Seeing the Church as the Warrior in Ephesians 6

    Paul’s description of the helmet of salvation, the girdle of truth, and shoes of peace are not poetic symbols.  Through years of experience and a few battles of our own, we’ve come to see these are real items we experience in spiritual warfare. Probably what touches me the most through reading these messages on the armor and my own experience is that all of this portrays the church as the warrior.  God has an enemy, and one of the purposes of the church is to defeat Satan.  Here’s a real enlightening part of chapter 63 of the Life- Study, Page 527-528: 

If we would know how the church can be God’s warrior to engage in spiritual warfare, we must know these three wills, these three intentions.  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…The controversy in the universe began with the rebellion of the archangel against God…We simply know that at a particular time, God created man and endowed him with a human will that was free …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…Although there were three wills, the controversy involved just two parties—God and Satan.  The crucial issue was whether man would choose the divine will or the satanic will… As we all know, the human will took sides with the satanic will…However, through repentance man can turn from the satanic will to the divine will, from Satan’s side to God’s side. (Lee, Witness, Life-Study of Ephesians, Anaheim: Living Stream  Ministry, 1978, Print).

     Every time I hear this I'm amazed because it helps me understand that in many situations God's enemy is working behind people and events to frustrate God's will on this earth.  That's why verse 12 is so striking: 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.   The Life-Study says that these rulers, authorities, and world-rulers refer to the evil angels who rebelled with Satan against God (Revelation  12:4) long before the creation of Adam.  This verse indicates that this darkness refers to Satan's kingdom of darkness that is presently on this earth (You can check out Matthew 12:26 and Colossians 1:13 about this).  Surely this kind of battle is not waged individually but as the Body of Christ. I really appreciate the insight our brother gives on this matter!  I hope you can listen to the radio programs below on this.

   Last week I heard some of the broadcasts on this chapter, and you can find them by scrolling down to Programs 54-57 on Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.


You can listen to excerpts of  these Ephesians Life Study messages on Life Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.

Other blog posts on the Life Study of Ephesians:

What is the Subject of Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians?
What is the Mystery of God's Will Revealed in Ephesians 1:9?
How Does God Head Up All Things in Christ in Ephesians 1:10?
How Does the Spirit Seal us in Ephesians 1:13-14?
What is the Surpassing Greatness of His Power in Ephesians 1:19?
From the Life Study of Ephesians: How Electricity Illustrates God's Purpose to Reach Man
What is the One New Man in Ephesians 2:15?
What is the Stewardship of the Grace of God in Ephesians 3:2?
 What is the Multifarious Wisdom of God For in Ephesians 3:10?
What's God's Calling for in Ephesians 4:1?
What Does It Mean to Learn Christ in Ephesians 4:20?
Seeing the Church as the Bride of Christ in Ephesians 5:32
Seeing the Church as the Warrior in Ephesians 6
How Do We Apply the Armor of God in Ephesians 6?
What are the Seven Aspects of the Church Seen in Ephesians?
Why Did God Abolish the Ordinances in Ephesians 2:15?
Why is the Spirit Mentioned in Every Chapter of Ephesians?