The Christian's Stand
As Christians we have all the resources we need to live victorious, we simply need to access them. That’s what this passage is all about!
You have it all, the resources, the power, the principles to live the Christian life, but it won’t be easy.
Have you been there trying to live right but life still seems to clobber you? You hear all these great things in Scripture, but it seems like you are unable to attain them.
You have an enemy but God’s Word has help.
In Ephesians Paul has presented the great realities of being in Christ, of what it means to be a believer, what it means to belong to God, what it means to have the Spirit of God indwelling, what it means to become adopted into God’s family, what it means to stand in Him, the position of the believer, who they are in Christ.
The first three chapters show the positional truth of who we are in Christ. The last three talk about how we live it out when we follow God’s Word.
3 DIVINE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO EVERY BELIEVER
1. God will empower us to be strong (v. 10-11)
You are in a literal war every day whether you know it or not! If you are walking in light and not in darkness and being filled with the Spirit, then your life will stand out from the world! You’ll be going against the current.
When we walk the worthy walk, when we are completely committing our lives to living out Ephesians, in the power of the Spirit, we will stand back and be amazed. But when we do, Satan will oppose it.
So what do we do? BE STRONG! Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. HE will help us stand, remember its all about Him, His power, His resources, we simply keep pumping the legs, yielding to His Spirit relying on His strength.
We can be strong and…
2. God will equip us to stand firm (12-17)
Satan will attack the believer, he will cause us to doubt, to disobey, to make us worldly, to make us hypocrites. How do we deal with his attacks?
Stand firm. Paul says don’t concentrate on what he’s doing. Don’t think about it, keep your eyes on Jesus and stand firm in Him.
What matters is that you wear the armor so that when he does attack, we can stand firm on the immovable rock of Jesus Christ.
To stand firm you need to gird your loins with truth. This is the Word of God. We must know the Word to stand firm.
Do you know the Word? Do you study it, memorize it?
3. God gives us privileged access through prayer (v. 18-20)
Paul says in v. 18 that we have victory over Satan, and we can win but it will take real prayer. He says to “pray at all times.”
Prayer is in addition to the armor, now Paul is not saying simply add prayer, but he is saying prayer is woven into the very fabric of the armor, it all goes hand in hand. The whole time we are putting on the belt of truth, and the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel of peace, and the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, the whole time you are putting those to practice in your life, you are supposed to be involved in prayer.
Prayer isn’t last or least, it’s the final climax of the book!
Ephesians is about who we are in Christ, how we are to live, and that we have all that we need to walk the worthy walk, to be imitators of God.
Prayer is THE way of accessing all the resources of the believer. Prayer is the key. Why do we live weak Christian lives? We don’t pay the price on our knees.
The church can make a difference, be a beacon of hope, and be the place the community turns to for answers but we must live like Paul has said.
You have it all, the resources, the power, the principles to live the Christian life, but it won’t be easy.
Have you been there trying to live right but life still seems to clobber you? You hear all these great things in Scripture, but it seems like you are unable to attain them.
You have an enemy but God’s Word has help.
In Ephesians Paul has presented the great realities of being in Christ, of what it means to be a believer, what it means to belong to God, what it means to have the Spirit of God indwelling, what it means to become adopted into God’s family, what it means to stand in Him, the position of the believer, who they are in Christ.
The first three chapters show the positional truth of who we are in Christ. The last three talk about how we live it out when we follow God’s Word.
3 DIVINE RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO EVERY BELIEVER
1. God will empower us to be strong (v. 10-11)
You are in a literal war every day whether you know it or not! If you are walking in light and not in darkness and being filled with the Spirit, then your life will stand out from the world! You’ll be going against the current.
When we walk the worthy walk, when we are completely committing our lives to living out Ephesians, in the power of the Spirit, we will stand back and be amazed. But when we do, Satan will oppose it.
So what do we do? BE STRONG! Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. HE will help us stand, remember its all about Him, His power, His resources, we simply keep pumping the legs, yielding to His Spirit relying on His strength.
We can be strong and…
2. God will equip us to stand firm (12-17)
Satan will attack the believer, he will cause us to doubt, to disobey, to make us worldly, to make us hypocrites. How do we deal with his attacks?
Stand firm. Paul says don’t concentrate on what he’s doing. Don’t think about it, keep your eyes on Jesus and stand firm in Him.
What matters is that you wear the armor so that when he does attack, we can stand firm on the immovable rock of Jesus Christ.
To stand firm you need to gird your loins with truth. This is the Word of God. We must know the Word to stand firm.
Do you know the Word? Do you study it, memorize it?
3. God gives us privileged access through prayer (v. 18-20)
Paul says in v. 18 that we have victory over Satan, and we can win but it will take real prayer. He says to “pray at all times.”
Prayer is in addition to the armor, now Paul is not saying simply add prayer, but he is saying prayer is woven into the very fabric of the armor, it all goes hand in hand. The whole time we are putting on the belt of truth, and the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the Gospel of peace, and the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, the whole time you are putting those to practice in your life, you are supposed to be involved in prayer.
Prayer isn’t last or least, it’s the final climax of the book!
Ephesians is about who we are in Christ, how we are to live, and that we have all that we need to walk the worthy walk, to be imitators of God.
Prayer is THE way of accessing all the resources of the believer. Prayer is the key. Why do we live weak Christian lives? We don’t pay the price on our knees.
The church can make a difference, be a beacon of hope, and be the place the community turns to for answers but we must live like Paul has said.
Pastor Chris Williams
To learn more about Pastor Chris and his teaching, visit us on the web at fcfamily.org and make sure you subscribe to receive these biweekly encouragements in your inbox.
To learn more about Pastor Chris and his teaching, visit us on the web at fcfamily.org and make sure you subscribe to receive these biweekly encouragements in your inbox.
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