Ephesians 6:10-24
10 years and 23 movies culminated in the moment when Captain America stood firm with all of the Avengers behind him at the end of Avengers: Endgame. It’s quite a powerful moment in cinema and a feat unmatched in movie-making history. They stood united against a galactically evil despot for the lives of people across the galaxy. This is not unlike our battle for the souls of others.
Paul’s letter to the Ephesians culminates in a warning to stand strong against the enemy for lost souls. This is our goal – to stand firm (v13). To do that, he has given us every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places; but He has also given us each other. With us living in unity, Paul now moves his focus to the end goal – standing firm. This starts with the enemy.
Stand Against Evil
It’s interesting that, in the end of the letter, the enemy is brought up after not really talking much about him up to this point. The need for power has, but not specifically the enemy. Why the quick topic change? Because he responds to our actions! If we live out our lives like Paul encourages us to, bound together in unity in the gospel and changing lives through our actions, that will be hugely offensive to the enemy! This is an encouragement and a warning. By living as one, we will be standing up against the devil and his schemes, being a force for God’s light in the world. The enemy wants to stop that and break us down so that we break apart. He can’t win when we are unified under Jesus’ banner! But he will try.
Our fight is spiritual. Remember, our enemy is not those who disagree with us, those who live a different lifestyle than us, or even those who actively oppose us! Jesus looked out at those who caused his death and said, “Forgive them father, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34). News, commentaries, and fear mongers would have you think our enemy is those we disagree with. Don’t believe that lie. Our enemy is Satan, rolling around looking for someone to devour. He hates it when we are active in the good fight and will try to stop us. The pressure is on.
Stand on God’s Blessings
This pressure is a huge reason why God blesses us with every spiritual blessing in heaven (Eph. 1:3). Paul started off this letter with a blast of blessings from God. He goes above and beyond to make sure we stand firm against the enemy and can go far beyond our imaginations to make that happen. His gifts are purposeful, His power is incredible, and His presence is wonderful.
This is the gift of the armor of God. Whether it be truth, righteousness, the gospel, faith, salvation, or the Word of God, we have it all! These are all gifts He freely gives so that we are able to stand – but then on top of it, He gives us all each other. We are not alone in this fight. We have a family, all unique and powerful to stand up together and prevail against the darkness. If you’ve seen the move discussed earlier, you know that there is an incredible fight scene earlier with Cap against the enemy on his own. It’s amazing, but nothing compared to having everyone show up together!
Stand on Our Knees
What’s even more amazing is that we are not on our own in this fight. God gives us every tool and then stands with us each second of the way. As Paul shifts his focus to prayer here at the end, we are reminded that standing on our knees is the best and only path. First, we need to take care of each other. Prayer – consistent, caring prayer for each other is the only true way to help someone carry a burden. Standing in the gap is the highest of callings and should be at the top of our war preparation check lists. Prayer is us handing it over to God – we can’t, He can. We declare our trust in Him and request His help. And ultimately, He is the one who will fight this battle for us. It’s a spiritual fight and we need a fighter who is in the spiritual realm. God is our source, our strength, our provider, and our hero. It would be silly not to include Him in our dealings with the enemy.
Next Steps
We stand united against our enemy in the heavenly places, relying on God’s power in us as we come together – full unity across all nations, tribes, and tongues to kneel before God’s throne and trust Him to fight this battle through us. With Him, we work together to take each step for the souls of this world hanging in the balance. Here are some ways to take a step towards unity this week.
- Get involved in a ministry.
- Engage with each other in relationship. Find ways to serve together.
- Pray for other believers to live out their faith in real ways.
God brought us near, removed the dividing wall of hostility, gave us our faith, and prepared good works for us to do. Let’s do that – together.
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