In this chapter we will consider the kind of person who preaches the gospel. The gospel is preached not merely with words but mainly through persons. In the book of Acts, when the church preached the gospel for the first time on the day of Pentecost, the words spoken were secondary, whereas the persons who spoke were primary. In other words, the gospel had a mouthpiece not merely after the apostles spoke but as soon as the apostles were gained. Thus, the voices of the apostles and the words they spoke were secondary, but the apostles as a group of persons were primary. As soon as this group of men stood up, the gospel had a mouthpiece. The apostles themselves were the mouthpiece of the gospel.
The words of the gospel spoken by the apostles on the day of Pentecost had authority and power because the apostles were persons of authority and power. If they had not been such persons, the result of their gospel might not have been the same, even if they had spoken with more words and with more gravity on that day. On the surface, it seems that the gospel preached by the apostles on the day of Pentecost was effective because of their words. Actually, the support and the power behind their words issued from the kind of persons that they were. It is often said that the words of a person of low estate carry little weight and that his words are light. This indicates that the weight behind a person’s words depends on the weightiness of the person. If we are weighty persons, we will be able to stand and speak words of authority not only before God and men but also in the face of the enemy. However, if we are of little weight before God, we will have problems before men and will be unable to stand before Satan, and our words will lack weight and authority even if we speak loudly and with many words.
The kind of person we are determines the kind of words we speak. Therefore, if we mean business with the Lord to preach the gospel, the first thing that we need to pay attention to is what kind of person we are and where we stand before the Lord. Regarding the preaching of the gospel, we need to see gospel preaching from two perspectives.
First, we need to see that toward Satan the preaching of the gospel is a spiritual battle. According to the situation of the church today and according to the surrounding environment and the condition of people’s hearts, there is a need for a gospel move. In speaking concerning this need, we have no intention to stir up any excitement among the saints for the preaching of the gospel. Such work of stirring up has little spiritual value. However, the Lord has afforded us an opportunity to preach the gospel. Therefore, we need a proper realization of what God is doing, and we need to allow the Lord to do something through us. If we would meet God’s need today, we need to see that God’s preaching of the gospel through His people on the earth is a matter of engaging in spiritual warfare. Thus, a person who preaches the gospel must be a soldier.
The gospel of God is a spiritual gospel, and to preach this gospel is to fight a spiritual battle. Such a battle is not in the physical realm but in the spiritual realm, because the preaching of the gospel is to plunder from under Satan’s hands, from under Satan’s authority, and from under Satan’s usurpation those whom God predestinated and desires to save. To preach the gospel is not merely a matter of evangelizing but a matter of fighting a battle. As the gospel is being preached, God is plundering through His church those who are being usurped by Satan.
The Lord Jesus said in Matthew 12:29, “How can anyone enter into the house of the strong man and plunder his goods unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will thoroughly plunder his house.” This indicates that when we preach the gospel, we engage in spiritual warfare. First, we need to bind the strong man, Satan, and then we can rescue those who have been seized by him. This is carried out mainly through prayer. Only when we pray fighting prayers to bind Satan can we enter into his house, that is, into his power and influence, into the domain of his rule, to plunder the souls whom God intends to save from being under his usurpation.
Preaching the gospel is altogether a matter of fighting a battle. As persons fighting this battle, we need to have severe dealings before the Lord. We need to deal with our motives, thoughts, inclinations, and standing, because we may have within us a little room that is connected to the enemy or a little ground that is attached to the world. Whenever we have anything inward or outward that remains attached to the world or is joined to the enemy, we will fall under Satan’s authority and have no way to fight the spiritual battle. In order to engage in spiritual warfare, we must have strong dealings before the Lord both inwardly and outwardly. We must have nothing that is under the enemy’s hands and nothing that is joined to the world.
The power for fighting this spiritual battle comes from severe dealings before the Lord. This does not mean that we will not have failures or that we have attained to perfection. If this were so, we would have no need for the covering of the blood when we rise up to do something for the Lord. Although we may have many weaknesses and repeated failures, we can prostrate ourselves before the Lord under the covering of His precious blood and can declare to the enemy, “Enemy, even though I have failures and weaknesses, my failures and weaknesses are not of my will but have come about only because I am still in the old creation and still walk in this world. Although I may have been defiled and I may have failed in certain matters, I have received the Lord’s visitation and still have the desire to stand on God’s side to oppose you.” By standing on the basis of the Lord’s precious blood, we can have such dealings before God and such declarations to the enemy (Rev. 12:11).
We must repeatedly show the enemy by the blood that although we are weak in the old creation and may have been defiled by the world, we are willing to stand on God’s side, and we are standing on God’s side by the power of His grace. We do not want to have any ground within that is connected to Satan, nor do we want to have any room in us that is attached to the world. Thus, we need to have deep and thorough dealings and strong declarations before the Lord. Only then will we be able to fight the spiritual battle and preach the gospel of the kingdom of God.