If we hold to our opinions, we shall not be able to put on Christ as our armor. In order to put on the whole armor of God, our opinions must be killed. Instead of having Christ as their armor, many have their various opinions. Their thinking, desiring, and choosing are governed by their opinions. Because they have all these opinions, they do not have the whole armor of God. They may have opinions in their mind, but they do not have Christ as their helmet covering their head. The only way to put on the helmet of salvation as our covering is to have our opinions and concepts subdued and killed. We need to pray, “O Lord, have mercy on me and slay my thoughts, opinions, and concepts.” If we sincerely pray in this way, we shall be under the covering of the helmet. The same is true with respect to the breastplate. You may have your own tastes and choices, and you may be strong in certain likes and dislikes. But if this is your condition, you cannot put on the breastplate. Only when your choice is killed will you be able to put on Christ as your breastplate to cover your conscience.
Although I knew Ephesians 6 in a doctrinal way years ago, I thank the Lord that today I know this chapter in the way of experience. I have seen that, if we would put on the all-inclusive Christ as the whole armor of God, all our thoughts, concepts, opinions, affections, and choices must be put to death. Only then shall we be completely under the covering of the all-inclusive Christ. Having this armor upon us, we shall be able to fight the evil powers in the heavenlies.
Many are disqualified from fighting against the principalities and powers in the heavenlies because they are entangled by their concepts, opinions, and choices. The only fight they know is the fight within themselves, not the warfare in the air. They are not able to get out of themselves and penetrate into the enemy’s territory in the air. They are like a fighter plane that is grounded because of bad weather. This “bad weather” is the self, full of opinions, choices, intentions, decisions, likes, and dislikes. Because many are entangled with these things and thus have not put on the all-inclusive Christ as the armor to cover and equip them, they cannot soar into the air to war against the enemy in the heavenlies. Rather, they are still enveloped in all their own opinions and concepts.
In Revelation 12 we have the vision, and in Ephesians we have the practical way to come into the experience of this vision. Although Revelation 12 unveils the stronger part within the woman, it does not give us the way to become this stronger part. The way, unfolded in the book of Ephesians, is to be strengthened in our inner man, to be empowered to experience the riches of Christ, and to be strong through putting on the armor of God by pray-reading the killing word. The word we take in by pray-reading will kill every negative element in our being. The more these negative elements are killed, the more we shall be equipped with the armor of God. After we have been thus equipped, we shall be able to take off from the ground and fight against the principalities and powers in the heavenlies. Hence, the way to fight the battle as the man-child is found in Ephesians 6.
Because I realize that everyone in the churches in the Lord’s recovery loves the Lord, I have been burdened to fellowship with you in this way. Although you love the Lord, you still have many opinions that need to be killed. The killing word must do its work within us. This cannot happen by teaching or by listening to messages; it is the result of a proper pray-reading of the Word. As word after word penetrates into our being, our opinions, concepts, desires, and choices are slain. I suggest that you take two weeks to prove this by pray-reading the entire book of Ephesians. This pray-reading will expose all your opinions and concepts, and it will bring you to the point where you will be willing to renounce them all. Then you will be able to say, “In the church life with the brothers and sisters and in my married life, I do not hold on to any opinions. Lord, because I am no longer entangled by anything on earth, at any moment I can take off from the ground and soar into the heavenlies to fight against the enemy. Nothing can hold me down.” If you pray-read the book of Ephesians, you will see where you are and you will know what you need.