Eph 6:10-13

Pray for God to show you something to use from the passage Read the Passage at least twice Who is in the passage? What action verbs do you see? What other words stick out in your mind

Paul moves from living in unity with others by submitting to then saying who we should never submit to.

Paul has been about telling us to live in unity with each other from early in his letter. 2:19-22. A unity that comes through Jesus alone. He has just told how to live in harmony in the relationship in our lives. Now he switches to the battle that rages to destroy that unity and our purpose in Christ.

First step in warfare- Know your enemy so you can know how to defeat them.

It is a battle not with humans (flesh and blood) but with spiritual forces that seek to destroy what God builds up. It reminds me of preschoolers playing with building blocks. One child spends a great deal of time building a tower of blocks as tall as she can only to have another child come and knock it down. The forces that Paul describes are powerful. (you cannot withstand them in your own strength) See Jesus' prayer for Peter in Luke 22:31-32.

The behind the scenes story of how these evil forces came into being is not given. But they do exist. Jesus dealt with demons throughout his ministry. Satan himself came to tempt Jesus to break from God the Father. (Luke 4) . Satan in that attack on Jesus states that he does have the authority to give the kingdoms of earth. (Luke 4:6) Jesus doesn't deny Satan having that authority. Rather Jesus stands on the higher authority of serving God. That is now what Paul asks us to do. It is relying on that tremendous power of God that we stand against Evil. In 1:18-23 Paul has already laid out his argument of God's conquering power. Now he wants us to rely on it. The power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power available to us.

vs 10 the call is for us to strengthen ourselves through God. Trusting Him is a matter of faith. Do we believe that God is stronger than the forces Paul next speaks of? Then the question is do we rely on that strength. We are an active part of this war. It is our choice on what we rely on.

vs 11 part of our involvement in this war is to realize there is a battlefield and be prepared for battle. The equipment we need to fight with is available. We must decide to wear it. It is easy to forget we are in a battle and relax (that one of the devil's schemes) When we are unprepared then we can be taken advantage of.

Satan is no fool. He seeks a foothold and takes advantage of it in our lives. (4:2) In 2 Cor 2:10-11 Paul talks of how Satan will use an unforgiving person to his advantage. Satan seeks to outwit us.

vs 12 Paul means to scare us. This is not a game. This is a war. The most violent and unrelenting enemy seeks to destroy. While Satan is the supreme evil he is not alone. The worst evil on earth is not our ultimate enemy. It is the evil spiritual powers that aren't human.

vs 13 if you go out in the world unprotected you will face the consequences. Evil will come to you. So you need the full armor of God. Just part will not do. You need everything God has prepared for you so you can stand the evil schemes of the enemy and do His purpose. Satan wants to keep us from being a God follower. If he loses that battle then he wants to make us ineffective in helping others for God. (see 1:10)