Friday

Related Verses
1 Cor. 1:26-30
26 For consider your calling, brothers, that there are not many wise according to flesh, not many powerful, not many wellborn.
27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world that He might shame those who are wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world that He might shame the things that are strong,
28 And the lowborn things of the world and the despised things God has chosen, things which are not, that He might bring to nought the things which are,
29 So that no flesh may boast before God.
30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

Eph. 2:15
15 Abolishing in His flesh the law of the commandments in ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace,

Heb. 12:2
2 Looking away unto Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down on the right hand of the throne of God.

Rom. 8:37
37 But in all these things we more than conquer through Him who loved us.

Rom. 12:5
5 So we who are many are one Body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

Deut. 32:30
30 How shall one chase a thousand, And two put ten thousand to flight, Were it not that their Rock sold them, And Jehovah delivered them up?

Related Reading
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. 

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. (Life-study of Ephesians, p. 793) 

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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. 

The Lord with His might is the very armor that we put on for our protection. This means that we, as the Body, need to put on Christ Himself as our armor. In order to fight in the spiritual warfare, we must have Christ as the whole armor of God. In Ephesians 6:14-17 there are six aspects of Christ as armor: the girdle of truth, or reality; the breastplate of righteousness; the firm foundation of the gospel of peace (the shoes); the shield of faith; the helmet of salvation; and the sword of the Spirit. Therefore, the whole armor of God consists of the girdle, the breastplate, the shoes, the shield, the helmet, and the sword. The shield is for defense, whereas the sword is for offense. In fact, the sword is the only item of the armor that is for offensive warfare. 

We receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit by means of all prayer and petition [v. 18]. Actually, prayer is the means by which we receive all the aspects of the whole armor of God. Do you know how to apply the girdle of reality? It is by praying in spirit. Prayer is also the way to apply the breastplate, the shoes, the shield, the helmet, and the sword. 

The antecedent of which in verse 17 is the Spirit, not the sword. This indicates that the Spirit is the word of God. Both the Spirit and the word are Christ (2 Cor. 3:17; Rev. 19:13). We need to receive the word of God by means of all prayer and petition. 

As we receive the word by means of all prayer and petition, we should pray “at every time in spirit.” The spirit in Ephesians 6:18 is our regenerated spirit indwelt by the Spirit of God. Hence, this spirit is the mingled spirit, our spirit mingled with God’s Spirit. Whenever we pray as a means of taking in the word, we need to be in spirit. The spirit is the proper organ for prayer…We can be in spirit simply by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus from deep within. When we call “O Lord Jesus,” we turn from the vanity of the mind to the spirit of the mind. How sweet and enjoyable it is to call on the Lord Jesus in spirit! 

By praying in spirit we apply Christ as the whole armor of God. As we take the word by praying in spirit, we spontaneously contact Christ as the life-giving Spirit. Immediately, our praying and reading become living, and we are empowered by Christ and covered with Him as our armor. Furthermore, we have the realization that we are in the Body and that Christ with all that He is and has is our portion. In this way we apply Him as the all-inclusive armor. (Life-study of Ephesians, pp. 793-796) 

Further Reading: CWWL, 1984, vol. 1, “Teachers’ Training,” ch. 2