

3. Resist.

4. Stand fast.—Stewart.

Evil Angels.

I. The nature and properties of evil angels.—

1. Their original properties were the same as those of the holy angels.

2. We do not know either the occasion of their apostasy or what effect it immediately produced upon them.

3. From the time they shook off their allegiance to God, they shook off all goodness, and contracted those tempers which are most hateful to Him and most opposite to His nature.

4. In the prosecution of their infernal designs they are diligent in the highest degree.

5. They do not wander at large, but are all united under one common head.

II. The employment of evil angels.—

1. They are, as far as God permits, the governors of the world.

2. Satan and all his angels are continually warring against us, and watching over every child of man.

3. By them the foolish hearts of those who know not God are darkened.

4. They hinder every good word and work.

5. There is no evil done, spoke, or thought without the assistance of the devil.

6. Such is the malice of the wicked one that he will torment whom he cannot destroy. In all these instances we say “the devil,” as if there was only one, because these spirits, innumerable as they are, all act in concert, and because we know not whether one or more are concerned in this or that work of darkness.—Wesley.