God's Power Supply

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might (Eph 6:10).

Iron Man is one bad dude.  His sweet suit of armor is totally tricked out.  But the key is its power supply.  His most excellent exoskeleton ripples with juice supplied by something called the arc reactor.  That’s the glowing doohickey on his chest.  With it, Iron Man can take on his archenemy.  Without it, he’s just snarky Tony Stark wearing scrap metal.  Here in the close of his letter to the Ephesians, Paul rolls out a suit of armor that makes anything that ever rolled out of Stark Industries look like aluminum foil.  It’s what he calls the “armor of God” (Eph 6:13).  He’s about to describe each piece of equipment and what it will do (Eph 6:11-20).  But as he pulls back the curtain on this supernatural armor, he gives these VERY important instructions.  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might” (v10).  In other words, the power for the God’s armor doesn’t come from you.  Without it, we wouldn’t have the strength to lift a finger on our own.  We need the power of Jesus.  And it makes Iron Man’s arc reactor look like a rusty old nine volt battery.

Before we take a closer look at the armor of God, let’s back up just a bit and try to figure out what the author is trying to tell his readers.  Paul wrote a lot of the same ideas and content to both the Ephesians and the Colossians.  It seems that he writes these two letters at almost the same time dealing with the same issues.  So why does his message to Ephesus include the armor of God (Eph 6:10-20) and Colossians doesn’t?  False teachers have fooled folks in Colossae to fall for a save yourself sorta gospel instead of relying of Jesus.  This heresy has infected the churches meeting in Colossae, Hierapolis and Laodicea.  The apostle fires off a note  of correction to those believers to get them back on track.  Then he writes a note of protection to believers 100 miles up the road in Ephesus.  Chances are those very same spiritual snake oil salesmen that jacked things up in Colossae are headed their way.  For Jesus’ followers in the Ephesian church, the armor of God is a VERY practical piece of spiritual equipment.  They’re almost certain to come under attack.  They need protection.  Jesus has just the piece of equipment they need!  That’s God’s armor.

Before we pull on the first piece of armor, Paul tells us to “be strong in the Lord” (v10).  He uses the first of three power words.  These words hum with horsepower.  They’re full of oomph.  The first is the Greek verb endunamo’o.  It’s a kissin’ cousin to our word dynamo.  It means to empower, strengthen, increase in strength or cause someone to have ability.  Interestingly, the apostle uses a passive verb here in this command.  If you’re not a grammar nerd like some of us, what does that mean?  He’s telling us to do something that is actually done for us.  We’re not to go out there and hit the weights to build up our strength.  He’s not telling us to get ripped in the gym.  Nope.  He’s telling us to use Someone else’s strength.  Someone else’s power.  Someone else’s might.  Hmm.  I wonder Who’s strength that could be?  Could it be...JESUS?!?!  Ding!  Ding!  Ding!  

When I roll up my sleeves and try to do anything on my own, I will never succeed in the long run.  Jesus told His crew that when we’re not connected to Him, we can’t do diddly (Jn 15:5).  But God gives His strength to cracked pots and broken jars like us so that world will know for sure that He’s behind it all (2Cor 4:7).  Paul tells the Philippians that he can handle any situation the world throws at him because of Who’s giving him strength.  “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me (Gr. endunamo’o)” (Phil 4:13).  Just before his execution, the apostle tells his boy Tim to “be strengthened (Gr. endunamo’o) by the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2Tim 2:1).  I think it’s no coincidence that Tim is the pastor of the Ephesian church!  So we don’t have to provide power for God’s armor.  Jesus will handle that when we just stay connected to Him.

The supernatural source of energy for this wardrobe of warfare is “in the strength of His might” (v10). Here’s the second power word: “strength” (Gr. kratos).  It describes force, power and might.  The third word is “might” (Gr. ischus).  This is strength, power, might and exceptional capability.  The two Greek words are almost interchangeable.  You can easily translate this phrase “in the strength of His strength.”  Or “in the might of His might.”  Or even “in the power of His power.”  Just in case you missed who’s behind it all, Paul leaves no doubt.  Jesus.  

The man from Tarsus uses both of these words earlier in his letter.  He prays that Jesus’ followers will have their eyes opened to “the immeasurable greatness of His power (Gr. dunamis) toward us who believe, according to the working of His great (Gr. ischus) might (Gr. kratos)” (Eph 1:19).  How much power is available in Christ?  It’s the same stuff God used to raise His dead Son from the dead (Eph 1:20).  It’s immeasurable!  It’s limitless!  It’s off the charts!  That certainly makes perfect sense.  The great choir in Revelation sings about our Savior, “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might (Gr. ischus) forever and ever” (Rev 5:12).  Jesus’ power never runs out.  EVER.  And He’s more than ready to share His strength with us as we serve.  Peter encourages us that “whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength (Gr. ischus) that God supplies” (1Pet 4:11).  He supplies His power through His Holy Spirit who lives in each believer.  We’re “strengthened with power through His Spirit” (Eph 3:16).

So what does this have to do with you and me 2,000 years later?  I don’t know about you, but I don’t live in a first century Roman seaport.  Here’s what we need to remember.  Just as false teaching was headed toward Ephesus, there’s false teaching headed our way.  As a matter of fact, it’s already here.  And it’s everywhere.  Just flip on the TV.  Fire up your laptop.  There’s all sorts of counterfeit gospels calling us.  Some are from culture.  Some are from false religion.  But some of the most dangerous and insidious heresies come from inside the church.  The so-called prosperity gospel.  Self-salvation through good works.  I mean, they’re EVERYWHERE!  And they are headed our way.  Our enemy will use every tool in his satanic toolbox to “steal and kill and destroy” the followers of Jesus (Jn 10:10).  Our only hope is the armor of God.  And we must remember that He supplies His supernatural energy to power it up.

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