In Spiritual Warfare we Stand in Ascension and Use not Fleshly but Spiritual Weapons

In order for us to fight the spiritual warfare, we need to know and apply the principles of spiritual warfare: we cannot use fleshly weapons, keep the position of ascension, use spiritual weapons, and have fighting prayers, the prayers of spiritual warfare.

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

The enemy rises up and plots, schemes, makes stratagems, attacks, persecutes, and seeks to discourage and dishearten those who do the work of building, even as the enemies did in the time of Nehemiah.

We need to see the necessity of spiritual warfare related to the building up of the church, and we need to realize that we have to engage in spiritual warfare if we want to build up the church.

However, our warfare is not in and by ourselves; we do not “stand on our own” to claim the ground for the Lord; the battle is in the Body.

It is the Body of Christ who fights the battle, not us on our own. Spiritual warfare is not against flesh and blood but against the authorities, powers, and evil spirits in the air, those of the kingdom of God.

It may seem that it is people, things, and situations that rise up against the church and against God’s interest, but our fight is not with them but with the spiritual forces behind them.

Behind the scenes, there is a war raging; the enemy is fighting with all his might to stop the work of the building up of the church.

He may rise up things, situations, people, and environments that would limit, discourage, and attack the church and the Lord’s interest.

Our prayers of fighting should not be focused on these things or persons but on dealing with the enemy behind these things.

May we fight the battle in the Body and as the Body, and may we be empowered with the greatness of the power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavenlies! Amen!

On one hand, we stand one with the Body, living in the reality of the Body, so that we may fight the battle not on our own but in and as the Body.

On the other hand, we need to be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength (Eph. 6:10).

Our will needs to be exercised to be flexible for the Lord and as a tower filled with weapons toward the enemy.

May the Lord have a way in our being and may He gain the build-up church as the Body of Christ so that the enemy would be defeated and the Lord may be expressed on the earth!

May He gain a kingdom, a realm for Him to rule and reign, a beachhead for Him to return to and bring in the kingdom of God!

In Spiritual Warfare we Cannot Use Fleshly Weapons: we fight not against Flesh but against Spiritual Forces

The first principle of spiritual warfare is that we cannot use fleshly weapons in fighting the battle.

This is seen in 2 Cor. 10:3-5 where we see that, though we walk in the flesh, we don’t war according to the flesh.

It seems that the flesh rises against us, for men in the flesh stand against God, speak things against the Lord, and do their best to stop the spreading of God’s kingdom and the carrying out of His economy.

Our fight, however, is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces behind the flesh and blood.

The weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds! Amen!

Fleshly weapons refer not only to losing of temper and being angry but everything that comes of the flesh.

Sometimes the flesh is good and sometimes it is evil; there’s the good flesh, even the spiritual flesh, and there’s the bad and evil flesh.

We may reject the evil and bad flesh, but we may appreciate the good and spiritual flesh, the flesh that tries to please God.

In spiritual warfare, however, we cannot use fleshly weapons, for we do not fight against flesh and blood but against the evil spiritual forces in the air.

Fleshly weapons include all human schemes and natural methods.

Sometimes we may want to deal with the enemy through something else besides our fighting prayers; we may want to do this or that, or we may want to have a certain scheme or method to deal with the enemy.

There may be a way for us to arrange for certain things and to stay away from other things, but we need to realize that our weapons are not fleshly.

If we use fleshly weapons, we have already fallen into the hands of the enemy.

The enemy operates in our flesh, and when we use the schemes of our flesh, we have already been defeated.

How can we defeat the enemy, who is in the flesh, by using fleshly weapons?

We need to learn from the apostle Paul; he was in the flesh, but in his dealings with the churches and in his contact with the saints, he did not use fleshly weapons.

He did not use any schemes or methods, nor did he use human wisdom or cunning words to get what he is after. He was perfectly straight, as straight as an arrow.

For this reason, he could be powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds.

May we fight one with the Lord and in the Body, in fellowship with the saints, so that we may overthrow reasonings and every high thing that rises up against the knowledge of God!

May we stand in the Lord and be empowered in the might of His strength, taking captive every thought unto the obedience of Christ, and not fight with fleshly weapons!

We may have been born as a brilliant person, we may have only straight A’s in school, and we may always seek and find the best way out.

God created us this way, and we did not have a choice in this.

However, our brilliance is not our weapon. Our strong will is not our weapon. We cannot fight the spiritual warfare with fleshly weapons.

Lord Jesus, may we never use fleshly weapons in spiritual warfare. Save us from living in the flesh and using fleshly weapons when we fight against the enemy. We come to You, Lord, and we want to be one with You and one with the Body in our fighting the battle against the enemy. Hallelujah, the weapons of our warfare are NOT fleshly but powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds! Amen, Lord, we stand one with You and one with the Body to overthrow reasonings and every high thing rising up against the knowledge of God! We exercise our spirit to fight one with the Lord and in the Body, taking captive every thought unto the obedience of Christ! Amen, Lord, our warfare is not against flesh but against spiritual forces, and our weapons are not fleshly!

We Fight the Spiritual Warfare by Keeping the Position of Ascension

The second principle in fighting the spiritual warfare is that we need to keep the position of ascension.

We have been raised with Christ, and God seated us with Him in the heavenlies, in ascension, far above all things of the earth and in the air (Eph. 2:6).

In fighting any warfare, the position is very important. If we are on the ground but the enemy attacks us from the air, they have the higher position, and it will be easy for them to prevail.

Satan and his spiritual forces are in the air; if we remain in the self, the flesh, and the natural man, we will remain on the earth, and it will be easy for the enemy to defeat us.

We need to realize what is our position in the spiritual warfare.

We are not just on the earth: we are in the heavenlies, seated together with Christ.

The kind of people who can fight the spiritual warfare is those who have received salvation, have been raised from death, and are now sitting with Christ in the heavenlies.

Only such ones can attack the enemy in the air from their transcendent position in the heavens.

Not only Christ is in ascension, far above all things, but we also are joined to Him!

May we realize that, in fighting a battle, the position above the enemy is strategic.

May we see that Satan and his forces are in the air, but we as believers in Christ and members of the Body of Christ are seated in the third heaven above them!

The enemy’s strategy is first to get us to use fleshly weapons when we fight, and if he does not succeed, he wants to cause us to forget our position.

The enemy is constantly accusing us and condemning us, reminding us of our sins, faults, offenses, and trespasses.

He is also accusing God before us, and he fills our mind with doubts concerning the Lord, His salvation, the saints, and the church life.

We do not fight against the enemy by using any fleshly weapon but by realizing that our position is in ascension, one with the Lord.

If we don’t keep our heavenly position, however, our preaching of the gospel will not be prevailing, and our shepherding of the saints will not be impactful. Oh, Lord Jesus!

The enemy will try and may temporarily be successful in dragging us down from our heavenly position, but we can exercise our spirit and immediately be in the heavenlies with the Lord!

If we are on earth, we will use fleshly weapons and the enemy from the air will immediately defeat us.

But if we’re joined to the Lord in spirit, we are in the position of ascension with Him, and the enemy is defeated.

If we lose the position of ascension, we cannot supply the saints nor can we help them.

If we don’t keep the position of ascension, we cannot deliver men out of Satan’s power so that they would be saved and come into the kingdom of God.

We may convince them about the Lord, but their condition will be muddled, and they will be unable to be completely delivered out of the power of Satan. Oh, Lord Jesus!

In order for us to have an impact in the battle against the enemy, we need to keep the position of ascension.

From ascension, we will not only impart teaching that stirs people’s emotions and feeds their mentality but we will be one with the Lord to release them from the kingdom of Satan and bring them into the kingdom of God.

If we want our work to have the effect of war, if we want to have a work that is able to deliver men from Satan’s hands, we must keep the position of ascension and continually live in the condition of the heavens.

Lord, thank You for not only saving us but also seating us with Christ in the heavenlies in ascension! Hallelujah, we believers in Christ are seated with Christ on the throne, in the third heavens, and the enemies are beneath our feet! Praise the Lord, our position is not on earth but in the third heavens, in ascension, one with the Lord! Amen, Lord, cause us to realize what is our position in spiritual warfare. Save us from giving in to the enemy’s attacks, deceit, accusations, and lies and therefore lose our position of ascension. Keep us one spirit with You today. We want to realize and keep the position of ascension and live continually in the condition of the heavens! Amen, Lord, may we learn the secret of fighting the spiritual warfare: living in ascension and keeping the position of ascension in oneness with the Lord and with the Body!

In Spiritual Warfare we must Use Spiritual Weapons, putting on the Whole Armor of God

The third principle of spiritual warfare is that we must use spiritual weapons.

On one hand, we do not use fleshly weapons; on the other hand, we use spiritual weapons (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

What are our spiritual weapons in the spiritual warfare?

Eph. 6:10-17 mentions the whole armour of God; spiritual weapons refer to this armour of God, which we need to put on as the Body of Christ.

We don’t put the whole armour of God as individuals but as the Body.

We need to be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength, and we need to put on the whole armour of God so that we may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil.

Our wrestling is not against flesh and blood but against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.

Since our warfare is in the spiritual realm, we cannot use fleshly weapons; rather, we need to keep our position of ascension and fight the battle with spiritual weapons.

We need to take up the whole armour of God so that we may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

May we stand, having girded our loins with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shod our feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace.

Besides all these, we need to take up the shield of faith, with which we will be able to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.

And we need to receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.

May we fight the spiritual warfare not with fleshly weapons but with spiritual weapons, which include the girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit.

All these weapons are spiritual; they need to be used in spirit.

We need to be in spirit. Spiritual warfare is in spirit; to fight the spiritual warfare we need to be in spirit and do all things in spirit.

When we are in spirit, we don’t do things according to our own view, our own idea, our own wisdom, or our own intelligence; these are things of the flesh, the fleshly weapons.

May we turn to our spirit, be in spirit, live in spirit, and do all things in spirit.

And may we fight the spiritual warfare in spirit.

The spiritual weapons are powerful to overthrow the strongholds of the enemy (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

When we are fighting, all our activities must be of the spirit, touching the feeling from within our spirit; this is an extremely basic principle.

May we spend some time praying over Eph. 6:10-18 and let the Lord fill us and cover us with the whole armour of God, as remain one with Him and in the Body, so that we fight the spiritual warfare with spiritual weapons to overthrow the strongholds of the enemy both in us and the ones around us.

Lord Jesus, we want to remain in the Body and put on the whole armour of God so that we may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil. Amen, Lord, we stand one with You and one with the Body to fight the battle by using spiritual weapons. We stand, having girded our loins with the truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness. Amen, Lord, having shod our feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace, we take up the shield of faith to quench all the flaming darts of the evil one. We receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the Word of God. We exercise our spirit, Lord, and we want to live in spirit and do all things in spirit. May we use spiritual weapons in the spiritual warfare so that we may overthrow the strongholds of the enemy. May all our activities be of the spirit, touching the feeling from within our spirit as we fight the battle in 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 Ron Kangas in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Witness Lee, 1953, vol. 3, “The Experience of Life,” chs. 15-16, 18, 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:
  – Thoughts on the Fellowship Between the Generations; the older, more mature saints, have been through many battles and have learned many lessons in warfare. More via, Living to Him.
  – The church as a corporate warrior in Ephesians, article by Ron Kangas in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – Shadows of New Jerusalem, Psalms 110-118, via, New Jerusalem blog.
  – Quotes from Watchman Nee on, Spiritual Warfare.
  – The spiritual warfare and protection of the Body of Christ as the whole armor of God, article by Ed Marks in, Affirmation and Critique.
  – All spiritual work is a warfare, a portion from, The Experience of Life, Chapter 18, by Witness Lee.
  – Knowing the ascension, a portion via, The church in Regina.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – 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)
  – For the Body is God’s armor, / Not for anyone alone; / When you wrestle in the Body, / All its benefits you own…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. (Hymns #885 stanzas 2 and 6)
  – Looking unto Jesus, / Never need we yield! / Over all the armor, / Faith the battle-shield! / Standard of salvation, / In our hearts unfurled, / Let its elevation / Overcome the world. / Looking unto Jesus, / Never need we yield! / Over all the armor, / Faith the battle-shield! (Hymns #644 stanza 1 and chorus)