DYNAMIS!
A publication of St. George Orthodox Christian Cathedral
Wichita, KS
Ephesians 6:10-17
(12/13)
Epistle for the Twenty-Seventh Sunday after Pentecost
Stand Firm: Ephesians 6:10-17, especially vs. 10: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord,
and in the power of His might.”
Three times in this passage, the translators use the word stand (vss.
11,12,14) to covey the Apostle’s counsel concerning our struggle
or conflict (vs. 12) as Christ’s warriors. The sense of the Apostle is that we
should remaining opposing whatever forces come against us. Note in addition that the same verb,
with an added prefix, is used in verse 13 to mean resist or withstand. All of these are combat terms akin to
orders often given in live fire-fights: hold your position.
Of utmost importance to grasp in reading this
passage are the assumptions underlying the Apostle’s triple counsel: 1)
we are in a fight; 2) it is possible to lose; but 3) we have the capability to oppose
the enemy’s tactics: resist, stand, and extinguish
everything thrown at us. His last
counsel is his primary message.
If we lose in the struggle it will not be
because of the Lord our God. God is
with us! We will lose only if we
fail to recognize the strategic nature of the engagement. We are not dealing with
the human beings, with flesh and blood (vs. 12). Other people may seem to be our active
opponents, but they are pawns. In
fact, we are pitted against “...principalities, against powers, against
the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness
in the heavenly places” (vs. 12).
Therefore we cannot use the kind of weaponry appropriate to fights involving
people. What we face daily is
spiritual warfare. We must use
entirely different defensive and offensive implements - armaments suited to the
nature of the strife.
Twice the Apostle uses the term armor of
God (vss. 11,13). In spiritual warfare, if we would be
“...strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (vs. 10),
then we must rely on “...the whole armor of God... (vss.
11, 13). If we rely on what
our physical senses commend, we will lose, so let us examine briefly the
weapons God gives from His armory.
Our primary defense is truth (vs. 14),
not just any truth but the Truth Who is God, He Who
enables us to become gods, as the Fathers say. Christ is the Truth, and the only
reliable Truth against satanic lies, half-truths, abuse of words and the use of
one truth against another.
Righteousness (vs. 14) is the best guardian of the heart, which is why
The Apostle relates the Gospel to our feet
(vs. 15), which directs attention to our walk, to our way of living - our
manner of choosing, being, and interacting with others. The Good News has to be presented to
others through lives that convince, not by words and gestures.
The hardest part of the life in Christ is
trusting God in all circumstances (vs. 16). “Teach me to treat all that comes
to me throughout the day with peace of soul and with firm conviction that Your will governs all.” Still, that kind of
faith shields against any assault on heart and mind.
Keep your mind fixed on the salvation that is
to come (vs. 17), which steadies resolve and action, moment by moment.
And the word of God (vs. 17) in
Scripture and the Fathers is capable of cutting through the web of lies, and,
like a pillar of light, dispels the darkness that overtakes so many.
Keep us ever warriors invincible in every
attack, and make us all victors even to the end.
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