630 The Spiritual Man
Right here must the believer choose: is he going to be forever
passive, is he going to let the evil spirits act forever for him? He of
course will not permit them to manipulate him any longer. Though
temporarily he is unable to decide anything, he nonetheless will not
allow the evil spirits to control his power of decision. The battle for
freedom has now been joined. This is a contest of the will, for it is
through its passivity that all the parts of the man have fallen into the
hands of the evil spirits. Hereafter the will must rise up to (a) oppose
the rule of the evil spirits, (b) recover all lost ground, and (c) work
actively with God for the use of every part of his person. Everything
hinges on the volition. The evil spirits will withdraw if the believer’s
volition withstands them and forbids them to occupy his organs any
further.
Every foot of surrendered territory must be recaptured; each bit of
deception must be uncovered. The child of God needs to contend
patiently with the enemy over each and every matter. He must “fight
through.” All ground is not necessarily removed at the moment of
refusal. The evil spirits will yet mount their last struggle; the children
of God must be strengthened through many battles. “The refusing
must therefore be reasserted, and the believer refuse persistently,
until each point of ground is detected and refused, and the faculties
are gradually released to act freely under the will of the man. The
faculties let go into passivity should regain their normal working
condition, such as the operation of the mind kept to true and pure
thinking so that any subject being dealt with is mastered, and does
not dominate beyond control. So with the memory, the will, the
imagination, and the actions of the body, such as singing, praying,
speaking, reading, etc.” (Penn-Lewis, WOTS, 193) ∗The will must be
engaged as the master of the entire man. All talents must be able to
function properly according to one’s normal condition.
∗See Part Nine, Chapter 2 for full bibliographical citation.