In order for us to know God’s economy, we need to see the spiritual things behind the physical things, the spiritual world behind the physical world, realising that there’s a spiritual struggle taking place behind the physical struggle.
This is why, after God created man in His image and according to His likeness, He gave man His dominion over all the earth so that man would subdue it and defeat God’s enemy.
God’s intention in giving man not only His image but also His dominion, His authority over all things, is that man would not only express God but also represent Him to subdue Satan (God’s enemy), recover the earth, and exercise God’s authority over the earth in order that the kingdom of God would come on earth, the will of God may be done on earth, and the glory of God may be manifested on earth.
God gave the new man – which was created on the cross in the body of Christ – the dominion over all things, and today the church as the new man has the obligation and responsibility to not only express God with His image but also represent God by dealing with Satan, the enemy of God.
Dealing with Satan is actually not for our benefit but for God’s benefit, for it satisfies God’s need. God will never lower Himself to directly deal with one of His creatures, Satan; He wants to deal with Satan through the church as the new man, the creature in His image, with His likeness, having His life and nature.
This is why besides preaching the gospel, saving sinners, caring for believers, and teaching the truth, we also need to take care of God’s need, that is, express God and especially represent God to deal with Satan, recover the earth for God, and bring in the kingdom of God.
The work of God for the church is that the church would exercise God’s authority to cause Satan to suffer loss on this earth so that the kingdom of God may come in, man would be delivered from Satan’s usurpation, the earth would be recovered for God, and the glory of God would be manifested.
To do the work of God, however, requires that we pay the highest price, the price of the self. Satan has his “agents” in us – we still have the flesh, and especially we have the self, who is fully one with Satan.
So the Lord has to deal with the self in us so that through us – as part of the church as the new man – He would have a way to deal with Satan, His enemy.
Satan fears a selfless person, and those who pay the price to deny the self and let the Lord deal with them thoroughly, they become part of the new man in the aspect of dealing with Satan to accomplish the work of God.
The church is a corporate new man, a corporate warrior, to defeat God’s enemy and to bring in the kingdom of God. The church fights against God’s enemy to fulfill God’s purpose to express God and represent Him with His dominion.
We as believers in Christ need to realise that there’s a spiritual struggle going on behind the physical struggle, for there are spiritual things going on behind the physical things, and we need to have a prayerful consideration of things before the Lord to be joined to Him in the fight against His enemy.
Seeing the Spiritual Things behind the Physical Things and Realizing there’s a Spiritual Struggle
There is a great need for us as believers in Christ to see beyond the physical realm. We are not like the people in the world who see only the physical things and look at what the eyes can see in the world today.
For example, when the last presidential election happened in the USA, many unbelievers and believers alike may have not agreed with the outcome, and it is very troubling to see many believers’ reaction and attitude to these events.
Many believers lack the vision of the spiritual realm and the spiritual struggle taking place behind the physical scene.
In Daniel 10 we see how there’s a spiritual world behind the physical world, and when we as God’s people pray, God has a way to break through and defeat His enemy, so that He would accomplish what is in His heart.
While Daniel was praying for 21 days, a spiritual struggle was taking place in the air between two spirits – one belonging to Satan and the other belonging to God. They were fighting because there was an angelic messenger sent to Daniel to answer his prayer from God, but the enemy was fighting this. Just as the archangel Michael fought in Jude 9, so he came in here to fight in Daniel.
Behind the physical scene and struggle there’s a spiritual scene with a spiritual struggle, a struggle that we can’t see with our physical eyes.
For us to know God’s economy and know that in God’s economy Christ is the centrality and universality of God’s move, we need to see the spiritual things behind the physical things.
We may see the enmity between people, the cruelty in the world, the mocking of everything that’s good and moral, the hatred toward God and all that is good, and the disrespect of authority and anything that is ordained by God, but behind all these things there’s a spiritual struggle.
The army cannot deal with such things, neither can the special forces, but the church that is trained in warfare and praying prayers of spiritual authority can deal with this.
The Lord needs to raise up such prayers all over the earth.
For us to see the spiritual things happening behind the physical things, and for us to realise there’s a spiritual struggle, we need to cooperate with the Lord to grow in the divine life.
Just as humanly speaking it is only when we are more mature that we understand what a war is, for when we are young we may only “play guns in the park”, so spiritually speaking we need to be mature and grown so that we may realise and participate in the spiritual warfare, the spiritual struggle in the universe.
What hinders the gospel is not the stubbornness or passivity of people, neither is it the outward environment and the modern world – it is Satan, the enemy of God.
What usurped the saints and causes them to not love the Lord is not their human ties, the flesh, or the world, but it is actually Satan who is behind all these things. There’s a spiritual struggle going on not only in the spiritual realm in every country, but in every single person on earth.
The reason for all the confusion, striving, indifference, and corruption in the church is nothing else but Satan.
If we see the spiritual struggle behind the physical scene, we will not deal with things that appear on the surface but, through the position and authority of ascension, we will deal with the power of darkness that schemes these things and reigns on earth.
Lord Jesus, cause us to see the spiritual things taking place behind the physical things in the world and in our situations today. Save us from merely focusing on what we can see with our eyes around us. May we realise that there’s a spiritual struggle in the universe, and may we be joined to You, Lord, in dealing with Your enemy. Lord, may many saints raise up in the church and stand one with You in prayer to deal with Your enemy so that Your purpose may be fulfilled. May many saints stand in the position of ascension, in the victory of Christ, one with the Head and properly related to the Body, to deal with God’s enemy in the air, release God’s will, and bring in the kingdom of God on earth.
Seeing a Vision of how God’s Enemy is Fighting against Him as seen in Rev. 12
Revelation chapter 12 presents a great vision concerning the war in heaven, which is the warfare going on this universe between God and His enemy (see Rev. 12:1-4, 7-9, 13, 17). This chapter shows us a great vision concerning what is taking place in the entire universe.
The woman in this vision represents God’s people since the fall of man in Gen. 3, and she also represents God Himself. The great dragon represents God’s enemy, who in the beginning was a little snake but it grew to become a great dragon.
Throughout the centuries there has been war between woman and the serpent, the dragon; there has been a spiritual struggle between God’s enemy and God and His people.
If we study world history or look at today’s situation in society, what we may see are such obvious outward things as development in commerce, politics, industry, education, technology, and there’s a lot of wars.
But what is the meaning of all these? People in the world don’t know, for they think it’s by chance, this is how the world works, and this is how things are. Many think that they need to get a good education so that they have a good job and earn a good living.
But what is really going on in this universe, and what is the spiritual reality behind the physical situation? What the Bible tells us is that God has a people, and today the church is the people of God; we are His woman, His wife, and we are one with Him, even representing Him in this world.
God is our unique husband and we are His unique wife.
But God has an enemy, who at first was a little serpent, but as he ate the flesh and self of so many people who were joined to him, he became a great dragon who is now in front of us.
If we have a clear spiritual sight and understanding we will see that Satan is a great dragon standing in front of the church to destroy the manchild, the full-grown new man, for it is this man-child that will destroy the enemy.
May we not be blinded or duped by the outward situation and the flood of immorality, corruption, and degradation in today’s society.
May we realize that today’s situation is not merely about education, industry, commerce, diplomacy, technology, war, etc, but there’s a spiritual struggle in the universe between God and His enemy.
God’s enemy is fighting against Him, and there has been a war raging throughout the centuries, and it is still raging today.
But within the church there’s a stronger part, those who are produced to be the overcomers, and these ones are joined to the Lord, matured in life, and skilled in battle, for they defeat God’s enemy and cast him down to earth. We want to be such ones!
Lord, save us from being deceived by what we outwardly see as the situation and struggle in the world today. May we see the warfare raging in the universe between God and His enemy. May we realize there’s a spiritual struggle in us, in our family life, in the church life, in our locality, in our country, and all over the earth. Oh Lord, we stand with You and on Your side. We want to be part of the manchild, the stronger part of the woman, the overcoming ones. By Your mercy and grace, Lord, produce us as Your overcomers today!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message given by Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Daniel, msg. 15 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Spiritual Warfare of the Church as the New Man (2018 Memorial Day Conference), week 1, The Church as the New Man Engaging in Spiritual Warfare to Defeat God’s Enemy and to Bring In the Kingdom of God.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Teach us to pray and firmly stand / Upon the battleground, / To fight and break the stronghold down, / The enemy confound. (Hymns #767)
# Fight the battle in the Body, / Never fight it on your own; / With the Body to the Head joined, / Fight the battle on the throne. / Fight the battle in the Body! / By the virtue of the Head; / Standing firmly with the Body, / Into vict’ry you’ll be led. (Hymns #885)
# We lift up firm and high / The Cross, our banner glorious. / The enemy notorious / By Blood we dare defy. / To self the Cross apply, / On Christ alone rely. (Hymns #891)
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