Being Empowered in the Lord to Fight the Battle in the Body to Deal with God’s Enemy

The warfare between the church and Satan is a battle between us who love the Lord and who are in His church and the evil powers in the heavenlies; we fight the battle in the Body by the power of the Lord! Hallelujah!

In order for the church to be built up as the Body of Christ and the city of God, spiritual warfare is necessary.

God has an enemy, and Satan’s will is opposing God’s will; therefore, when God desires to gain a built-up church, the enemy will fight with all his might to frustrate and hinder the building up of the church.

It is so sad to see, however, that so many Christians do not see the matter of spiritual warfare; due to weakness in life, lack of spiritual strength, and not being clear in the light of the truth, they don’t see that there’s a war raging behind the scenes.

If we love the Lord a little, read the Bible a little, and passively attend some of the meetings of the church, there may not be a spiritual warfare related to us.

But when we want to build up the church as the Body of Christ, the enemy rises up and starts to attack us.

A very simple example is the prayer meeting of the church; before the prayer meeting starts, there is a warfare going on in the spiritual realm.

Every evening things are going smoothly, with no problems, but all problems start when the prayer meeting needs to take place.

The enemy knows that he is dealt with and opposed in his stratagems when we pray with the saints in one accord, and he opposes the saints coming together to pray.

May we grow in life unto maturity, be full of spiritual strength, and be clear from the word of God that there’s a spiritual warfare taking place, and may we stand one with the Lord to fight the battle in the Body.

The first thing we need to see when we fight the spiritual warfare is that we don’t fight for victory but from victory.

The Lord Jesus, our ascended Head, has already won the victory.

He fought for victory when He was on earth, and He overcame Satan and won the victory.

He destroyed the devil on the cross. He already judged Satan.

Now we are here as His Body, the church, to apply His victory, maintain His victory, and declare His victory.

Whether we feel like it or not, whether our situation and condition reflect this or not, we need to declare the victory of Christ and stand in His victory.

We stand one with Him and with the saints, and the victory is ours.

What a glorious meeting it is when we all realize and stand on the victory of Christ, applying His victory to the enemy and dealing with the enemy’s schemes and lies!

As the church, our work on earth is to simply maintain the victory of Christ; He has already won the battle, and we are here to maintain His victory. Hallelujah!

The Spiritual Warfare is between the Church and the Evil Powers in the Heavenlies

The spiritual warfare taking place today is between the church and Satan, that is, between us who love the Lord and are built together as the church, and the evil power in the heavenlies (Eph. 6:12).

We need to realize that, even though it may seem that it is people who try to damage, persecute, and bring in problems in the church, the evil powers in the heavenlies are actually the enemy.

We do not fight any human being.

We engage in spiritual warfare for the building up of the church, and no human being is the enemy, no matter who he or she is, and what he or she has done.

The person is not the enemy; it is the evil powers in the heavenlies who are operating behind the scenes.

Sometimes there may be a particular person who is used by the enemy so much that hundreds of thousands of people are put to death under them.

We should not pray against a person but against the enemy, the evil powers in the air, who are behind that person.

It is the principalities, the authorities, and the evil powers in the air that are acting through people.

The principalities, the authorities, and the world-rulers of darkness are rebellious angels who followed Satan in his rebellion against God, and who now rule in the heavenlies over the nations of the world (such as the prince of Persia, see Dan. 10:20; Col. 1:13).

Satan, the devil, has his kingdom of darkness (Matt. 12:26), and in this kingdom he’s at the top and under him there are all kinds of evil authorities and evil angels.

Our warfare is not against flesh and blood; our warfare is against Satan and his kingdom. Satan and his evil powers are in the air, but we are seated with Christ in the third heavens, far above them.

Their destiny is to be defeated, and our position in Christ gives us victory over them!

May we see that apparently it is people of flesh and blood who damage the church but actually it is Satan and his evil angels working behind them to cause the damage.

And may we fight against these spiritual forces, not focusing our attention on a particular people or group of people.

For example, in Acts 12 we see that persecution began and one of the apostles, James the brother of John, was killed by King Herod.

And Herod, seeing that the people were pleased with this, imprisoned Peter with the intention of killing him.

But in v. 5 we read that when Peter was in prison, prayer was being made concerning him fervently by the church.

Behind the scenes, there was a battle of spiritual forces, a battle between God and His enemy, Satan.

The church fought the battle with God against Satan, the evil one.

They didn’t pray for Peter as Peter but for Peter in the context of God’s economy, the ministry of the word, the gospel, and so many things.

And then God simply released him, as if in a dream; everyone around him was oblivious to the fact that he simply walked out.

Those prayers from the saints in the church reached the throne.

The angel didn’t just release Peter out of the goodness of his heart; he was sent by God as an answer to the saints’ prayer.

Later in that chapter, when Herod was dressed elegantly and addressed a group of people, they shouted, The voice not of a man, but of God!

And then an angel simply cut him down, killing him.

The church did not pray for Herod to die; they fought the battle in the Body and the Lord dealt with what needed to be dealt with.

May we realize that our warfare is not against human beings but against the evil spirits, the evil powers, in the heavenlies.

And may we stand one with the Lord to fight the battle in the Body!

Lord Jesus, unveil us to see that our spiritual warfare is not against flesh and blood but against the spiritual forces in the heavenlies! Amen, Lord, we don’t want to focus our prayers on people or groups of people who seem to damage the church, but on the evil powers in the heavenlies! We stand one with You, Lord, and one with the saints in the Body to fight the battle in the Body by the virtue of the Head. We do not fight against people or things; we fight against the enemy and his kingdom. We love You, Lord Jesus, and we love Your interest on earth. We stand with You and we stand one with the church to fight the battle in the Body by the power of the Head to deal with the enemy and his wiles!

Our Spiritual Warfare is in the Body – we must Fight the Battle in the Body!

When we speak of spiritual warfare, we do not refer to the fact that we individually need to put on the whole armour of God seen in Eph. 6 and go and fight the battle.

Today the world emphasizes the cultivation and bettering of the individual, and many Christians think that we need to be spiritual warriors individually, like the mighty men in the old days.

What the Lord is after, however, is the church as a corporate warrior.

We fight the battle in the Body.

Spiritual warfare is a matter of the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:22-23).

We need to see the Body and live in the Body in order to be qualified to be one with the Body and fight the battle in the Body.

It takes the whole Body of Christ to put on the whole armour of God; no individual Christian can do this.

No individual believer can fight against the enemy.

If we want to learn spiritual warfare, we must first know the Body.

We need to deal with the self, the flesh, and the natural constitution, and then we need to know the Body.

There are many hindrances that keep us from being conscious of the Body and knowing the Body.

But when we open to the Lord and we’re being shepherded stage by stage to deal with the flesh, the self, and the natural constitution, all the barriers are removed.

The result is that we will have an awareness of the Body in our spirit; we will simply be conscious of the Body.

We will realize that we are a member of the Body, and we can’t live without the Body.

May we reach this fourth stage of the experience of life to know the Body.

May we realize that it is the church who is the corporate warrior that can deal with the enemy and defeat him.

The Lord commands us through Paul in Eph. 6 to put on the whole armour of God; this is imperative: we as the church must put on the whole armour of God.

God provided the armour for us, but He will not put it on for us; we need to put it on ourselves, together, as the Body.

Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter but it is a matter of the Body; we as the Body fight the battle against God’s enemy.

We need to corporately be formed into an army, and we shall be able to fight against God’s enemy.

Only when we remain in the army are we safe and protected against the enemy of God.

The army of God is our protection and covering.

Spiritual warfare is not a matter of how strong we are in ourselves but how much we remain in the Body, being built up with the saints so that we fight the matter in the Body.

Satan’s strategy is to isolate us from the church as the army of God, and when we’re isolated, we can be easily defeated by him.

The church is a corporate warrior, and the believers together make up this corporate warrior (Eph. 6:10-20).

If we read Eph. 1-6 we will see that warfare is a matter of the Body of Christ, and the Body is a new creation in Christ, in the Spirit, and in the heavenlies (2:6).

If we don’t have the Body life, we are not adequate to engage in spiritual warfare.

May we look to the Lord and cooperate with Him so that in every local church the reality of the Body life would be developed.

May we pray for the reality of the Body to be among us.

For us to fight the battle, we must be in the reality of the Body. As open vessels, we exercise to be one spirit with the Lord, and we realize we’re members of the Body.

In the Body, as the Lord leads us, we release the prayers that are needed, and we fight the battle in the Body!

After we have been formed corporately into an army, we will be able to fight against God’s enemy.

May we bring this to the Lord and open to Him concerning this matter so that we may fight the battle in the Body!

Lord Jesus, thank You for making us members of the Body of Christ. We stand one with You and one with the saints. Bring us more and more into the reality of the Body of Christ so that we may be in the reality of the Body in our daily life. Have a way, Lord, to form us into an army. May the saints be enrolled, equipped, and formed into the army of God, the corporate army that will deal with the enemy. Amen, Lord, may we all fight the battle in the Body! Save us from trying to fight the enemy on our own. Save us from trusting in ourselves and our strength. Keep us in the Body. May there be the reality of the Body developing among us. May our prayers be in the Body and for the Body, and may the battle be in the Body by the virtue of the Head to deal with the enemy!

To Deal with God’s Enemy we need to be Empowered in the Lord

For us to deal with God’s enemy, we need to be empowered with the Lord and with the might of His strength (Eph. 6:10; 1:19-22).

On one hand, we need to fight the battle in the Body; on the other hand, we need to be empowered in the Lord.

We need to be empowered with the greatness of the power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavenlies, far above all the evil spirits in the air. Amen!

We fight not in our own strength but in the power of the Lord.

The fact that we need to be empowered in the Lord indicates that in ourselves we cannot fight the spiritual warfare against Satan and his evil kingdom.

Most of us feel this way from the start; we feel we’re not qualified, we are not equipped, we are not trained, and most of all, we’re not strong enough.

Some think they are strong, but when it comes to spiritual warfare, any strength may have in ourselves does not match the power of the enemy.

We can fight the battle only in the Lord and in the might of His strength.

This charge, to be empowered in the Lord, implies the need to exercise our will. If we would be empowered for spiritual warfare, our will needs to be exercised (S. S. 4:4).

As seen in Song of Songs, we as lovers of the Lord are ready to participate in spiritual warfare after being transformed and dealt with, and our will needs to be flexible to God and strong toward the enemy.

Our will needs to be like a tower filled with the weapons of the warriors.

It is very crucial that we open to the Lord to transform our will so that we are saved from extremes.

Some of us are born with a strong will in our disposition; our will is like an iron rod, and it is impossible to coordinate with others.

Others, however, have a will like the noodles, not very strong and easy to bend.

No matter what kind of will we have, need to come to the Lord and ask Him to renew us and transform our will for the sake of the Body.

We do not fight in our own strength but by the power of the Lord. We need to be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength.

The same power that raised Christ from the dead, seated Him in the heavenlies, and gave Him to be Lord and Head over all things, is now operating in us o strengthen us for the spiritual warfare!

We can fight the battle in the Lord, not in ourselves, and in the Body, not by ourselves; we need to be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength for the spiritual warfare.

Lord Jesus, strengthen our inner man today. Empower us in the Lord and in the might of His strength so that we may be strong to fight the battle in the Body! Amen, Lord, we open to You. Renew us and transform us in our will. May our will be one with You and be strengthened by You so that You may have a way in us and through us. Cause us to be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength so that we may put on the whole armour of God and fight the battle in the Body! Amen, we want to fight the battle in the Lord, being one with the Lord and one with the saints in the Body!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 531-534, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-study of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther (2022 winter training), week 9, entitled, Building and Fighting – the Need to Engage in Spiritual Warfare for the Building of the Church.
• Further reading on this topic:
  – Together with Christ, dealing with the enemy, a portion from, The Experience of Life, Chapter 19, by Witness Lee.
  – The spiritual warfare and protection of the Body with Christ as the whole armor of God, article by Ed Marks in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – Spiritual warfare being a corporate matter, a portion from, Basic Principles for the Practice of the Church Life, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee.
  – The warring Christ and the Warring Church, a portion via, The Church in Los Angeles.
  – We wage this battle continually today – No Devil In or Near New Jerusalem! Read more via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Testimony of A.H. – We will build battlements and enclosures…read more via Living to Him.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – In the heav’nlies more than conqu’ror, / In the power of His might, / As a soldier in the army, / In the Lord the battle fight. / Keep on wrestling in the Body, / Mighty vict’ry you will see, / Bind and loose, God’s will fulfilling, / And the foes your food will be. (Hymns #885 stanzas 6-7)
  – Fight, saints, for Jesus our Lord! / Take in His life, stand in one accord! / Never fear God’s enemy; / Tread on his head triumphantly! / Pray that the daily church life be strong, / That all the saints in spirit press on, / Fighting as the one new man, / Fulfilling our Lord’s great plan! / (Glory! Hallelujah!) (Hymns #1283)
  – The name of Jesus is our stand, / It is our victory; / Not on ourselves do we rely, / But, mighty Lord, on Thee. / Our weapons are not arms of flesh, / But ours the Spirit’s sword, / And God’s whole armor putting on, / We battle in the Lord. (Hymns #887 stanza 1)