Being the Warring Church in the Midst of Sufferings one with Christ as His Bride

David typifies the warring Christ in the midst of sufferings and Abigail typifies the warring church in the midst of sufferings (1 Sam. 25:2-42); if we desire to share in the stewardship of God, we must be prepared to suffer.

On one hand, David typifies the warring Christ who suffered so much; on the other hand, Abigail typifies us, the warring church in the midst of sufferings.

The sufferings Christ had while on earth is something none of us can have a share in; we can only share in the sufferings for the building up of the Body of Christ, not for the sufferings for redemption.

In His crucifixion, as He was suffering the death of the cross, Christ cast out the ruler of this world and destroyed the devil; also, He caused the rulers and authorities to be stripped off, and He nullified death. Amen!

On one hand, He fought while on earth, and His death was a great fight; on the other hand, when He comes back, Christ will be the fighting One – but this time He will be accompanied by His bride, the overcomers.

He will come back and there will be the day of His anger; He will be angry, and there will be the fury of God’s righteous judgment.

When Christ returns, He will obliterate all the rebellion and lawlessness, and He will remove all chaos on the earth. He will be the greatest Victor, overcoming all the nations.

No matter how strong some nations or empires seem to be right now, no matter what the situation or condition of a nation is today, when Christ comes, He will smash all human government.

He is the fighting One, the victorious One, the One who will execute God’s judgment on all the nations that rebel against Him.

First, there will be a wedding feast where Christ and His bride will enjoy a time together, and then He will return with His bride to deal with His enemies.

What the Lord is looking after today is to gain the overcomers, the components of His bride, those who overcome the enemy in their experience and who deal with the enemy in their daily life.

The Lord is looking for the reality of Abigail, the warring church in the midst of sufferings.

And He will gain His bride; He will gain His overcomers. In spite of the satanic chaos in the world today, the Lord will gain what He is after – He will gain His bride for His wedding feast and marriage life together, and for the dealing with His enemy.

He is coming to be the reigning King, and He will establish His kingdom after the battle at Armageddon.

Satan’s operation and work in humanity will culminate with Antichrist and all the armies of men who will rebel directly against God, declaring open war against Him.

Christ will return with His overcomers and will destroy them by the word of His mouth. Then, He will bring in His kingdom and Satan will be cast into the abyss.

Today we want to be prepared, equipped, and qualified to be the overcomers, those who are the reality of Abigail joining Christ as the real David fighting the warfare of God and bringing in the kingdom of God.

Abigail Typifies the Warring Church in the Midst of Sufferings – the Church enlisted as an Army for Warfare

Abigail typifies the warring church in the midst of sufferings (1 Sam. 25:2-42). From 1 Sam. 25 onward, Abigail was always at the side of David the warrior and followed him in his wars (vv. 40-42).

She wasn’t reluctant nor was she ruled by fear; she just accompanied David.

Abigail’s marriage to David typifies the church enlisted as an army for warfare (Eph. 6:10-20).

Christ died on the cross out of love for the church; He gave Himself up for her. And the church is also the warrior, the warring church.

First, as seen in Rev. 19, there is the marriage of the Lamb, for everyone rejoices and exults when the wife has made herself ready.

Then, there will be the bridal army descending with General Jesus to engage the enemy at Armageddon.

Abigail typifies the warring church in the midst of sufferings; the warring church is fighting for God’s kingdom in the midst of sufferings (Rev. 1:9; 11:15; 12:10).

Some Christians may not want to be involved in war or fighting, while others prefer not to touch the matter of warfare; in the matters related to God’s economy and His kingdom, we need to deny our preference.

We know from Acts 7 that, when Stephen was nearing the end and the heavens were opened, he saw the Son of Man standing, and Jesus was looking at His reproduction living out His victorious death.

Today there is much suffering in the Body of Christ, for the Lord is suffering; when one member suffers, we all suffer.

We need to realize that we are the warring church in the midst of sufferings; we are fighting for the bringing in of God’s kingdom in the midst of sufferings.

The enemy is trying to inject fear and control us through fear, and some are afraid of fighting, but we do not fear the enemy nor do we fear suffering.

The type of Abigail portrays our need to be one with Christ in His sufferings (Phil. 3:10; Col. 1:24; Rev. 1:9).

The afflictions of Christ are of two categories: those for accomplishing redemption, which were completed by Christ Himself, and those for the producing and building of the church, which need to be filled up by the apostles and the believers (Col. 1:24).

We have no part in the sufferings for accomplishing redemption, and there’s no need for us to suffer in order to be redeemed.

But there is the second kind of suffering, those for the producing and building up of the church, which need to be fulfilled by the apostles and the believers.

If there are no brothers and sisters among us who are today’s Abigail, joining Christ in His sufferings and in His battles, there’s no way for the church as the Body of Christ to be built up.

But if many believers in Christ join Him in His sufferings today, if the Lord gains the warring church in the midst of sufferings, He will have a way to gain what He is after, and His return will be hastened.

The stewardship that God has given to us can be carried out only through suffering (v. 25); the afflictions of Christ are connected with the stewardship of God.

We do not focus on suffering nor do we ask for it, but our stewardship involves suffering, for we are the reality of Abigail, the waring church in the midst of sufferings.

If we desire to share in the stewardship of God, we must be prepared to suffer (Rev. 1:9; 2 Cor. 1:3-6).

This is what the Lord needs among us today; all those who participate in the service of the church or in the ministry must be ready to partake of the afflictions of a steward (4:10-12; John 12:24-26).

We must be willing to pay whatever price is necessary for us to fulfill our stewardship, both personally and corporately as the church.

We need to count the cost and be willing to pay the price. This price is not for salvation but for the kingdom.

The Lord wants to consummate the age, and there’s no easy way to do it; we need to be willing to be the warring church in the midst of sufferings.

We cannot take the easy way, the way of only blessing and ease; we need to be willing to be the warring church in the midst of sufferings.

Lord Jesus, we love You and we love Your interest on earth. We give ourselves to You for Your purpose. Make us those who meet Your need in this age. Gain the warring church in the midst of sufferings who is one with You in producing and building up the church. Amen, Lord, may we be part of those enlisted in Your army for warfare. We join ourselves to You, our warring Christ, to fight for God’s kingdom in the midst of sufferings! We want to be one with You, Lord, in Your sufferings, fighting one with You for the bringing in of the kingdom of God and the building up of the church. We want to carry out our stewardship even though sufferings await us. May there be the filling in of the sufferings of Christ needed for the producing and building up of the church as the Body of Christ.

The Church Participates with the Lord Jesus in Spiritual Warfare and in Sufferings

The type of Abigail portrays the church’s participation with the Lord Jesus in spiritual warfare (Eph. 6:10-20).

Even as Abigail joined David in his fight to bring in the kingdom of God on earth, so the church today needs to participate with the Lord Jesus in spiritual warfare and also in His sufferings.

In Eph. 5:25-26 we see the church as the counterpart of Christ, the bride of Christ; later in Eph. 6:10-13, we see the church as the warrior, the fighter.

God is very wise; He doesn’t enlist us in the army as soon as we believe into Christ but rather, the aspect of the warrior comes in later.

First, we have the church as the Body of Christ and the dwelling place of God (Eph. 2); then, we have the church as the fullness of God (Eph. 3), the new man (Eph. 4), and the counterpart of Christ (Eph. 5).

We have to experience being the dwelling place of God, enjoy the fullness of God manifested in the church, and be the one new man, the Body, and the counterpart of Christ.

Once we become the counterpart of Christ, His bride, we can become the warring church in the midst of sufferings, for we are ready.

Eph. 5-6 will be fulfilled in Rev. 19, for the totality of the overcomers become the bride to become the counterpart of Christ (vv. 7-9).

This counterpart of Christ, the bride of Christ composed of the overcomers, becomes Christ’s army to defeat Antichrist at Armageddon (vv. 11-21).

In Rev. 9:7-9 there’s the emphasis on the wedding garment, which is composed of the righteousnesses of the saints.

Christ needs to be not only our objective righteousness but also our subjective righteousnesses by Him living in us to be expressed through us in all the acts of our service and living.

When Christ is wrought into us and we live out Christ as the many subjective righteousness, we can become the counterpart of Christ, ready to fight with Him against the enemy and bring in the kingdom of God.

Our wedding garment will be our uniform for battle, for the Christ wrought into us and lived out of us qualifies us to fight one with Him.

When Christ says a word to judge the enemy, we will simply say amen.

Not only must God’s eternal purpose be fulfilled and the desire of His heart be satisfied, but God’s enemy must also be defeated, and for this, the church must be a warrior (Eph. 1:11; 3:9-11; 6:10-12).

May the Lord grant us the prayers we need for us to be produced as His overcomers and be part of the bride of Christ, the warring church in the midst of sufferings being one with Him.

May the Lord grant us the prayers that we need for the church to be the warrior that He needs to fight one with Him.

Lord Jesus, give us the prayers that we need for the church to become a warrior. Gain the warring church in the midst of sufferings who matches You and is one with You in battle to defeat the enemy and bring in the kingdom of God. Amen, Lord, we are here not only for the fulfillment of Your purpose but also for the enemy to be defeated. Gain us to be part of the bride of Christ who is a warrior one with Christ in spiritual warfare. Amen, Lord, make us Your overcomers. Make us those who are part of Your overcoming bride, Your counterpart, who becomes Your army to defeat the Antichrist at Armageddon!

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by brother Ron Kangas, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 63, 97 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization Study of 1 and 2 Samuel (2021 winter training), week 11, entitled, David and Abigail Typifying the Warring Christ and the Warring Church.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – Go to Him “without the camp,” / Dear ones, relatives forsake; / He the Father’s will did mind, / In His passion I partake. / Go to Him “without the camp,” / His companion I will be; / Never join religion’s ranks / Or the world’s society. (Hymns #583)
  – We give ourselves to enter the kingdom, / That marriage feast, with Him; / Come persecution, suffering, and trials, / Still we will enter in. / We must follow the Spirit / In all simplicity. / In our spirit is Jesus— / He follows perfectly! (Hymns #1246)
  – Christ comes quickly for His Bride, / Wedding feast He will provide, / Garments bright and pure supplied— / Dress in time! / Taking Christ as life she’s dressed, / By much suffering stitched and pressed; / Righteous acts are thus possessed— / Dress in time! (Hymns #1304)