Sharon Reformed Presbyterian Church · Sermon study sheet

Be Strong in the Lord! (Ephesians 6:10-13)

Bryan Schneider · November 14, 2020

Ephesians 6:10-13

sharonrpc.org/sermons/be-strong-in-the-lord

Summary

Paul calls believers to find their strength outside themselves: in the Lord and in the power by which God raised and enthroned Christ.
The sermon contrasts the gospel with the cultural message of self-sufficiency, recalling that sinners were spiritually dead but were made alive by grace in Christ.
The Christian's enemy is not flesh and blood but the devil and spiritual powers whose schemes include open persecution, cultural normalization of sin, deception, discouragement, and inward temptation.
Because the heart itself is affected by sin, believers must test their thoughts and desires by God's Word rather than treating inward impulses as a trustworthy source of strength.
Spiritual warfare calls for watchful, close engagement: Christians are to wrestle, withstand the evil day, and hold their ground in the strength God supplies.
Christ won the decisive victory at the cross, yet his people still live between that victory and its final consummation, called to stand faithfully until he returns.

Why does Paul command believers to be strong in the Lord rather than to search for strength within themselves?
How do Ephesians 1 and 2 establish the source of power described in Ephesians 6:10?
Why is it important to remember that the Christian's ultimate enemies are not flesh and blood?
What open and subtle methods of temptation does the sermon identify?
How can God's Word expose desires or thoughts that feel natural but would lead into sin?
What does it mean practically to wrestle, withstand, and stand without relying on self-confidence?
How does Christ's decisive victory give courage while Christians still await the final consummation?

Strength in the Lord: Dependence on God's resurrection power and presence rather than confidence in one's own spiritual resources.
Spiritual warfare: The believer's real conflict with the devil and spiritual evil, fought through steadfast faith in God's provision.
Wiles of the devil: The varied schemes, methods, and deceptions by which Satan seeks to tempt, discourage, confuse, and devour.
Wrestle: Paul's image of close, strenuous resistance rather than distant or passive awareness of spiritual conflict.
Stand: To remain faithful and hold one's ground against evil because one is in Christ and strengthened by him.
Already and not yet: The period in which Christ's decisive victory has been won but the final removal of evil awaits his return.