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Concerning the fourth stage of spiritual life, we have seen the first three experiences: knowing the Body, knowing the ascension, and reigning. Now we will continue by considering the fourth experience of this stage — spiritual warfare. This is an important experience in the fourth stage. The reason we must know the Body, know the ascension, and reign is that we may have spiritual warfare. Hence, the fourth stage is called the stage of spiritual warfare.
The purpose of spiritual warfare is to bring in the kingdom of God. This is a subject of great significance in the Bible. We will select two most important passages as the basis.
Let us first read Matthew 12:26, 28-29: “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?...But if I, by the Spirit of God, cast out the demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you. Or how can anyone enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will thoroughly plunder his house.” In this passage of the Lord’s words, there are several important points related to spiritual warfare. First, the Lord said here that Satan has his kingdom. Not only is there the kingdom of God in this universe but also the kingdom of Satan. Second, the Lord said that if He cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God had come upon men. Hence, we see that to cast out demons by the Spirit of God is to bring in the kingdom of God, which is to engage in spiritual warfare. Third, since to cast out demons is to bring in the kingdom of God, then before the demons are cast out, it is the kingdom of Satan that reigns. It is through the demons that Satan usurps men and reigns. Fourth, the strong man that the Lord mentioned here is Satan. Satan is a strong man; he has that which he usurps and has seized by force. Fifth, both the kingdom of Satan and the house of the strong man are mentioned here. The kingdom of Satan is the house of the strong man. Therefore, the people in the world are on one hand the subjects in the kingdom of Satan and on the other hand the possessions in the house of Satan. It says here that a certain man enters into the strong man’s house and plunders his goods. This refers to the Lord coming to the kingdom of Satan to rescue men out of Satan’s usurpation and possession. Sixth, it says here also that in order for one to plunder the goods of the strong man, he must first bind the strong man. This means that when the Lord comes to rescue us, He must first overcome Satan and bind him.
Now let us read Matthew 6:9-10: “Our Father who art in the heavens, let thy name be sanctified, let thy kingdom come, let thy will be done as in heaven so upon the earth” (J. N. Darby’s New Translation). Also, verse 13b says, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” This passage of the Lord’s word concerning prayer is of great significance in the Bible. The meaning contained therein is very much related to spiritual warfare.
As the Lord taught us how to pray, He began with three lets. “Let thy name be sanctified, let thy kingdom come, let thy will be done as in heaven so upon the earth.” These three lets set forth the central meaning of what the Lord wants us to pray. Then, at the conclusion, He said, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory.” Again three factors are revealed here. The three lets at the beginning and the three factors at the conclusion show us the goal of spiritual warfare.
Let thy name be sanctified means also “let thy name be separated unto holiness.” The Bible shows us that the name of God is a great matter. After the fall of mankind, at the time of Enosh (grandson of Adam), men began to call upon the name of the Lord (Gen. 4:26). God desires that only His name be upon earth and that men call only upon His name. But when men built the tower of Babel, rebelling together against God, they put the name of God aside and propagated their own name (11:4). God’s will is that His name be sanctified on earth and become the only name worthy of all honor. However, Satan united rebellious mankind to put aside the name of God and replace it with many other names. Thus, the name of God was made common and ordinary. Hence, the name of God is not being sanctified or hallowed by men on earth today — an evil consequence of Satan’s reigning.
We know that name and authority are related. A name in great measure represents authority. A man’s name follows wherever his authority goes. The fact that a man’s name is in a certain place proves that his authority is there also. Generally speaking, the name appearing on a certain object identifies the object as belonging to the person of that name. If the name of God is on the earth, that means the earth recognizes God’s ownership over it. If the name of God is rejected on earth, that means the earth denies God the ownership over it. Since the earth was created by God, it must have the name of God upon it and recognize God’s ownership. But Satan took possession of man by causing man to rebel against God. Hence, God’s name was forsaken and no longer hallowed.
For this reason, when God works on this earth, He pays attention continually to the matter of His name being sanctified. When God brought the Israelites into the land of Canaan, He told them to gather together in one place to worship Him; that was the place where He chose to set His name (Deut. 12:5-6). God did this so that His name alone would be sanctified among His people. Today, in the dispensation of the New Testament, God has not given any other name under heaven among men, in which we must be saved, but the name of the Lord (Acts 4:12). When we are baptized, it is into the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit (Matt. 28:19). When we pray, it is in the name of the Lord (John 14:13-14; 16:23-24). When we meet, it is also in the name of the Lord (Matt. 18:20). Therefore, we are those who belong to the name of the Lord, and His name is being sanctified in us. The Lord Jesus came to this earth for the purpose of gaining the people on this earth. Through them He intends to recover the earth to God’s ownership so that the name of God will again become the only name that is sanctified. In that day men truly will praise God, saying, “O Jehovah our Lord, / How excellent is Your name / In all the earth” (Psa. 8:1).
Following the name is the kingdom. The second point that the Lord wants us to heed when praying is to let God’s kingdom come. This proves that the kingdom of God is not yet on this earth. What is the kingdom of God? God’s kingdom is the sphere of God’s reign. Any nation, however great or small, is a sphere for reigning. If the earth does not recognize the name of God, God’s reign is not on this earth. If the name of God is being sanctified on the earth, God’s kingdom or God’s reign comes upon this earth. Therefore, after the Lord said, “Let thy name be sanctified,” He said, “Let thy kingdom come.”
The Bible reveals that there are three important parts of the universe: the heavens, the earth, and the air. Since Satan rebelled against God, he took possession of the air and the earth, leaving only the heavens as the place where God has complete dominion. Hence, Satan became the ruler of the authority of the air (Eph. 2:2), and through the messengers under his hand he rules in the air and over the earth (6:12). Consequently, the people on earth abandon the name of God and reject His reign.
Although God does not have His kingdom on earth as yet, He has not abandoned the earth. Beginning with Genesis, we see the continuous line of God’s work on the earth throughout the generations to set up His kingdom and reign on earth. The purpose of God in calling Abraham was to obtain a family and from it to produce a nation (Gen. 12:1-2). Later, God delivered the Israelites, the heirs of Abraham, out of Egypt so that they might become a kingdom (Exo. 19:4-6). Then, through the tabernacle, He reigned among them.
After the Israelites entered Canaan, the day came when they again rejected God and refused His reign. They followed the nations of the earth by desiring a man to rule over them instead (1 Sam. 8:4-7). Because of this, God was very displeased; it was a setback for His kingdom on earth, and it gave Him no place to reign on earth. After Saul passed away, David was raised up. David was a man after God’s heart; thus, God was able to reign among the Israelites through David. However, after Solomon, the Israelites failed again. Since then, God has not been able to gain a kingdom on this earth wherein He may reign freely.
It was under such circumstances that God sent the man called John the Baptist. When he began to preach, his first word was, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (Matt. 3:2). Later, when the Lord Jesus came forth to preach, His first statement was also, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (4:17). Again, later, when the Lord sent the disciples to preach the gospel, He commanded them that as they went, they should preach, saying, “The kingdom of the heavens has drawn near” (10:7). Finally, what the Lord desires His church to preach throughout the whole earth is still “the gospel of the kingdom” (24:14; Acts 8:12; 28:31). For two thousand years God has been sending men to preach the gospel, the purpose of which is to gain a sphere for Him to reign on earth and thus set up His kingdom. This is the meaning of the second let in the prayer that the Lord taught us.
Finally, the Lord desires us to have the third let; that is, “let thy will be done as in heaven so upon the earth.” God’s will and His reign are inseparable. God’s will can only be done in the place where He reigns. God’s will can only be accomplished in heaven, not on earth, because the kingdom of God is still not on earth for Him to reign. And God’s kingdom is not found on earth because His name is not sanctified on earth. Where God’s name is sanctified, there His reign is, and where His reign is, there His will is being done. Therefore, in teaching us to pray, the Lord’s interest is that God’s name, God’s reign (His kingdom), and God’s will might reach to the earth.
In the prayer that the Lord taught us, the conclusion says, “For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory.” The kingdom is a sphere for reigning. God exercises His authority or power in His kingdom, and glory is made manifest through His reigning. These three items — the kingdom, the power, and the glory — are God’s forever. It is based on these three factors that the Lord prayed for God’s name to be sanctified, His kingdom to come, and His will to be done, as in heaven, so also on earth.
Today, although the kingdom of God has not yet completely come upon this earth, although God has not yet gained a sphere wherein He can exercise His authority in a full way, and although His glory has not yet been made fully manifest, nevertheless there is a small place, a small sphere, thank the Lord, where there still exists the condition of God’s partial reign, which thereby manifests a portion of God’s glory. This is the church. Today the church is a model of God’s reign. What God desires today is to expand His reigning sphere according to this model and through this model. It is through the church that God will bind Satan and destroy his power. Thus, His name will be honored in the whole earth, His kingdom set up, and His will done. This is the commission of the church. This also is the purpose of the church’s spiritual warfare.
We have said that in the universe there is the kingdom of God, and there is also the kingdom of Satan. The spiritual warfare we are speaking of is the warfare between these two kingdoms. Therefore, in order to engage in spiritual warfare, we must first know the opposition between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.
God’s kingdom is eternal, both in time and in space. Since God Himself is from eternity to eternity, so also is His kingdom from eternity to eternity. Furthermore, since God Himself is in light, so also is God’s kingdom in light.
Satan’s kingdom is not eternal. As to time, it is limited in time; as to space, it is limited to the air and the earth. Furthermore, Satan’s kingdom is in darkness, the exact opposite of the kingdom of God.
In addition, there is still another great difference: God’s kingdom is legal, whereas the kingdom of Satan is illegal. The whole universe was created by God and belongs to Him; hence, God has the legal right to reign. On the contrary, Satan’s kingdom was established by rebellion against God; hence, it is entirely illegal.
In Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:11-17, through the king of Babylon and the king of Tyre (both of whom had been instruments utilized by Satan), God relates the process of Satan’s rebellion. Satan was originally an anointed cherub, the archangel, who occupied a special place before God. Because he was proud in heart and desired to exalt himself to equality with God, he rebelled against God and tried to overthrow God’s authority, thereby establishing his own authority. Since then, there has existed in the universe the illegal kingdom of Satan.
Satan’s kingdom is the sphere of Satan’s reign. The Lord Jesus once called Satan “the ruler of the world” (John 14:30). This reveals that Satan not only has his kingdom but also reigns in his kingdom. Moreover, within his kingdom are his messengers of various ranks, all of which were angels who followed Satan in rebelling against God. Today these are the rulers, authorities, world-rulers, dominions, and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies, Satan being their head (Eph. 6:12; 2:2; 1:21).
Furthermore, in Satan’s kingdom there are many demons, evil spirits, who serve as his servants. Based on the various records in the Bible, we can ascertain that before the six days’ recovery work of the heavens and the earth (Gen. 1), there existed a world wherein lived a group of living beings with spirits. When Satan rebelled against God, they all followed him and rebelled together. Therefore, God judged that world, on one hand, by shutting off the sun and moon in the sky so that they gave forth no light and, on the other hand, by destroying the earth and the living beings with water. These living beings, judged as they were by water, became separated in spirit and body. These disembodied spirits who dwell in the waters of judgment are the demons, the evil spirits, mentioned in the Bible.
Therefore, originally, there were three groups of characters in the kingdom of Satan: first, Satan, the head, the ruler; second, the angels who followed Satan in rebelling against God and who served as ministers and officials to rule for him in the air; and third, the disembodied spirits, or the demons, the evil spirits, who acted as Satan’s servants to run his errands on earth.
Later, after men were created, Satan came to entice men and succeeded in seducing them. Men became his kingdom’s subjects, the ones who were handled and abused by him. Therefore, there are four classes of personalities in Satan’s kingdom today. In the air are Satan and his messengers, and on earth are his servants and subjects, the innumerable demons and the myriads of people. At the time when the Lord Jesus was preaching the gospel on earth, He met people everywhere who were possessed by the demons. Today there are still flocks of demons who are maneuvering among people in this world. Although their dwelling place is in the sea, they like to seek a body where they can live. When we say that a person is possessed by a demon, we usually refer to the human body being possessed by a demon.
In summary, the kingdom of Satan consists of these four classes of personalities. They are organized altogether into a system through which Satan usurps the air and the earth to the end that he may overthrow God’s authority and set up his own kingdom. Therefore, this kingdom, organized by Satan’s rebellious force, is absolutely illegal.
It was not until four thousand years after the fall of the human race, at the beginning of the dispensation of the New Testament, that the Lord Jesus came forth to His ministry and declared, “Repent, for the kingdom of the heavens has drawn near.” What the Lord meant was that before this it was the kingdom of earth, the kingdom of Satan, wherein Satan ruled, that held sway; but now it is the kingdom of the heavens, the kingdom of God, coming upon this earth to reign. Later, He taught the disciples to pray, “Let thy kingdom come.” The full accomplishment of this matter will be seen at the sound of the seventh trumpet in the future (Rev. 11:15). Then the kingdom of this world will become the kingdom of God and Christ. Thus, God’s kingdom will practically and completely come upon the earth.
Before that day arrives, the period in which we are living is the time for the people of God to fight for Him on earth. From the time the Lord Jesus came forth to minister, until the time of His second coming, all the works that the people of God are doing for Him are instances of spiritual warfare. God’s desire is to rescue, through those who belong to Him, the people who were captured by Satan, and to recover the earth, which was usurped by Satan. This rescuing and recovering is, according to what the Lord has shown us in Matthew 12, the warfare between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan.
Since warfare exists between the kingdoms of God and Satan, all the spiritual work that we are doing for God, whatever form it may take, as long as it touches the things of the spiritual realm, is in nature a warfare. For example, preaching the gospel, according to Acts 26:18, is “to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God.” This shows us that preaching the gospel is not only to open men’s eyes and turn them from darkness to light but also to deliver them from the authority of Satan. Again, Colossians 1:13 says, “Who delivered us out of the authority of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of the Son of His love.” To be delivered from the authority of darkness is to be delivered from the power of Satan or the kingdom of Satan. And to be transferred into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love is to be transferred into the kingdom of God. Therefore, preaching the gospel is wholly a spiritual warfare to drive out the power of Satan in men and bring in the kingdom of God. A person who does not believe in the Lord obviously rejects the name of God, does not have God’s reign in him, and has nothing to do with the will of God. Instead, he is fully under the power of Satan, and his whole being is in the dark kingdom of Satan. When a person is saved, he first believes in the name of the Lord; second, he calls on the Lord’s name; and third, he is in the name of the Lord; he belongs to the Lord’s name. Hence, he is delivered from the power of Satan and belongs to the name of the Lord. Once the name of the Lord is upon him, the authority of the Lord follows. Once the authority of the Lord comes upon him, Satan’s authority is removed. Therefore, strictly speaking, preaching the gospel, bringing salvation to men, and leading them to the Lord is a kind of spiritual warfare.
Edifying the saints is also a matter of spiritual warfare. To edify the saints is to deliver them from the rule of Satan, that is, from sins, the world, the flesh, and everything relating to the old creation, all of which are used by Satan to rule over man. Thus, they will be further delivered from the satanic power of darkness, they will know the name of the Lord more deeply, and they will allow the Lord to increase His reign in them and thereby let the kingdom of God come more fully upon them.
Second Corinthians 10:3-5 says, “Though we walk in flesh, we do not war according to flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds, as we overthrow reasonings and every high thing rising up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought unto the obedience of Christ.” This word shows us that even after a Christian is saved, it is possible that a large portion of his mind and thoughts remains the stronghold of Satan, and many of his ideas and concepts still serve as the base usurped by Satan. Therefore, when the apostles edify the saints, their purpose is to cast down through warfare all the strongholds and bases of Satan in the saints and eventually bring their thoughts into captivity unto the obedience of Christ. Hence, edifying the saints is also a kind of spiritual warfare.
Moreover, even administering the church is a warfare. The purpose of administering the church is to deliver the church out of the power of darkness, to let God gain the place of rule in the church, to let the name of God be exalted in the church, to let His will be done in the church, and to let the glory of God be increasingly manifested in the church. Hence, administering the church is also a kind of warfare.
Even all our prayers, whether they be for ourselves, for our family, for the revival of the church, or for anything else, are for the purpose of delivering us out of the satanic power of darkness; hence, they are also a kind of warfare.
If our eyes have been opened by the Lord, we will see that the nature of our work in serving the Lord is that of warfare. All our spiritual work, whether it be delivering men from sin, from the world, from illness, or from problems, has an ultimate goal: to rescue men out of the power of Satan and drive out the satanic power of darkness from within men so that men might be gained even more by God. Thus, God’s name will be sanctified in men, God’s kingdom will reach unto men, His will shall be done in men, and thereby His glory will be manifested upon men. Therefore, the nature of all this work is that of spiritual warfare.
To experience spiritual warfare in a practical way, there are several basic principles that we must keep.
The first principle of spiritual warfare is that we cannot use fleshly weapons. The apostle Paul tells us this clearly in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, which we have quoted already. He says, “Though we walk in flesh, we do not war according to flesh; for the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly.” These fleshly weapons not only refer to the losing of temper but include all human schemes and natural methods. For example, we may feel that a certain brother is in error and that this error has already become a problem in the church. We want to correct him, yet we feel that to do so is inappropriate. Later, we remember that there is another brother who is rather intimate with him, so we ask that brother to go and talk with him. Even this kind of maneuvering is a fleshly weapon; it will eventually prove futile in solving the spiritual problem. In society and the business world many such schemes are employed, but on the spiritual battlefield we cannot use schemes. Whenever we use the schemes of our flesh, we have already fallen into the hands of the enemy. How then will we be able to deliver others from the hands of the enemy?
We see that Paul was a man who never used fleshly weapons. In his dealings with the churches and his contact with the saints, he was perfectly straight — as straight as an arrow. He would rather be treated as a fool than employ ingenious scheming for a moment. For this reason he could be “powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds” and thereby gain the victory in the spiritual warfare.
In the same manner, if we wish to win the victory in all our spiritual works and be effective, we must forsake all fleshly weapons. For example, in preaching the gospel it is all right to use illustrated tracts as helps for presentation, but if we continually rely on various methods or use material benefits to attract people, that is using fleshly weapons. The most it can do is to help people become church members; it cannot deliver them out of the hands of Satan. Therefore, the first principle of spiritual warfare is to forsake all fleshly, carnal weapons.
The second principle of spiritual warfare is to keep the position of ascension. We have spoken much concerning spiritual warfare; in fact, however, there is only one kind of people who can engage in spiritual warfare — those who have received salvation, have been raised from death, and are now sitting with Christ in the heavens. Only this kind of men can attack the enemy in the air from a transcendent position in the heavens. Therefore, in order to engage in spiritual warfare, we must keep the heavenly position. Whenever we are not heavenly enough, whenever we lose our heavenly condition, everything is finished. If our gospel is powerless, it is because we are not heavenly enough; we ourselves are earthly, and we are using earthly methods or fleshly weapons to preach the gospel. As a result, we may get some saved, but their condition will be muddled, and they will be unable to be completely delivered out of the power of Satan. If we really desire to deliver men out of Satan’s power so that they are not only saved but completely delivered from the hands of Satan, we who are preaching the gospel must be men who are sitting in the heavens and keeping the ascended position.
The same principle applies in edifying the saints. If we lose the position of ascension, we can neither supply nor help the saints. If the messages we preach are mere doctrines and the fellowship we give mere knowledge, containing no element of warfare, the most we can impart is teachings for the mentality and stirring in the emotions; we cannot deliver people out of the power of Satan and turn them to God in a practical way. Therefore, if we want our work to have the effect of war, work which is able to deliver men from Satan’s hands, we must keep the position of ascension and live continually in the condition of the heavens. This is an extremely important secret.
Since many of us have not yet reached the realm of ascension in our experience, why then is it possible that we can lead people to be saved and love the Lord? This is due to the fact that, after all, there is still a part in us that is heavenly or bears the heavenly condition; therefore, through that portion we are able to help others and edify them. Although we are defiled with sin, love the world, and mind the flesh, yet part of our condition is still heavenly; thus, we are able to chase away part of the power of darkness in men and cause them to turn to the Lord and love Him. Hence, the principle remains the same. Only those who live in the realm of the heavens can deal with the power of darkness in the air and chase the devil out. The help, the deliverance, that we afford others is based solely on that part which is of the heavenly nature in us. The extent to which we chase out the power of darkness is directly dependent on our heavenly condition. If we have more element of the heavens, we can engage more in spiritual warfare. If we have only a little element of the heavens, we can by no means have much element of spiritual warfare. The two are in direct proportion to one another. When a man has utterly reached the heavenly realm, his whole being, living, works, and actions are spiritual warfare. He is able to chase out the power of darkness from every place to which he comes and from all the people whom he meets. Therefore, when we in our experience have reached the position of ascension and are able to reign, that will be the time we can fight for the kingdom of God, recover the lost earth for God, and bring in the kingdom of God.
The third principle of spiritual warfare is that we must use spiritual weapons. When engaging in spiritual warfare, it is not enough to merely keep the heavenly position; we must be able to actively employ the spiritual weapons. Spiritual weapons refer to the “whole armor” mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-17, which includes the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit. All these weapons are spiritual, and when we use them, we must be in spirit. We can say that the basic principle of employing the spiritual weapons is that all our activities must be of the spirit. Preaching the gospel, edifying the saints, and administering the church are of the spirit. Whatever kind of activity we are engaged in, everyone must be of the spirit, and everyone must release the spirit. Anything that is not of the spirit, anything that is according to our own view, our own idea, our own wisdom, or our own intelligence, is unavoidably a kind of human scheme and thus a fleshly weapon, not a spiritual weapon. Therefore, when we are fighting, all our activities must be of the spirit, touching the feeling from within our spirit. This also is an extremely basic principle.
The fourth principle of spiritual warfare is to have fighting prayers. After the apostle mentions the various kinds of spiritual weapons in Ephesians 6, he says, “Praying at every time in spirit” (v. 18). Spiritual warfare cannot neglect prayer, for spiritual warfare largely depends on prayer. What Satan fears most is the saints’ bended knees before the Lord, or the prayer of the church before God. Even in the Old Testament we can see a few examples of warring prayers. For example, when Daniel prayed, there was action on the throne. But when the answer came down from the throne, it met resistance in the air. Daniel prayed continually. His prayer was a kind of warfare. A person who keeps the position of ascension reigns in heaven. He can also employ spiritual weapons, and the prayer that comes forth from him avails much; it can touch the throne of God and affect the power of Satan. God desires that His saints have this kind of prayer to work together with Him and fight for Him.
In spiritual warfare, besides forsaking the fleshly weapons, keeping the position of ascension, employing the spiritual weapons, and offering fighting prayers, we must also apply the blood, testify the word, and love not our own soul-life (Rev. 12:11). This is also a very important principle in spiritual warfare.
To engage in spiritual warfare through the blood means to apply the blood of the Lord as our covering and to take the Lord’s blood to counter Satan’s accusations and attacks. Since we are still to this very day on the earth and in the body of flesh, we cannot help but have some defilement, corruption, weakness, shortcoming, and other undesirable conditions. When we fight with Satan, the first thing he does is to point out all the weaknesses and shortcomings in our conscience and then to accuse and attack us. Satan’s accusation is not only within; sometimes it is spoken without. Once, when someone was casting out a demon, the demon pointed out his hidden weaknesses and revealed them publicly through the one possessed by him. This kind of incident is even recorded in the Old Testament. Zechariah 3:1-5 speaks of Joshua wearing the filthy garment and Satan coming to oppose and attack him. These are things that the devil will certainly do in spiritual warfare. At such a time we need to know the power and effectiveness of the blood. Thus, we can apply the blood to answer all of Satan’s accusations. We can tell him, “Although we have these weaknesses, the Lord’s blood has been shed, and God is satisfied.” Thus, we can be strong and of good courage before the enemy and fight against him.
Second, we must testify. That is, we must declare what the Lord Jesus has accomplished — the victory of the cross, the attainment of resurrection, and the position of ascension. This is not a matter of preaching but of testifying and declaring with words.
Satan is indeed a very subtle accuser. Sometimes when we just start to talk about overcoming the world, he immediately accuses us within, saying, “Are you not still loving the world?” The moment he interrupts and asks such a question, we faint inwardly. This is the time that we ought to immediately declare the Lord’s victory. We must say, “Although I have not been delivered from the world, the Lord Jesus has overcome the world.” Thus, we can prevail against his attacks.
Third, we must not love our own lives; we must have no self-love or self-care. Loving and caring for ourselves will cause us to lose the position of warfare and to be unable to fight the battle. Hence, in order to fight the battle, we must not love our soul-life, even unto death.
In conclusion, all spiritual work is a form of spiritual warfare. There is not one time when we rise to work that we do not encounter the attacks of the enemy. In the day when Nehemiah restored the city of Jerusalem, because of the disturbance caused by the enemy, everyone with one of his hands wrought in the work and with the other hand held a weapon (Neh. 4:17). Likewise, we who serve the Lord today ought to work with one hand and fight with the other. We ought not to care for our gain or loss, but through the blood, in the position of ascension, declare the Lord’s victory. Then, exercising the various spiritual weapons to deal with Satan, we can overthrow his power and bring in the kingdom of God. We must not neglect any of these principles while we are engaging in spiritual warfare in a practical way.
The first result of spiritual warfare is the bringing in of God’s authority. How much we fight determines how much God’s authority will be brought in. God’s authority can only be executed in the place of our fighting. If this warfare transpires in an individual, then God’s authority reaches that individual; if it occurs in the home, then God’s authority reaches the home; if it takes place in the church, then His authority reaches the church. Therefore, the first result of spiritual warfare is the bringing in of God’s authority.
The second result of spiritual warfare is that Satan is driven out and chased away. This is true in the individual, in the home, and in the church as well. So also it is even in the air and on the earth. The place where the saints maintain the spiritual warfare is also the place where God’s authority is brought in; consequently, Satan is driven out from that place.
Among the children of God there are not enough who are fighting the warfare, and the element of spiritual warfare is too little; hence, Satan still rules in the air and on the earth. When our spiritual experience is rather shallow, our sense of spiritual warfare is very weak. We still feel that our problem is with sin, the world, the flesh, the self, and the natural constitution. When we deal with these and enter into the fourth stage of spiritual life, our experience is deepened, and we see that the Body that God uses in the universe is the church. Then we have a strong sense toward spiritual warfare, knowing that whatever we do — our every action, word, and attitude — is an influence upon Satan and an attack against him. Only then will we feel strongly that our only problem is Satan and that we are here as warriors to deal with this enemy of God. We will see that our preaching the gospel is not merely to save souls but even more to cast out the devil; our edifying the saints and administering the church are not merely for the building up of the church but even more to fight for God and chase away the power of darkness that usurps men. Thus, God’s authority can come upon a group of people or on certain matters and reign over them. Upon arriving at this stage, whether we are preaching the gospel, edifying the saints, or administering the church, our attitude is always to aim at Satan as the object of our dealing. We know that what hinders the gospel is not the outward environment but Satan. We know that what usurps men and causes them not to love the Lord is neither human ties, nor the world, nor the flesh, but the satanic power of darkness. We know also that the reason for all the confusion, striving, indifference, and corruption in the church is naught else but Satan. Therefore, we do not deal with things that appear on the surface, but, through the position and authority of ascension, we deal with the power of darkness that schemes behind these things and reigns on the earth.
Revelation 12 reveals that once the man-child, who typifies the overcomers, is caught up to heaven, warfare immediately takes place. The moment they are caught up into heaven, they enter into conflict with Satan and cast him down from the air to the earth. Later, the Lord Jesus brings them with Him in His descent to the earth and casts Satan, who is on the earth, into the bottomless pit. At that time the power of darkness in the air and on the earth will be completely expelled, and no trace of Satan will be found again in heaven or on earth; thus, the kingdom of God will come in a practical way. At that time all the overcoming saints will reign together with Christ and with God for a thousand years.
Finally, at the end of the millennial kingdom, the enemy will be released for a short time and will rebel for the last time. But again he will be dealt with by the Lord and the overcomers and will be cast into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. All those who belong to him will perish with him forever. At that time the former heaven and earth will pass away, and a new heaven and new earth will begin. There, in the new heaven and new earth, God’s name will be uniquely honored, all creatures will be subject to God’s authority, God’s will shall be done in the whole universe, and His glory will be fully manifest. Thus, through spiritual warfare God’s eternal purpose is completely accomplished.
