10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11 Put on the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armour of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints."
Ephesians 6:10-18
'Be strong in the Lord...' is followed by the exhortation, 'put on the whole armour of God ....' We need to see that 'the armour of God' is simply another name for the wealth that the apostle has been unfolding throughout the epistle, whether in 1:15-23, or 2:19-22, or 3:14-21, or 4:24ff (where, significantly, his language is the same as here - 'put on the new man...' equals 'put on the whole armour of God'), or 5:18, in the exhortation to be filled with the Spirit. Paul is summing up, so to speak, the essentials of his earlier teaching in these famous words now before us. It is also worth noticing that the phrase 'in high places' in 12 (AV), which Paul describes as the sphere in which this warfare takes place, is the same as we find in 1:3, and translated there as 'heavenly places', and also in 1:20, where he describes the realm to which the victorious Christ has been raised and exalted - far above all principality and power...', and in 2:6, where the apostle says that in the mystery of regeneration we have been 'raised up together and made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus'. The significance of all this is that Paul is making a twofold statement here - about Christ's warfare and victory, and about our warfare and victory, with the one based on the other. Therefore - and this is the point that is being made at the outset in 10, in the words 'be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might' - the believer must lay hold of, and enter into, the victory that has been won for him by Christ. And the personal appropriation of that victory is something that exercises the believer to the fullest extent. It is the fight of faith, a battle, a warfare. But we do not go to this warfare on our own charges: we battle from a position of victory that has been given us in Christ, and it is a matter of appropriating what is ours, what has been given us, in the gift of God.
Take, my soul, thy full salvation,
Rise o'er sin and fear and care.