We Fight the Spiritual Warfare of the Church one with the Lord and in the Body

Israel’s fighting against the inhabitants of the land of Canaan that they may possess and enjoy the good land signifies the spiritual warfare of the church against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies that the saints may enjoy Christ as the all-inclusive land. Amen!

Behind the visible scene, behind what we see with our eyes and in the world news, there is a spiritual warfare raging, and we cannot be neutral; we need to take sides with the Lord, otherwise, by default we’re on the side of God’s enemy.

God has His kingdom, the kingdom of God where Christ is everything to us for the building up of the church; this is the kingdom of the Son of God’s love.

Satan also has his kingdom; he is God’s enemy, and everything he does is to frustrate the purpose of God and to hinder God from fulfilling His economy.

In the kingdom of Satan, there are many spiritual authorities of evil, evil forces, and even evil people; there are many people on earth who cooperate with Satan for the carrying out of his schemes. Oh, Lord Jesus!

There is the need, therefore, of spiritual warfare.

In order for God’s purpose to be accomplished, warfare is required, for every step of the way the enemy is fighting to hinder God’s people and cause them to fail.

This spiritual warfare is signified by the warfare the people of Israel had against the inhabitants of the land of Canaan.

God’s thought was that the nations in the land of Canaan had to be exterminated because they were devilish and mingled with demons.

Many of them were demon-possessed, and some were giants, the result of the illegal mixture of fallen angels and fallen men for the polluting of mankind.

The kings defeated by God’s army signify the rulers, the authorities, and the world rulers of darkness, against whom we must struggle.

On one hand, we as believers in Christ are aware of and fight against the many aspects of our natural life, behind whom the evil forces are hiding in order to frustrate us from going on with the Lord and fulfilling His purpose.

Furthermore, we struggle and fight against the flesh, the self, and the natural man.

All these struggles and battles are on an inferior level. On the highest level of spiritual warfare there is the spiritual warfare of the church against the evil forces in the heavenlies, the spiritual forces that follow Satan and obey his commands to hinder God’s move and His people.

May we see the spiritual warfare raging on earth and may we stand on the Lord’s side, even stand in the Lord and in the might of His strength, one with Him and one with the Body, to defeat the enemies and release the enjoyment of Christ for the saints.

The Warfare of Israel against the Canaanites is a Type of the Spiritual Wafare of the Church

In Num. 21:1-3 we see that, before they could enter into the good land, the people of Israel had to pass through certain territories under the rule of some kings, and these kings opposed them and did not allow them to pass.

The king of Arad came to fight against them, and Israel vowed to Jehovah that, if He delivered these people into their hand, they would utterly destroy their cities (v. 2).

This shows that we need to fight against the evil spirits, defeat them, and take over their territory.

God desires that we enter into the enjoyment and possession of the all-inclusive Christ as our allotted portion.

But there are spiritual forces in the heavenlies that actively work to hinder us from this.

These evil forces work to hinder the saints from enjoying Christ, so we as the church need to war against them.

Jehovah listened to the voice of Israel and delivered up the Canaanites, and they utterly destroyed them and their cities.

The scene here shows us a vision of the spiritual warfare of the church against the evil spirits in the air.

Later in vv. 21-32 the children of Israel encountered Sihon the king of the Amorites (Gen. 15:16), who would not allow them to pass through his territory.

Worse, the king took all his people and went to fight against Israel into the wilderness (Num. 21:23), and Israel defeated them.

This shows that in the spiritual realm, there are some evil spirits who are between the saints and the enjoyment of Christ, and these spirits would not let the saints go through.

Therefore, the church needs to war the spiritual warfare against them, bind them, and take over their territory.

This is what Israel did; he defeated Sihon and his people, took possession of his land, and dwelt in the land of the Amorites (vv. 24:32).

In the spiritual realm, after we engage in spiritual warfare against the evil spirits, part of the territory often in the air becomes ours.

This is the spiritual warfare of the church, and this warfare has been fought throughout the generations and by many saints.

Today we in the church life in the Lord’s recovery need to enter into the spiritual warfare of the church against the evil spiritual forces in the air to defeat them, take over their territory, and clear the way for the people of God to enter into the enjoyment of Christ.

In the history of Israel entering the good land, the three gate guards of the good land and their fighting against Israel typify the spiritual warfare of the church against the evil spirits in the air.

May the Lord open our eyes to see this.

On one hand, in our Christian experience, we have the warfare between our spirit and our flesh, sin, and worldliness.

This war against the world, the flesh and sin is real and needs to be fought, but it is the lower part of the spiritual warfare.

The higher part of this warfare is the fighting in the spiritual realm against spirits and demons.

Our aspiration is to enjoy the all-inclusive Christ and partake of His riches, but in the spiritual realm, there are the evil forces of Satan who actively try to hinder us and stop us from advancing in the Lord.

Within the kingdom of Satan, there are the fallen angels and the demons.

The fallen angels are in the air, and the demons are in the water; both of them are followers of Satan and are working on fallen human beings to make them subjects in Satan’s kingdom.

May the Lord enlighten us to see the spiritual warfare of the church against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.

May we realize that the fallen angels in the air – the rulers, powers, and authorities of the kingdom of Satan – rule the entire world, and the demons are their helpers, helping the fallen angels to usurp human beings. Oh, Lord!

The New Testament also shows that God has appointed us, His people, to fight against the kingdom of Satan.

God has assigned us the responsibility of engaging in spiritual warfare.

What we see in the history of the people of Israel is a type, a picture, of the warfare raging today between us and the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.

May we see this view of the spiritual realm and may we fight the battle in the Lord against the spiritual forces of evil, one with the Lord and one with the Body!

Lord Jesus, enlighten us to see the spiritual warfare raging behind the visible scene. May we realize that the evil spirits in the heavenlies are actively fighting to hinder us as God’s people from enjoying the all-inclusive Christ. Amen, Lord, may we stand in the Lord and in the Body to fight the spiritual warfare of the church against the evil forces in the heavenlies. May we fight not only against the lusts in the flesh, sin, and worldliness but also against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies. Amen, Lord, may we see that we’re in the Body, having the Body as God’s armour, and may we realize we’re seated with Christ in the third heavens. Hallelujah, Christ has won the victory, and He has commanded us to destroy His enemies and push back against the kingdom of darkness. Praise the Lord, we stand in the victory of Christ, we apply His victory, and we fight the battle in the Body by the virtue of the Head!

Fight the Spiritual Warfare of the Church against the evil Forces one with the Lord and in the Body

The fighting of the children of Israel against the Canaanites that they might possess and enjoy the good land typifies the spiritual warfare of the church as a whole, including all the members of the church as the Body of Christ, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies (Eph. 6:12) that the saints may enjoy Christ as the all-inclusive good land.

This is not to be paranoic or extreme in our view of the current situation or the going on of the saints; this is to realize that we need to fight the spiritual warfare of the church so that the saints may enjoy the all-inclusive Christ.

Many times this warfare is fought corporately, either in the vital groups or with companions or in the church prayer meetings, for when we come together and pray for the Lord’s move and His interest, we realize that the enemy is fighting back and attacking the saints.

If we consider this matter we will realize that there is more than one kind of prayer meeting.

Sometimes we come together to pray, and we pray for many matters, standing with the Lord for Him to care for the saints, meet the needs of the church, and spread in our gospel preaching.

But there is another kind of prayer meeting when we don’t pray long prayers but rather, we pray brief prayers, prayers of warfare, prayers to bind the enemy and lose the Lord’s work and the saints.

It is not enough for us to only pray for our needs and the needs of the church; we need to enter into the spiritual warfare of the church and fight the battle so that the saints may enjoy the all-inclusive Christ.

We need to fight the battle, sound the battle cry, and push back against the enemy and his attacks. Christ is our good land, God wants us to gain Christ; however, there is a layer of devilish, demonic forces between us and the good land (Col. 1:12-13; 2:15; Eph. 3:18; 6:11-12).

When we’re in the meetings of the church and when we have a time with the Lord, He is so real, so rich, and so sweet to us.

But when it comes to our daily experience, many times we feel that we can’t get through, and there are many things happening that are outside of our control to hinder us and keep us away from the enjoyment of Christ. Oh, Lord!

There is a layer of devilish, demonic forces between us and the good land.

If we would take possession of the good land for our enjoyment, we must defeat these satanic forces.

We are praying positively on possessing the all-inclusive Christ, but at the same time, we need to fight the demonic forces that hinder us from enjoying Christ.

We do this as the church, not merely as individuals; we do this in the Body, by the virtue of the Head.

We pray for ourselves and for one another to experience the all-inclusive Christ day by day.

We fight back against the enemy and release the saints’ enjoyment of Christ.

The enemies are in the air, but we are in the highest heavens, one with the Lord, even seated with Him on the throne.

We are one with the victorious Christ; He has won the victory, He has already judged the devil, and now we stand in His victory, apply HIs victory, and proclaim His victory.

In the Song of Songs, the Lord called the loving seeker to come up to Him and look down on the lions’ dens and the leopards’ mountains.

The Lord has already won the victory, He has been enthroned far above all, and we are seated with Him on the throne.

Now we look down on the enemy, seated with Christ in the heavenlies, and we proclaim the Lord’s victory.

And we end our prayer not by begging the Lord to do this or that but by praising the Lord.

We simply praise Him, for He has done everything.

He has overcome the enemy, He has won the victory, He destroyed the devil, and we are now standing in His victory to apply it in our experience. At the same time, we’re in the Lord’s name, one with Him, and one with the Body.

There is an exceedingly real spiritual warfare in which we must engage; we all must fight the battle to gain the all-inclusive Christ for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ, the new man, and the kingdom of God (vv. 10- 12; 1 Tim. 6:12a; 2 Tim. 2:3-4; Col. 1:13, 18; 2:19; 3:10-11).

If we would take possession of Christ for our enjoyment, we must be a corporate warrior, the church as the Body of Christ, fighting against and defeating the satanic forces so that we can gain more of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, setting up and spreading of the kingdom of God so that Christ can come back to inherit the earth (Eph. 3:8; 4:16; Matt. 24:14; Rev. 11:15).

Our battle is in the Body and for the Body.

We pray not just for ourselves and for our going on but for the going on of all the saints.

We pray for the Lord to set up His kingdom, spread it, and come back to inherit the earth.

This is something we are all learning corporately and individually.

We fight the battle in the Body and together with the saints for the saints to be released to enjoy the all-inclusive Christ and the enemy to be pushed back and put to shame.

It’s good to bring this matter to the Lord in prayer, both personally and corporately, and ask Him to make this real to us.

Lord Jesus, enlighten us to see that You have won the victory and we are seated with You in the heavenlies, far above the enemy. We praise You, Lord! You came to nullify the evil works of the devil on the cross, and You destroyed him. Now in resurrection, You have all the authority in heaven and on earth. You are on the throne, and we are one with You. We are seated with Christ in the heavenlies, one with the Lord and one with the Body! Amen, Lord, we fight the battle against the spiritual forces in the heavenlies so that the saints may be released to enjoy the all-inclusive Christ in an unhindered way. May we see the need to engage in the spiritual warfare of the church against the evil forces in the heavenlies so that the saints may enjoy and gain the all-inclusive Christ! Amen, Lord, we pray for ourselves and for all the saints. We pray that we would gain the all-inclusive Christ for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ, the new man, and the kingdom of God! Amen, Lord, we want to be part of the corporate warrior, the church as the Body of Christ, fighting against and defeating the satanic forces so that we can gain more of Christ for the building up of the church! Amen, Lord, may Your kingdom come and Your will be done! May You have a way to return to the earth soon to set up Your sweet and wonderful kingdom and inherit the earth! Praise the Lord!

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 brother Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Numbers (pp. 241-244), by Witness Lee, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Laboring on the All-inclusive Christ Typified by the Good land for the Building up of the Church as the Body of Christ, for the Reality and the Manifestation of the Kingdom, and for the Bride to make Herself Ready for the Lord’s Coming (2023 Winter Training), week 1, entitled, Fighting for the Good Land.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – Spiritual warfare being a corporate matter, a portion from, Basic Principles for the Practice of the Church Life, Chapter 6, by Witness Lee.
  – Hymn on, Fight the battle in the Body, via, Hymnal.net.
  – The Formation of a Corporate Joshua to Possess the Good Land by Defeating the Satanic Forces, via, The Church in Regina newsletter.
  – The prayer meeting, a portion from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, The (Set 2) Vol. 22: The Assembly Life & The Prayer Ministry of the Church, Chapter 6, by Watchman Nee.
  – Blending & Churching Trip to Southern Part of Peninsular Malaysia (14-17 July 18) – In Muar, we began by praying corporately for the ongoing spiritual warfare during the regional conference, exercised our mingled spirit to uphold the atmosphere of the meeting and served as members in the Body. More via, FTTMY testimonies.
  – Take Him, Possess Him, Experience Him, and Enjoy Him, via, Church in Los Angeles.
  – Three great principles, a portion from, The Prayer Ministry of the Church, Chapter 1, by Watchman Nee.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Fight the battle in the Body! / By the virtue of the Head; / With the Body to the Head joined, / Fight the battle on the throne. / For the Body is God’s armor, / Not for anyone alone; / When you wrestle in the Body, / All its benefits you own. (Hymns #885 stanzas 1-2)
  – ‘Tis harder at the end / The word to testify, / For Satan fights with all his pow’r / Our witness to defy. / Much greater strength we need / The foe to overcome; / How happy when the Lord we see / And all our sighing’s done! (Hymns #893 stanza 3)
  – In the name of Jesus / Satan’s host doth flee; / On then, Christian soldiers, / On to victory! / Hell’s foundations quiver / At the shout of praise: / Brothers, lift your voices, / Loud your anthems raise! / Onward Christian soldiers! / Marching as to war, / With the cross of Jesus, / Going on before. (Hymns #871 stanza 2 and chorus)