In this chapter we will see something concerning the spiritual warfare of the church. The creation of man was for two purposes. On the positive side, it was so that man would express God, and on the negative side, it was to deal with the enemy of God. This refers to the image of God and the authority of God. In the New Testament, especially in Ephesians, the book most related to the church, we can see the image and authority of God, that is, the way to express God corporately and fight the battle against the enemy of God in a corporate way. Nearly all the teachings in the New Testament are composed with the elements of the image of God to express God in Christ through the Spirit and the authority to fight the battle and deal with God’s enemy. These are the two main components of God’s eternal plan, and these are the two main items of the entire teaching of the Scriptures, especially in the New Testament.
In Ephesians, we can see the image of God especially in 4:22-24 which tells us to put off the old man and put on the new man, the corporate new creation in Christ, which was created according to the image of the Creator, that is, of God Himself. The church as the new creation has the image of God in order to express God in Christ through the Holy Spirit. Then in the last chapter of Ephesians, there is the fighting, the wrestling, the spiritual warfare to deal with the evil forces in the kingdom of darkness, that is, to deal with the enemy of God. If we are the victorious church, if we realize the real church life, then the Lord will be expressed through us that we may have His true image and the heavenly authority to fight the spiritual warfare to deal with the enemy of God.
The two aspects of the divine commission of the church are to express God in Christ through the Spirit and to deal with the enemy of God. The purpose of the messages in this book is not to help us merely to know some truths, doctrines, or teachings. Rather, it is to help us to realize the genuine life of a Christian, which is the real life of the church, the victorious, corporate life of the Body, in order to express Christ and to deal with the enemy of God. We must bring Christ to people, exhibit Christ, glorify Christ, and express Christ in the divine image. This is on the positive side. We also have to fight the battle, deal with the enemy, bind the strong man, and chase the forces of darkness. This is on the negative side. This is the divine commission committed by the Lord to the church. What are we here for? We are here for the exhibition and expression of Christ, on the positive side, and the fighting of the spiritual warfare to deal with the enemy of God on the negative side.
If we read Ephesians again with this point of view, we will see that the entire book can be summarized by these two aspects. The church is the Body of Christ to express and exhibit Christ and to glorify Christ in the divine image, and the church also fights the battle to bring the coming kingdom, to deal with the enemy of God, and to chase away the evil forces of darkness.
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