Seeing the Need to Engage in Spiritual Warfare as we Live with Christ in Ascension

As those who love the Lord and seek to know Him, we are eventually called by our Beloved Lord – in His time and in His way – to live with Him in His ascension as a new creation in resurrection (see Song of Songs 4:7-15). When the Lord sees that we are ready for this, He calls us to live with Him in His ascension, and here we become a garden to satisfy Christ; He is delighted and pleased with the rich produce and sweet fragrance of Christ being wrought into us to satisfy Him.

We need to live in ascension with Christ by living in our spirit and by discerning the spirit from the soul (1 Cor. 6:17; Rom. 8:4; Heb. 4:12). When we answer God’s call to live with Christ in His ascension, we become a garden for the Lord’s enjoyment, a beautiful bride without blemish for His satisfaction, and a terrible army with banners toward the enemy.

In ascension we are in the heavenlies, and in the neighbourhood but at a lower level there’s the enemy himself (see: lions’ dens and leopards’ mountains). As we live in ascension with Christ, we apply His victory to the enemy and rest with Him – while at the same time we’re very active to fight in victory and from victory so that God’s kingdom may come on earth.

We need to realize that there’s a warfare going on in this universe, and this warfare is necessary because Satan’s will is set against God’s will. As human beings regenerated by God we need to align our will with God’s will and exercise both our spirit and our will for God to bring in His kingdom on earth and for Satan to suffer loss.

In God’s eyes the victory has been won already; Satan has been defeated by Christ on the cross, the world has been judged, the old man has been crucified, and Christ has publicly shamed Satan with all his evil authorities through His death on the cross. As the Body of Christ and the lovers of the Lord we need to live in ascension one with Christ and exercise our will to stand with the Lord and pray one with Him for His will to be done and His kingdom to come on earth.

Seeing the Need to Engage in Spiritual Warfare as we Live with Christ in Ascension

In Song of Songs 4 we see that the Beloved calls His lover to come with Him on the highest mountains and look down from the top of Amana and Senir to see the lions’ dens and the leopards’ mountains; this shows us that, as we live with Christ in His ascension as a new creation in resurrection, we engage in spiritual warfare for the kingdom of God. (Song of Songs 4:8; 6:4, 10).

As we reach spiritual maturity and are called to live with Christ in His ascension, we see the real scene in the universe, the war between Satan and God. The whole universe is in a state of war, and very little can be accomplished if the saints are not aware of this warfare.

The younger believers may not understand what war is, but as we grow in life unto maturity we realize that the dragon (Satan) is in a continual war with the woman (the totality of God’s people, representing God).

May the Lord save us from “seeking our own things” and thus neglecting the spiritual warfare going on. May we not be occupied in our being but be conscious of what’s going on in the Lord’s heavenly ministry and be aware that we are at war.

As the Lord calls us to live with Him in His ascension, on the one hand He tells us how lovely and dear we are to Him (as lovely as Jerusalem, as beautiful as the moon, as fair as the sun), and on the other hand He appreciates how terrible we are to the enemy (as terrible as an army with banners – see S.S. 6:4, 10).

Here, in ascension, we look with Christ “from the lions’ dens, from the leopards’ mountains” (S.S. 4:8), which signify the heavenlies, where Satan and his subordinates are.

The lions’ dens and the leopards’ mountains signify the heavenlies, where Satan and his subordinates (the lions and the leopards) are. The victory has been gained, but Satan and his evil forces are still there, in the heavenlies (Eph. 3:10 and footnote 1). Christ calls His lover to look from this, indicating that we must have our living in ascension, far above the evil powers (see footnote 4 on Eph. 6:12). Here we fight with Satan and his power of darkness by being empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength, by putting on the whole armor of God, by standing against the stratagems of the devil, by receiving the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, the word of God, and by praying always in the spirit for the building up of the Body of Christ and the spreading of the gospel (Eph. 6:12-20). This is the reality of living in the ascension of Christ. (Song of Songs 4:8, footnote 6, Recovery Version Bible)

We must have our living in ascension, far above the evil powers (Eph. 3:10; 6:12). Authority depends upon position: if we’re in the heavenlies in ascension with Christ, the enemy is below us and we have authority over him, just as a policemen in uniform at his assigned post has authority over the cars and people around him.

We need to know the position of ascension and keep the position of ascension in order to engage in spiritual warfare and deal with the enemy. If we stand in the position of ascension, we can directly command the environment, rebuke difficulties, and destroy all the works of the enemy by being one with the Lord in His ascension.

Lord Jesus, save us from taking care of our own things and being preoccupied with the many necessary outward things of our human life and church life. Grant us a clear view of the real scene in the universe, the warfare raging between God and Satan. Lord Jesus, praise You for Your victory over Satan and his authorities; we stand one with You in ascension in the heavenlies to fight the spiritual warfare to deal with Your enemy and bring in Your kingdom. Lord, we stand one with You in Your heavenly ministry and we choose to live in ascension so that Your enemy may be defeated and Your kingdom would come in!

Because Satan’s will is Set against God’s will, Spiritual Warfare is Necessary

Though there are many pacifists who hate war and want peace in the world, spiritual warfare is necessary because Satan’s will is set against God’s will. All warfare has its source in this conflict of wills: before Satan rose up to contradict God and become like God, there was no war in the universe; after the rebellion of Satan, war has begun on earth.

There’s war among people, nations, groups, persons, and even within people; many times we experience an inner warfare between our reason and our lust. All the different kinds of warfare have their source in the controversy between the divine will and the satanic will.

From the day we were saved, our Christian life has been a life of warfare: the flesh fights against the Spirit, Satan fights against us both from outside and from inside, and we need to choose who to stand with. Since the warfare has its source in the conflict of wills, our human will and the party it chooses is crucial.

We need to stand in the position of ascension, far above the evil powers, and engage to fight with him face to face by choosing the Lord and His will to be done. We need to learn how to deal with the enemy directly; we’re not here for a life of ease – even though we rest in Christ’s ascension, we are aware that the enemy is nearby and his activities are intensified at the end of the age, therefore we need to stand in Christ’s victory and deal with the enemy.

We are not here on earth to live a life of comfort and care for our own things; we refuse to be lukewarm and thus be spat out of the Lord’s mouth, and we choose to be one with God’s will. We fight with Satan and his power of darkness by being empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength, and by putting on the whole armor of God as the Body of Christ (Eph. 6:12-20).

Our fighting is to subdue the satanic will and defeat God’s enemy (Matt. 6:10). We need to walk according to truth and by grace for the fulfillment of God’s purpose, we need to live in love and light for Christ’s satisfaction, and we need to fight for the defeat of God’s enemy.

If we don’t fight, if we remain passive and not choose God’s will, we are defeated; all we have to do to be defeated is to be passive. We need to have an active response to the Lord’s heavenly ministry as we’re aware of the spiritual warfare raging in the universe and tell the Lord,

Lord Jesus, we choose Your will to be done on earth. We exercise our spirit and our will to have an active response to Your heavenly ministry. Cause us to be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength, and may we as the Body put on the whole armor of God so that the enemy would be defeated and the kingdom of God would come in. Lord, we want to live with You in ascension in reality, standing in and keeping the position of ascension to be one with You to deal with Your enemy and bring in the kingdom of God to earth! Amen, Lord, may Your kingdom come and Your will be done!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. Ron Kangas’ sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, msg. 63 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Vision and Experience of Christ in His Resurrection and Ascension, week 5 / msg 5, The Vision and Experience of Christ in His Ascension (3) Living with Christ in His Ascension as a New Creation in Resurrection to Engage in Spiritual Warfare for the Kingdom of God (you can buy this morning revival book here via LSM and here via Amazon).
• All verses are taken from, Recovery Version Bible.
• Hymns on this topic to strengthen this burden:
  # ’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)
  # I dare not be defeated / Since Christ, my conquering King / Has called me to the battle / Which He did surely win. / Come, Lord, and give me courage, / Thy conquering Spirit give, / Make me an overcomer, / In power within me live. (Hymns #877)
  # Our eyes have seen the vision / Since Christ our conquering King / Has called us to the battle, / Which He did surely win. / The vict’ry He bequested / Two thousand years ago / To all the glorious fighters / Who’ll forward with Him go. (Hymns #1284)