Ephesians 6:10-12

6:10  "Finally my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might."

Strength is found as we realize our inability to produce strength from ourselves.  This power we are to seek is from the Lord, and is extrinsic of ourselves.  The Lord is the only one who has a inherent, intrinsic, all consuming, and never lacking power.  The eternal Jesus became a man just like us and modeled a life of dependency on the Father in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus accomplished our salvation by "being strong in the Lord and, in the power of his might."

6:11  "Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."

"Wiles of the devil"  this does not mean that Satan himself in person is coming against you, because Satan is not omni-present as God is and cannot be everywhere at once.  Satan can only be in one place at a time because he is a fallen angel and not God.  But it does mean you will deal with a third of the angels who fell with Satan and the demonic forces behind Satan and how they are organized against you and mankind.  They have been around for a long time and they know what you typically get tripped up by.  They can only observe you and make suggestions.  "Put on the whole armor of God"  The armor of God is simply made up of six pieces--  Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Faith, Salvation, and the Word of God.

6:12 "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places."

"We wrestle not against flesh and blood"  Oftentimes we see the "people problems" that we experience as if the people themselves were our root enemies.  Even though the apostle Paul was beheaded by the infamous Caesar Nero he could say "If I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profits me nothing" (1 Cor.13:3).  We oftentimes get caught up in the lateral perspective of life in our daily situations when we are called by Jesus to be looking vertically in our situations and circumstances.  In 2 Kings 6:13-17, Elisha assures his servant as the enemy troops surround their house to "Fear not, for they that be with us are more than they that be with them" (2 Kings 6:16).  Then Elisha prays for him saying, "Lord....open his eyes, that he may see.  And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and he saw; and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire round about Elisha" (2 Kings 6:17).  What a powerful lesson that young man learned that day.