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  WRITINGS OF JOHN A. MACMILLAN
  by John A. MacMillan
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A collection of theological writings, sermons, and essays by John A. MacMillan,
compiled for study and devotional reading.

  Chapters: 53

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  TABLE OF CONTENTS
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    1. 00.00. MacMillan, John A. - Library
    2. 01.00. The Authority of the Believer
    3. 01.01.     Authority Defined
    4. 01.02.     What Authority Is
    5. 01.03.     The Source of Authority
    6. 01.04.     The Conferring of Authority
    7. 01.05.     The Location of Authority
    8. 01.06.     The Rebel Holders of This Authority
    9. 01.07.     The Divine Purpose of the Ages
   10. 01.08.     The Extent of This Authority
   11. 01.09.     "In this Age"
   12. 01.10.     "The Age to Come"
   13. 01.11.     "Under His Feet"
   14. 01.12.     "Head Over All"
   15. 01.13.     The Operation of God
   16. 01.14.     The Failure of the Church
   17. 01.15.     The Qualifications for Authority
   18. 01.16.     Belief
   19. 01.17.     Humility
   20. 01.18.     Boldness
   21. 01.19.     Fear
   22. 01.20.     The Panoply of God
   23. 01.21.     The Practical Exercise of Authority
   24. 01.22.     The Limitation of Authority
   25. 01.23.     Release from Oppression of Body
   26. 01.24.     Release from Oppression of Mind
   27. 01.25.     Authority Over Excessive Anger
   28. 01.26.     Authority Over Fear
   29. 01.27.     Demon Obsession
   30. 01.28.     Authority Over Opposers of the Truth
   31. 01.29.     Inferences
   32. 01.30.     The Final Outcome of Authority
   33. 02.00. The Authority of the Intercessor
   34. 02.01.     Preface
   35. 02.02.     A Secret of the Closet
   36. 02.03.     The Counsels of the Heart
   37. 02.04.     The Sharing of Authority
   38. 02.05.     The Removal of Mountains
   39. 02.06.     The Binding of the Enemy
   40. 02.07.     The Methods of the Lord
   41. 02.08.     The Control of Personal Circumstances
   42. 02.09.     The Hunger of the Soul
   43. 02.10.     The Oppression of the Enemy
   44. 02.11.     The Victory of the Believer's Countenance
   45. 02.12.     The Way of the Cross
   46. 02.13.     Practical Victory
   47. 02.14.     Princes with God
   48. 02.15.     Victory Over the Church's Foes
   49. 02.16.     Our Heavenly Possessions
   50. 02.17.     Our Spiritual Conflict
   51. 02.18.     Our Unseen Foes
   52. 02.19.     The Authority of the Rod
   53. 02.20.     The Hand Upon the Throne

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  CHAPTER 1: 00.00. MACMILLAN, JOHN A. - LIBRARY
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MacMillan, John A. - Library MacMillan, J. A. - The Authority of the Believer
MacMillan, J. A. - The Authority of the Intercessor


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  CHAPTER 2: 01.00. THE AUTHORITY OF THE BELIEVER
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The Authority of the Believer by Rev. J.A. MacMillan

John A. MacMillan is among the significant writers on the authority of believer.
He was a Wesleyan minister of the 20th century.

Text for this module came from <http://www.worldinvisible.com/>


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  CHAPTER 3: 01.01.     AUTHORITY DEFINED
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THERE are few subjects relating to the Christian life concerning which there is
so little exact knowledge as that of the Authority of the believer. This is not
because such authority is the property only of a few elect souls. On the
contrary, it is the possession of every true child of God. It is one of the "all
things received in Christ. Its reception dates from the soul’s contact with
Calvary.

Probably because of the extreme importance of a correct under standing of its
privileges and responsibilities, and because of the power which they confer on a
militant believer, the enemy has specially sought to hold back this knowledge
from God’s people. He has been successful through the employment of the
"blinding" tactics which he has found effective in the case of the "lost" and of
those who "believe not" (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). For it is strangely true that,
although its principles are set forth in a definite way to this epistle to the
Ephesians there is very little grasp of them by the majority of even spiritual
believers. That there is such authority is recognized, but it is confounded with
other aspects of the life of faith, and thereby loses its distinctive value and
power. Every doctrine of Scripture, while correlated closely with others of the
same class, has features peculiar to itself. Only as these are clearly
understood, and held in their right relationship, can there be the fullest
benefit from their reception. The constitution and laws of the spiritual world
are perfectly orderly and logical, and must be adhered to and carefully obeyed
if the desired and promised results are to be gained. In making this statement
it is not intended to suggest that a logical and intelligent mind can of itself
grasp spiritual values, or gain possession of spiritual blessings. Were that
possible, the deepest phases of the Christian life would be the possession of
the most intellectual. Whereas, it is very definitely asserted by the Spirit of
God that, in the apprehension of divine truth, "the wisdom of the wise" is
destroyed, and "the understanding of the prudent" brought to naught. Thank God,
there is an inner spiritual understanding, conferred through the enlightenment
of that same Spirit, which enables’ "the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise"-this principle being established by God "that no flesh should glory in
his presence." Wrong Conceptions The Authority of the Believer is by some
confounded with the fulness of the Spirit. It is taught that the coming of the
gracious Spirit of God into the soul in His divine fulness gives authority. But
’ the believer’s authority exists before he seeks or realizes in any special way
the Spirit’s presence. It is certainly true that the fulness of the Spirit
empowers and enlightens the believer. By this alone he is enabled to exercise
authority. But the fulness is not the source of the authority, but something
apart from it. Nor can authority be regarded as some special gift conferred,
whereby the recipient is endued with power, by virtue of which he performs
mighty acts, such as the casting out of evil spirits. Discernment of spirits and
miraculous powers are mentioned among the charismata of the Holy Spirit, but
they differ from authority. By others, the Authority of the Believer is looked
upon as nothing more than prevailing prayer. We have heard men on their knees,
when under a special urge, giving thanks to God for the gift of prayer conferred
at the time. But, later, there has been no result seen from the agony or
enthusiasm of intercession through which they have passed. Personal blessing has
resulted from the intense seeking of God’s face, but a specific answer to their
supplications has not been manifest.


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  CHAPTER 4: 01.02.     WHAT AUTHORITY IS
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Let us, first of all, define the difference between "authority" and "power." In
the New Testament the translators have not been uniform in the rendering of many
words, and these two words have suffered among others. One notable instance is
in Luke 10:19 where "power" is twice used although there is a different Greek
word in each instance. To have translated the first of these by the English word
"authority" would have given a clearer idea of the meaning of the passage.
Perhaps our good old English tongue is at times to blame in not providing
sufficient synonyms to meet the demands of the original. But a little more
uniformity in rendering the same word from the original by the same English
equivalent (a thing usually, though not always, possible) would have given
greater clearness of understanding although in places it might not have been so
euphonious.

One stands at the crossing of two great thoroughfares. Crowds of people are
surging by; multitudes of high-powered vehicles rush along. Suddenly, a man in
uniform raises a hand. Instantly, the tide of traffic ceases. He beckons to the
waiting hosts on the cross street, and they .flow across in an irresistible
wave. What is the explanation? The traffic officer has very little "power." His
most strenuous efforts could. not avail to hold back one of those
swiftly-passing cars. But he has something far better. He is invested with the
"authority" of the corporation whose servant he is. The moving crowds recognize
this authority and obey it.

Authority, then, is delegated power. Its value depends upon the force behind the
user. There is a story told of the late Right Honorable W. E. Gladstone, Prime
Minister of Great Britain. On one occasion, he brought in to Queen Victoria, an
important measure for her signature, in order that it might become law. The
Queen objected to it, and, after some discussion, refused to sign. The Minister
of the Crown was unusually urgent: "Your Majesty," he said, respectfully but
firmly, "you must sign this Bill." She turned on him haughtily: "Sir, I am the
Queen of England." Unmoved, the Statesman answered quietly: "Your Majesty, I am
the people of England." After a little thought, she accepted the situation, and
affixed her signature to the document. This story may be apocryphal, but it
illustrates the question of authority when two opposing powers are in conflict.
The Believer, who is fully conscious of divine Power behind him, and of his own
authority thereby, can face the enemy without fear or hesitation. Those who
confront him bear the specific names of power and authority: "we wrestle not
against flesh and blood, but against principalities (archas, the first or
preeminent ones), against powers (exousias, the authorities)." But, behind the
"authority" possessed by the believer, there is a "Power" infinitely greater
than that which backs his enemies, and which they are compelled to recognize.


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  CHAPTER 5: 01.03.     THE SOURCE OF AUTHORITY
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In the beginning of this article, we made the statement that the soul’s
authority dates from its contact with Calvary. Let us now point out the meaning
and the depth of this truth. When the Lord Jesus, the Captain (Archegon,
Prince-Leader) of our salvation, was raised from the dead, the act of
resurrection was accomplished through "the exceeding greatness of His (God’s)
power (dunameos), to usward who believe, according to that working (energeian)
of the strength (kratous) of His might (ischuos)." In this working there was
such a putting forth of the divine omnipotence that the Holy Spirit, through the
apostle, requires four words of special significance to bring out the thought.
We shall not enter into the expressive meaning and grouping of these words
further than to say that their combination signifies that behind the fact of the
resurrection of the Lord Jesus there lay the mightiest working recorded in the
Word of God.

Having been thus raised from among the dead, Christ Jesus was exalted by God to
His own right hand in the heavenlies. Then was seen the reason of such mighty
working. The resurrection had been opposed by the tremendous "powers of the
air":-"all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that
is named, not only in this world (aioni, age) but also in that which is to
come." The evil forces of the "age to come" had been arrayed against the purpose
of God. They had, however, been baffled and overthrown and the risen Lord had
been enthroned "far above" them, ruling with the authority of the Most High.


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  CHAPTER 6: 01.04.     THE CONFERRING OF AUTHORITY
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In calling attention to the "exceeding greatness of his (God’s) power,"
(Ephesians 1:19) we passed over without comment four words. These are: "to
usward who believe." All the demonstration of the glory of God, shown in the
manifestation of His omnipotence pointed manward. The cross of Christ, with what
it revealed of obedience to God, of atonement for sin, of crushing defeat of the
foes of divine authority, shows us a representative Man overcoming for mankind
and preparing, through His own incumbency, a throne and a heavenly ministry for
those who should overcome through Him.

Observe in this connection the identification of Christ’s people with Himself,
in this crisis of the resurrection. In the first verse of chapter two (Ephesians
2:1), the words read literally: "And you, being dead in trespasses and sins,"
or, perhaps, to bring out better the thought: "And you, when ye were dead in
trespasses and sins." It will be noticed that we have left out the verb "hath He
quickened" which appears in our Bibles. This verb is not in the original; the
sentence is incomplete, "being left unfinished," says one expositor, "in the
rapidity of dictation." We do not accept this as the explanation of the
omission, for we believe that the Holy Spirit so arranged the structure of the
whole passage, that the fact might be emphasized that Christ and His people were
raised together.

Where, then, do we find the verb that controls this passage? It will be seen in
Ephesians 1:20 "According to that working of the strength of His might when He
raised HIM from the dead .(then, putting a parenthesis around the words to the
end of the chapter) . . . and YOU when ye were dead." The same verb which
expresses the reviving of Christ expresses also the reviving of His people. That
is to say the very act of God which raised the Lord from among the dead, raised
also His body. Head and body are naturally raised together: Christ, the Head;
His body, the Church (ho ekklesia, the assembly of believers in Him). This is a
most important statement, and one of which the definite significance cannot be
overestimated. The same thought in another form, is developed by. the apostle in
Romans 6:1-23, where the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus are shown to
also include His people. The passage in Romans sets forth (I) the death to sin
of the believer with the crucified Christ, and.(2) the consequent annulling of
the power of sin over him through the impartation of the life of the resurrected
Christ. The believer is thus made a full partaker of Christ’s righteousness. But
Ephesians lifts (3) the believer with the ascended Christ to the heavenlies
where he is made a partaker of Christ’s throne. In this enthronement, there is
an anticipation of that future union in the government of the nations which h:-
shall share with his Lord, ruling them with a rod of iron and breaking them in
pieces like a potter’s vessel, (Revelation 2:26-27).


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  CHAPTER 7: 01.05.     THE LOCATION OF AUTHORITY
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That there may be no misunderstanding of the Holy Spirit’s meaning in this
presentation of the truth of the elevation o, the Lord’s people with their Head,
He presentation of the truth of the elevation of the Lord’s people with their
Head. He gives it a second time in chapter Ephesians 2:4-6. They are made to sit
with Christ "in the heavenlies," Christ’s session is at the right hand of God.
His people, therefore,’occupy "with him" the same august position. This honor is
not to a chosen few, but is the portion of all those who share the resurrection
of the Son of God. It is the birthright of every true believer, of every
born-again child of God. When the Master foregathered with the eleven on the
Galilean mountain, at some time during the forty days of His manifestation after
His Passion, He said to them: "All authority is given unto me in heaven and in
earth." His formal assumption of that authority took place when lie sat down "on
the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens" (Hebrews 8:1). 1
-lie right hand of the throne of God is the center of power of the whole
universe, and the exercising of the power of the throne was committed unto the
ascended Lord. He is still there in full possession of His rights, awaiting the
Father’s time when His enemies shall be made the footstool of His feet. The
elevation of His people with Him to the heavenlies has no other meaning than
that they are made sharers, potentially for the present, of the authority which
is His. They are made to sit with Him; that is, they share His throne. To share
a throne means without question to partake of the authority which it represents.
Indeed, they have been thus elevated, in the plan of God, for this very purpose
that they may even now exercise, to the extent of their spiritual apprehension,
authority over the powers of the air, and over the conditions which those powers
have brought about on the earth and are still creating through their ceaseless
manipulations of the minds and circumstances of mankind.


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  CHAPTER 8: 01.06.     THE REBEL HOLDERS OF THIS AUTHORITY
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It is necessary here to state, what is commonly understood by those who study
carefully the Word, that the kingdoms of this world are under the control and
leadership of Satanic principalities. The great head of these is, in the Gospel
of John, three times acknowledged as "Prince of this World" by our Lord Himself.
His asserted claim to the suzerainty of the world kingdoms, made in the presence
of the Lord Jesus (Luke 4:6), was not denied by Christ. Although a rebel against
the Most High, and now under judgment of dispossession (John 12:31), he is still
at large, and as the masses of mankind are also rebels, he maintains over them
an unquestioned, because unsuspected rule, their eyes being blinded to his
dominance (2 Corinthians 4:4). The whole rebellious -system is divided into
heavenly and earthly sections (Isaiah 24:21). These are "the host of the high
ones on high" (the unseen powers of the air) and "the kings of the earth upon
the earth" (the rulers of mankind and their subjects). Both, the prophet tells
us, will be judged in that day when "Jehovah cometh forth out of his place to
punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity" (Isaiah 26:21) and "with
his hard and great and strong sword will punish leviathan the swift serpent (the
antichrist), and leviathan the crooked serpent (the false prophet) ; and he will
slay the monster that is in the sea (the dragon)" (Isaiah 27:1) Before these
acts of judgment occur, the Lord’s people will be caught up in the Rapture. As
Isaiah’s eyes were ho den to the mystery of the Church, he does not mention it,
but he does speak of the hiding of the Jewish remnant from the wrath of the
dragon: "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about
thee; hide thyself for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast"
(Isaiah 26:20). The "host of the high ones on high" is carefully divided in our
epistle (Ephesians 6:12). There are first the "principalities and powers." The
first-named are mighty princes, whose principalities include large areas of the
earth, with authority over the nations included in them. The "powers" are
difficult to distinguish from diem, although attempts have been made to state
the difference; they are inferior in position, probably as ministers associated
in government.

Following come "the world-rulers of the darkness of this age." This name would
suggest a ministry of deception, the keeping in darkness of the minds of men,
and especially of the leaders of thought. At their overthrow there will be
removed "the face of the covering that covereth all peoples, and the veil that
is spread over all nations," blinding their eyes, and keeping them in ignorance
of the love and purposes of the Most High.

Finally, there are "the hosts of wicked spirits in the heavenlies"----innumerable body of demons, to whose close connection with mankind is due the grosser sins and deceptions, the stirring up of the animal passions, and the incitement to all manner of sensual and sensuous desires. These are the beings that are present in the spiritist seance, impersonating and deceiving people of strong intelligence, like the well=known leaders connected with the cult today.

These beings are also at hand in religious gatherings, and are a source of
peculiar danger, especially when the emotions are deeply stirred. Many earnest
souls, who have been urged to entire surrender, open their beings with the
utmost abandon to whatever spiritual force approaches them, unaware of the peril
of so doing. Such yielding often provides an opening for the entrance of demons,
who under some pretext gain control of the will. To dislodge them, and to once
more free the victim, is usually a very difficult task. The "kings of the earth
upon the earth" comprise human worldrulers and their subjects, all unregenerate
men. An earthly ruler individually may be a Christian, but he is, by virtue of
his office, a member of the great world-system which has not yet come under the
dominion of the King of kings.

All natural men are members by birth also of this system, and so must be
"delivered out of the power (exousias, authority) of darkness, and translated
into the kingdom of his dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). The seats of authority of
these rebellious spiritual rulers are also in the heavenhes. From there they
have dominated the human race since its fall. There they will remain until the
divine "purpose of the ages" is complete.


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  CHAPTER 9: 01.07.     THE DIVINE PURPOSE OF THE AGES
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The "God of the whole earth" does not purpose to tolerate forever this rebellion
against His righteousness. "By myself have I sworn, the word is gone forth from
my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, that unto me every knee shall
bow, every tongue shall swear." Ere this can be accomplished, the instigators to
human rebellion must be cast down. In this regard the divine method is clear.
"The powers of the air" are allowed to retain their seats only while their
successors are being prepared. God, having redeemed a people and purified them,
has introduced them potentially into the heavenlies. When they have approved
themselves, they will in actuality take the seats of the "powers of the air,"
thereby superseding those who have manifested their unfitness and unworthiness.
This purpose, present and future, is very definitely stated in chapter Ephesians
3:9-11. Here it is revealed as the divine will that "now (nun, the present time)
unto the principalities and powers in the heavenly places might be made known
through the chinch the manifold wisdom of God." The Church is to be God’s
instrument in declaring to these rebellious, and now usurping powers, the divine
purpose, and in administering their principalities, after they have teen
unseated and cast down. This is further declared to be "according to the eternal
purpose (prosethin toga aionon, the purpose of the ages) which He purposed in
Christ Jesus our Lord." That is to say, God, through all the past ages, has had
in view this wonderful plan of preparing in Christ Jesus a people, chosen and
called and faithful, whom He might place in these heavenly seats to rule through
the ages yet to come. It is spoken of, in the verses just preceding, as "the
mystery, which for ages hath been hid in God," one phase of this mystery being
the wonderful veiling of the deity of the Son of God in our human nature, that
we through Him might "become partakers of a divine nature" (2 Peter 1:4) This
exaltation of the saints and its object were revealed to Daniel in the midst of
his own great world-visions. In Daniel 7:22, after the coming of the Ancient of
days, "judgment was given to the saints of the mot High," and the time came that
the saints possessed the kingdom." A ltittle later (Daniel 7:27) we read that
"the kingdom and the dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole
heaven, shall be given to the people o f the saints of the most High." The
meaning is clear. The saints of the Most High are the overcoming Church, raised
to sit in the heavenlies. Below them, and as objects of their care, are the
people of Israel, called here "the people of the saints of the most High."
Israel will administer the earthly kingdom, and will be head of the nations.
But, over all, will rule the exalted Church, as the executive of God.


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  CHAPTER 10: 01.08.     THE EXTENT OF THIS AUTHORITY
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We shall turn again to chapter I, and consider in detail the powers and things
that have been made subject to our Lord, in His exaltation to the Father’s right
hand. As we meditate on the completeness of His authority, let us remember that
He is there as the Representative (Hebrews 2:5-9) of redeemed humanity. And "may
the eyes of our understanding be enlightened" by the Holy Spirit so that we may
believe, without any doubt or shrinking, that the wisdom and will of the Father
have made us sharers of this same authority, and that He verily intends that we
should exercise it day by day in growing comprehension and apprehension.

We notice, first of all, that the Risen Christ has been "Made to Sit" The act of
sitting indicates that, for the time being, certain aspects of His work are in
abeyance. Later, the Lord will again "rise up to the prey." But, just now, with
"all authority" delivered unto Him, He is awaiting the Father’s time, and
meanwhile exercising the powers placed in His hands for the working out of the
redemption purchased for mankind on Calvary. His session is "Far Above" "all
principality, and power, and might, and dominion." The great princes and
authorities, of whom we have previously spoken, are subject to Him. So are the
lesser ones: He is far above all "might" (dunameos, a word used usually in the
New Testament of spiritual power). This refers to that working of Satanic energy
which is becoming increasingly manifest, directed as it is against the bodies
and minds of the children of God. The inroads that are being made into Christian
communities are appalling, but few in the Church are as yet awake to the fact
that fresh powers from the unseen world are flooding in upon us. Nor is the
cause of this hard to trace. In the parts of the heathen world, where the Word
of God energized by the Spirit of God has penetrated, the powers of the air have
fallen back. Demon-possession ever retires before an aggressive evangelism, and
its manifestations become less frequent. But, in our so-called Christian lands,
the authority of the Word is now called in question by the great leaders of the
churches, and there are few theological institutions where it is recognized as
the very Word of God. In like manner, the Spirit of God is dishonored firstly,
by this very denial of the Word which He has inspired, and secondly, by the
disregard paid to His Person and authority. Thus, there is a reversion to
heathen conditions spiritually, and as the great Agents for the overthrow of
demoniacal powers (the Word of God and the Spirit of God) are discredited, these
powers are pressing in again upon our country and people. One single evidence of
this fact is the tremendous advance that spiritism is making among all classes;
while, as another proof, the very doctrines of the Church, depleted, as they are
becoming, of their vital spiritual force, are showing undoubted marks of those
"teachings of demons" of which the great Apostle bade his hearers beware.

Christ sits also far above all "dominion" (kuriotetos, lordship). This term is
closely allied with the preceding, much as "principalities and powers" are
grouped together, the second term in each case signifying similar action on a
somewhat lower plane. In Colossians 1:16, we find "dominion" connected with
"thrones," which throws light upon the relative term "might." In this passage
and in that quoted from Colossians, both terms refer directly to spiritual
powers, whereas in 2 Peter 2:10 and Jude 1:8, the only two other occasions of
the use of the word in the New Testament, the primary reference is to earthly
dignities.


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  CHAPTER 11: 01.09.     "IN THIS AGE"
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He sits far above "every name that it named, not only in this world" (aion, age)
; the great names of this age are below our Lord. The writer of Hebrews took
pains to point out to Israel that even Moses was inferior to Messiah (Christ),
as a servant is less than his Master. But what an effort religious leaders are
making today to show that Jesus was only a man, and as such to be ranked with
the best men. On one of the great church buildings of New York, a group of the
world’s famous ones appears over the door--such as Emerson, Einstein, Confucius,
Buddha, etc., and with them the figure of Christ as one among many! Not so
speaks the Spirit of Truth; in His setting forth of the majesty of the Divine
Son of God, there are none that can be compared; He is "far above" all. In this
continued attempt to exalt humanity, there is to be recognized the working of
him who deceived our first parents with the falsehood, "Ye shall be as gods."


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  CHAPTER 12: 01.10.     "THE AGE TO COME"
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"But also in that which it to come." The coming age also yields ’ no name that
ranks with that of our Lord. In that age, moreover, the now-dominant
spirit-forces shall be bound. Their successors, the glorified Church, shall
recognize the preeminence of their exalted King. United with Him, as Head and
Body, they will have become manifestly His "fulness." He fills "all in all," but
has chosen to do so through His Body. Thus, in the age to come, the members of
Christ shall have an active ministry for God throughout the limitless extent of
His universe.


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  CHAPTER 13: 01.11.     "UNDER HIS FEET"
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"Hash put all things under his feet." The feet are members of the Body. How
wonderful to think that the least and lowest members of the Body of the Lord,
those who in a sense are the very soles of the feet, are far above all the
mighty forces we have been considering. Yet so it is. What need for the Church
to awake to an appreciation of her mighty place of privilege. Exalted to rule
over the spiritual powers of the air, how often she fails in her ministry of
authority, or grovels before them in fear.


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  CHAPTER 14: 01.12.     "HEAD OVER ALL"
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"Head over all things to the church." We have little grasped the force of this
marvelous truth. We think of it as if it indicated that Christ was simply in all
things and circumstances and places the Church’s Head. Let us reverse the words
to bring out mote clearly their deep significance: "Head to the church over all
things." His being Head over all things is for the Church’s sake, that the
Church, His Body, may be head over all things through Him. We need to sit
reverently and long before these mighty truths, that their tremendous meaning
may grasp our hearts. In this attitude the Spirit of Truth can lift us into
their comprehension, which the human mind alone will always fail to compass.


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  CHAPTER 15: 01.13.     THE OPERATION OF GOD
========================================================================

The argument which we have been following has been thus far centered in the
Epistle to the Ephesians. We pass, for a few minutes, to the Epistle to the
Colossians, that we may view from a different standpoint how completely this
whole matter of the Authority of the Believer is based on the working of the
Father, and how the efficacy of that working depends on the correlated truth of
the subjection of Christ to Him. Though coequal with the Father, the Eternal Son
accepted a subordinate place, and undertook the task of reconciling, through the
blood of His cross, all things unto God (Ephesians 1:20). Having for this
purpose yielded Himself under the power of death, He was quickened by "the
operation of God" the Father (Ephesians 2:12).

Let us read carefully Ephesians 2:12-15, noting that the working here indicated
is all on the part of God the Father. It is He who (Ephesians 2:13) quickened
the saints together with Christ and forgave their trespasses. It is He who
(Ephesians 2:14) blotted out the adverse decrees of the law, which stood in the
way of His people, and nailed the canceled handwriting to the cross of His Son.
It is He who (Ephesians 2:15) spoiled lap-ekdusamenoj, completely stripped) the
mighty principalities and powers that had opposed the resurrection of the Lord,
and led them captive in triumphal procession in Christ. A frequent
misunderstanding of this passage is that the Lord Jesus "stripped off" from
Himself the clustering powers of darkness overthrowing and putting them to an
open shame. But a correct rendering shows clearly that the Agent is God the
Father. Of what does He "strip"the powers of the air? Of the authority that had
been theirs. Death is the penalty of sin; and when Christ, bearing the burden of
the world’s guilt, went down to death, they sought to exercise their ancient
prerogative and hold Him under its power. But, in the wisdom of the Father, the
yielding of the Righteous One to death discharged the long-established bond of
the Law. Exultantly, the Father nailed the cancelled bond to the cross of His
Son; then, "stripping" of their authority the discomfited principalities and
powers, He handed this authority to His Son. The "show" (triumphal procession),
which the apostle figuratively uses, corresponds to the elevation of the Son
above His enernies, mentioned in Ephesians.

Thus, in Colossians there is stressed the Father’s working in the active
thwarting and overthrowing of the hostile powers, and their subjugation to His
Son; while in Ephesians the Son is seen seated above these in all the authority
of the Father’s throne. The Authority of the Believer is not taught so fully in
Colossians, although the statement is made that, in Him His people are
"complete" (literally, made full). That is to say, through union with Him, they
partake of ’; the fulness of the Godhead, which is practically another form of
`being "blessed with all spiritual blessings."


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 16: 01.14.     THE FAILURE OF THE CHURCH
========================================================================

We saw in a previous section, the Lord as Head over all. His position and power
are supreme. Why, then, is there not more manifest progress? Because a head is
wholly dependent upon its body for the carrying out of its plan. All the members
of its body must be subservient, that, through their coordinated ministry, may
be accomplished what is purposed. The Lord Jesus "Head over all things to the
church, which is his body," is hindered in His mighty plans and working, because
His Body has failed to appreciate the deep meaning of His exaltation, and to
respond to the gracious impulses which He is constantly sending for its
quickening.

It is a most vital truth of the divine working that..........The Word of
God..........is the pattern by which the ministry of the Church is framed. The
glory of the Body of Christ is the fact that its members are living members,
each with a personal will. The Holy Spirit comes into these individual members
in order to bring them into unity with the will and purposes of the Head. But
this is not done through inward impulse alone. Inward impulse inaugurates
obedience towards the Head, but the renewed mind cannot be fully instructed save
through the Word. Consequently, it is only as the Word is carefully meditated
upon, understood, and obeyed, that the Head has freedom of action through its
members. How little the average member feeds, with careful mastication, upon the
Word, most of us know from our own experience. The importance of this can be
seen by comparing Ephesians 5:18 ff with Colossians 3:16 ff.In the first
passage, the stirring of the inward emotions of the heart, with the consequent
subjection of believers one to another, in their various relations, is indicated
as the working of ....The Spirit of God..............in His fulness, but, in the
second passage, exactly the same results are pointed out to be the result of the
rich indwelling of the Word of Christ. The Word of Christ is the setting forth
of His will in a form that is understandable by the renewed mind. But the
renewed mind, while understanding the Word, lacks power to perform it. The
fulness of the Spirit is the incoming of the Spirit of God to empower the human
spirit for the carrying into effect of the accepted will of the Head.

Thus, unless the Word richly indwells for the instruction of the mind, the
Spirit of God, although present in His fulness, has nothing to work upon. The
impulses of the Head cannot be translated by Him into appropriate action through
the Body, but are often like the immature motions of a child. The Head is
thereby hindered because the Body has not grown up into the stature of a perfect
man. In divine patience the Head waits. Brethren, we are to blame greatly, not
only for our own weakness, but also for "the hands that hang down and the
palsied knees." God help us to realize this, and to fulfil our ministry through
the Word both to others and to the Lord.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 17: 01.15.     THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR AUTHORITY
========================================================================

It has been pointed out more than once in this study that the authority of which
we are speaking is the portion of every believer. It is not a special gift
imparted in answer to prayer, but the inherent right of the child of God because
of his elevation with Christ to the right hand of the Father. He has become,
through the rich mercy of God, an occupant of the Throne of the Lord, with all
that it implies of privilege and responsibility. This elevation took place
potentially at the resurrection of the Lord and because of the believer’s
inclusion in Him The elevation is wholly of the wisdom and grace of the Father.
We do not "climb the heavenly steeps" by any act of faith or devotion on our
part. It is ours simply to recognize the fact of this position, and to take our
place in humble acceptance, giving all the glory and honor to God.

Let us recall four words to which mention has been previously made. They are "to
usward who believe." In the former reference, we emphasized the first two,
pointing out that all the demonstration of the omnipotence of God in Christ
pointed manward. We shall now lay stress upon the latter two: "to usward who
believe." It is not enough that the Divine Fulness outpours unstinted supplies;
there must be a receptive heart and attitude on our part. A bottle may be
submerged in the waters of a fountain. ’But, if the cork is unremoved, the
holder may wait indefinitely, and at last carry it away empty. In accord with
this simile, multitudes of truly spiritual believers are, as it were, immersed
in the omnipotence of God; it presses them on every side. There is a longing for
its experience, and a belief that it should be theirs, and a readiness to
receive, these things being the witness of their spirits to the truth which the
Holy Ghost has unfolded in the Word. Yet, because their minds have been "holden"
as they have read the Word, the simplicity and the glory of this truth have not
dawned upon them. Do we not need, indeed, continually to pray with deep
heart-humility that "the eyes of our mind may be enlightened"?


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 18: 01.16.     BELIEF
========================================================================

"To usward who believe." Few comprehend the primary thought of "belief." It has
a twofold meaning, fraught with deep significance. In it are combined two old
AngloSaxon words: "be," to live or exist; and "lifan," which conveys the thought
of accordance. Thus to believe means literally "to live in accordance with
accustomed to consider "belief" as simply mental acquiescence with some
particular truth. But its root leads us on to action; that which the mind
accepts, the will must obey. We do not truly believe, therefore, unless our
conviction is manifested in our life. Thus understood, "belief" stands on a par
with its great synonym "faith," which, in its deeper sense, means not only to
have trust in a person but to manifest that trust by practical committal. Do we
believe that God "hath quickened us together with Christ, and hath raised us up
together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus"? If we
do, our reaction to it will be a fervent: "Lord, I accept Thy gracious word. I
believe that Thou hast thus wrought for me. In humble faith I do now take my
seat in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus at Thy right hand. Teach me how to
fulfil this sacred ministry, how to exercise the authority which Thou hast
entrusted to me. Train me day by day that I may attain to the full stature of
the perfect man in Christ, so that in me Thy purpose of the ages may be
fulfilled. Amen."

If we are walking in the spirit, our normal life is in the heavenlies. To secure
the consciousness of this, there must be the daily acceptance of the fact. Let
us, morning by morning, as one of our first acts of worship, take our seat with
Christ (as suggested in the previous paragraph) and return thanks to God for all
that it implies. Let us often remind ourselves that we are seated far above all
the powers of the air, and that they are in subjection to us. As our faith
learns to use the Name and the Authority of Jesus, we shall find the spiritual
forces yielding obedience in ways that will surprise us. As we continue to abide
closely in Him our prayers for the advancement of the Kingdom will become less
and less the uttering of petitions, and will increasingly manifest the exercise
of a spiritual authority that recognizes no national boundaries, but fearlessly
binds the forces of darkness in any part of the world.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 19: 01.17.     HUMILITY
========================================================================

While belief thus introduces us to our place of throne-power, only humility will
ensure our retaining it. As we compare the abounding grace of God, and our own
utter unworthiness, the question arises, Should we need such a warning? Praise
God, it becomes less necessary as the soul grows in grace, and the likeness of
the Son increases in us. But we know little of the plague of our own hearts, if
we think the danger is ever over. The forces against whom we contend the
principalities and powers, the world-rulers of this darkness, the hosts of
wicked spirits in the heavenlies, know us far better than we know ourselves. As
we attack them, and authority is nought but " a long-drawn-out warfare against
them, their returnstroke is often swift and crushing. With a strategy gained in
long experience in ’k spiritual battles, they know that the offensive is their
best mode of defense. One of their tested weapons is spiritual pride, and too
often it proves effective.

Victory over the powers of the air, from their dread prince downwards, is a
demonstrated possibility. But its attainment is alone through the employment of
Divine aid. Now, since Eden, man has forgotten that God is essential; through
the intervening ages he has constantly sought to- show himself self-sufficient.
Christ was the first of all our race that ever cast Himself fully upon God. "He
trusted,’ in God, let him deliver him," was the sneer of the enemy at Calvary.
’But at Calvary, the One who had thus fully trusted, could not be delivered. He
must go down to death, for the sin question of the world was involved, and the
shedding of His precious blood was necessary for atonement. So, "He was
crucified through weakness" (2 Corinthians 13:4). When this was accomplished,
nothing more stood in the way. God raised Him from the dead, stripped His foes
of their authority, and set Him on high over them. With believers, the consuming
desire to be independent is something ’ which even the regenerate heart does not
fully overcome. Often, just after some signal victory has been gained, there
comes the subtle whisper of the enemy, and the overcomer is swiftly shorn of
strength through feeling that he is strong.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 20: 01.18.     BOLDNESS
========================================================================

With profound humility, there may go, however, the greatest boldness in the
Name. True boldness is faith in full manifestation. When God has spoken, to hold
back is not humility but unbelief. In the exercise of authority, there is needed
a Divine courage that fear’s nothing but God, and reaches out strong hands to
bind and to restrain all that is contrary to Him. But with this courage, there
must be a continual and close abiding in God, a spirit that is alert to every
urge and check from Him, and a mind that is steeped in the Word of God.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 21: 01.19.     FEAR
========================================================================

The heavenlies, while the place of "every spiritual blessing" (Ephesians 1:3),
are, as well the place of most intense conflict. Let the believer, whose eyes
have been opened to the comprehension of his throne rights in Christ, definitely
accept his seat, and begin to exercise the spiritual authority which it confers
upon hirn. He quickly realizes that he is a marked man. Whereas, in his previous
ministry, he may have firmly believed in the presence and working of the powers
of darkness, and often earnestly prayed against them, there conies now a new
consciousness of their existence and imminence. Bitterly they resent and resist
his entrance into their domain, and his interference with their workings.
Implacable and malignant, they concentrate their hatred against him in an
intense warfare, in’ which there is no discharge. If attacks against his spirit
are successfully resisted, assaults may come in mind, or body, or family, or
circumstances. The place of special privilege thus becomes a place of special
danger. That there is no truth that encounters such opposition in its
presentation is the testimony of those who have brought it forward by voice or
pen. We have known of workers, who have taught these truths with acceptance, who
have been quite overthrown in spirit or in body, and their ministry rendered
useless. Yet, since God Himself, with an eternal purpose in view, has introduced
His people into this sphere, we cannot doubt that full provision has been made
for their safety.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 22: 01.20.     THE PANOPLY OF GOD
========================================================================

The only place of safety is the occupation of the seat itself. It is "far above"
the enemy. If the believer abides stedfastly by faith in this location, he
cannot be touched. Consequently the enemy puts forth all his "wiles" to draw him
down in spirit, for, once out of his seat, his authority is gone, and he is no
longer dangerous, and, further, he is open to attack. At this point is seen the
meaning of the message of Ephesians 6:1-24. To maintain his place against the
wiles of the devil, the believer must be constantly arrayed in full armor. The
different parts of this armor symbolize certain spiritual attitudes which he
must maintain. It is most important to understand that the armor itself when
worn constitutes the protection of the believer, and not his activity against
the foe. Fully harnessed, he is fully kept, and is unhampered in his ministry of
authority. All that he need be concerned about is, like a good soldier, to keep
his armor bright and well secured about him.

Let us note briefly the meaning of the various parts of the panoply: no item can
be omitted. There is (1) "the girdle of truth," the clear understanding of God’s
Word, which, like a soldier’s belt holds the rest of the armor in place. (2)
"The breastplate of righteousness," not, as often stated, the righteousness of
Christ, but rather the active obedience to the Word which he has received. (3)
The "feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace," a faithful ministry
in the heralding of the Word. (4) "The shield of faith" (thureos, the large
door-shaped shield covering the whole body), which indicates his complete refuge
under the blood of Calvary, where no power of the enemy can penetrate. (5) "The
helmet of salvation" (called elsewhere "the hope of salvation," 1 Thessalonians
5:8). It is a remarkable fact that the hope of salvation, the coming of the Lord
Jesus, is the only helmet that seems able to protect the head in these days of
apostasy from the truth. (6) "The sword of the Spirit," which shows the Word of
God used in an active sense, even as the "girdle" shows it in a defensive one.
(7) "All-prayer," the training of the faculties Godward by constant approach to
God. The emphasis in Ephesians 6:1-24 is laid on victory. Note the following
paraphrase which brings out the full force of Ephesians 6:13 : "Wherefore take
up with you to the battle the whole armor of God that you may be able to
successfully withstand in the evil day, and having overthrown all foes, to
remain unshaken." There is no suggestion of defeat. Secure within his armor, the
believer may disregard the enemy, and give his entire attention to the exercise
of the ministry to which he has been called.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 23: 01.21.     THE PRACTICAL EXERCISE OF AUTHORITY
========================================================================

The believer has now accepted the place of exaltation with his Lord.. There has
opened for him a life of holiness in the presence of God, and of watchfulness in
the presence of the enemy, in a deeper sense than he has known before. His first
lesson will be personal. He must learn the significance of the term "Satan" (the
Adversary), and come to understand why one of his titles is "Accuser of the
brethren." Just as Joshua (Zechariah 3:1) , when he came to stand before the
Angel of Jehovah, found "Satan standing at his right hand to be (lit.) Satan,"
so will the spiritually-energetic child of God. He will encounter a constant
stream of accusations in his own heart. These will trouble him, until he
discovers that the purpose of the enemy is to turn him in upon himself, and,
through the creating of a consciousness of personal unworthiness, draw him down
from the place of perfect faith. He learns to "overcome him by the blood of the
Lamb" (Revelation 12:11). That is to say, he presents the Blood as his only
answer to these accusations. But he speedily learns a further use for this
divine provision. The Blood represents, not only the cleansing from the guilt
and power of sin, but it is also the witness of that overwhelming victory gained
at Calvary, by virtue of which the Lord is now seated on high. Once this is
grasped, the believer sees that he has not to fight against the foe, but simply
to hold over him an already-accomplished triumph, the authority of which he
shares to the full. Not all at once the full vision comes, but, as he holds his
place and exercises his ministry, there will he a gradual perfecting in the
heavenly warfare. It will be in his province, as concerns the hosts of darkness,
"to bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron," and,
in that approaching day of full exaltation in the presence of the King, "to
execute upon them the judgment written." Oh; that all God’s people might come to
the understanding of their high calling, for it is expressly stated: "This honor
have all his saints" (Psalms 149:8-9).


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 24: 01.22.     THE LIMITATION OF AUTHORITY
========================================================================

Let it ever be held in mind that the authority committed to the believer is over
the powers of the air, and never over his fellow men or their wills. He is
called to bind the unseen forces, but to deliver his brethren. Satan’s constant
aim is the subjugation of the human will to himself; God’s purpose is the full
liberation of the will that the freed spirit, through glad acquiescence in the
Divine Will, may glorify his Creator. Human control of the will of another, as
manifested in hypnotism, etc., is obtained through the use of occult powers
latent in the soul, and is as unlawful for the Christian as wizardry and
necromancy, which are directly forbidden in the Word of God. Following are a few
simple examples of authority in exercise.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 25: 01.23.     RELEASE FROM OPPRESSION OF BODY
========================================================================

Just a year prior to this writing, contact was made in a country district with
an earnest young pastor and his equally efficient wifeequally efficient in
spirit at least, but in body sorely hindered. For long she had suffered from
what had been diagnosed as serious heart trouble, and for which medical
treatment was being taken. One symptom was the frequent recurrence of severe
pains, causing fainting spells. The husband stated that he had several times, on
coming into the house, found her lying unconscious on the floor. While
conversing with the wife, she mentioned that her father was a spiritist, and
that she had been expert in former days with the planchette. The question was
asked: "1s it not probable, sister, that your present physical trouble and your
difficulty an receiving healing, is due to the past?" "No," was the serious
reply "for I was never a medium in the ordinary sense. I simply used the pwas
and many interesting and remarkable incidents of its use were narrated.
"Nevertheless," the point was pressed "in using the planchette, your body had to
be surrendered to the evil spirit. There is little question in my mind that the
difficulty lies there. Your connection with these powers should be acknowledged
and confessed. Then a definite stand, an the authority of the Lord, should be
taken, absolutely refusing the further working of evil spirits in your body,
which has been purchased by the precious blood."

About three weeks after, a letter was received from the sister in question.
After the visitor’s departure, the light had come; confession had been made; and
she and her husband had unitedly refused the further oppression of the enemy.
She has never had another attack of the heart trouble, and has been blessed in
her service greatly.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 26: 01.24.     RELEASE FROM OPPRESSION OF MIND
========================================================================

Some months ago, after a service in one of our cities, two women came asking an
interview. The appearance of one gave an immediate understanding of the
situation, which was confirmed by conversation. There had been earnest seeking
of deep spiritual experience, which was followed by a sudden attack of intense
despondency. The attacks persisted, until, after three years, the mind was in
complete bondage. All joy had fled, and only a feeble hold of salvation was
retained. Suggestions of suicide were frequent, passing with an urgency that was
hard to resist. The following line of approach was taken, after definitely
asserting in prayer the power of the Ascended Lord, and the believer’s throne
union with Him. "Sister, this trouble is clearly the oppression of evil spirits,
which have obtained a hold over you in some manner. These thoughts of
self-destruction are directly prompted by him who is a deceiver and a murderer.
You are a Christian and united with Christ. This afternoon may be for you, if
you will, the last occasion of the manifestation of Satanic power." In a simple
manner, her place of victory and authority in Christ was shown from the Word.
She was urged to take it audibly before those who were witnesscs (her sister, a
friend, and the speaker). After full assertions of her faith and her’ acceptance
of what Christ had gained and the Father had bestowed, the party kneeled in
victorious prayer. As the group arose, one of the friends remarked: "She looks
different already." There was a life and animation, most noticeable after the
deadness of her previous expression. A few weeks ago, a letter came: "I feel
as-if I were saved all over again." Joy and peace had returned; the Holy Spirit
had come; and soul-saving work had been granted to her.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 27: 01.25.     AUTHORITY OVER EXCESSIVE ANGER
========================================================================

"Be ye angry and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath," the apostle
charges the readers of the epistle we have been studying; "neither give p!ace to
the devil." There is an intimate connection between sinful anger and the prince
of evil, and sustained wrath will surely open the door to his entrance. In a
certain city two Christian workers, husband and wife, had fallen into the
enemy’s snare of wrath. One day their quarreling had reached a shameful height
and was attracting attention, as it had done before. The writer and his wife
were within hearing, and at prayer. Quietly and definitely they took authority
over the spirits of evil who were behind the ostensible cause, and commanded
their withdrawal. Almost immediately, the quarreling stopped. As the authority
was day by day held and renewed, the spirits were kept in check. Eventually
however, the two separated for they did not seek victory for themselves.

One of the Filipino workers, when a student in the Bible School, was of a very
quick and ungovernable temper. This having been stirred up by a trivial matter,
he utterly lost control of himself, and speedily became almost insane with rage.
The principal and the writer stepped into the next apartment, and kneeling down,
took the authority of the Lord over the spirits that were working upon him. In a
few minutes he was quiet, and it was possible to deal with him.

Similar cases occurred in the Girls’ School. On one occasion, after a fight
among them, the ringleader was isolated in the office, where she continued
shrieking wildly. The writer stepped into the office, sat down, and quietly, and
inaudibly exercised the authority of the Lord, commanding the evil spirits to
leave the place. The girl instantly ceased, so suddenly that the lady principal
asked what had been done to her.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 28: 01.26.     AUTHORITY OVER FEAR
========================================================================

In traveling among the islands off the coast of Mindanao in a native boat, a
considerable swell was encountered. The son of the writer began to show fear,
which became almost uncontrollable. This was most unusual as he was normally
fond of the water, and was an excellent sailor, having frequently traveled up
and down the entire China coast, where storms are severe. He begged to be taken
ashore; and as the whole affair seemed to be directed against the progress of
the evangelistic top, the writer quietly took the authority of Christ over the
spirits of fear and rebuked them, though saying nothing openly. In a very few
minutes the lad seemed to change completely, and for the remainder of the
journey, lasting several days, there was no further difficulty. The second night
after, while in the centre of a wide bay, and about twelve miles from shore, a
heavy squall was encountered, and an outrigger broke. The danger was imminent,
but, though the lad was fully aware of it, and though the waves were washing
quite over the boat, he manifested not the slightest shrinking. Other instances
of fear, involving older and experienced missionaries, are personally known.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 29: 01.27.     DEMON OBSESSION
========================================================================

Coming down the West River, in the south of China, in 1026, there was a man on
board being taken to Hongkong for mental treatment. He was a foreigner and a
member of the Customs Staff in Wuchow. Early in the morning, he leaped
overboard, but was rescued and placed in a cabin on board. A little later he cut
his throat from ear to ear. The boat dropped anchor, and native doctors came,
sewed and dressed his wounds. After they had left him, the writer was asked to
talk with him. He was lying on the cabin bunk, with his hands secured by a rope.
As soon as the cabin was entered, and before any question was asked, he said:
"They told me to do it." "Who told you?" "The voices; they are talking to me all
the time. They told me to throw myself overboard; and when I was taken from the
water, they said there was no hope for me as I had tried to take my life, and
said I must cut my throat." Then, growing excited, he cried, "They are talking
to me now; they say I must send you away. Go’ Go!" He was quite beside himself.
The answer was made: "These are demon voices that speak with you. I am not
afraid of them. I have come in here to help you." After prayer, he quieted, and
no recurrence of the trouble occurred up to the time he was taken from the boat
to the hospital at Hongkong. He was not delivered, but the trouble was under
control while the worker was near. Here it may be said that demons recognize at
once anyone who can exercise the authority of the Lord, and they are afraid of
him. But full deliverance in such a case as this cannot take place without the
consent of the one attacked. Other examples could be given.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 30: 01.28.     AUTHORITY OVER OPPOSERS OF THE TRUTH
========================================================================

Previous illustrations are from the personal experience of the writer. The
following is by a lady now deceased. In a town in the north of England, great
opposition was being manifested to some religious meetings by a group of the
rougher sort, stirred by certain communistic leaders. After a short time, the
pastor called some of his people together, and asked them to stand with him
against the power of the enemy. About a hundred gathered, and after prayer, they
definitely repeated with him: "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by His
authority we bind the strong man from stirring up these people, and from
attacking God’s work." A hymn of praise was sung and the members dispersed. The
very next day trouble rose among the leaders of the opposition, some of them
left town, and no further hindrance to work was encountered.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 31: 01.29.     INFERENCES
========================================================================

Such instances as the foregoing might be multiplied, but these have been
selected as illustrating different phases of the question. They are sufficient
to show that there are many situations where the direct working of spirits of
evil may be inferred. In all such situations the authority of the Lord is
available for the instructed believer. And, where in faith the obedient saint
claims his throne rights in Christ, and boldly exerts his authority, the powers
of the air will recognize and obey. There may be unwillingness and delay on
their part, and time may be required. But, once the word of authority is spoken,
it is not necessary to repeat it. The believer must "stand" (Ephesians 6:13),
and strengthen himself in God as he waits. He will learn with joy, as did the
disciples of old, that "even the demons are subject unto us through thy name."

Apply now these lessons to the great problems of the extension of the Kingdom
that face us. Here as the shortage o f funds. We speak of the financial
distress, but is any work of the devil today distressed for funds? A walk on the
streets of New York after working hours will speedily give the answer. Satan is
choking the channels of Christian benevolence in many and shrewd ways, but he
leaves free those which minister to pleasure and sensuality. The writer knows
intimately of several cases in widely separated parts of the land where funds
are tied up, which, if release would be instrumental in the advancement of the
Gospel. Here are closed lands. Human governmental authority seems responsible
for these. But in the background, there stand the shadowy forms of the great
princes (Daniel 10:1-21), whose dicta rule the minds and wills of the men whom
we see. Afghanistan, Arabia, Tibet, and other lesser are-as are thus garrisoned
against the entry of the truth. They will thus remain until there rises in the
Church believing groups, who shall "agree" that this state of affairs shall no
longer continue. And, as such bands, with one accord, exercise a spiritual will
of freedom for these lands, saying in the name of the Lord, "This shall not be!"
the unseen dominant forces shall be dominant no longer, but shall yield ground,
and the barriers shall fall. Here are hindrances to advance in the field-ruork.
Mohammedanism meets us with bigotry and jealousy; paganism with fear and hatred;
ignorance binds the heathen mind in darkness that seems impenetrable. Fierce
attacks, such as recently occurred in French West Africa, fall upon the workers,
and some are cut off. Dissensions rise in the ranks of brethren, and the Spirit
of peace withdraws. Behind every such situation the presence of the same malign
powers can be assumed. The solution is in their displacement-we alone are to
blame that they continue in power. The same principle is often applicable in
personal evangelism. A soul under conviction has great difficulty in grasping
the truth, or in yielding to it. His mind is blinded and bound. A quiet attitude
of victory over the opposing spirits has often brought swift release. A Filipino
student was suspected of lying, but was resolutely standing by his falsehood.
Quietly the position was taken: "In the name of the Lord, I rebuke these lying
spirits." Suddenly the student broke down, confessed, and wept his way through
to victory. Will it not be worth while for the believer to meet in the coming
age men and women who have been delivered "out of the snare of the devil," and
loosed from varying forms of bondage, because he has stedfastly stood for their
deliverance for long periods against the fierce and incessant assaults of these
deadly foes?


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 32: 01.30.     THE FINAL OUTCOME OF AUTHORITY
========================================================================

The question is often asked: Why does God permit this or that condition? Does
not the answer lie here? God has planned that man shall, through the out-working
of Redemption, regain the place of authority in creation that he has lost. To
this end, Christ, having conquered for man, sits as his Representative in the
seat destined for him when redemption is fully manifested. In the interim, the
wonderful provision exists that man shall be reckoned in Christ, and shall, to
the limit of his spiritual understanding and obedience, be endowed with the
authority of His name. Accordingly, God throws upon man the responsibility for
the continuance of the conditions which we question. We feel they ought not to
be. We realize that they are the working of the enemy. We cry to God to rebuke
the enemy, and to alter things. Through the teaching of the Word, He replies:
"My children, rebuke the enemy yourselves. The authority over him is yours. Its
responsibility I have committed to you. I desire you to learn in these things to
prevail. I have purposed a high and holy ministry for you in the coming age.
This is for you the time of testing and preparation. Be strong and of a good
courage, and none shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. "

Slowly, believers are awaking to their high place of privilege in Christ, and
are assuming the responsibilities which it involves. The body of the manchild,
who is to rule all nations with a rod of iron, is nearing completion. Born of
the Church, but not itself the Church, the body consists of many members with
widely-differing offices. These members are out of every age and people. On its
ascension to the Throne of God, which now potentially it shares, the rebellious
powers of the air, which have so long resisted Divine authority, shall be fully
and forever dispossessed of their seats to make room for the new incumbents.

Before that event, it is recorded that "the powers of the heavens shall be
shaken." The initial tremors of that shaking are now taking place. Every
fully-yielded heart that crowns Jesus King increases the consternation of the
panic-stricken hosts. Conscious of their impending overthrow, they are seeking
by fierce attacks on every front to hold back the final issue. Now is no time
for the Church of Christ to hold back. Let us meet attack by counter attack.
Faith is needed, courage, determination, sacrifice. We have these-and more, we
have Calvary, with all that it means. Men and women are needed who will meet God
in all that He offers, who will take up the cause of the closed lands and reply
to the challenge of the great heathen religions by an aggressive warfare in the
heavenlies.

"Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will face the foe?"


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 33: 02.00. THE AUTHORITY OF THE INTERCESSOR
========================================================================

The Authority of the Intercessor by Rev. J.A. MacMillan

John A. MacMillan is among the significant writers on the authority of believer.
He was a Wesleyan minister of the 20th century.

Text for this module came from <http://www.worldinvisible.com/>


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 34: 02.01.     PREFACE
========================================================================

The rapidly approaching end of the age is witnessing a tremendous increase in
the activity of the powers of darkness. Unrest among the nations, more intense
than at any previous time in earth’s history, is due largely to the stirring up
of the ambitions and passions of men, while the spread of an almost wholly
secularized education is quietly doing away with the Scriptural standards which
formerly exerted a restraining influence among the so-called Christian peoples.
Our wealth and social culture have not made us thankful to the Giver of all
good, but have centered us upon the material things of the world, and have
produced a self-sufficiency that quite ignores our dependence upon the Creator
of all. Godlessness, which we have condemned so strongly in the Soviet Union, is
almost equally as pronounced, though less blatant, in our own land.

These conditions are reacting strongly upon the great ministry of the Church of
Christ, the giving of the Gospel to the heathen world. War has dosed many doors
in foreign lands, and at the same time has cut off financial contributions in
not a few countries which formerly took an active interest in missions. More
serious still is the attitude of large sections of the church towards the state
of the heathen. No longer are these concerned about the lost souls which wander
in darkness; their thought is centered on raising their social status and
meeting their intellectual and physical needs. They seek, in their own jargon,
to "build a better world," but the world they envision is one without a Saviour.
Christ, in their view, has degenerated into a Superman, an Example which in
their own feeble strength they seek to follow. To meet the situation, the Church
of Christ needs a new conception of prayer. The urgent call is for men and
women, wholly yielded to the Lord, whose eyes have been enlightened to see the
ministry in the heavenlies to which they have been called. Such believers,
whether as intercessors, or as workers at home, or missionaries on the foreign
fields, may in union with the great Head of the Body, exercise an authority to
which the powers of the air must give place wherever challenged. The three
articles which follow have appeared in The Alliance Weekly, and are an extension
of the truths set forth in "The Authority of the Believer." They have been
reprinted at the request of a number of readers of the Weekly, and are sent
forth in the hope that they may prove a spiritual blessing to many.

J.A. MacMillan

NOTE: As best as I can determine, these articles were printed in The Alliance
Weekly, the official publication of The Christian and Missionary Alliance,
during 1942 when A.W. Tozer was the editor.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 35: 02.02.     A SECRET OF THE CLOSET
========================================================================

So unreasonable to the natural mind seems the proposition of Jehovah to His
people (Isaiah 11:1) that they should "command" Him concerning the work of His
hands, that various alternative readings of the passage have been made with the
intent of toning down the apparent extravagance of the divine offer. Men are
slow to believe that the Almighty really means exactly what He says. They think
it a thing incredible that He should share with human hands the throttle of
infinite power. Nor have they the spiritual understanding to comprehend the
purpose of the Father to bring those who have been redeemed with the precious
blood of His dear Son into living and practical co-operation with that Son in
the administration of His kingdom. The people of Christ are revealed in the New
Testament (Ephesians 1:23) as "the fulness of him who filleth all in all." They
bear a vital relationship to Him as members of His body, through whom His
glorious purposes are to be wrought out in eternity. Consequently, it is not a
strange thing that, in this present preparatory age, He should make large
revelations and offers of His grace, in order that He may test the faith and
develop the spiritual powers of those who will be sharers of the authority and
ministry of His throne through the coming ages. We need have no fear in
accepting the fullest implications of the words above referred to, in spite of
the critical attitude of even some devout scholars. The principle involved is
set forth in other places of the Word of God, in different phraseology it may
be, but with equal cogency and clarity. Our duty is to draw near with the
boldness of faith and in the attitude and readiness of full obedience. Faith
will prove a key to unlock every mystery of the truth ; obedience will secure
our entrance through the door thus opened. In a new and deeper sense we shall
discover ourselves to be sons abiding ever in the great house of the Father,
partaking of all its relationships and responsibilities. Its many ministries
will become vivid as we move about in them, speaking words of authority, and
seeing the behests of the Spirit of God, which are uttered through us, carried
out to their fulfillment.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 36: 02.03.     THE COUNSELS OF THE HEART
========================================================================

In Psalms 20:1-9 the coming Messiah is set before us in His human aspect. It is
for Him a time of trouble, but the name of the God of Jacob has set Him on high,
and divine grace sends forth His help from the sanctuary. His offerings are
remembered and accepted before the Most High. Then follows a prophetic petition:
"Grant thee according to thine own heart, and fulfil all thy counsel." (Psalms
20:4) The desires and purposes of this Chosen Servant of God are promised full
accomplishment. All of His heart plans are acceptable to Jehovah; they are in
full accord with the divine ideals; therefore, a second assurance is given: "The
Lord fulfil all thy petitions." (Psalms 20:5) The One who is thus addressed is
the Son of man, the great Representative of our humanity. Through Him the Spirit
of God had unhindered liberty in carrying out the divine counsel during all His
earthly career. His human will was in constant and perfect alignment with that
of the Father in heaven. No shadow ever rose between Him and God save that thick
cloud of our sins which enveloped Him on Calvary. At each step of His daily walk
He could say, "I do always the things that please him." Because this was true,
there was no bar to the granting of the desires of His heart, or to the
fulfilment of His inward counsels. The deep reality of the union between Christ
and His people is but little comprehended by the great majority of believers. It
is compared by the Holy Spirit to the relationship of a head to the members of
the body over which it is set. Where perfect health prevails, the members are
responsive to the slightest impulses of the head. .But if disease prevails in
any part of the body, there is a lack of full co-ordination, some member or
members being tardy in obedience, or inaccurate in carrying out their rightful
functions, or it may be unable to obey at all. The body of Christ differs from
the human body in that each member possesses an individual volition which must
be surrendered voluntarily to the will of the Head. Much schism, alas, exists
also in the body as a whole, and much self-will in the individual member. These
things hinder healthy growth and the free outworking of the purposes of Christ.
Yet, where any member dwells fully in his place, "holding the head" (Colossians
2:19), there is not only full co-operation but also true identity of desire with
the Lord, and the Master’s promise finds occasion of fulfilment: "If ye abide in
me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done
unto you" (John 15:7).

Note carefully the significance of the statement, "Ye shall ask what YE will."
How many believers content themselves with a submissive uttering of the words,
"Thy will be done," in all matters which they bring before the Lord. Their
spirits assume a passive attitude that accepts anything that comes to them as
the will of the Father. This is not scriptural, and it is very far from the
desire of God for His children. The Holy Spirit teaches a hearty co-operation
rather than mere resignation ; an active entering into God’s plan instead of a
vague yielding to circumstances; a definite claiming and appropriating of the
promises which are set before us in the Word, as being the expression of the
Father’s will for His children. We are to positively will the will of God; to
seek it out as He has revealed it; and to maintain our place of quiet assurance
before Him until it has been fully accomplished.

Dr. E. E. Helms once told of how he had promised a bicycle to his son. They went
out together to inspect the various models, and to make the purchase. The boy
led the way to a particular store, and indicated a machine which he said was the
one he wanted. His father suggested it might be better to look at some others
before finally deciding. But the lad was quite sure as to his own mind.
"Father," he said, "I’ve been scouting round already, and sized them all up, and
this is the one I want. I’m going to stay here until I get it." He was
successful; and his father in telling the story remarked that if we would take
that attitude in our praying there would be fewer unanswered prayers. That
attitude will ensure the carrying out of the promise to the Head: "Jehovah ...
grant thee according to thy heart’s desire, and fulfil all thy counsel." The
member of the body has come into complete intimacy with the Head; he discerns
the purposes of his Lord; through his purposeful petitions, Christ’s own heart’s
desires are fulfilled. Of not a few of the saints this characteristic has been
true in a marked degree. It is not the fault of the Head that it cannot be said
of all.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 37: 02.04.     THE SHARING OF AUTHORITY
========================================================================

Matthew, in Matthew 28:1-20, shows us the King on the mountain in Galilee which
He had appointed as the rendezvous for His disciples. He is speaking to the
group of followers who surround Him: "All authority hath been given unto me in
heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28:18) It may seem a strange statement to many
Christians, but it is nevertheless a profound spiritual truth that the authority
of the risen Head at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
is planned to reach its full development and manifestation through His body. The
Son of God became incarnate, not merely that He might save men from their sins,
but also that He might bring man to that place of dominion over the works of God
which was planned in the counsels of eternity (Psalms 8:1-9). Today, the
inspired writer tells us (Hebrews 2:9), "we see Jesus" holding in trust for
redeemed mankind all that the race has lost through sin. Our Lord has Himself
taken the Headship, and is forming for Himself a body through which He will
fulfil the original divine purpose.

Much of the weakness of the church is due to its failure to understand and
appropriate this all-important truth. It is ours, as individual members of the
body, to seek that the authority of Christ shall come with full acceptance into
our spirits. It is not enough to know and acknowledge that He is our fulness;
there must be as well the apprehension of the complementary truth that we are
also His fulness (See Ephesians 1:23). What an amazing honor and dignity is thus
purposed for us: "heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ" (Romans 8:17). For
the coming of age of the body, and its entrance upon the prepared inheritance,
all the rest of God’s creation is waiting with earnest expectation.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 38: 02.05.     THE REMOVAL OF MOUNTAINS
========================================================================

Serious obstacles often confront the servant of the Lord in his ministry for the
bringing in of the kingdom. They seem as deep-rooted as the everlasting hills,
and as imposing in their bulk. They block the way to accomplishment of desired
ends. They shut out the vision ahead. They balk the disheartened worker with
their grim assurance of immobility. They seem to laugh at -his discomfiture and
to mock his prayers. And, as the months and the years pass, anti no change is
seen in their contour, he comes often to accept them as a necessary evil, and to
modify his plans accordingly. Such mountains of difficulty loom up on every
foreign field; each home district has its range with impassable serrated peaks
towering ahead; few pastorates lack at least a "little hill." They are too
varied in their nature to particularize, but they are genuine and heart-breaking
hindrances.

Concerning all such, the Master has assured His servants that they need not
continue as obstacles to the progress of His work. The question of their removal
is one of authority. The command of faith is the divine means of removing them
out of the way: "Ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou
cast into the sea; and it shall obey you." (Matthew 21:21) The question involved
is not that o f an imposing faith, but that o f an all-sufficient Name. The
worker has no power of himself to accomplish aught, but he is commissioned to
wield the power of God. As he speaks to the mountain in the name of Christ, he
puts his hand on the dynamic force that controls the universe; heavenly energy
is released, and his behest is obeyed.

Authority is not prayer, though the worker who prays can alone exercise
authority. Moses cried unto God at the Red Sea (Exodus 14:15 ff), beseeching Him
to work on behalf of His people, only to receive the strong reproof: "Wherefore
criest thou unto me? speak unto the children of Israel that they go forward."
And, as he lifted his face in amazed protest, because the way ahead was blocked
by the impassable waves, Jehovah spoke again: "Lift thou up thy rod, and stretch
out thine hand over the sea, and divide it." As the impotent arm of the Lawgiver
held over the waters the symbol of the authority of God, there was immediate
response, "and the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the
dry ground; and the waters (which seemed at first a barrier impossible to
overcome) were a wall (of protection) to them on the right hand and on the
left."

God delights to delegate His power to men, when He can find believing and
obedient servants to accept and exercise it. So, when mountains rise in their
way, the Lord commands His disciples to speak unto them and bid them depart into
the sea. He gives no instruction to pray, although that is understood. There is
essentially the same charge as was given to Moses: "You have asked Me to work; I
have granted your request, but I choose to do the work through you; speak to the
obstacle before you in my name, and it will obey." As we obediently speak to the
mountain before us, there may seem to be no immediate response. But, as day by
day, we maintain the attitude of authority, knowing that we are commissioned to
use the name of our Lord, there will come a trembling, and a shaking, and a
removing, and the mountain will slide from its base, and disappear into the sea
of forgetfulness.

God is endeavoring to train workers for a future and a mighty ministry of
co-operation with His Son. He therefore has here and now conferred on them the
privilege of sharing the authority with which Christ was endowed as the Son of
man. The burden of responsibility for its acceptance and its exercise lies with
the individual believer.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 39: 02.06.     THE BINDING OF THE ENEMY
========================================================================

A fact that is anew being forced upon the consciousness of the church of Christ
is that a great and aggressive warfare is being waged against her by unseen and
powerful foes. The Scriptures have long revealed it, but few have given this
warfare the attention which it requires. "Our wrestling," the Apostle warns us,
"is not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the
powers, against the worldrulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts of
wickedness in the heavenlies" (Ephesians 6:12). In the life of the Christian
assembly, in the purity of its doctrine, in the fellowship of its members, and
in their individual bodies and circumstances, subtle forces are working with
keen understanding and masterful direction. The opposition is veiled, but it is
real, and it is sometimes tremendous. Because its source is unrecognized, it is
the more effective. The powers of evil are allowed often to have practically
free course in groups of believers. Troubles that might be easily overcome, if
rightly diagnosed, are laid to other causes, and because the remedy is not
applied, the difficulties may increase until the very existence of the
congregation is threatened. In one of the cities of Canada, the pastor of an
Alliance Branch said to the writer: "There are about four different troubles
going on all the time among my people. As soon as I get one straightened out,
the devil has another ready to take its place." Answer was made: "Brother, you
are right in your diagnosis of the source of your troubles, but you are wrong in
your method of meeting them. What you are looking at are the coils of the old
serpent through your congregation, and, as you straighten out one kink, you may
be sure that another will appear. Leave the coils alone, and go for the head;
put your foot on that in the authority of the Lord ; recognize the active agency
of the enemy and conquer him; the coils will straighten out of themselves if he
is dealt with." The same advice will apply in many other places. Let us learn
the secret of victory through authority, as well as through prayer, and our
churches will come into the place of strength, and be able to take the
aggressive against the enemy.

We return to our starting point. The solution of every spiritual problem is to
be found in the working of the divine energy. We long for its manifestation, and
pray with intensity and with desire that it may be released in our midst. Yet
there seems often to be an unaccountable delay that perplexes and discourages.
Are we fulfilling the conditions? God is ready to bless, but we fail to provide
the channels along which alone can flow His supplies.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 40: 02.07.     THE METHODS OF THE LORD
========================================================================

It is true also that the Lord is demanding a closer adherence to His appointed
methods. As the individual believer matures in the Christian life, he often
finds greater difficulty in maintaining spiritual victory. He had expected
opposition to decrease, or at least to be more easily overcome. But he discovers
that God is laying upon him heavier burdens, and testing him for larger
ministries. In like manner, as the age is advancing, the church is being
prepared for the final struggle by being taught lessons of individual
responsibility that in the past were the property of advanced saints only. All
believers might have known them, for they are revealed in the Word of God, but
only the few pressed on to their attainment. For the greater struggles of our
day and the thickening atmosphere into which we are entering, the church needs
intercessors who have learned the secret of taking hold of the power of God, and
directing it against the strategic advances of the enemy. She needs those who
have understanding of the times to know what ought to be done amid the crashing
down of old standards, and the introduction of that which is uncertain and
untried.

God is waiting for those whom He can trust and use, who will have the
discernment to foresee His steppings and the faith to command His power.
Authoritative intercessors are men and • women, whose eyes have been opened to
the full knowledge of their place in Christ. To them the Word of God has become
a battle chart on which is detailed the plan of campaign of the hosts of the
Lord. They realize that they have been appointed by Him for the oversight of
certain sections of the advance, and they have humbly accepted His commission.
Deeply conscious of their own personal unworthiness and insufficiency, they yet
believe God’s statement concerning their identification with Christ in His
throne power.

Increasingly they realize that heavenly responsibility rests upon them for the
carrying forward of the warfare with which they have been charged. Their closet
becomes a council chamber from which spiritual commands go forth concerning
matters widely varied in character and separated in place. As they speak the
word of ’command, God obeys. His delight is in such co-working. They have caught
his thought concerning the method of the advance of His kingdom. Through them He
finds it possible to carry forward purposes and to fulfil promises which have
been long held back for lack-not of human laborers nor of financial means-but of
understanding spiritual fellow laborers.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 41: 02.08.     THE CONTROL OF PERSONAL CIRCUMSTANCES
========================================================================

In the varied presentations of divine grace and human experience which are set
forth in the Book of Psalms, two aspects embrace all others. The first is the
Messianic, where the psalmist, frequently in his own person, reveals the
sufferings and the glory of the incarnate Son of God, whom he recognizes,
however, only as the coming King of Israel. The second is the individual aspect,
in which the relationship of the believing soul to God is portrayed in numerous
phases. So fully is the human heart unveiled that David, to whom most of the
psalms have been ascribed, has been spoken of by one writer as "not one man, but
all mankind’s epitome." The inspiration of the Spirit of God was richly upon all
the authors of the psalms. Each of them knew God, and loved Him with a passion
that was, perhaps, not exceeded by any of the saints of this later dispensation.
Out of their own knowledge of the inner life they wrote often more wisely than
they realized. Without any straining of their words it is possible to find
foreshadowings of deep spiritual truths, which in their full development could
not be understood till Calvary had come and gone. Comprehension of the mysteries
of the heavenly calling comes to men only as they are able to receive them. And,
until the work of the Cross was complete, and the Holy Spirit was outpoured,
even the most devout of God’s true children were not ready for all that has
since been revealed to the spiritual minds of the present age.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 42: 02.09.     THE HUNGER OF THE SOUL
========================================================================

In Psalms 42:1-11; Psalms 43:1-5 is finely illustrated the thought which has
just been stated. There is shown to us the awakening vision of a man whose heart
was crying out for knowledge of and fellowship with God. Desire was intensified
by the fact that he was in exile. Who he was we may surmise, but his identity
matters little. From the "land of Jordan," where the head waters of that
turbulent stream find their sources in the springs of the Hermons, he gazed with
inward yearning towards the distant temple. At a former time it had been his
privilege to join with the glad throngs of worshippers as they ascended the holy
hill of Zion with songs of rejoicing and praise. Now, isolated amid the solitude
of mountain fastnesses and cataracts, he listened with awe to one voice of
nature calling unto another of the majesty of the Creator of all, while he
himself seemed to be cut off from God and overwhelmed by the waves and billows
of the never resting sea of life.

It is sweet to note that, in his remembrance of Jerusalem, he was craving not so
much for the ordinances of the sanctuary as for God Himself. It is a precious
proof of the reality and the depth of his love that every opposing circumstance
but increased his desire for the divine fellowship which he had once enjoyed,
which to the pious Israelite found its center of manifestation in the pace where
God had chosen to reveal Himself. Though the sense of desolation was so great
that it seemed to bear him down "as with a sword (a killing or crushing) in his
bones," he still believed that the lovingkindness of the Lord was about Him "in
the daytime" to preserve him from the pursuit of his deadly foes. And then, when
the shadows of night fell, and the tabernacle of darkness enfolded him about,
there stole into his heart the sweet strains of the songs of Zion mingled with
his prayers to the. God of his life, and he was soothed and comforted.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 43: 02.10.     THE OPPRESSION OF THE ENEMY
========================================================================

His complaint to God concerns spiritual rather than material foes. "Why go I
mourning because of the oppression of the enemy," he cries to the most High,
whom he accuses in his depression of having cast him off. The daily reproach of
his opponents, "Where is thy God?" is an inward rather than an outward voice,
for he was far separated from those who would do harm to him. We are sometimes
prone to think that the saints of Old Testament times possessed little clear
conception of the powers of the unseen world. But this is a misapprehension on
our part. It is true that in the Book of Psalms the emphasis at first appears to
be laid upon visible and physical foes. These the writer hated "with perfect
hatred" (Psalms 22:1), because they were also the enemies of God. But we would
be wrong in limiting the thought of the psalmist to what alone could be seen. It
will be remembered that Satan is introduced in the very beginning of the Old
Testament, and that he appears as the constant adversary of the people of the
Lord. The facts also of possession by demons and contact with familiar spirits
were well known and often referred to with reprobation by the prophets and in
the Law.

Furthermore, the Book of job was written long before the time of David, and was
unquestionably in his hands and those of the spiritual leaders of Israel. It was
doubtless included among the Scriptures in which he meditated with great
delight. In this remarkable narrative the veil of the invisible world has been
drawn partly aside, and there is given a very startling view of the secret
working of the great adversary who had been permitted to bring trouble upon
God’s champion. We see Satan so concealing his own working that the pious
patriarch was actually deceived into believing that he had been set up as a mark
for "the arrows of the Almighty." Knowing these facts as they did, it is not too
much to claim that David and his fellow saints realized that many at least of
the bitter persecutions which they suffered originated from the same dread
source that were responsible for the afflictions of job.

It is a common tendency in the present day to speak of every national calamity
as "an act of God," when such should be laid, as surely as in the experience of
the patriarch of Uz, at the door of the restless and malignant enemy of mankind.
The permission of the Most High has been given, it is true, where such affect
the Lord’s people, and for this reason the writers of the Old Testament have a
tendency to ascribe all things to the direct working of the divine hand. But
there is, alas, among the majority of the people of God, an inability to discern
in their own sufferings what is the chastening of the Lord, and what is due, in
the words of the psalmist, to "the oppression of the enemy." As a consequence,
it is sad to see the numbers of earnest Christians, people like the psalmist
with a heart for God, who are being beaten down to the ground, and are unable to
rise again. The roll of such is increasing, and it is incumbent on pastors and
Christian teachers and workers to appreciate the reality of the danger, and to
meet the situation with a keen discernment of its source and a determined will
for victory. Unseen wolves are entering, "not sparing the flock," and trained
and fearless shepherds are needed, who can not only face the enemy with
understanding and confidence, and can deliver the prey out of his mouth, but who
can also repair breaches in the wall of-the folds.


========================================================================
  CHAPTER 44: 02.11.     THE VICTORY OF THE BELIEVER'S COUNTENANCE
========================================================================

Three times in the two psalms before us, there occurs a refrain in identical
language. It varies somewhat in the Authorized Version, where the translators
have employed different words. In the first instance of its use (Psalms 42:5),
the last three words have been attached to the following verse, having probably
been so arranged in some manuscript in order to remove what to some scribe
seemed an abrupt transition of thought. The following rendition applies in all
three instances (Psalms 42:5, Psalms 42:11; Psalms 43:5). It is quite literal:

"Why art thou cast down, 0 my soul, And why art thou disquieted in me?

Await God, for I shall yet praise him - The victory of my countenance - and my
God."

God is here revealed not merely as the Deliverer of the soul of the psalmist. In
the existing circumstances of spiritual oppression and physical depression that
would have itself been a splendid achievement of faith. Jehovah is represented
in a larger way, as the Giver of victory to the countenance of the psalmist, so
that his enemies fled before his face. The Lord had endued His servant with His
own authority from on high, so that, as he went forward in the name of God,
opposing circumstances should give way and spiritual enemies would flee apace.
This is a New Testament truth in an Old Testament setting. It is one with which
every saved and sanctified believer should be familiar. The purpose of the
Father provides that each child of His may be a sharer of the throne and the
authority of His risen and exalted Son. Over all the power of the enemy this
authority extends. It is the believer’s right to bind and loose in the name of
Him who has appointed him. As the psalm states it, God is Himself the Victory of
the believer’s countenance, so that he fears neither man, nor spirit, nor
opposing circumstance.


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  CHAPTER 45: 02.12.     THE WAY OF THE CROSS
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It is the duty and privilege of every Christian to understand and enter into the
divine desire for our perfecting, and to claim the place with Christ, both in
His cross and resurrection and ascension, that the Father has appointed. God has
reckoned each believer in His Son to have died with Him at Calvary. "Know ye
not," demands Paul (Romans 6:3 ff.), "that so many of us as were baptized into
Jesus Christ were baptized into his death?" Alas, it is a truth of which very
few who claim the saving grace of our Lord have any practical knowledge, but it
is of vital importance. All of our growth into the stature of the risen Son of
man depends upon our identification with Him. "Our old man," the apostle goes on
to say (Romans 6:6), "was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be
annulled" (its power over us destroyed completely and for ever). We enter into
the experience of this through faith: "Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be
dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans
6:11). Then, as we positively present ourselves unto God as alive from the dead,
and withdraw our members from the demands of sin, we shall find ourselves
through the action of the Holy Spirit, who carries out within us the action of
faith, realizing the truth of the promise (Romans 6:14), "Sin shall not have
dominion over you." The way of the cross is the appointed path to the
realization of that experimental sitting with Christ, which the Father has
ordained for the believer. Our blessed Lord died at Calvary, and the bands of
death being broken, He has been exalted to the right hand of the throne. There
is no other way for the disciple than to be as his Lord. It is not a method of
fleshly works of self-denial, but the firm belief that God does as He says, as
we walk in the light of His truth. Our part is the simple entering by faith into
that which has already happened at the cross, the tomb and the resurrection. We
yield ourselves unto God that the Spirit may work in us that which He has
revealed in His Word as His vine purpose, a purpose which He can only fulfil as
we abide in the faith that He is working in us to will and do of His good
pleasure. We have died with Christ.; we were buried with Him (not in the mere
symbolism of water baptism, but in the apprehension of that work of the Spirit
which baptism symbolizes) ; we were raised with Him in His resurrection out of
that tomb in which all our sins, and the old man the root of all, were buried ;
and we have been made to sit with Him in the heavenlies, at the right hand of
the Father. It is in the realization which this faith brings that we come to
know that the Lord has Himself become the strength of our countenance, as we see
a new power working in us and through us in our ministry.


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  CHAPTER 46: 02.13.     PRACTICAL VICTORY
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The saint who has learned that the Lord Himself is the victory of his
countenance confronts calmly and fearlessly whatever situation may arise,
knowing that naught can prevail against the will that is linked with God. A firm
and positive refusal that the enemy shall have any right to work in the life, or
the body, or the circumstances, will bring the foe to a standstill. And, as this
attitude is maintained in quiet faith, a change will come, and the attacks will
lose their force. However distressing the assaults, it is possible for faith to
ask of the inner life, "Why art thou cast down, 0 my soul, and why art thou
disquieted in me?" and to calm itself with the certain assurance, "Await God,
for I shall yet praise him-the victory of my countenance -and my God. The
conflicts in our churches, in which neither party will give way, and which lower
the spiritual power of the assembly, may be controlled by prayer and authority
directed against those evil principalities and powers, whose working foments and
continues the trouble. Individual lives, taken in the snare of the devil,
depressed and hopeless, may be restored to their place of assurance, and peace,
and joy in God. Attacks on physical health, and on social relationships, and on
financial matters, may often be traced to unseen workings, and thus overcome in
the name of the Lord. In a wider outlook, the international tumults which
threaten the ministry of the Gospel through blocking access to needy fields and
tying up the sources of financial support, must also yield to the faith that
directs the weapons of God against the Satanic barriers. The countenance of
Joshua was given such victory by the God of Israel that no man was able to stand
before his face all the days of his life. Our wrestling, unlike that of Joshua,
is not with the seven nations of Canaan, but with their spiritual counterparts.
These are the forces that are responsible for every opposing world issue. They,
too, shall fall before the Church of Christ, when her people, inspired and
energized with a new vision of Calvary, shall rise in the name and authority of
the Lord to refuse all interference with her world mission.


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  CHAPTER 47: 02.14.     PRINCES WITH GOD
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It was said of George Muller of Bristol, in his later years, that he bore
himself like a prince of God. So confident had his faith become through years of
asking and receiving, so intimate was his communion with God from uncounted
hours spent in audience with Him, that his countenance and his whole bearing
manifested the dignity of a member of the royal household of heaven. The society
in which we move inevitably leaves its impress upon us. This is the more true
when it demands the putting forth of our highest powers to walk worthily among
its members, and when we further realize that it expects us in every situation
to be an honor to it. We have been made through the ministry of our gracious
Lord, "Kings and priests unto his God and Father." If we believe this, and walk
in the conscious light of the Lord, there cannot fail in time to be seen in us
what was said of the brethren of Gideon: "Each one resembled the children of a
king" (Judges 8:18).


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  CHAPTER 48: 02.15.     VICTORY OVER THE CHURCH'S FOES
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Among the spiritually significant stories of the Old Testament, there are none
that contain deeper teaching for the individual overcomer and the whole militant
Church of Christ than those of the outflow from the smitten rock at Rephidim and
the ensuing battle with Amalek, recorded in Exodus 17:1-16. The lessons are so
practical, they enter so deeply into the nature of the great conflict that is
being fought in the heavenlies, they reveal so simply the technique of the
warfare with our unseen foes, and they speak so confidently of complete and
final victory, that there is little left to be said on the subject. There are
other incidents in the Word which deal with differing phases of the same
subject, and all are of value. But this gives the most comprehensive outline of
the spiritual struggle involved, and it closes with a statement of the eternal
purpose of God regarding the co-operation of His people in securing present and
final triumph.


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  CHAPTER 49: 02.16.     OUR HEAVENLY POSSESSIONS
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Israel had come into a great and priceless possession. Out of the smitten rock
rivers of living water were flowing. They were a gift direct from the throne,
abounding in life and blessing. They made possible the very existence of the
people of Jehovah in the wilderness journey. The whole nation drank and was
revived. There was no lack for either man or beast.

Rabbinical traditions speak of the streams following the host as it moved
onward, the water flowing up the hills and down the valleys, and gathering in
pools at the places of encampment. To these traditions the apostle refers (1
Corinthians 10:4), when he speaks of the people drinking of "that spiritual rock
that followed them ; and that rock was Christ." In doing so, he does not give
authority to the stories; his purpose is to direct attention to the Second
Person of the Trinity who accompanied the nation, providing for its every need,
and graciously protecting it in danger. The fact that a second time, towards the
end of the wilderness wanderings, the rock was again smitten (Numbers 20:1-29),
indicates the necessity for a further supply of water, and reveals the falsity
of the traditions. For us there is a wealth of spiritual meaning in the record.
"If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink," the Lord still cries unto
His people. Christ at Calvary is the Smitten Rock of the New Testament Church.
From His opened side flows the divine supply that satisfies every heart longing.
So abundant is the fulness of the risen and living Lord, who dispenses that
heavenly grace, that there is added to the invitation a wonderful promise: "He
that believeth in me, out of his belly (from the depths of his inner life) shall
flow rivers of living water." That is to say, the believer who abides at the
Rock, and drinks continually of its outpouring, becomes himself a channel of
blessing to other thirsty souls.


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  CHAPTER 50: 02.17.     OUR SPIRITUAL CONFLICT
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In the arid desert nothing is so vital as a supply of water. Sore conflicts
frequently take place between the wandering tribes over the possession of a well
or spring (see Genesis 26:18 ff.). It is not surprising, therefore, that the
right of the people of Israel to the living streams of Rephidim was speedily
contested. The fierce tribesmen of Amalek sought to drive them away, that they
themselves might enjoy the abundance of this new oasis. Skilled warriors,
trained in desert fighting, they were far more than a match for the recently
liberated slaves of Pharaoh. Yet, untried as the Israelites were in warfare
(Exodus 13:17), they must lay hold of spear and buckler, and defend their
heaven-bestowed blessings. The battle in itself was a hopeless one for Israel.
Wherever divine interference lessened, as the weary hands of Moses drooped,
"Amalek prevailed." There was no natural ability in Israel to conquer; their
victory came alone through the power of that Spiritual Rock that followed them.

One of the hard lessons that must be learned by every seeker after the deeper
life in Christ is that each new appropriation of heavenly grace and knowledge
brings him often into a more subtle conflict. In the early stages of the
Christian life, when abounding peace and joy has come in to fill the heart, and
the gladness of the Lord brightens all about him, his feet are "like hinds’
feet," and he feels as if he were permanently established upon the spiritual
"high places" (Habakkuk 3:19). But, ere long, he finds himself treading the
Valley of Humiliation, where Apollyon must be faced, and passing thence to the
dread experiences of the Valley of the Shadow of Death, where the evil ones
press hard, and temptation assails with crushing force, and faith’s contest with
discouragement seems often a losing one.


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  CHAPTER 51: 02.18.     OUR UNSEEN FOES
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As still further advancement in the knowledge of the Lord is given, through the
opening of the eyes of his understanding, and he finds that he has been "blessed
with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ," there comes the
startling realization that the very heavenly places, into which he has been
introduced, are the habitat of the powers of darkness. His acceptance of his
seat with Christ Jesus (Ephesians 2:6) "far above all principality, and power,
and might, and dominion," provides him with authority and power for full
victory, so long as he maintains his place, wearing the defensive armor, and
wielding the offensive weapons. But, unless at this stage of progress, there is
received clear instruction as to the divine provision or overcoming, he is
liable to spend many months, or even years, of fruitless struggle and defeat.
Nor can any believer escape this conflict, so long as he resolutely presses
forward in the pursuit of true holiness and effective ministry. It is part of
the training of the Lord’s overcoming people. In the Kingdom Age, Christ has
planned that they shall reign with Him from the heavenly places over the earth.
It is consequently not strange that the principalities and powers, who are to be
dispossessed of the seats of authority now occupied by themselves, should
savagely resist their own displacement. These spiritual enemies oppose every
forward step of the overcomer; they will seek to confuse his mind, sometimes
drawing him into error, or into extravagance in doctrine. They may even attack
him in body, or in circumstances, or through his family or his friends. This has
been their method in every age, as illustrated in the march of the hosts of
Israel towards the Promised Land. Among the children of Israel the powers of
darkness subtly introduced "many foolish and hurtful lusts" ; they sought to
seduce them by the incoming of idolatry and fornication from the nations around;
they incited them to murmuring and distrust of the providence of Jehovah ; or
they openly and fiercely attacked them, as through the Amalekites. In the same
manner today, by both inward and outward means, "the wiles of the devil" are
directed to the rendering fruitless of the life and service of the individual
Christian and of the aggressive church.

Many an earnest pastor weeps before the Lord because of coldness or disunion in
his congregation. The successful evangelist is disturbed by some deadening
influence creeping into the atmosphere of his meetings, by which his liberty of
spirit is hampered, and by which souls are hindered from coming to the Saviour.
In many cases prayer does not seem to touch the difficulty, even when long
continued. Nay, even prayer itself seems to be lifeless, and God afar off. At
times the enemy strikes back swiftly when some special effort is aimed against
him. Workers break down, sickness weakens the frame, spiritual purpose slackens,
and discouragement throws a pall of darkness that depresses every effort for the
Lord. Such experiences are far from uncommon, as many will testify.


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  CHAPTER 52: 02.19.     THE AUTHORITY OF THE ROD
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What is the significance of the Rod as it appears in the ministry of Moses? The
usual interpretation is that it symbolizes prayer. But there is no mention of
prayer in the incident before us, and in a somewhat similar case (Exodus 14:15
ff.), the Lawgiver is sharply told that the time is past for calling on God, and
that definite action is needed. There is a richer and more powerful meaning: the
rod symbolizes the authority o f God committed to human hands. By it the holder
is made a co-ruler with his Lord, sharing His throne-power, and reigning with
Him.

It is a vision that staggers the faith of many. But it is a Scriptural
revelation of divine truth, that is repeated in many places and in many forms.
The overcoming saint is made a king and priest unto God (Revelation 1:6), that
he may reign on the earth (Revelation 10:1). He is given authority over the
nations (Revelation 2:26 ff.), co-operating with the risen Christ. He sits with
the exalted Lord in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:20), which is the center of
the authority of the universe. In this position of privilege he is enthroned
with Christ "far above all principality, and power, and might and dominion, and
every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to
come." This is meant to be a present experience of faith, though its full
development will be reached in the age which is before us. Let us not dishonor
the Word of God that reveals these things, by the unbelieving attitude that it
means less than it has dearly stated.

All through the day, "until the going down of the sun," Moses held out the rod
over the valley in which Israel strove with Amalek. Was he praying? There is
little doubt that his heart was lifted to God in unceasing supplication for the
untrained soldiers of his people. But his holding out of the rod was a
demonstration of the authority committed to him over the unseen forces which
drove forward the Amalekites, and which operate behind every battle (see Daniel
10:13, Daniel 10:20). Not in the visible, but in the invisible, lies the secret
of success or failure. Over the spirit-foes of Israel, which sought to thwart
the purpose of God, and to hold back His people from the land of their
inheritance, Moses exercised the authority vested in him as the representative
of Jehovah. By his sustained resistance to these mighty principalities and
powers, their ability to aid the Amalekites was nullified. And, as the sun went
down, the beaten tribesmen sullenly withdrew. The principle holds in every
conflict between the people of God and their enemies. Where redeemed man is
concerned, the Father calls him into a ministry of authority with His Son, the
rightful Ruler of earth. In the Old Testament, some remarkable instances occur,
such as that of Joshua at Ajalon (Joshua 10:12), or that of Elijah (1 Kings
17:1), where the prophet boldly declared that "there shall not be dew or rain
these years, but according to my word." In those past ages, however, the
authority was limited to a few select souls, upon whom the Spirit came for
special ministries. But the New Testament saints of the heavenly places include
all who are raised up with Christ, and who have accepted the death of the cross,
and the burial of the tomb, that they may attain unto the resurrection of which
Paul speaks (Php 3:11). For them there is a fellowship with the Risen Christ in
a larger sense than others know. To them the powers of darkness yield wherever
their authority is exerted.


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  CHAPTER 53: 02.20.     THE HAND UPON THE THRONE
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"Jehovah hath sworn," reads the Revised Version, "Jehovah will have war with
Amalek from generation to generation." The first clause is not correctly
translated. "A hand is lifted up upon the throne of Jehovah," the Hebrew reads.
The lifting up of the hand is a form of affirmation or oath, and from this comes
the rendering, "Jehovah hath sworn." The meaning is to be found in the action of
Moses. Lifting up his hand holding the rod, he took authority in the name of
Jehovah over the foes of God’s people. In his capacity as the representative of
Jehovah he was exerting the authority of the throne when he lifted up his hand.
It was a declaration of divine judgment to be executed upon Amalek and upon the
demon-powers who energized those cruel warriors in their enmity against Israel.

So, today, every consecrated hand that lifts the rod of the authority of the
Lord against the unseen powers, of darkness is directing the throne-power of
Christ against Satan and his hosts in a battle that will last until "the going
down of the sun," that is, until life’s day is ended. Paul prayed (Ephesians
1:17) that "the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him (Christ)
" might be granted to the saints to whom he wrote. Thus would the eyes of their
understanding be opened to see their full relationship to the risen and exalted
Christ. Let us cry unto God this same petition for ourselves and for all the
people of the Lord.


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Source: https://sermonindex.net/books/writings-of-john-a-macmillan/
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