Preach and Teach God’s Economy concerning Christ and the Church to War the Good Warfare

As believers in Christ, we need to be those who war the good warfare against any different teachings by preaching and teaching God’s New Testament economy so that we may remain in the apostles’ teaching and be preserved in the genuine church life for the fulfilment of God’s purpose. Amen!

Today there are many wars going on around the world, including the war in Ukraine and the war in Israel and the Gaza Strip, but not all wars are good warfare.

There is a warfare today that is good, for the Bible calls it the good warfare.

As believers in Christ, we want to keep the peace with all men and we take Christ as our peace.

We even allow the peace of Christ to arbitrate in our hearts so that God as peace may keep our hearts.

However, though we have peace inwardly and also outwardly with other people, we believers in Christ are involved in a fight. We are involved in the good fight of the faith.

When Paul was about to be martyred, in his last epistle, he said, I have fought the good fight. There is a good fight to be fought, and there is a good warfare to be fought.

Paul instructed and even charged his young co-worker Timothy to also fight the good fight and to war the good warfare.

We may be peaceful persons, always seeking to make peace and keep the peace, but when we love the Lord and are infused with what He is through His word, we will be one with the Lord to fight the good fight of the faith.

There are many deviations from the faith today.

Many teachings in Christianity seem to be largely accepted and welcomed, but these teachings are not in God’s word; rather, they are different teachings.

The unique teaching in the word of God is the teaching of the apostles, which is based on the teaching of the Lord Jesus.

Anything that is not according to the teaching of the apostles is a different teaching and should be rejected.

The teaching of the apostles focuses on God’s economy, His plan to dispense all that He is into man so that He may obtain the church as the Body of Christ, the fullness of Christ, for God’s corporate expression on the earth.

The teaching of the apostles is concerning Christ and the church.

Anything that does not match the teaching of the apostles is something different and, no matter how interesting it may sound, needs to be rejected and set aside.

Our fighting the good fight and warring the good warfare has to do with the teaching, for the teaching can bring in degradation, decline, and division.

War the Good Warfare by Preaching and Teaching God’s New Testament Economy in Faith

The apostle Paul told Timothy that, according to the prophecies previously made concerning him, by them he might war the good warfare (1 Tim. 1:18).

He charged his young co-worker, his child in the Lord, to war the good warfare.

These prophecies made concerning Timothy were at the time he was initiated into the ministry.

Most likely Paul and the elders laid their hands on Timothy and spoke some words of prophecy concerning this young co-worker, and he received a gift, the gift of teaching others.

So Paul told him to fight the good fight, that is, war the good warfare, according to the prophecies made concerning him.

This warfare is not with flesh and blood; it is not an outward warfare, but it is a warfare by speaking God’s word.

We who have the gift of God in us, the believers in Christ, can speak the word of God and war the good warfare by preaching and teaching God’s New Testament economy in faith.

The gift we have received is the Spirit that was dispensed into us.

When we were saved, we received the gift of God into us, and now we war the good warfare by remaining in the apostles’ teaching and speaking the economy of God.

To war the good warfare is to war against the different teachings of the dissenters and carry out God’s economy (1 Tim. 1:3-4).

The decline and degradation of the church was brought in by the different teachings, the teachings that are different from God’s economy, which is in faith.

In the beginning of the church life, as seen in Acts 2:42, the saints remained and enjoyed the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles.

They continued steadfastly with one accord in the teaching and the fellowship of the apostles; therefore, the Lord had a way to increase them with many people like a flock, and the word was spreading.

The teachings of the apostles are the ministry, the unique ministry.

The apostles preached and taught nothing else but Christ and the church.

They didn’t preach morality, ethics, how to raise one’s children, or how to be better workers and make more money to be prosperous.

What the apostles preached and taught was a Christ that was incarnated, crucified, resurrected, and ascended so that, as resurrection life, He may be imparted into His believers to produce the church.

In the Epistles, we see teachings concerning other things also, but the focus of the ministry of the apostles was the wonderful person of Jesus Christ and His work that issue in the church, the Body of Christ, as God’s house and His kingdom.

The focus of the ministry of the apostles is the incarnated, crucified, resurrected, ascended, and glorified Jesus Christ who is our Savior, our life, and our everything so that we may become the church as the Body of Christ, the duplication and enlargement of the all-inclusive Christ.

This is the vital focus of the New Testament revelation, and this is God’s economy.

We need to remain in the focus of the New Testament and teach this unique matter, the New Testament economy of God.

Anything else that we emphasize apart from the teaching of the apostles can lead to division and can bring in degradation.

We may have a good heart and desire to teach the saints concerning things such as the gifts of the Holy Spirit, foot-washing, head covering, the proper order in the service of the church, raising the children for the Lord, and many other things, but if our focus is not God’s economy, we may bring in degradation and decline in the church.

Throughout the centuries many were raised up and very much used by the Lord, but eventually, they taught their own thing, for they were quite smart and knowledgeable, and they thought that they can just speak these things.

May we be saved from the decline of the church by remaining in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles.

May we war the good warfare today by preaching and teaching only the economy of God according to the New Testament.

And may we stand against any different teachings, exposing them and repudiating them (1 Tim. 6:12; 2 Tim. 4:7).

On the negative side, we need to war the good warfare against the different teachings of the dissenters.

On the positive side, we war the good warfare by preaching and teaching God’s New Testament economy to unveil others to see what is in His heart, open to Him, be infused with Him, and be built up as the church, the Body of Christ, for His corporate expression on the earth.

Lord Jesus, thank You for unveiling us to see the New Testament economy of God, the unique teaching of the apostles! We want to war the good warfare today by rejecting any different teachings and focusing only on God’s New Testament economy. Amen, Lord, our focus in our preaching and teaching is Christ and the church as the center of God’s economy! We open to You, Lord, and we come to Your word to contact You and be freshly infused with You. Work Yourself into us a little more today. Keep us in the central lane of God’s economy. Save us from giving heed to any teachings that differ from the apostles’ teaching. Oh Lord Jesus, keep us in an organic union with You in our daily living. Keep us in the healthy teaching of the apostles so that we may be constituted with and speak only God’s economy. We want to war the good warfare according to God’s economy and against the different teachings for the keeping of the oneness in the church and for the church’s going on and being built up!

Today we Preach and Teach God’s Economy concerning Christ and the Church – this is to War the Good Warfare

The good warfare which we war today is according to the apostles’ ministry concerning the gospel of grace and eternal life for the glory of the blessed God (1 Tim. 1:11-16).

What a gospel we have! This gospel is of grace and eternal life, and the result is the glory of the blessed God.

We do not preach an ordinary gospel about joy, blessings, and prosperity; our gospel is not so low that we teach people to believe in Jesus so that they don’t go to hell.

Our gospel today is the gospel of grace and eternal life so that the blessed God may have an expression and be glorified and blessed.

On one hand, we need to war against the different teachings; on the other hand, we need to carry out God’s economy according to the ministry of the apostles.

What does it mean for us to war the good warfare? According to 1 Tim. 1:1-18, to war the good warfare is to teach and preach God’s economy concerning Christ and the church.

Christ is the embodiment of God; He is all-inclusive and extensive, and He is the centrality and universality of God and of the universe.

He has the first place, He has the preeminence, and He is the center of both God and man.

And this Christ wants to gain a Body, a corporate expression in the universe; this Body is the church, the fullness of Christ.

Christ is the mystery of God (Col. 4:3) and the church is the mystery of Christ (Eph. 5:32).

The major content of God’s economy is Christ and the church, the mystery of God and the mystery of Christ.

We are not here today to give others some spiritual help, to help them to be good people who have a good living; we are here to help people to know Christ as the all-inclusive One.

We are not here to help others manage their finances “for the Lord” or to raise their children “for God”; we are here to speak and preach God’s economy, and all things related to His economy.

We need to enjoy and experience the all-inclusive Christ and also help others to enjoy Him and experience Him.

What we teach is not traditional Christianity or systematic theology but the apostles’ ministry concerning Christ and the church.

Christ is the embodiment of God, the fullness of the Godhead wells bodily in Him, and we want to know Him, enjoy Him, uplift Him, and express Him.

And we don’t do this separately and individualistically; we do this together with the saints.

We are not an “organized group of Christians” but the church, the body of Christ.

If we fail to speak and preach God’s economy, dissensions come in, degradation creeps in, and we enter into a decline.

When Paul was in prison for the first time, some rose up to teach different things, and these different teachings were the seed of the church’s decline.

Things such as Judaism, Gnosticism, and asceticism sound good, and many such teachings may be based on God’s word, but they cause dissension and decline.

Throughout the centuries the church has been poisoned and corrupted by such teachings.

If today in the church life we are not on guard, such different teachings may also cause damage to the Lord’s recovery.

The different teachings are propagated in a subtle and hidden way, and they creep into the church life.

May we war the good warfare today by speaking and focusing only on God’s economy concerning Christ and the church.

May we not allow any different teachings to come in among us but rather, focus only on Christ and the church.

Lord Jesus, we want to focus only on Christ and the church in the church life today. We want to preach and teach God’s economy concerning Christ and the church, thus warring the good warfare. Hallelujah, we have been brought back to the teaching of the apostles and we can continue steadfastly in one accord in the teaching and fellowship of the apostles. Amen, Lord, we stand one with You and one with the saints. We reject any different teachings and focus only on Christ and the church for the building up of the church as the Body of Christ. We want to be on guard and watchful concerning the different teachings so that we may war the good warfare against them. Amen, Lord, have a way to gain a proper church life among us today in which we all closely follow the apostles’ teaching and remain in the unique oneness of the Body of Christ for God to gain a glorious expression among us!

Read this article in the Romanian language – citiți acest articol în limba română la următorul link, Să predicăm și să dăm ca învățătură economia lui Dumnezeu cu privire la Cristos și biserica pentru a lupta războiul bun.

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 the brothers in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of 1 Timothy, msg. 2, by Witness Lee (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Fighting the Good Fight, Finishing the Course, Keeping the Faith, and Loving the Lord’s Appearing in Order to Receive the Reward of Christ as the Crown of Righteousness (2023 ICSC), week 1, Fighting the Good Fight.
• Similar articles on this topic:
  – The economy of the Triune God, a portion from, The Economy of God, Chapter 1.
  – A Brief Overview of the Economy of God (Part II)—Major Steps of Christ in God’s Economy, via, Living to Him.
  – The economy of God in the Holy Scriptures, article in Affirmation and Critique.
  – Holding faith and a good conscience, a portion from, Life-Study of 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee.
  – Does God Have a Plan? Read more via, Bibles for America blog.
  – Message 9: Living and Serving according to God’s Economy concerning the Church, a message via, Cebu Conferences.
  – God’s New Testament Economy, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – A Good Minister of Christ, outline via, The Church in New York City.
  – Why The Economy of God Is a Must-Read for Every Christian, via, Holding to Truth in Love.
  – The Church’s Continual Warfare Against God’s Enemy, via, A Faithful Word.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – God has accomplished many things— / He’s planned, created, and brought forth. / The Son is now appointed Heir, / Administrator of God’s worth. / But in th’ economy of God / There is not one, but many sons. / One is the firstborn Son of God / With many other living ones. (Hymns #1322 stanzas 4-5)
  – Oh, Christ will come, the Bridegroom, for us, His glorious Bride, / By coming from within us the church is glorified. / His Person is the glory expanding now in us; / This glory is our Person—how glorious! / O Lord, O Lord, by Your economy / So flood us with Your glory, saturate us thoroughly. / Come out, come out, break forth in glory here, / And from the church, O glorious One, in glory soon appear. (Hymns #1177 stanza 3)
  – The seven golden lampstands in / The seven cities see, / So burning, shining with this Christ, / It’s God’s economy! / We’re absolute that this become / Our full reality / Upon the earth, within the church / In each locality. (Hymns #1262 stanza 3)