Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
Ephesians 6:10 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/eph.6.10.NIVUK
We live in a highly polarised world. It has been for decades. It will be for decades more.
A polarised society – where people form opposing groups, take sides and have a ‘us or them’ mentality’ – is fundamentally weakened and unhealthy. As Jesus Himself states:
If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.
Mark 3:25 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/mrk.3.25.NIVUK
As Christians, we must utterly abhor those who seek to polarise society in order to gain for themselves. Such behaviour is poisonous for the places we live. Nothing good will ever come of it.
I live in a polarised part of the world – polarised by the strong influence of sectarianism between Protestant / Glasgow Rangers and Catholic / Glasgow Celtic. It is not healthy. Not one bit.
However, the spiritual world is absolutely polarised. It’s polarised because of the devil. He rebelled against God and was thrown out of heaven (Revelation 12:7-12).
There are no neutrals in the spiritual world. There is no middle ground. There are no grey areas. There is no ‘Switzerland’. You are either on God’s side or the devil’s. As Jesus explained:
‘Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.
Matthew 12:30 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/mat.12.30.NIVUK
So we have to choose, one or the other. We can’t back out of this.
Which brings us to the really interesting part of this verse. You see, Paul’s day, like ours, was filled with people who claimed to ‘be somebody’: who were the best soldiers, the best gladiators, the best fighters, the best rulers. They were the elite. And they had egos to match – which they always do.
Paul is calling the Ephesians to battle, but he urges them to approach it in a different manner. He tells them to be strong in the Lord and His mighty power – not their own. Paul is literally telling them to gain their strength – their dynamism, if you will – from the Lord and the outworking of His might.
So when the victory is won, it will not be theirs. Why? Because God’s strength and the outworking of His might will have won it. Not theirs.
This is a fundamental truth every Christian should battle with. Any victory we win is the Lord's. It is not entirely ours.
In fact, I would even go so far as to say that no great achievement is ever achieved alone.
None at all.
Think about it.
Even in the great solo sports like swimming, athletics, gymnastics and tennis, the achievements are not just the athletes’. They didn’t achieve it by themselves. Behind modern day athletes are coaches, technicians, nutritionists, masseurs, physiotherapists... not to mention managers, agents, publicists, psychologists and numerous family members.
And if they did, they would still have to thank parents for their genetics and for how they were raised, school teachers for educating them, and the God who puts food on their table and air in their lungs.
We have to accept the fact that nothing worthwhile is achieved alone.
This is why we see those awful speeches at award shows, when awardees thank everyone from their grandmother to the school leaver who pours their coffer every day. It might be cringey and irritating, but it’s making a really profound point.
There are those who see the words ‘spiritual warfare’ and are attracted to it for the wrong reasons. They want fame and glory and adulation and a sense of achievement for themselves. But it doesn't work that way, as the seven sons of Sceva could definitely testify (Acts 19: 13-16). And guess where they were from?
Ephesus.
This verse teaches that there is, and can only ever be, one way to be victorious in spiritual warfare. That’s if we are strong in the Lord, not ourselves, and in His mighty power and the outworking of His might, not our own.
That means that when we are victorious, the glory goes to Him, not to us.
And that’s the way it should be.
Questions
1. Why is it that we need to pick a side when we engage in spiritual warfare? Who do you pick?
2. ‘Nothing worthwhile is ever achieved alone’. Do you agree with this statement? How will it change your perspective when you are successful?
3. If you achieve any great victory – in anything, and especially spiritually – who should get the glory from this and why?
God alone gets the glory.