2019年 夏季训练
GENERAL SUBJECT: Crystallization-Study of Number (2)
The Necessity of Spiritual Warfare and God’s People Formed into an Army Ready for Battle
Scripture Reading: Num. 21:1-3, 21-35; 27:12-23; 31:13-54
Ⅰ We need to realize the necessity of spiritual warfare—Num. 21:1-3, 21-35:
Ａ Spiritual warfare has its source in the conflict between the satanic will and the divine will; this is a warfare between the kingdom of Satan and the kingdom of God—Matt. 6:10; 7:21; 12:26, 28; Isa. 14:12-14.
Ｂ In the Lord’s recovery we are on a battlefield; in order to possess Christ as the good land for the fulfillment of God’s purpose, we must fight against and defeat the satanic forces—Josh. 5:2—6:16.
Ｃ The army of God defeated the king of Arad, Sihon the king of the Amorites, and Og the king of Bashan—Num. 21:1-3, 21-35:
１ The kings of Arad (v. 1), of the Amorites (v. 21), and of Bashan (v. 33) were the “gate guards” on the east of the Jordan, guarding the land of Canaan, the kingdom of darkness, for Satan:
ａ The kings defeated by God’s army signify the rulers, the authorities, and the world-rulers of darkness, against whom we must struggle—Eph. 6:12.
ｂ In order for the children of Israel to enter into the good land, they had to pass through the territory controlled by these kings and had to fight against them, destroy them, and take over their territory.
２ In order to gain the unsearchable riches of Christ, we must crush the spiritual enemies signified by the king of Arad, Sihon the king of the Amorites, and Og the king of Bashan and take over their territory—3:8; 6:10-12.
Ｄ The fighting of the children of Israel against the Canaanites that they might possess and enjoy the good land portrays the invisible spiritual warfare that is taking place behind the visible scene on earth, and it typifies the spiritual warfare of the church against “the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies”—Dan. 10:10-21; Eph. 6:10-12:
１ In the typology of the Old Testament, Canaan has two aspects:
ａ On the positive side, Canaan, a land of riches (Deut. 8:7-10), typifies the all-inclusive Christ with His unsearchable riches (Col. 1:12; Eph. 3:8).
ｂ On the negative side, Canaan signifies the aerial part, the heavenly part, of the dark kingdom of Satan:
⑴ As the ruler of this world (John 12:31) and as the ruler of the authority of the air (Eph. 2:2), Satan has his authority (Acts 26:18) and his angels (Matt. 25:41), who are his subordinates as principalities, powers, and rulers of the darkness of this world (Eph. 6:12); hence, Satan has his kingdom (Matt. 12:26), the authority of darkness (Col. 1:13).
⑵ The Canaanites typify the fallen angels, the rebellious angels who follow Satan (Rev. 12:4, 7), who have become the powers, rulers, and authorities in Satan’s kingdom (cf. Dan. 10:13, 20).
⑶ The fighting of the children of Israel against the Canaanites that they might possess and enjoy the good land typifies the spiritual warfare of the church against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies so that the saints may enjoy Christ as the all-inclusive land—Eph. 6:12.
２ God wants us to gain Christ as our good land, but between us and the good land, there is a layer of devilish, demonic forces; if we would take possession of the good land, we must defeat these satanic forces—Col. 1:12-13; 2:15; Eph. 3:18; 6:10-12.
３ There is an exceedingly real spiritual warfare in which we must engage; thus, the church must be a corporate warrior fighting the battle to gain the all-inclusive Christ and for the establishing and spreading of the kingdom of God so that Christ may come back to inherit the earth—vv. 10-19.
Ｅ The Lord Jesus has already won the battle, and the work of the church on earth is to maintain Christ’s victory—Heb. 2:14; Col. 2:15; 1 John 3:8:
１ The Son of God was manifested to destroy the works of the devil—v. 8.
２ As a man, Christ defeated Satan during the temptation in the wilderness—Matt. 4:1-11.
３ Through death the Lord Jesus destroyed the devil, who has the might of death, abolishing Satan and bringing him to nought—Heb. 2:14; 1 Cor. 1:28.
４ God openly shamed the evil angels, triumphing over them in the cross of Christ—Col. 2:15.
５ The effect of Christ’s crucifixion was that the base of Satan’s rebellion was shaken, that the strongholds of Satan’s earthly kingdom were broken, and that the power of death and Hades was conquered and subdued—Matt. 27:51-52.
６ In the Spirit of His divinity, Christ proclaimed to the evil spirits in the abyss His victory over Satan on the cross—1 Pet. 3:18-19.
７ The overcomers, the mighty ones, realize that spiritual warfare is based on the victory of Christ—Joel 3:11b; John 12:31; Rev. 5:5:
ａ The starting point of spiritual warfare is standing upon the victory of Christ—Eph. 6:11, 13.
ｂ We need to see that Christ has already overcome—Rev. 3:21.
８ The church is on earth to perpetuate and manifest Christ’s victory over Satan—Eph. 6:13; Rev. 12:11.
Ｆ In order to engage in spiritual warfare, we need to know the Body, know the ascension, and reign in life—Eph. 1:22-23; 2:6; 4:16; Col. 3:1-4; Rom. 5:17, 21.
Ⅱ At the end of Numbers 27, God’s people, the Israelites, had been formed into an army ready for battle:
Ａ The children of Israel had become a new people formed into a new army with a new theocracy—vv. 12-23:
１ The new people had been renumbered, the new army had been re-formed and strengthened, and a new leader, Joshua, had been appointed to serve.
２ Joshua would serve not by himself but with Eleazar the priest, who would receive divine instructions by means of the Urim and the Thummim; this means that there was among the people a new theocracy—vv. 19-21.
Ｂ After being formed, constituted, disciplined, trained, and qualified, God’s people had come to the plains of Moab, where they were waiting to enter into the good land, to take it, and to possess it—36:13.
Ｃ The formation of the children of Israel into an army to fight for God typifies the New Testament believers’ being built up into the organic Body of Christ to fight for God and with God for the carrying out of His economy—Eph. 4:16; 6:12.
Ｄ With the exception of Joshua and Caleb, those who were qualified and ready to take possession of the good land were the younger ones—Deut. 1:35-36; Num. 14:31:
１ The second generation did not pass through as much as the first generation did, but they received the benefit of what the first generation experienced—26:63-65.
２ Probably the older generation spoke to the younger generation about all that they experienced, enjoyed, and suffered, and this speaking was part of the raising up of the second generation.
３ What the older ones experienced was effective in building up the younger ones; therefore, God could prepare from the second generation more than six hundred thousand men with a rich inheritance and strong background who were qualified to be formed into an army to fight for God’s kingdom.
４ The principle is the same with us in the Lord’s recovery today; what the older ones have experienced is being passed on to the younger ones and will be very effective in building them up and preparing them to fight with God and for God.
Ｅ In Numbers 31:13-54 we see a beautiful picture of the one accord among God’s people who had been formed into an army ready for battle—v. 31:
１ The entire situation among the different categories of people was peaceful, pleasant, and harmonious because they were all in one accord—Acts 1:14.
２ The genuine one accord in the church is the practice of the oneness of the Body, which is the oneness of the Spirit—Eph. 4:3-6:
ａ One accord refers to the harmony in our inner being, in our mind and will—Acts 1:14; Matt. 18:19.
ｂ To be in one accord is to be one in our whole being, and this results in our being one in our outward speaking—Rom. 15:5-6.
ｃ In order to be in one accord, we need to have one heart and one way; this one heart and one way are the one accord—Jer. 32:39.
ｄ For the Lord’s move, all the churches need to be in one accord; we should all voice the same thing, trumpet the same thing, teach the same thing, and be the same in practice—Josh. 1:16-18; 6:1-16; Acts 2:42; 4:24, 32; 1 Cor. 4:17; 7:17; 11:16; 14:33b-34; 1 Tim. 1:3-4; 6:3.
Ｆ God’s army was prepared and ready to take the good land under the blessing of God in His Divine Trinity and also under the blessing of Moses, the man of God—Num. 6:22-27; 2 Cor. 13:14; Deut. 30:16; 33:1.