The Preparation of the Bride
Message Six
The Bride as the Corporate Warrior
THE EXTRACT OF THE OUTLINES
Scripture Reading:
Eph. 6:10-13 Finally, be empowered in the Lord and in the might of His strength. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the stratagems of the devil, For our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies. Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
Rev. 19:7 Let us rejoice and exult, and let us give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.
I. Ephesians 6:10-20 reveals that the bride is the corporate fighter, fighting against God’s enemy for God’s kingdom—Eph. 6:10-11: (Monday, Tuesday)
A. Jesus’ testimony during the Millennium is the bride of Christ, who are the overcomers reigning with Christ—Rev. 19:7.
B. The Lord’s recovery is for the preparation of Christ’s bride; eventually, we will all be conformed to the wonderful Shulamite—Rev. 19:7-9.
C. God does not want strong ones in themselves; He only wants those who are weak, weaker women and children; those counted worthy to be overcomers will be the weaker ones, those who are dependent on the Lord—1 Cor. 1:26-28.
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II. Spiritual warfare is necessary because Satan’s will is against God’s will; we walk according to the truth and by grace, we live in love and light, and we fight to conquer Satan’s will—Eph. 6:12: (Wednesday)
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A. To deal with God’s enemy, we need the mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavenlies far above all evil spirits in the air, so that we may be empowered—Eph. 6:10. (Thursday)
B. The war between the church and Satan is a war between us who love the Lord and are in His church and the evil forces in the heavenlies—Eph. 6:12.
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III. Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter but the matter of Christ’s bride as the corporate fighter—Eph. 6:13: (Friday)
A. The church is the corporate fighter, and the believers together constitute this corporate fighter; after we are corporately formed into an army, we can fight with God’s enemy.
B. The full armor of God is for the Body, not for the individual; only the corporate fighter can put on the full armor of God.
IV. To fight the spiritual war, we need to put on the full armor of God—Eph. 6:11:
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A. By putting on the full armor of God, we can stand against the schemes, the evil stratagems, of the Devil—Eph. 6:11. (Saturday)
B. We all need to see that today in the Lord’s recovery, we are in a battlefield; we must cooperate with the Lord to fight the aerial powers of Satan for us to gain more of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ and the preparation of Christ’s bride, for the establishing and spreading of God’s kingdom so that Christ may return to possess the earth.
OPENING WORD OF THE PROPHESYING MEETING
Reading the verses in each day.
Reading the main points in the outlines.
Pray-reading the verses:
S. S. 6:13 Return, return, O Shulammite; return, return, that we may gaze at you. Why should you gaze at the Shulammite, as upon the dance of two camps?
Eph. 6:17-18 And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God, by means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.
Word of Appetizer
The Lord’s recovery is for the preparation of the bride of Christ; ultimately, we will be conformed to be the wonderful Shulammite. The Shulammite is likened to the dance of two camps, or two armies. What is the spiritual significance of the two armies?
The spiritual significance of the two armies is the strong testimony that we more than conquer, we “super-overcome,” through Him who loved us according to the principle of the Body of Christ. God does not want those who are strong in themselves; He wants only the feeble ones, the weaker ones, the women and children. When we consider how to arrive at the highest peak of the divine revelation, we should not trust in ourselves but depend on the Lord as love, power, and mercy to make us vessels of mercy, honor, and glory.
Spiritual Burden
The Lord’s recovery is for the preparation of the bride of Christ; ultimately, we will be conformed to be the wonderful Shulammite, who, as the duplication of Solomon, is the greatest and ultimate figure of the New Jerusalem as the counterpart, the bride, of Christ.
We all need to see that in the Lord’s recovery today we are on a battlefield; we must cooperate with the Lord to fight against Satan’s aerial forces so that we can gain more of Christ for the building up of the Body of Christ and the preparation of the bride of Christ, setting up and spreading the kingdom of God so that Christ can come back to inherit the earth.
Concluding Word of the Prophesying Meeting
The Revelation of the Truth
Ephesians 6:10-20 reveals that the bride is a corporate warrior fighting against the enemy of God for God’s kingdom.
The testimony of Jesus during the millennium is the bride of Christ—the overcomers who are the co-kings of Christ.
Spiritual warfare is necessary because Satan’s will is in conflict with God’s will.
The warfare between the church and Satan is a battle between us who love the Lord and who are in His church and the evil powers in the heavenlies.
Spiritual warfare is not an individual matter; it is a matter of Christ’s bride being a corporate warrior.
The Experience of Life
When we consider how to arrive at the highest peak of the divine revelation, we should not trust in ourselves but depend on the Lord as love, power, and mercy to make us vessels of mercy, honor, and glory.
By putting on the whole armor of God, we are able to stand against the stratagems, the evil plans, of the devil. To sit with Christ is to participate in all His accomplishments, to walk in His Body is to fulfill God’s eternal purpose, and to stand in His power is to fight against God’s enemy.
Practice and Application
We walk according to truth and by grace, we live in love and light, and we fight to subdue the satanic will.
To deal with God’s enemy, we need to be empowered with the greatness of the power that raised Christ from the dead and seated Him in the heavenlies, far above all the evil spirits in the air. If we would be empowered for spiritual warfare, our will must be strong and exercised.
To fight the spiritual warfare, we need to put on the whole armor of God. Prayer is the unique, crucial, and vital means by which we apply the whole armor of God, making every item of the armor available to us in a practical way.
PROPHESYING TOPICS—TWELVE TOPICS PER WEEK
Day 1
T1 In the eyes of God, the lover is as beautiful as Tirzah and as lovely as Jerusalem (S. S. 6:4)
(Please illustrate that to the enemy this lover, this overcomer, is as terrible as an army with banners.)
T2 The Shulammite is likened to the dance of two camps, or two armies, in the sight of God (S. S. 6:13)
(Please illustrate that what is the spiritual significance of the two armies.)
Day 2
T1 Such weaker ones who depend on the Lord will be counted worthy to be the overcomers (Rom. 8:37)
(Why those who are counted as overcomers will be the weaker ones?)
T2 The Bible ends with a couple in a marriage life—the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:2)
(Please illustrate that this city is the aggregate of all the visions and revelations in God’s Word.)
Day 3
T1 In the universe there are three wills: the divine will, the satanic will, and the human will (Eph. 1:5; Matt. 6:10)
(Please illustrate that all warfare has its source in this conflict of the divine will and the satanic will.)
T2 By giving man a free will, God was indicating that He would not force man to obey Him (Matt. 4:17)
(Please illustrate that through repentance man can turn from the satanic will to the divine will, from Satan’s side to God’s side.)
Day 4
T1 If we would be empowered for spiritual warfare, our will must be strong and exercised (Eph. 6:10)
(Please illustrate that the charge to be empowered implies the need to exercise our will.)
T2 Fight in the Lord and in the might of His strength (Eph. 6:10, 12)
(Please illustrate that the fact that we need to be empowered in the Lord indicates that we cannot fight the spiritual warfare in ourselves; we can fight only in the Lord and in the might of His strength.)
Day 5
T1 The armor in Ephesians 6 is not for Christians as individuals; it is for the church corporately as the Body (Eph. 6:14, 17-18)
(Please illustrate that it is very dangerous to be isolated from the army. Only by remaining in the army will we have the necessary protection.)
T2 Prayer is the means by which we receive all the aspects of the whole armor of God (Eph. 6:17-18)
(Please illustrate that we receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit by means of all prayer and petition.)
Day 6
T1 Praying at every time in spirit and watching unto this in all perseverance (Eph. 6:11, 17-18)
(Please illustrate that by prayer we receive both the helmet of salvation and the word of God.)
T2 In order to wage the spiritual warfare, we need the whole armor (Eph. 6:11, 13)
(Please illustrate that whether we put on the whole armor of God or take it up, we must exercise our will in a strong way.)
