The Power of the Lord
The apostle first directs our thoughts to the power that is for us before he describes the power that is against us. To face this conflict, we must ever remember that all our strength is in the Lord, and therefore Paul says, “Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might” (Eph. 6:1010Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. (Ephesians 6:10)). Our difficulty oftentimes is to realize that we have no strength in ourselves. Naturally we should like to be strong in numbers, strong in gifts, or strong in the power of some forceful leader, but our real and only strength is “in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”
The prayer of the first chapter brings before us the power of God’s might. Christ has been raised from the dead and set at God’s right hand in heavenly places, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come” (Eph. 1:2121Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: (Ephesians 1:21)). Now, says the apostle, that is the “exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe”(Eph. 1:1919And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, (Ephesians 1:19)). The power that is against us is far greater than our power, but the power that is toward us is a surpassing power; it surpasses all the power that is opposed to us. Moreover, the One that has supreme power is the One that possesses “unsearchable riches,” and loves us with a love that “passeth knowledge” (Eph. 3:1919And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. (Ephesians 3:19)).
In the days of old, Gideon was prepared for the conflict by first being told, “The Lord is with thee”; then he was exhorted to “go in this thy might.” Gideon’s family might be the poorest in Manasseh and he himself the least in his father’s house, but what did Gideon’s poverty or his weakness matter if the Lord was for him and with him (Judg. 6:12-1512And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valor. 13And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites. 14And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee? 15And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house. (Judges 6:12‑15))? So, in a later day, Jonathan and his armor bearer could face a great host in the might of the Lord, for, said Jonathan, “there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few” (1 Sam. 14:66And Jonathan said to the young man that bare his armor, Come, and let us go over unto the garrison of these uncircumcised: it may be that the Lord will work for us: for there is no restraint to the Lord to save by many or by few. (1 Samuel 14:6)).
So we, in our day, with failure behind us, weakness among us, and corruption all around us, need a fresh sense of the glory of the Lord, the power of the Lord, the riches of the Lord, the love of the Lord, and, with the Lord before us, to go forward “in the power of His might.”
Apart from Christ we have no power. The Lord can say, “Without me ye can do nothing,” but, says the apostle, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Phil. 4:1313I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me. (Philippians 4:13)). It is only as our souls are kept in secret communion with Christ that we shall be able to avail ourselves of the power that is in Him. This being so, all Satan’s power will be directed to putting our souls out of touch with Christ and seeking to keep us from feeding on Him and walking in communion with Him. It may be that he will seek to draw us out of communion with Christ by the cares and duties of everyday life or by sickness and weakness of the body. He may seek to use the difficulties of the path, the contentions among the people of God, or the petty insults we have to meet to depress the spirit and fret the soul. If, however, instead of allowing all these things to come between our souls and the Lord, we make them occasions for drawing near to the Lord, we shall learn what it is to be strong in the Lord, while realizing our own weakness. Then we shall learn the blessedness of the word, “Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee” (Psa. 55:2222Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. (Psalm 55:22)).
The Power of the Enemy
First, we are exhorted to remember that it is not against flesh and blood that we wrestle. The devil may indeed use men and women to oppose the Christian and deny the truth, but we have to look beyond the instruments and discern the one that is using them. A woman, in flesh and blood, opposed Paul at Philippi, but Paul discerned the evil spirit that moved the woman, and in the power of the name of Jesus Christ he entered into conflict with spiritual wickedness, commanding the evil spirit to come out of the woman (Acts 16:16-1816And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: 17The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which show unto us the way of salvation. 18And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour. (Acts 16:16‑18)).
A true disciple, in flesh and blood, opposed the Lord when Peter said, in view of the Lord’s sufferings, “Be it far from Thee, Lord,” but the Lord, knowing the power of Satan behind the instrument, could say, “Get thee behind me, Satan” (Matt. 16:22-2322Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. 23But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savorest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men. (Matthew 16:22‑23)).
The conflict, then, is against Satan and his hosts, whatever the instrument used. Principalities and powers are spiritual beings in a position of rule with power to carry out their will. They may be good or evil beings; here in Ephesians they are evil beings, and their wickedness would seem to take a twofold direction. In reference to the world they are the rulers of the darkness of this world; in reference to Christians they are the “spiritual power of wickedness in the heavenlies.” The world is in darkness, in ignorance of God, and these spiritual beings rule and direct the darkness of paganism, philosophy, science falsely so-called, and infidelity, as well as the superstitions, corruptions and modernism of Christendom. The Christian is brought into the light and blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. The opposition to the Christian then takes a religious character by spiritual beings who seek to rob him of the truth of his heavenly calling, beguile him into a path that is a denial of the truth, or into conduct that is inconsistent with it.
The Character of the Opposition
Further, we are instructed as to the character of the opposition. It is not simply persecution, or a direct denial of the truth; it is the far more subtle and dangerous opposition described as “the wiles of the devil.” A wile is something that looks fair and innocent, and yet beguiles the soul from the path of obedience. How often in this day of confusion the devil seeks to lead those who have the truth into some bypath, which at the beginning deviates so little from the true course that to raise any objection to it might seem fastidious. There is one simple question we can each ask ourselves by which every wile may be detected: “If I pursue this course, where will it lead me?”
When the devil suggested to the Lord that He should turn the stones into bread to meet His needs, it looked a very innocent thing to do. Nevertheless it was a wile that would have led out of the path of obedience to God and a denial of the word which said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:44But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Matthew 4:4)).
To turn the Galatian believers from the truth of the gospel, the devil used the law as a wile to entrap them in legal self-importance. To turn the Corinthian saints from the truth of the assembly, the devil used the world as a wile to lead them into carnal self-indulgence. To turn the Colossian saints from the truth of the mystery, the devil used the wiles of “enticing words,” “philosophy” and superstition to entrap them in religious exaltation. These are still the wiles we have to face.
H. Smith