Outline
F
David typifies the warring Christ in the midst of sufferings (1 Sam. 25:28), and Abigail typifies the warring church, fighting for God's kingdom in the midst of sufferings (vv. 2-42):
１
From 1 Samuel 25 onward, Abigail was always at the side of David the warrior and followed him in his wars—vv. 40-42.
２
Abigail's marriage to David typifies the church enlisted as an army for warfare—Eph. 6:10-20.
３
The type of Abigail portrays the church's participation with the Lord Jesus in spiritual warfare:
ａ
Not only must God's eternal purpose be fulfilled and the desire of His heart be satisfied, but God's enemy must be defeated; for this, the church must be a warrior.
ｂ
Spiritual warfare is necessary because Satan's will is set against God's will—Matt. 6:10; 7:21; Isa. 14:12-14:
⑴
Spiritual warfare has its source in the conflict between the divine will and the satanic will.
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As the church, our fighting is to subdue the satanic will and to defeat God's enemy—Rev. 12:11.
⑶
Our spiritual walk is for the fulfillment of God's purpose, our living is for the satisfaction of Christ, and our warfare is for the defeat of God's enemy and to maintain His victory.
G
Through spiritual warfare God's eternal purpose is completely accomplished; "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever"—11:15b.
Morning Nourishment
Eph. 6:10-11 Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil.Rev. 11:15 …The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever.
On the positive side, in the first five chapters [of Ephesians] the church is portrayed in many ways for the fulfilling of God’s eternal purpose. On the negative side, the church is seen in chapter 6 as a warrior for the defeating of God’s enemy, the devil. To do this, the church must put on the whole armor of God.
In 1928 Brother Nee held his first overcomer conference on spiritual warfare. In that conference Satan, the evil one, was exposed to the uttermost. Brother Nee pointed out that in the universe there are three wills: the divine will, the satanic will, and the human will…God’s will, being self-existing, is eternal, uncreated. As created beings, the angels also have a will. One of these angels, an archangel, was appointed by God to rule the universe that existed before the creation of Adam. Because of his high position and his beauty, this archangel became proud. This pride gave rise to an evil intention, which became the satanic will. Therefore, in addition to God’s intention, God’s will, there is a second intention, a second will, for now the satanic will is set against God’s will. All warfare has its source in this conflict of wills. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 515)
Today’s Reading
We do not know how much time elapsed between the rebellion of Satan and the creation of Adam. We simply know that at a particular time, God created man and endowed him with a human will that was free. It is because of God’s greatness that He gave man a free will…By giving man a free will, God was indicating that He would not force man to obey Him.In Genesis 2 we see that man was free to exercise his will to eat either of the tree of life or of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. These two trees represent the divine will and the satanic will, respectively. Hence, in the garden there was a triangular situation, with the tree of life representing the divine will, the tree of knowledge representing the satanic will, and Adam representing the human will. Actually, the tree of life denotes God Himself, and the tree of knowledge denotes Satan. Therefore, there were three persons—God, Satan, and man—each one with a will.
Through repentance man can turn from the satanic will to the divine will, from Satan’s side to God’s side…Any sinner who desires to be saved must obey these three commandments: he must repent to God, believe in the Lord Jesus, and be baptized in water. To repent is to have a turn from the satanic will to the divine will.
From the day we were saved, our Christian life has been a life of warfare. The same was true of the children of Israel after they made their exodus from Egypt…They were saved in an atmosphere of warfare. As soon as they came out of Egypt, the fighting began. Pharaoh and his chariots pursued the children of Israel, but God came in to fight for them. After the children of Israel had passed through the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army had been overthrown, God’s people triumphantly praised Him for His victory over the enemy. The Israelites proceeded to fight their way through the wilderness, and they continued fighting in the good land. Their history thus reveals that the life of a saved one is a life of warfare.
As the new man the church should walk according to reality and by grace and…as the bride the church should live in love and in light. However, not only must God’s eternal purpose be fulfilled and the desire of Christ’s heart be satisfied, but God’s enemy must be defeated. For this, the church must be a warrior. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 515-517)
Further Reading: CWWL, 1983, vol. 2, “The Divine Dispensing of the Divine Trinity,” ch. 20