Dear Ones:
It is one thing to enlist in the armed services. It is another to be chosen by God to serve as His soldier in the spiritual conflict concerning the coming of His kingdom on this earth, “…as it is in heaven.” Though there are certain principles that govern both “services,” they are decidedly different in their nature, and in particular, with regard to their Commander. For the terrestrial conflict, there are employed the strategies of men’s minds and hearts. The authority that reigns in this particular theater is a created one. It is only as powerful as is the ingenuity and resources of those who control it. Thus, the authority that is exercised in the conflict is imperfect, incomplete, and limited. History bears this out. However, the authority of that which is spiritual emanates from the very throne of God, is endless, and all-powerful. It has its foundation and essence in the eternal, perfect Nature of God, His power, and His declared sovereignty over all. It is for this reason, that His soldier is called to trust Him implicitly, and with quiet, unabated resolve, to serve Him, please Him, by the doing of the will of God in the face of opposition, and conflict. In light of these realities, what is the “soldier” of Christ to be? And how is he to BE this?
The Christian Soldier is first of all called “…to BECOME what he IS.” What does this mean? The Christian soldier is IN Jesus Christ, for he has been placed in living union with the Son of God, to live by, for, and unto Him. He is a new creation, primarily spiritual in nature. We must always begin the consideration of this matter with the finished work of Christ. The outworking of the Christian soldier in becoming what he IS, is only possible as one grasps that Christ IS his life. If he will be what he has been called to be, then he must derive his life, and all his resources from Christ.
It logically follows that as the Christian soldier is primarily a spiritual creation in Christ, the conflict in which he has been called to live and serve is predominantly spiritual in nature. “…We do not war after (or according to…) the flesh.” Essential to the effectiveness of the soldier in this conflict is the need to grasp the truths, and principles, and objectives of God in this conflict. Paul writes that our weapons “…are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds.” What are these strongholds? “…Casting down imaginations (reasonings) , and every high thing that exalteth itself against the KNOWLEDGE OF GOD, bringing into captivity every THOUGHT to the obedience of Christ.” (2 Cor. 10:3,4,5) The Christian soldier’s task is to be God’s instrument, in the place and capacity of His calling, to be a witness to the truth, and the Life of Christ. Strongholds in minds and hearts will never come down unless the truth is proclaimed, declared by the life and power of the Spirit.
The “good soldier” will patiently endure hardness, difficulty, and resistance. And he is one that is “untangled” by the affairs of this life. Wherever Christ has put him, in whatever capacity or career, the soldier is a “free” man, whose life is not encumbered, and entangled by the cares and things of this life. He is first and foremost a lover of Christ, living for Him, by His power, seeking to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is within him, “in season and out of season.”
Lord Jesus, grant that we may, by Thy immeasureable grace, become in experience what we ARE in Christ. Enable us to be those who are overcomers, unentangled, ready share Thy truth and love to a lost and dying world. Grant that the walls and fortresses of man’s false reasoning, imaginations, and speculations, will fall at the proclamation of Thy truth. And many will come to a saving knowledge of Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Love, Dad