Thursday

Related Verses
Eph. 6:10
10 Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength.

Eph. 1:19-22
19 And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength,
20 Which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies,
21 Far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come;
22 And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church,

S.S. 4:4
4 Your neck is like the tower of David, Built for an armory: A thousand bucklers hang on it, All the shields of the mighty men.

S.S. 7:4
4 Your neck is like a tower of ivory; Your eyes, like the pools in Heshbon By the gate of Bath-rabbim; Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, Which faces Damascus.

Col. 1:13
13 Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love,

Dan. 10:20
20 Then he said, Do you know why I have come to you? And now I will return to fight with the prince of Persia; so I go forth, and the prince of Javan is now about to come.

Related Reading
The Greek word in Ephesians 6:10 rendered “empowered” has the same root as the word powers in 1:19. To deal with God’s enemy, to fight against the evil forces of darkness, we need to be empowered with the greatness of the power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavenlies, 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. Consider Saul of Tarsus as an example. As he was traveling to Damascus with the intention of arresting all those who called on the name of the Lord Jesus, he was apprehended by the Lord. Because Saul had such a strong will, he could have a strong repentance. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 518) 

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In addition to preserving our conscience, God has sovereignly preserved our will…We may mistakenly think that it is difficult to preach the gospel to one with a strong will. According to my experience, most of those who were saved through my gospel preaching were those with a strong will and a definite intention. Such a will is able to function positively in repentance. Repentance requires the exercise of the will. In like manner, to be empowered also involves our will. 

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 Ephesians 6:10 Paul refers to power, might, and strength. First, we are empowered by the power that raised Christ from the dead and gave Him to be Head over all things. Then we know God’s might and strength. 

Blood and flesh [v. 12] refers to men. Behind men of blood and flesh are the evil forces of the devil, fighting against God’s purpose. Hence, our wrestling, our fighting, must not be against men but against the evil spiritual forces in the heavenlies. 

We in the Lord’s recovery should realize that spiritual warfare is not a matter of fighting against men. Even if men cause damage to the recovery, we should not fight against them. Behind them and over them is the evil power. 

The rulers, the authorities, and the world-rulers of this darkness are the rebellious angels, who followed Satan in his rebellion against God and who now rule in the heavenlies over the nations of the world, such as the prince of Persia and the prince of Greece in Daniel 10:20. 

In Ephesians 6:12 Paul also speaks of “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.” The heavenlies here refers to the air (2:2). Satan and his spiritual forces of evil are in the air. But we are seated in the third heaven above them (v. 6). In fighting a battle, the position above the enemy is very important strategically. Satan and his evil forces are under us, and they are destined to be defeated by us. 

Thus, the warfare between the church and Satan is a battle between us who love the Lord and who are in His church and the evil powers in the heavenlies. Apparently, it is people of flesh and blood who damage the church. Actually, it is Satan and his evil angels working behind them who cause the damage. Therefore, we must fight against these spiritual forces. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 518-521) 

Further Reading: Life-study of Exodus, msg. 156