In this universe there’s a warfare going on, since there are three wills: the divine will (God’s will), the satanic will (Satan’s will), and the human will, and the satanic will is always opposite and against the divine will.
In eternity past there used to be only one will: God’s will. But Lucifer, who was the bright morning star, the leader of all created things, became proud because of his beauty and he exulted himself, desiring to be above God. Lucifer became Satan, the enemy of God, and his will became antagonistic to God’s will.
Man was created by God with a free will, and now man has to choose between God’s will and the satanic will. If man chooses God’s will, God will obtain the victory in the spiritual warfare. If man chooses the satanic will, Satan’s plan and scheme will temporarily be manifested. We need to choose God’s will, aligning ourselves with the perfect will of God, and God will soon crush Satan under our feet!
Before we enter into spiritual warfare, if we would know how the church can be God’s warrior to engage in spiritual warfare, we need to know that in the universe there are these three wills – the divine will, the satanic will, and the human will.
Through repentance and baptism man can enter into the kingdom of God and choose the will of God to be done on earth as it is being done in the heavens. We need a daily change of mind, a daily repentance, so that in situation after situation we would turn from Satan’s kingdom to God and choose God’s will.
God needs man to stand on earth and choose His will, and He will obtain a group of overcomers in His Body who are absolute for Him to bring His kingdom back.
Knowing the Great Will of God
It is a great thing for us to know what is God’s will. Too many Christians focus on “what is God’s will for my life?” We need to realize that God has a great will, which is what He desires to do in the universe.
First of all, God’s will is for us to enjoy Christ as everything! As seen in Heb. 10:5-10, Christ came to replace all the offerings in the Old Testament with Himself, and now He is our unique enjoyment. For us to be in God’s will, we need to enjoy Christ.
In Rom. 12:2 we see that the Body life is the good and well pleasing will of God. We enjoy Christ by functioning in the Body life, the church life. Whenever we function in our measure in the Body we feel satisfied and happy inwardly, having a feeling of being fulfilled and full of meaning. Paul was this way: even though he was in prison, he still functioned in his measure in the Body life through the bountiful supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ and through the petitions of the saints.
God’s great will is also the reality of the Body of Christ and the oneness of the Body (John 17:21). The mystery, the council, and the good pleasure of God’s will is to have the reality of the Body of Christ (Eph. 1:5, 9, 11). In Eph. 4:3-4 we see that we need to keep the oneness of the Spirit – we have it, we only need to keep it!
The great will of God is for us to enjoy Christ as everything by functioning in the Body life for the reality of the Body of Christ! The Lord’s recovery is to recover God’s great will in the universe. The Lord’s recovery is to recover the enjoyment of Christ as everything, the functioning of all the members of the Body of Christ, and the reality and oneness of the Body of Christ.
Satan’s Strategy to Overthrow God’s Will
On the one hand, we need to see God’s great will; on the other hand, we need to see Satan’s strategy to overthrow God’s will and hinder the fulfillment of God’s purpose.
Since God’s will is that we would enjoy Christ as our everything, Satan’s strategy is to bring in many substitutes for Christ. Satan brings in substitutes for Christ into the church in order to distract the saints from the enjoyment of Christ. Such substitutes can be human philosophy (see Colossians), Judaism / religion (see Hebrews), the law (see Galatians), gifts, signs, and wisdom (see 1 Corinthians), etc.
We need to reject any substitutes for Christ and simply turn to Him to enjoy our lovable and enjoyable Lord Jesus. Just give yourself to enjoy the Lord and be a functioning member of the Body to live in the reality and oneness of the Body!
Secondly, since God’s will is the Body life where all the members of the Body function, Satan’s strategy is to bring in a clergy-laity system (Rev. 2:6) where only some function while others listen. God’s desire is that all His people would be His priests, ministering to God and functioning to dispense God into man.
We need to hate the system of clergy-laity and function in our measure to sing, speak, serve, and function in our measure! We may not have the best voice in the world, but we all need to make a joyful noise to the Lord (Psa. 98:4).
Thirdly, since God’s will is the oneness and the reality of the Body, Satan’s strategy is to divide the Body of Christ. He does it through the many “denominations” existing today. In God’s eyes it is simple: there is only ONE church, one Body of Christ, and this Body is represented in many localities as the many local churches on the earth – one church in one city.
It is crucial for us to keep the oneness of the Body and live in the reality of the Body of Christ by taking the cross by the Spirit and dispense Christ into others. We shouldn’t care much about whether our opinion is accepted or followed: we are here for the Body! We are not here for a doctrine or a practice: we are members of the Body of Christ!
We have the Privilege to Actively Choose God’s Will
Because Lucifer was proud in his high position and beauty, he had an evil intention, which became the satanic will (see Ezek. 28:12-19; Isa. 14:12-15). All warfare and conflicts in the universe has their source in this conflict of wills.
Before Lucifer rebelled against God there was no war in the universe; the rebellion of Lucifer, the archangel of God, was the beginning of all the fighting that is now taking place among nations, in society, in the family, and even within ourselves (see Rev. 12:3-11; Gal. 5:17). Even within us, we have many conflicts: lust versus reason, the Spirit is versus the flesh, morality versus immorality, etc.
Lucifer was the first sinner – he desired to dethrone God. Sin is lawlessness, the dethronement of God.
In His greatness, God gave man a free will – He doesn’t force us, coerce us, entice us, or lure us to choose His will: He simply shows us what His will is. Satan, on the other hand, deceives us and usurps us, and before we know it we are being ruined by him with almost no way out.
The way to choose God’s will today is through repentance and baptism – we need to have a change of mind and a transfer out of the kingdom of darkness! Through repentance we turn from the satanic will to the divine will, from Satan’s side to God’s side (Acts 11:18).
When we repent, we have a change of mind – we choose God’s will and we are changed in our mind! When we are baptised, we are brought out of the authority of darkness (the satanic will) and we are transferred into the kingdom of the Son of God’s love (Col. 1:13).
It is crucial for man to choose God’s will, and man does so through repentance. It is a privilege for us to actively choose God’s will! Every day we need a change of mind, a choosing of God’s will in every aspect of our daily life.
We need to choose to enjoy Christ as the tree of life (this is God’s will). In the family life, work life, and church life, we need to choose to enjoy Christ as life! God wants us to be happy in His presence, with His presence, and by His presence. For this, He is our life-supply!
Just enjoy Christ, function in your measure in the Body, and keep the oneness of the Body in the reality of the Body!
Lord Jesus, we choose You! Thank You for creating us with a free will. Thank You for showing us Your great will for us to enjoy Christ, function in the Body, and keep the oneness of the Body. Lord Jesus, in situation after situation and matter after matter, may we choose You! May we stand with the divine will and reject the satanic will. We reject any replacements and substitutions for Christ. We choose the tree of life! We choose to function by ministering Christ! Lord, we want to be diligent to keep the oneness of the Spirit and live in the reality of the Body of Christ!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, and bro. Ed Marks’ speaking in the message for this week, and portions from, Life-study of Ephesians (msg. 63), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Entering into the Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life to Arrive at a Full-Grown Man for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose, week 5 / msg 5, The Fourth Stage of the Experience of Life (4) – Spiritual Warfare.
- Hymns on this topic:
# Enter into the enjoyment / Experience the Lord / He’s the rich supply / Don’t let a day go by / Without the presence of the Lord! / We don’t care about the tree of knowledge / Good and evil kill us dead. / We don’t need to behave ourselves into the grave / Just touch the living Lord instead.
# In the church we are home; / Here our joy has begun. / In this sweet fellowship / We are built up in love / As the many, yet as one. / In each member we can see / Our God in humanity; / As each functions in life, / Christ is then manifest / Through His Body practic’ly.
# We are one in the spirit, yet it goes deeper still, / For this oneness is spreading to our mind, emotion, will, / As we all stand together that His purpose He fulfill. / We are one in the spirit, we are one actually, / Not in talk nor in theory, but in fact, practically, / In the churches we’re all enjoying this reality.
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