280 The Spiritual Man
Now obviously he who himself is bound cannot possibly set
others free. Only when wholly freed experientially from the powers
of darkness can the believer himself overcome the foe and rescue
others. The incidence of the danger of deception increases in
proportion to the number of those who experience the baptism in the
Holy Spirit. The need today is for a company of overcoming saints
who know how to wage war for the release of those under the
enemy’s deception. The church of God shall be defeated if she lacks
members who know how to walk by the spirit and how to fight
therewith against the enemy. May God raise up such!
Something to Guard against in Spiritual WarfareEach stage of the believer’s walk possesses its particular hazard.
The new life within us wages a constant war against all which
opposes its growth. During the physical stage, it is a war against sins;
in the soulish phase, it is a battle against the natural life; and lastly,
on the spiritual level, it is an onslaught against the supernatural
enemy. It is solely when a Christian turns spiritual that the evil spirit
in that realm launches its assault against his spirit. Accordingly, this
is called spiritual warfare. It is fought between spirits and with spirit.
Such a phenomenon rarely if ever occurs with unspiritual believers.
Do not imagine for a moment, therefore, that when one actually
reaches the spiritual plateau he is beyond conflict. A Christian life is
an unending engagement on the battlefield. The Christian has no
possibility of laying down his arms until he stands before the Lord.
While soulish, he faces conflict with the flesh and its danger; when
spiritual, he encounters spiritual warfare and its peculiar hazards.
Initially there is the war against Amalek in the wilderness. Upon
entering Canaan there is next the struggle against the seven tribes of
Canaan, wherein the attack of Satan and his evil hosts against the
believer’s spirit is mounted only after the believer has become
spiritual.