Outline
Ⅲ
The church as the bride of Christ must be a warrior to defeat God's enemy—5:25-27; 6:10-18; Rev. 19:7-9, 11-16:
A
Colossians 2:15 portrays the warfare that took place at the time of Christ's crucifixion; at that time the cross of Christ was the center of the universe.
B
The purpose of spiritual warfare is to bring in the kingdom of God—Rev. 12:10.
C
Spiritual warfare is a matter of the Body; we are a corporate army fighting the battle for God's interests on earth—17:14; 19:14; cf. 2 Tim. 2:4.
D
Christ will come as a fighting General with His bride as His army to fight against Antichrist at Armageddon—Rev. 19:11-21:
１
When Christ comes with His army, He will come as the Son of Man—Matt. 26:64; Rev. 14:14.
２
As the Son of Man, He will need a counterpart to match and complete Him; this counterpart will be His bride—21:2, 9.
３
Christ will marry the overcomers, who have already overcome the evil one.
４
The wedding garment—Christ lived out of us as our daily righteousness—qualifies us not only to attend the wedding but also to join the army to fight with Christ against Antichrist in the war at Armageddon—Matt. 22:11-12; Rev. 19:7-8, 14.
Morning Nourishment
Rev. 19:7-8 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And it was given to her that she should be clothed in fine linen, bright and clean…14 And the armies which are in heaven followed Him on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean.
The church should be not only the Body to express Christ, the dwelling place for God’s habitation, and the new man for the fulfillment of God’s economy [cf. Eph. 1:22-23]; the church must also be a warrior, a soldier, to defeat God’s enemy [6:11-13].
According to Revelation 19, the church is both the bride who is presented to Christ and the warrior who fights with Him against God’s enemy. At His coming again, the Lord Jesus will first meet His bride. After receiving the bride, Christ and the overcomers will enter into battle against the enemy…The Lord will ride on a white horse, and the armies which are in heaven will follow Him on white horses, dressed in fine linen, white and clean (vv. 11, 14)…The bride’s wedding garment will also be the uniform she wears as God’s army to fight against His enemy [cf. vv. 7-8, 14]. Therefore, to have the wedding garment is also to have the uniform. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 792)
Today’s Reading
In Ephesians 5 and 6 we see the church as the bride and as the warrior… As the church, we are not only the Body, the dwelling place of God, the kingdom of God, the family of God, and the new man; we are also the bride and the warrior. As the bride, we must be beautiful, without spot or wrinkle, and be clothed in fine linen. As the warrior, we must be equipped to fight against God’s enemy.In God’s economy there is one army constituted of a corporate warrior. This means that the warrior in Ephesians 6 is a corporate entity. Only as a corporate entity, the Body, can we put on the whole armor of God…The armor in Ephesians 6 is not for Christians as individuals; it is for the church corporately as the Body. What this chapter reveals is not the believers fighting as individuals but a corporate army fighting the battle for God’s interests on earth.
Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter; it is a matter of the Body, a corporate entity to fight the battle against God’s enemy. No soldier in a modern army would enter into battle by himself. Rather, he would fight as part of a well-trained and fully equipped army. After we have been formed corporately into an army, we will be able to fight against God’s enemy. God’s strategy is to use the church as His army to fight against the enemy. Therefore, it is very dangerous to be isolated from the army. Only by remaining in the army will we have the necessary protection.
Years ago, the Lord’s people regarded spiritual warfare as an individual matter. But through the years we have seen that it is altogether a matter of the church as God’s corporate army. If you separate yourself from the church, you will be defeated. Satan’s strategy is simply to isolate you from the church as God’s army. It is crucial for us to realize that spiritual warfare is a Body matter. If we realize this and stay with the church, we will be victorious. The battle is not for us as individual believers; it is for the church as God’s army.
When we are in the Body, we actually do not carry on the spiritual warfare; we simply enjoy it. Instead of struggling in the battle, the battle becomes an enjoyment. Because we pray in spirit to apply all the aspects of Christ as the armor, spiritual fighting becomes an enjoyment…Psalm 23:5 says, “You spread a table before me / In the presence of my adversaries.” This indicates that the battlefield is a place of feasting. We feast in the presence of the enemy, enjoying Christ as reality, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, and the living word of God. We enjoy Him and apply Him by praying in spirit. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 793-794, 796)
Further Reading: Life-study of Ephesians, msgs. 63, 74, 97