Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Paul now comes to the passage where he describes the importance of putting on the whole armor of God. He starts with the word “finally.” He is wrapping up his letter to the Ephesians with this important truth.

Verse 10 is a command or instruction, something we are supposed to do. Be strong in the Lord. The word “be” is in a present continuing sense. We might say, “Continue being strong…” or “Continually be strong.” We are to be strong today, tomorrow, and next week.

When given commands like this, we often shrink back because we don’t know if we can be strong forever. But no matter what the goal is, the aim is to be strong at this moment. Let the next moment take care of itself. You can’t be strong next week until you get there, so don’t worry about that. Focus on being strong now.

Next we notice that we are to be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. It’s not our strength that is the focus here. We are to be strong in His mighty power. It’s similar to Philippians 2:12, where Paul tells us to work out our own salvation with fear and trembling FOR it is God who works in us both for the doing and willing of His good pleasure. When we work, He is working. When we exert strength, it is His strength we are relying on.

The last thing we need to notice as we wrap up this verse is the double use of the word strength/power. This is to emphasize the power that God has. We are to be strong in the strength of His strength or the power of His power. It focuses on how powerful His power is. When we are strong in His power, it’s not just any ordinary reserve of power. It is an infinite source of power that is at our disposal. Keep that in mind as we move through this passage focusing on how we should stand against Satan’s onslaughts and the battles he wages against us.