The second item of the purpose of God for the church is to deal with His enemy. In chapter one of Ephesians there is the positive side of God’s purpose for the sonship, and in chapter three there is the negative side against the enemy, that the enemy may be subdued and come to know God’s manifold wisdom. God is not sorry that there is such an evil one as Satan, because without such a one, God’s manifold wisdom could not be manifested. It is through all the troubles originating from Satan that God has a chance to show forth His wisdom. Suppose you have a car, and this car never gives you any trouble. If this is the case, no one could know how wise you are. A car without problems would not demonstrate your wisdom. But if you have a car which needs wisdom to handle, your wisdom will be brought to light, and all of your passengers will marvel. It is a problem car, but what a wonderful driver! The whole universe has been damaged by Satan, but God needs such a one in order that His wisdom might be shown.
The best translation of Ephesians 3:9-11 is: “And to enlighten all that they may see what the economy of the mystery is, which throughout the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things, in order that now to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenlies the multifarious wisdom of God might be made known through the church, according to the eternal purpose which He made in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The words to enlighten all that they may see in verse 9 really mean in Greek “to bring to light.” God wants to bring to light to all His creation the economy of His mystery which before the creation of the world was known only by Himself. This economy was hidden in God as a mystery, but now God wants to bring to light this economy, in order that His multifarious wisdom might be known to the rulers and the authorities through the church. This is according to the eternal purpose, the eternal plan, which God purposed and planned in Christ.
God created man in His own image and gave him authority to have dominion over all the earth. The image is related to the sonship, to the expression of God; the dominion is related to dealing with God’s enemy. The sonship is the fulfillment of God’s image, for it is by the sonship that we will eventually be in the full image of God to express Him. By new birth we have the image of God within our spirit, by transformation our soul will be transformed to the image of Christ, and then by transfiguration even our physical body will be conformed to the full likeness of Christ. At that time we will be fully and thoroughly, from within to without, in the image of God. However, God not only created man in His image to express Himself, He also committed His full authority to man for the purpose of subduing His enemy. So the second item of the purpose of God for the church is related to the second aspect of God’s creation of man.
The church was predestinated to the sonship of God, and it was also purposed to subdue the enemy. The church is built up by the sonship, and through the building up of the church, the enemy is subdued and God’s wisdom is displayed. There is a real order here. The more life we have, the more built up we will become as a display to Satan. This is a real challenge to the enemy, a shame to him, and a glory to God.
Satan is so subtle. He causes many children of God today to think that it is impossible to have the church built up on this earth. He persuades them to believe that it is not to be built up on this earth but far away in the future. But is Ephesians 3:9 only for the future? I believe it must include this present age. In this present age and everywhere on this earth, the Lord must work out something as a challenge to Satan. Then God will say, “Satan, look! Even in the territory which you are utilizing, I have built up many lampstands which shine with the light of My life and bring things into order.” This display is a challenge and a shame to Satan, but it is a glory to God. If our eyes are really opened, we will be ready for this at any cost. We will pray, “Lord, I am willing at any cost for the building up of your church in my locality.” This is not a small matter but something very strategic. All of the struggling of the enemy is over this strategic point. Satan will allow people to be saved as long as they are not built up. Satan will even allow them to seek spirituality as long as they are not built up. Satan will allow them to be anything as long as they are not built up. This is because God’s ultimate consummation is a building. Satan knows this, so on one hand he builds up the world as something of himself, and on the other hand he seeks to damage the real building of God which is the church. This is why the real struggle with Satan concerns the local church, especially the ground of the local church.
We have been criticized a great deal for the building of God. No one can say that we preach the gospel in a wrong way. No one can criticize us for teaching the truth in a wrong way. All the evil reports about us are just due to one thing: that is the ground of the local church. If we just preach the gospel and help Christians to be spiritual, everyone will praise us. But once we mention the local ground of the church, all the criticism comes. Some say that we are sectarian, narrow-minded, and many other things. In some places people have said worse things than this to my face. Do you know what I answered? “Brother, I like to be such, until the end.” We must realize what God’s goal is today. If we are a man according to the heart of God as David was, we will seek the goal of God. We should not be satisfied just to see persons saved. We should not even be satisfied just to see the saints seeking after the Lord to be spiritual. No, we should not be satisfied until we see a real building up among the saints. This is the goal of God, but it is also the target of the enemy.
From Genesis 3 to Revelation 20 there is a long record with many stories. There are many positive insertions about the sonship, but there are also many negative insertions connected with the subduing of the enemy. The serpent entered the scene in Genesis 3, and it is not until Revelation 20 that the old serpent will be bound and cast away. There is the sonship, and there is the battle with the enemy. What God has been doing in past generations, what He is still doing now, and what He will be doing in the future is this: to give us His sonship and to subdue His enemy by ultimately casting out the serpent. It is God’s eternal plan that this will be done through the church. As far as the sonship is concerned, we are under the process, but as far as the subduing of the enemy is concerned, we are not just in a process, but we are also in a battle. Sometimes we are defeated; there is no doubt about this. In fighting, sometimes you win and sometimes you lose, but we need not be discouraged. A defeat is for a future victory.
In the early days of my Christian life, I was very sorry when I saw the enemy gain a victory, but today I only say, “Praise the Lord!” This is a preparation for a further victory. Eventually, we will be victorious. In the past years many dear ones came to argue with me because I always looked so happy even when others were sorrowful. I told them that eventually the enemy will lose the case. If he will not lose it today, he will lose it tomorrow. If he will not lose it in this generation, he will lose it in the next generation. If he will not lose it in this age, I am sure he will lose it in eternity. When Revelation 21 comes, he will lose. So there is no need for us to be sorrowful. We must always be happy and praise the Lord, for even a defeat is a preparation for a further victory. Even if the enemy defeats us, he will eventually be defeated. What kind of Bible do you have? It is not a book of defeat but one of victory! There are not just sixty-five books but sixty-six! You may point to what is mentioned in 2 Timothy and in the second and third chapters of Revelation, but we must go to the end of the Scriptures until we arrive at the twenty-first chapter of Revelation. There the whole universe shouts, “Hallelujah for the victory!”
In the eyes of the Lord, Satan has already been defeated. If we have this insight, day by day we will sing, “Hallelujah for the victory!” We can tell Satan that even his small victory is just a preparation for our greater victory. Eventually, he will be the one that is completely defeated. We do not care how much he attacks and damages. The Lord Jesus said if people destroyed His body, He would build it up in three days (John 2:19). The more Satan destroys, the more Christ will build up. His destroying is just a preparation for the Lord’s building up. We need the vision of how the Lord will use the church to defeat His enemy and to recover the whole earth.