Page 175 - Ephesians

What is this climactic responsibility, this blessed responsibility, for
every Christian? Chapter 6-10, “Finally,” finally what? What is
He building up to? Let me state it for you in simple words, and
then go back and break it down. It can be summarized in these
words,

“The Christian’s responsibility is to have full victory, at all
times, over all his enemies.”

That’s the heart of it. As you notice, this is about a holy war.
There are two sides. There are soldiers in armor. There are
schemes of the devil. There are swords and flaming darts. We’re
in a struggle, wrestling against spiritual wickedness and unseen
powers. Watchman Nee calls this, “The warfare of the ages.”
One commentary on Ephesians puts it like this. “The wealth, the
walk, and the warfare of the Christian”.

In Watchman Nee’s classic treatment of Ephesians, “Sit, Walk,
and Stand”, he suggests that we Sit before the Lord, we Walk
before the world and then we Stand before the enemy. He ends
with a war, a conflict, and a battle. In the third chapter of our Bible
we are told there’s a war coming. “The seed of the woman is at
war, with the seed of the serpent”. Two thrones at war.
Satan’s throne. God’s Throne.

Anyway, this section ends with a battle, and because it ends this
way, it’s often misunderstood. Some have trouble putting it
together. Is there a war, or is it finished? I thought the war was
over at Calvary’s cross. Where does the struggle fit in? If Christ
conquered Satan, sin, death, hell and every evil, then how come,
I’m still struggling? In what sense are we wrestling?

Try to catch the impact of this. The book of Ephesians is telling
us how rich we are in Christ. It’s a tender book, speaking of our
beautiful mystic union with our loving Lord Jesus. What it is to
walk in fellowship with Him. Overflowing with peace, tranquility,
humility, love and unity. Then all of a sudden, you come to