弗六11~12　要穿戴神全副的军装，使你们能以站住，抵挡魔鬼的诡计，因我们并不是与血肉之人摔跤，乃是与那些执政的、掌权的、管辖这黑暗世界的、以及诸天界里那邪恶的属灵势力摔跤。
　　若没有约书亚记，我们就无法完全领会以弗所六章里的属灵争战。在那看得见的景象背后，在看不见的景象中有属灵的争战。这就是说，除了在地上的争战以外，在空中还有神与撒但之间的争战。在诸天界里满了撒但的势力。基督是我们的美地，神要我们赢得基督，但在我们和美地之间，有一层属鬼魔的势力。我们要据有美地作我们的享受，就必须击败这些撒但的势力（约书亚记生命读经，七三页）。

　　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.

　　Without [the book of] Joshua we cannot fully understand the spiritual warfare in Ephesians 6. There is spiritual warfare in the invisible scene behind the visible scene. This means that in addition to war on the earth, there is a war between God and Satan in the air. The heavenlies are full of Satan's forces. Christ is our good land, and God wants us to gain Christ, but there is a layer of devilish, demonic forces between us and the good land. If we would take possession of the good land for our enjoyment, we have to defeat these satanic forces. (Life-study of Joshua, p. 60)

　　约书亚征服了许多国，杀了许多王，但他只征服了一块狭长的土地。照着约书亚一章，那美地从地中海延伸到幼发拉底河。那地是广大、宽阔的；然而，以色列的领土从未扩展到幼发拉底河。在约书亚的时代以后，因有许多争战和背叛，神的百姓就没有机会建殿。等到大卫得着更多的土地，有一段太平的时候，大卫的儿子所罗门才能建造神的殿，在地上建立神的国。
　　原则上，今天我们在主恢复里的情况是一样的。……我们是神的以色列，我们也有我们的元帅，但主的恢复仍在奋斗之中。每天我们都需要打属灵的仗。……每一处都……很难得着扩增。……我们的仇敌不是地上的人，乃是空中邪恶的势力；这邪恶的势力拦阻人信入主耶稣的名，并阻挠得救的人追求基督到极点。
　　我们都需要认识什么是恢复，是在何处恢复，怎样的人能带这恢复往前。我们都需要看见，今天在主的恢复里，我们是在战场上。我们该是今天的约书亚和迦勒，与撒但空中的势力争战，使我们更多得着基督，以建造基督的身体，建立并扩展神的国，使基督能回来承受这地。我们仅仅属灵、圣别还不够。我们需要向约书亚和迦勒学习，代表神今时代的权益，击败仇敌，使基督给人得着，并使基督借祂的追求者得着扩增。
　　在约书亚一章所预表的以弗所一章里，我们可以看见一切已经完成、完全了，一切在基督里的福分都在诸天界里，等待神所拣选、救赎并成全的子民，来取得并享受，作他们的基业。根据这一章，我们已经蒙神拣选，有分于祂的圣别性情，也被神预定，要得着祂的生命，好成为祂的儿子（4~5）。不仅如此，基督的救赎已经把我们带进基督这三一神的具体化身里，祂乃是那个范围和元素，我们在这范围里并借这元素，就能被作成神的基业（7、11）。我们既已蒙救赎，并被摆在基督这范围和元素里，就天天被这元素重新构成并变化，成为珍宝，作神的基业。我们取得基督，并享受祂作我们的基业时，就成为神的基业。
　　以弗所二章指明，诸天界里有几层。基督是在最高的一层，就是三层天上，作我们的一切，就是我们的美地。但诸天界里还有较低的一层，就是空中，在那里撒但是空中掌权者的首领，阻挠地上的人接触神、接受基督（2）。这就是那些阻挠以色列人进入美地的迦南人所预表的（约书亚记生命读经，七三至七四、一九至二〇页）。
　　参读：包罗万有的基督，第十二至十三篇。

　　Joshua conquered many nations and killed many kings, but he conquered only a narrow strip of land. According to Joshua 1, the land stretched from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates. The good land was wide and spacious; however, Israel's territory never spread to the Euphrates. Since there was much fighting and rebellion after the time of Joshua, there was not the opportunity for God's people to build a temple. When David gained more land and there was a time of peace, Solomon, David's son, was able to build the temple of God to set up God's kingdom on earth.

　　In principle, our situation is the same in the Lord's recovery today....We are God's Israel, and we have our Captain, but the Lord's recovery is still involved in a struggle. Every day we need to engage in spiritual warfare.

　　It is hard to get an increase....Our enemies are not humans on the earth but evil forces in the air, who hinder people from believing into the name of the Lord Jesus and who frustrate the saved ones from pursuing Christ to the uttermost.

　　We all need to know what the recovery is, where the recovery is, and what kind of persons can take the recovery on. We all need to see that in the Lord's recovery today we are on a battlefield. We should be today's Joshua and Caleb, fighting against Satan's aerial forces so that we can gain more of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ, setting up and spreading the kingdom of God so that Christ can come back to inherit the earth. It is not adequate for us simply to be spiritual and holy. We need to learn of Joshua and Caleb to represent God's interest in this age to fight down the enemies that Christ can be gained by people and that Christ can be increased by His pursuers.

　　In Ephesians 1, which is typified by Joshua 1, we can see that everything has been finished and completed and that every blessing in Christ is there in the heavenlies, waiting for God's chosen, redeemed, and perfected people to take and enjoy as their inheritance. According to Ephesians 1 we have been chosen by God to partake of His holy nature and we have been predestinated by God to have His life in order to become His sons (vv. 4-5). Furthermore, Christ's redemption has brought us into Christ as the embodiment of the Triune God to be the realm in which and the element by which we can be made God's inheritance (vv. 7, 11). Having been redeemed and having been put into Christ as the realm and the element, we are daily being reconstituted and transformed by this element to be a treasure for God's inheritance. As we take Christ and enjoy Him as our inheritance, we become God's inheritance.

　　Ephesians 2 indicates that in the heavenlies there are different layers. Christ is in the highest layer, the third heaven, to be our everything as our good land. But there is a lower layer of the heavenlies—the air, where Satan as the ruler of the authority of the air is frustrating the people on earth from contacting God and from receiving Christ (v. 2). This is typified by the Canaanites, who were frustrating Israel from entering into the good land. (Life-study of Joshua, pp. 60-61, 14)

　　Further Reading: The All-inclusive Christ, chs. 12-13