| The Christian Life | July 1940 |
Strong in the Lord
“Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”—Ephesians 6:10
ALL of us are, by inheritance, weak, and need strength. The kind of strength we need as Christians, is the kind suggested in our text; namely, the strength of the Lord—the strength that He provides through His Word, through prayer, through fellowship with the brethren. If we have the Lord on our side, we are strong indeed, for it means that greater is He who is for us than all they who may be against us. To be assured we have the Lord on our side, means that we will need to be constantly diligent in searching out His will as revealed in His Word, and zealous in the doing of that will.
There are many things which the natural mail looks upon as contributing to strength. There is intellectual strength, physical strength, financial strength, and social strength, as well as strength along other lines. But none of these is the strength that Paul refers to in our text. In most instances, strength dependent upon such things is purely selfish. A pugilist, for example, trains to become strong and skilful in order that he may be victorious over his opponents and thus win the plaudits of the world as well as assuring his financial standing in society. But the Christian, in seeking the strength of the Lord in order to be strong in Him and in the power of His might, must turn his back upon all worldly methods and schemes, and seek that strength which is available through divinely instituted channels.
In our text the apostle is addressing those who have made a full consecration to the Lord of all the earthly possessions and rights which they at one time possessed. For these, therefore, there is no real strength but of God. Through this consecration we become new creatures in Christ Jesus; and, as the apostle explains, “old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”—II Cor. 5:17
The Christian needs the strength that is furnished through wisdom. He should realize, however, that worldly wisdom will not suffice. The wisdom which gives true strength to the Christian is that which cometh down from above, in answer to sincere prayer. James declares, for example, “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.” (James 1:5) It was divine wisdom that enabled us to know and appreciate the Truth in the first instance. None of us can say that it was through our own superior intelligence that we were able to see the Truth. It will only be through the continued recognition of our own lack of wisdom and our utter dependence upon the wisdom that cometh down from above, that we may hope to have available for us that unlimited source of divine strength and guidance which will show us the way through to victory and give us the strength to overcome.
JESUS’ SOURCE OF STRENGTH
Jesus explained the reason why He was strong, saying, “He that sent Me is with Me. The Father hath not left Me alone; for I do always those things that please Him.” (John 8:29) This then, was the secret of His strength. He did always those things which pleased the Father, and because of this He could realize the Father’s presence always with Him to sustain and help over all the rough places. We cannot do perfectly all those things which please the Father, as Jesus did, but our hearts can be perfect toward Him. And the divine assurance is that “the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him.”—II Chron. 16:9
Another secret of the Master’s great strength enabling Him to do the Father’s will at all times, was His close communion with God in prayer. Jesus said to His Father, “I knew that Thou hearest Me always.” (John 11:42) Knowing this, Jesus never neglected an opportunity to approach His Father in times of need. Realizing the true source of the strength which enabled Him to serve and suffer, the Master never neglected to give glory to His Father, acknowledging, “I can of Mine own self do nothing.”—John 5:30
What a blessing it would be for each one of us if we could always realize that of our own selves we can do nothing. It is when we lose sight of this fact, and undertake to do things without first seeking the divine will and blessing, that we fail. It is when we go to the Lord for strength and depend upon Him entirely, that His strength is made perfect in our weakness. This, then, is the true manner in which we can be “strong in the Lord, and in the power of His might.”
STRENGTH THROUGH FELLOWSHIP
Another source of spiritual strength to the Christian is that of fellowship with the brethren. The value of true Christian fellowship in this connection can hardly be overestimated. It is through fellowship that we build one another up in our most holy faith. If we neglect the privileges of fellowship when they are available to us, we are sure to grow weak and lean spiritually. In failing to meet with the brethren in their prayer and study meetings, we are neglecting one of the Lord’s provisions through which He answers our prayers and otherwise provides His grace and strength to help in times of need. Someone has well said that often God’s answer to our prayers is waiting for us at the prayer meeting. If we fail, therefore, to keep this appointment with the Lord, we will lose the blessing that He has in store for us.
STRENGTH THROUGH GOD’S ARMOR
One of the most important means of divine strength on behalf of the Christian is the Truth itself. The Truth, in which the Christian finds divine guidance and strength, is likened to a soldier’s armor. Indeed, the Christian is, in many respects, like the soldier, in that he finds himself constantly at warfare with powerful enemies which are endeavoring to destroy him as a new creature in Christ Jesus.
But in order that we may fight the good fight of faith successfully, God has provided the Truth as an armor. The apostle admonishes us to put on the whole armor of God. Every part of God’s armor represents the Truth in one or another of its applications to our daily experiences. Paul enumerates the various parts of the armor as being, the helmet of salvation, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith, the girdle of truth, and the sandals of peace. These are the defensive weapons of our warfare, and in addition to this the Christian is provided with what the apostle describes as the sword of the spirit, which, he declares, is the Word of God.—Eph. 6:13-17
The helmet of salvation is apparently intended to represent an intellectual appreciation of the Truth. From this standpoint we can see that the Christian does need intellectual strength. It is not worldly intelligence, however, but the intelligence that is made available in the Word of God. It is that knowledge of God, and of His will for us which is so necessary in order that we may be guided aright as we travel along in the narrow way. To have on the helmet of salvation does not imply merely the idea of knowing a lot of things about the Bible. It does not necessarily imply ability to properly interpret all of the symbolisms of the prophecies, and unravel all the mysteries of Revelation. These wondrous things are put in the Bible for our guidance as they become due to be understood.
The helmet of salvation represents our understanding of the will of God for us, as that will is revealed in the Divine Plan centering in Christ Jesus our Lord. Paul’s mention of the Truth as the helmet of salvation emphasizes the fact that God does not deal with the Christian upon the basis of ignorance. When God calls an individual to co-operate with Him, He enlightens that individual with a knowledge of His will. Thus seen, knowledge of the Truth is essential to our being strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
But a mere knowledge of the divine will alone is not sufficient. We must put that knowledge into practice. We must make a personal application of it in our daily lives. Through a knowledge of the Truth we realize that it is only through Christ that we are acceptable to God. Through faith we avail ourselves of this wonderful provision, and thus we put on the breastplate of righteousness. We also need to exercise full confidence in the Lord as He reveals Himself to us through the Truth. In this way, the Truth becomes to us a shield of faith by which all the fiery darts of the adversary are quenched.
And then we need the armor fastened to us by the girdle of Truth. The girdle represents our service of the Truth. Thus is indicated the fact that we cannot expect to be protected by the Truth if we hold it selfishly. It is to be used for the blessing of others, and as we thus use it, its real value and glory will continuously become more and more, enhanced in our own minds and hearts.
We also need to have our feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace. This means that our walk in life must be consistent with the high standards of righteousness outlined by the Truth. We cannot hold the Truth in unrighteousness. We cannot expect God’s help in time of need unless we are yielding our lives to the sweet influences of the Truth and walking in the way which it directs.
In addition to the various defensive parts of the armor of Truth, we need also to have well in hand, and to use, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The sword of the spirit is an offensive weapon of warfare. It seems to us, that one of the most effective uses to which we can put the sword of the spirit, is to strike down the imaginations and desires of our own fallen flesh. Paul suggests this thought when he says that “the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds; casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.” (II Cor. 10:4,5) If we thus use the sword of the spirit properly against the enemies which are within our own flesh, we will then be the better prepared to use it against other enemies of the Lord.
The Christian will find that the proper use of the sword of the spirit results in the slaying of God’s enemies in the sense that they are turned into friends. Ours is a ministry of reconciliation. And when, through the Truth flowing through our consecrated lives, one who has been alienated from God is reconciled to Him, an enemy of God has been slain. Let us never use the Truth to browbeat others. It is not given to us for that purpose. Let us be, messengers of peace, and of good will. If we are opposed and persecuted and evilly spoken of, let it be simply because of a hatred for the Truth on the part of the persecutor and not because of our bungling manner in presenting the Truth.
STRENGTH THROUGH THE GOSPEL
The Truth of the Gospel is indeed a shield of strength and protection for us. This is further shown by the apostle’s words as recorded in Romans 1:16. Here Paul says, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation.” This is the equivalent of saying that God manifests His power on behalf of His people through the Gospel of Christ. This means that if we wish to be strong in the Lord we must maintain our standing in the Truth, and always recognize that it is only through the Truth of which Christ Jesus Himself is the center, that God deals with us.
This, in turn, emphasizes the importance of keeping the Truth pure in our minds and hearts. We cannot expect God to accommodate us by dealing with us through theories of our own. The truth is the revelation of His will and plan for us, and it is only as we enthusiastically endeavor to do His will as the plan reveals it, that we may hope to have His co-operation—a co-operation without which our whole Christian life will be a failure.
The evidences are increasing all around us that the church’s career in the flesh is nearly over. The time is, indeed, short. Let us then, dear brethren, more than ever, seek to avail ourselves of all the means of grace which the Lord has provided in order that we may, indeed, be strong in Him and in the power of His might. If we depend upon His strength, making sure that our relationship with Him is such that His power on our behalf will be always available, we are certain to be victorious. Thus it is only by divine strength that we may hope to be conquerors, yea “more than conquerors through Him that loved us” and “who died for us.”—Rom. 8:37; 5:8