January 31 2026

Saturday January 31

Finally, We Stand In Victory

Ephesians 6:10-12

Today we come to the final section of the Book of Ephesians, beginning in Ephesians 6:10 and continuing through the end of the chapter. Paul introduces this section with a very important word: “Finally.” He writes,“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10–12)

Sooner or later, every believer discovers that the Christian life is a battleground, not a playground. We learn quickly that we face an enemy who is far stronger than we are—apart from the Lord. It is very fitting that the Apostle Paul uses military imagery to describe the believer’s conflict with Satan. At the time he wrote this letter to the Ephesian church, Paul himself was chained to a Roman soldier (Ephesians 6:20). His readers were well acquainted with soldiers and their equipment. In fact, military illustrations were favorites of Paul, as we see throughout his letters (2 Corinthians 10:4; 1 Timothy 6:12; 2 Timothy 2:3; 4:7).

We must always remember that as Christians, we face three enemies: the world, the flesh, and the devil. Paul reminds us of this earlier in Ephesians 2:1-3: “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others”. That passage reminds us where we came from and what Christ has delivered us out of.

This also brings us to an important theme that runs throughout the Book of Ephesians. In this letter, we see three positions that every believer must understand if we are going to stand against the wiles of the evil one.

First, Paul teaches us that we sit in Christ. In the opening chapters, we learn our position in Him—"we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places” (Ephesians 2:6). Secondly, we are called to walk. We walk worthy of the Lord (Ephesians 4:1). We are to walk in purity (Ephesians 4:17-23). We are to walk in love (Ephesians 5:2). We are to walk in the light as He is in the light (Ephesians 5:8-14). We are to walk wisely (Ephesians 5:15-17). And we walk in harmony with those around us (Ephesians 5:18-6:9).

Now, finally, in this last section, Paul teaches us how to stand in victory. We do not fight the devil in our own strength. We do not fight spiritual forces in our own power. Rather, we stand in the victory that has already been won through Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary. That is why Paul says at least two more times that we are able to stand against the wiles of the devil. In verse 13, he writes, “Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.” And again, in verse 14, “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness”.

We must never forget that our battle involves the world, the flesh, and the devil. The world refers to the system around us that is opposed to God. 1 John 2:15–17 warns us not to love the world or the things in the world, describing it as driven by “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. The world is passing away, but the one who does the will of God abides forever.” A simple but accurate definition of the world is: “Society apart from God.”

The flesh is the old nature we inherited from Adam—a nature that is opposed to God and incapable of pleasing Him spiritually. That is where much of the internal warfare takes place. And then there is the devil, our spiritual enemy.

Here is the good news: we can stand in victory. Christ has already overcome the world (John 16:33; Galatians 6:14). In Christ we can overcome the flesh (Romans 6:1–6). And through Christ, we can stand against the devil. In other words, we do not fight for victory—we fight from victory. The Spirit of God enables us, by faith, to appropriate Christ’s victory in our daily lives.

This is what we will be learning together as we continue through this passage over the next few days.

God bless you, and may you have a wonderful, wonderful day.