In Num. 26-27 we see how the children if Israel were renumbered, Joshua was set up as the new leader, and the people of Israel were formed into a new army ready to enter the good land; this typifies the believers being built up into the organic Body of Christ to fight with God and with God for the carrying out of His economy.
Hallelujah, today in the church life the Lord is forming us to be His army, those who are formed, trained, perfected, and built up to be the army that He desires to have to fight for His interest on earth.
On His side, the Lord Jesus as the Head of the Body has already won the battle, so we as the church don’t need to win the battle for it has been won; we simply need to maintain Christ’s victory.
Jesus Christ as the first God-man won the battle when He was on earth – He destroyed the devil, He destroyed the works of the devil, and He has won the victory.
Now we as the church, His Body, stand in His victory, proclaim His victory, and maintain His victory.
If we look around us we see a lot of satanic chaos, a lot of things that Satan does to disturb, corrupt, and usurp; our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against the principalities and powers in the heavenlies, and we fight by remaining in the Body, one with the Body.
We fight the spiritual warfare by standing in the victory of Christ; we stand in the position of ascension, we stand in the Body, and together as the Body we put on the whole armor of God to fight the enemy.
We fight not against people, even though it seems that Satan uses people and situations and things; we fight against the evil spirits behind the scenes, and we fight by prayer.
May the Lord produce us as His overcomers, the mighty ones, those who realize that spiritual warfare is based on the victory of Christ and who declare His victory!
The starting point of spiritual warfare is standing upon the victory of Christ, realizing that Christ has already won, and we are here on earth as the church to perpetuate and manifest Christ’s victory over Satan! Amen!
And now we want to take a turn from focusing on the enemy and how he was destroyed, to look at the fact that God is currently forming an army in the church life among the saints, and this army will defeat the enemy.
God is forming an army, He is numbering His people, and He is working to perfect, train, and equip the saints for the battle. Amen, may we be such ones in the army of God!
Being the New People of God formed into a New Army with a New Theocracy under God’s Leading
At the end of Numbers 27 we see that God’s people – the people of Israel – have been formed into a new army ready for battle.
At the beginning of Numbers there was a numbering of God’s people, and now in Num. 26 there was a new numbering, the numbering of the new people. At the time of the first numbering, the people of Israel just got out of Egypt and were wandering in the wilderness; the renumbering, however, took place after much trouble and reduction through judgement.
However, even though there were so many trials, turmoils, temptations, failures, and reductions, God still had almost the same number for Himself as He had in the beginning.
Regardless of what the enemy has done, regardless of the rebellion and failure of the people, God in His sovereign grace and acts, still had a great number (over six hundred thousand) of people who were numbered in the army.
No matter all the failures, temptations, reductions, and trials that we go through in the church life, the Lord is still gaining an army, and He is even gaining a large army, a good number of soldiers who are qualified to fight in the battle.
Even though we may go through difficult times, many saints reach the spiritual age of twenty, and the Lord is raising us a new generation to fight the battle and enter into Canaan.
There are some older soldiers like Joshua and Caleb, and the young ones fight side by side with them, but the Lord is raising a new generation, a new army.
In spite of so many aspects of our history, in spite of what the enemy is trying to do to us to add even more torment to himself, the Lord is forming His new army.
The new people had been renumbered, the new army had been re-formed and strengthened, and a new leader, Joshua, had been appointed to serve.
In Num. 27:12-23 we see how Moses had to take Joshua, cause him to stand before the priest and the whole assembly, lay his hands on him, and charge him to be the leader. In this way God raised up a new leader for His people – Joshua, with the help of Eleazar the high priest.
Moses was clear – he will not enter the good land, he will die because of his one failure; God chose Joshua, who was with Moses from the beginning and served Moses, and Moses laid his hands on him to make him the leader of God’s people. Then all the people realized that Joshua is the leader and they honored his leadership.
Today we are not looking for any particular individual Joshua but we are formed into a corporate Joshua to enter into the enjoyment of the good land.
Joshua would serve not by himself but with Eleazar the priest, who would receive divine instructions by means of the Urim and the Thummim; this means that there was among the people a new theocracy (vv. 19-21).
There’s no democracy in the church; in the church we don’t vote for elders or for anyone – that’s the degraded Laodicea, the opinions of the people.
In the church God appoints, He determines, and the leading ones have fellowship and coordination, just as Joshua needed the high priest in taking the lead, to carry out the word that the priest had received.
Hallelujah, in the church life we are a new people formed into a new army with a new theocracy to fight for God and with God for His interest on earth! Lord, we look to You so that, no matter how many trials, failures, problems, and turmoils we go through, You would gain Your new army, a new generation that is one with You, equipped, trained, and ready for battle under Your leadership! Amen, Lord Jesus, gain the army that You desire among us, and make us fully one with You for Your purpose!
The New Testament Believers are Built into the Body and Formed as God’s New Army to Fight for God
After being formed, constituted, disciplined, trained, and qualified, God’s people had come to the plains of Moab, where they were waiting to enter into the good land, to take it, and to possess it (Num. 36:13).
The formation of the children of Israel into an army to fight for God typifies us, the New Testament believers, who are being built up into the organic Body of Christ to fight for God for the carrying out of God’s economy (see Eph. 4:16; 6:12).
For us to fight the battle we need to be in the Body; we must be built up together, being in oneness and harmony as the living, organic Body of Christ; then, we can be the army.
Warfare is not individual – it is a matter of the Body, which is in Christ, in the Spirit, and in the heavenly places.
Our spiritual warfare is not against people – it is not against flesh and blood; rather, we fight with the spiritual forces, the evil spirits, which are working to damage the kingdom of God to frustrate the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
The real enemy is not the evil people; rather, it is the enemy with his evil forces, who are working behind the people and utilizing them for his evil purpose.
And the way for us to fight the evil forces is to appeal the throne through prayer.
We have no authority or power in ourselves; all power, victory, and authority is with the throne, and we as God’s people can pray to appeal the throne in the heavens as the highest authority.
There’s a great need for much real and prevailing corporate prayer in the church life.
Whenever we hear a rumor, when we see a situation, and when we hear of some things that happened, we should not try to investigate or worse, we shouldn’t try to “deal with people” but rather come before the Lord to pray and deal with the enemy.
The church needs to come together and pray; the church doesn’t need to mainly “deal with people” but rather pray and appeal to the highest authority.
When others tell us some rumors or things concerning other saints, we should not try to explain or talk to them but rather go to the Lord and pray, for through our corporate prayer at the throne of God we as God’s new army are dealing with the enemy who is behind the flesh and blood.
We as New Testament believers are being built into the Body of Christ to be formed as God’s new army to fight for God; we fight not against flesh and blood but against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.
In the church life today is forming us into His new army; He is constituting us, disciplining us, training us, and qualifying us to be the new army of God who will fight for God and with God for the carrying out of His economy.
Lord, we give ourselves to You to be built up into the organic Body of Christ to fight for God and with God for the carrying out of His economy! Amen, Lord, may we be formed, constituted, disciplined, trained, and qualified to be God’s new army, the new generation formed into the army of God to fight the battle in the Body for the carrying out of God’s economy! May there be real and prevailing corporate prayer in the local churches for the carrying out of God’s economy and for dealing with the evil forces and principalities in the heavenlies!
Read this article in the Romanian language / citiți acest articol și în limba română la următorul link, Suntem zidiți în Trup și suntem formați într-o armată nouă pentru a lupta pentru interesul lui Dumnezeu.
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, the message by bro. Ron Kangas for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1963, vol. 3, ”Basic Principles for the Practice of the Church Life,” ch. 6, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Numbers (2), week 12, The Necessity of Spiritual Warfare and God’s People Formed into an Army Ready for Battle.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Who then will forward go / Strong in His mighty power? / Who then will firmly trust the Lord / Until the vict’ry hour; / Till with the conqu’rors blest, / The triumph song’s begun? / That man will then rejoice to hear, / Behold, I quickly come! (Hymns #893)
# For the Body is God’s armor, / Not for anyone alone; / When you wrestle in the Body, / All its benefits you own. / ’Tis the Church on Christ established / Satan shall not overpow’r; / ’Tis the Body built together / Which resists the evil pow’r. (Hymns #885)
# Let us move together with the Lord through prayer; / For His move on earth we must prepare. / Lord do grow in us ’till we’re matured in life, / As Your army fully qualified. / Let us fight together with the Lord through prayer; / Over death, Christ’s vict’ry we declare. / One with the ascended Christ; we soar in prayer, / Fight as one for God’s move everywhere. (Song on, Let us work together with the Lord through prayer)
