The fundamental reason for this confidence (though not presumption) is that the decisive victory over the powers has already been won by God in Christ (1:19–22; cf. 4:8). Not only has the authority of the powers been broken, but also their final defeat is imminent, and the very existence of the church, comprising Jews and Gentiles reconciled through the death of Christ to God and to one another in the same body, is evidence that the purposes of God are moving triumphantly to their climax (3:10). The powers cannot finally hinder the progress of the gospel, and all things will ultimately be subject to Christ. It is because of God’s victory in his Son that believers are in the battle at all. We are not urged to win the victory; rather, to withstand the devil’s insidious wiles and to stand firm, a posture that will involve both defensive and offensive positions (see below). Believers live in the overlap of the ages, between the ‘already’ and the ‘not yet’. Christ is already seated in the heavenly places far above every rule and authority; God has placed all things under his feet (1:21, 22), and we have been raised and made to sit with him (2:5, 6). But Christians need to appropriate what has been won for them, and in the present context this means putting on the armour of God and standing firm in the midst of the battle.
- Peter O'Brien,
The Letter to the Ephesians (Pillar New Testament Commentary)
, 464
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