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Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil\u2019s schemes (Ephesians 6:11-12).

We come now to the ending of Paul\u2019s little letter to the Ephesians. There is one more major topic he wants to address. It\u2019s a passage that often comes up in conversations and sermons on \u2018spiritual warfare\u2019. Since the term remains largely undefined, I do not find it very useful. Further, this passage does not deal with \u2018warfare\u2019. It does deal with armour and thus it is easy to slip into military language.

Yet, we will notice repeatedly as we ponder these closing verses that Paul does not tell us to engage the enemy. His repeated instruction is \u201cto stand.\u201d The devil is still trying to take us down, but rather than go on the offensive against him, we are to stand, deflecting his attacks with the armour of the gospel and the strength of our God.

It would be very odd for Paul to end his letter with instructions on how to fight against the devil, since throughout he has argued that the battle is already accomplished, the victory is secure. Let us review a few things so that we land firmly on our feet.

First, Jesus is introduced as Lord (1:3). In fact, Paul uses \u201cLord\u201d twenty-six times in this letter to refer to Jesus. Our God and Father has appointed Jesus as the supreme Lord of the universe, the head of all of creation, and he has authority over all things in heaven and on earth (Matthew 28:16-20). Further, all of history is moving towards the goal of bringing \u201cunity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ\u201d (1:10). Satan and his armies are simply incapable of hindering the purposes of God.

Second, in his exaltation to the heavenly realms, Jesus overcame the most powerful enemies in creation: death and the spiritual powers. Jesus is seated at the right hand of God "far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come" (1:21). All things have been placed under his feet (1:22), including Satan and his schemes. There is no need to fret.

Third, God has manifested his extraordinary power in the church, giving life to those he has resurrected from death (2:1, 4-5), and delivering them from the extraordinary powers that had dominion over creation: the world, the Devil, and our fallen sinful nature (2:1-3). The church already participates in Christ's victory, although not fully, and has received the Spirit as first fruits and guarantee (1:13-14) of our final and complete redemption.

Fourth, the head and Lord of all creation, Jesus Christ, is now the head of the church and fills his bride with his incomparable great power, through his Spirit (1:18-19, 23; 2:21-22).

Fifth, the church is God's poem (2:10) and the first fruits of his new creation; we are God's new humanity (2:15) that has been elected, called, and sanctified to live for his glory (1:6, 12, 14).

Shalom (2:14, 15, 16, 17), unity (1:10; 2:14-17) and holiness (1:1,4; 2:21; 3:18; 5:3) are the main manifestations of this new society. By God's grace and power (2:4-7), the church is now composed of peoples from all the nations. We are called to live a life worthy of our calling, in unity, with behaviour characterized by truth, justice, and love. These are the virtues that make it possible in everyday communal life to "keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" (Eph. 4:1-3). We are to walk in the way of love (5:1-2) which expresses itself in mutual submission and service in the church (4:1-16) and family life (5:18-6:9).

We are called to live in this world as a testimony and manifestation of God's gracious love, redemption and shalom to all peoples (2:11-22), including the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places (3:10). The devil does all in his power to undermine the unity of the church and lure us into unholiness. It is against such schemes that we are called to stand. And to stand, we are equipped with the armour God himself gives us, while he infuses us with his own power.

Paul laid the groundwork for all of this when he wrote,

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen. (Ephesians 3:17-21).