Eph.6:12 For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.

 

SPIRITUAL WARFARE—A MATTER OF THE BODY

In God’s economy there is one army constituted of a corporate warrior. This means that the warrior in Ephesians 6 is a corporate entity. Only as a corporate entity, the Body, can we put on the whole armor of God. This is contrary to the concept held by many Christians that an individual believer is able to wear the entire armor. The armor in Ephesians 6 is not for Christians as individuals; it is for the church corporately as the Body. What this chapter reveals is not the believers fighting as individuals, but a corporate army fighting the battle for God’s interests on earth.

Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter; it is a matter of the Body, a corporate entity to fight the battle against God’s enemy. No soldier in a modern army would enter into battle by himself. Rather, he would fight as part of a well-trained and fully equipped army. After we have been formed corporately into an army, we shall be able to fight against God’s enemy. God’s strategy is to use the church as His army to fight against the enemy. Therefore, it is very dangerous to be isolated from the army. Only by remaining in the army will we have the necessary protection.

Years ago, the Lord’s people regarded spiritual warfare as an individual matter. But through the years we have seen that it is altogether a matter of the church as God’s corporate army. If you separate yourself from the church, you will be defeated. Satan’s strategy is simply to isolate you from the church as God’s army. It is crucial for us to realize that spiritual warfare is a Body matter. If we realize this and stay with the church, we shall be victorious. The battle is not for us as individual believers; it is for the church as God’s army.

EMPOWERED IN THE LORD

As God’s warrior, the church does not fight by her own strength. Ephesians 6:10 says, “For the rest, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength.” This verse indicates clearly that we should not fight in our own strength. On the contrary, we must be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. The Greek word rendered “empowered” has the same root as the word power in 1:19. To deal with God’s enemy, to fight against the evil forces of darkness, we need to be empowered with the greatness of the power that raised up Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavens, far above all the evil spirits in the air. In the spiritual warfare against Satan and his evil kingdom, we can fight only in the Lord, not in ourselves. Whenever we are in ourselves, we are defeated.

PUTTING ON CHRIST AS THE ARMOR

According to Ephesians 6, the Lord with His might is the very armor that we put on for our protection. This means that we, as the Body, need to put on Christ Himself as our armor. In order to fight in the spiritual warfare, we must have Christ as the whole armor of God.

In 6:14-17 there are six aspects of Christ as armor: the girdle of truth, or reality; the breastplate of righteousness; the firm foundation of the gospel of peace (the shoes); the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; and the sword of the Spirit. Therefore, the whole armor of God consists of the girdle, the breastplate, the shoes, the shield, the helmet, and the sword. The shield is for defense, whereas the sword is for offense. In fact, the sword is the only item of the armor that is for offensive warfare.

PRAYING AT EVERY TIME IN SPIRIT

As we receive the word by means of all prayer and petition, we should pray “at every time in spirit.” The spirit in verse 18 is our regenerated spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God. Hence, this spirit is the mingled spirit, our spirit mingled with God’s Spirit. Whenever we pray as a means of taking in the word, we need to be in spirit. The spirit is the proper organ for prayer. As we have pointed out many times, we can be in spirit simply by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus from deep within. When we call “O Lord Jesus,” we turn from the vanity of the mind to the spirit of the mind. How sweet and enjoyable it is to call on the Lord Jesus in spirit!

By praying in spirit we apply Christ as the whole armor of God. As we take the word by praying in spirit, we spontaneously contact Christ as the life-giving Spirit. Immediately, our praying and reading become living, and we are empowered by Christ and covered with Him as our armor. Furthermore, we have the realization that we are in the Body and that Christ with all that He is and has is our portion. In this way we apply Him as the all-inclusive armor.

NOT FIGHTING BUT ENJOYING

When we are in the Body, we actually do not carry on the spiritual warfare; we simply enjoy it. Instead of struggling in the battle, the battle becomes an enjoyment. Because we pray in spirit to apply all the aspects of Christ as the armor, spiritual fighting becomes an enjoyment. We enjoy Christ as the reality that girds us and as the righteousness that covers and protects our conscience. Furthermore, we enjoy Him as the firm foundation of the gospel of peace and as our shield of faith. Christ Himself is faith to us. As Hebrews 12:2 says, He is the Author and Perfecter of faith. With Christ as our shield, we are defended from the flaming darts of the evil one. Moreover, we enjoy Christ as the helmet of salvation that covers our head, and also as the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Psalm 23:5 says, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” This indicates that the battlefield is a place of feasting. We feast in the presence of the enemy, enjoying Christ as reality, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and as the living word of God. We enjoy Him and apply Him by praying in spirit.

My concern in this message is not to present Ephesians 6 in a mere objective way. Instead, it is to help you experience Christ subjectively as all the aspects of the armor, especially as the sword of the Spirit. We have pointed out again and again that pray-reading is the way to kill the adversary within us. Every day and in every kind of situation, you should pray-read. Whenever you are troubled by something negative within you, take the word of God by means of prayer in spirit. As you do this, the negative element will be killed.