Paul encouraged the Church at Ephesus to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power (Ephesians 6:10). The word translated “be strong” here actually means “be strengthened,” as rendered in the New English Translation: “Finally, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of his power.”
Paul is reminding believers that the Christian life means participation in a spiritual battle. From his own experience, the apostle knew the opposition is real and the warfare intense: “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand” (Ephesians 6:12–13).
You might be thinking this is not a spiritual battle we are fighting. However, let me remind you that there is spiritual battle raging in the spirit realm everyday and we can’t endure the power of darkness without the power of God being active in our everyday lives!! This is why it’s imperative for believers to ‘be strong’ in the Lord and the power of His might.
Let’s be clear, in the original Greek language, the passive verb, “be strong in the Lord “ means, “to be rendered (more) capable or able for some task.” In other words, to be strong in the Lord doesn’t mean building up our own strength rather, as believer we must be empowered or be strengthened in God’s strength!
When Paul encourages believers to “be strong in the Lord,” he is calling them to faithfulness—to abiding in Christ and trusting in the Lord’s power for everything in life. True Christian strength comes from recognizing our utter dependence on God. This is what Paul meant when he wrote, “I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13, CSB).
Ironically speaking, we are truly at our strongest when we are at our weakest. Paul understood this concept very well, hence the reason he boasted more about his weaknesses rather than his strengths (2 Corinthians 12:9).
The power of Christ in the Christian’s life can be defined as “power in weakness,” for the Lord’s grace is apprehended only in recognition of our weakness.
Finally, to be strong in the Lord means to be in spiritual union with Christ and to be strong together means that we refused to give up on the Christ in humanity. When we truly stand in solidarity with Christ and man, we will experience both the weakness of the cross and the power of the resurrection (Romans 6:5)!
BeStrongTogether
Like our page to keep up with our upcoming events!
4GIVEN 