«　WEEK 12　DAY 4　»

　　Eph. 6:11-12 Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil, for our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.

　　God…was not finished with the children of Israel, [which] is proved by the renumbering in Numbers 26…. At the time of the first numbering, there had not been any trouble or reduction in number through God's punishment. The renumbering took place after much trouble and reduction through judgment. Nevertheless, in spite of all the trials, turmoils, temptations, failures, and reductions, God still had almost the same number for Himself as He had had in the beginning. Regardless of what the enemy had done and regardless of the people's failures, God, by His sovereign grace and acts, still had a number greater than six hundred thousand. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 288)

　　[In] Numbers 27:12-23…Moses did not consider his loss of the leadership. His heart was not set on his situation but on God's people [vv. 16-17] ….The Lord [told Moses] to take Joshua and cause him to stand before the priest and the whole assembly, to lay his hands on him…and then to charge him to be the leader (vv. 18-23). In this way God raised up a new leader.

　　At the end of chapter 27 we see a wonderful picture….The new people had been renumbered, the new army had been re-formed and strengthened, and the new leader had been appointed to serve, not by himself but with Eleazar the priest, who would receive divine instructions by means of the Urim and Thummim. This means that there was among the people a new theocracy. Hence, at the end of this chapter we see a new people, a new army, and a new theocracy. (Life-study of Numbers, p. 289)

　　To fight the battle is a matter of the Body. We must be built together. We must be in oneness and harmony as the living Body, the living building, and the living house of God. Then we can be the army….Warfare is something of the Body, which is in Christ, in the Spirit, and in the heavenly places.

　　Spiritual warfare is not a fighting against humans, that is, against flesh and blood. Rather, we fight with the spiritual forces, the evil spirits….Evil spirits are working to damage the kingdom of God in order to frustrate the fulfillment of God's purpose. This is a real fighting.

　　In mainland China, Brother Nee was very exposed to attack because he was taking the lead…. As early as 1934 I was brought into this fighting because from that time on I began to share the responsibility to deal with this warfare. I saw the wiles, the tactics, and the subtle ways of the enemy and how our brother was attacked very much. The most serious attacks were the rumors.

　　The real enemy is not the people. The real enemy is the evil forces behind the people. The people are merely the puppets of the enemy to be utilized by him. We should not fight the people; we should fight the evil forces behind them. The way to fight the evil forces is not by the flesh but by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and by prayer. The only way we can deal with the enemy who is working, fighting, behind certain people is to pray, to appeal to the throne in the heavens as the highest authority. Therefore, there is the need for real and prevailing corporate prayer. The church needs to come together to pray, not to deal with people. I have learned the lesson that whenever there is a rumor, we should not deal with it directly….We should not talk to people or explain things to them….We should simply go to the Lord and appeal to the highest authority. Through the throne we deal with the evil forces which are behind the blood and flesh. (CWWL, 1963, vol. 3,”Basic Principles for the Practice of the Church Life,” pp. 333-335)

　　Further Reading: Life-study of Numbers, msgs. 39-40; CWWL, 1963, vol. 3,”Basic Principles for the Practice of the Church Life,” ch. 6; CWWL, 1970, vol.1, pp. 93-107; The Conclusion of the New Testament, msg. 218