We have seen that the church is the Body of Christ. This Body renders supply to every member of the Body. Furthermore, this Body also renders protection to every member. This is especially important when it comes to the matter of spiritual warfare. Ephesians is a book that deals specifically with the Body of Christ. In chapter six we see that spiritual warfare is something that is related to the church, not to individuals. It is the plural you that must put on the whole armor of God, not the singular you. Satan is not afraid of individuals. He is afraid of the church. "Upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it" (Matt. 16:18). We must meet the devil on the ground of the Body. Even in our private prayers we should stand by faith on the ground of the Body. Many Christians fall before the foe because they stand alone. In fact, if we stand alone, we invite Satan's attack.
We must remember that the spiritual armor is for the church, not for individuals. The Body of Christ puts on the whole armor of God. In the Body every member has its specialty, and all these specialties combined together form the whole armor of God. If a brother has faith, he has the shield of faith. If another brother has the word of God, he has the sword of the Spirit. The whole armor of God is the totality of all the specialties of the members. Hence, the whole armor is for the whole church, not for individuals. Spiritual warfare is an integrated warfare of all the members; it is not the isolated warfare of individuals. A single tree can be blown down easily, but a whole forest cannot be blown down easily. Satan likes to pick out those who are without any covering as the objects of his attacks. He looks for men who are alone and isolated. Whoever is under the protection of the Body is sheltered. One function of the Body of Christ is to protect all the members. We need the covering of the Body; otherwise, we will be constantly exposed to the enemy. An isolated individual is also prone to be deceived, so we need the covering of the Body for this as well. We should consult constantly with our fellow- believers. We must not only acknowledge the need for the Body in a general way, but we should also go to our brothers and sisters in a specific way and ask for help.
The Body of Christ is a reality; it is not a doctrine or a theory. The protection of the Body is also a reality and not a doctrine. Immediately after I was saved, I read in the Bible about bearing the cross. I thought that if I memorized the verses on this subject, I would be bearing the cross and that if I forgot the verses, I would not be bearing the cross. Later, I found out that bearing the cross has nothing to do with our memory. Our memory merely retains the doctrine. If the Lord's word is life to us, nothing will affect our bearing of the cross. It does not matter whether or not we remember the word, because if the word is life to us, it has already become a law of life in us and is no longer just an outward legal ordinance to us. The same is true with the Body of Christ—it is a law of life. Once we experience this life, we are under the operation of this law of life, and we discover that the protection of the Body is a reality and not an outward law.
Soldiers hide in the trenches for their protection in physical warfare. They cannot expose their heads; to do so is dangerous. This is also true in spiritual warfare. No member should be alone, and no member should expose his head. We are merely members in the Body, and we need the protection of the brothers and sisters. When Moses lifted up his hands to pray for the Israelites, he needed the help of Aaron and Hur. With their help the Israelites prevailed over the Amalekites. If a man as strong as Moses needed the help of his brothers, how much more do we need the help of our brothers? Many people do things without consulting and praying with the brothers and sisters. They are ignorant of the protection of the Body, and the result is nothing but failure. We all must see the reality of the Body's protection, hide under its protection, and accept its safeguard.
This is the difference between one who has revelation of the Body and one who does not: The one who knows the Body merely as a truth may seek the counsel and covering of the Body, but he will do it as a matter of policy, not as a matter of life. When he thinks of it he will do it, but he can also forget about it. The one who has seen the Body as a reality and has entered experientially into the realm of the Body has no possibility of forgetting. His acting by the Body-principle is something spontaneous because it is his life.