THE WARRIOR BRIDE
AND THIS IS THE VICTORY THAT OVERCOMETH THE WORLD EVEN OUR FAITH. 1 John 5:4.
As the Warrior Bride we stand “in victory.” We do not “fight for victory.” We stand in the victory Jesus accomplished for us at Calvary. We have been given power to tread upon serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy.
The Bible tells us that our faith is energized by love. By faith the worlds were framed (established) by the word of God. (Hebrews 11:3). It is the love of God within us that establishes faith in our hearts. Our faith is the evidence that things which are not seen will become a reality in our lives. Our faith is the “tangible substance” that leads us to victory on the Battlefield of Life.
As the Warrior Bride we stand against the enemy with our loins girt about with truth. Wearing the helmet of salvation we stand victoriously against the enemy and our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. We stand against the enemy, bearing our shield of faith and the Sword of the Spirit. There is no weapon the enemy can use against us that can or will be effective because our faith is rooted and grounded in Christ who is our Sword and our Shield.
The Bible tells us we “have come” to Mount Zion, the City of the Living God, and an enumerable company of angels. (Hebrews 12:22). We not only possess the power that is in the blood of Christ, we have multitudes of heavenly angels fighting for us and with us in heavenly places. Christ has lifted us up to sit together with Him in heavenly places far above ALL principalities and powers. (Ephesians 1:21).
As the Bride of Christ we are more than just conquerors, we are Mighty Warriors of Christ. In Christ the Warrior Bride lives and moves together on the Battlefields of Life as a unit. We become stronger and stronger in the Lord and the power of His might as we fight together in unity against the Forces of Darkness. The weapons of our warfare become “mightier” when we stand together with each other against the Devil and his angels.
The Warrior Bride has fought and won many battles. Her accusers, abusers, attackers, and detractors have been constant, furious, and seemingly relentless in battle at times. However, she has never given an inch of territory to her enemies, and she never will. She has stood strong in the face of adversity and repelled every attack of the enemy that has tried to destroy her throughout the ages. The Warrior Bride will never give in to the repressive, oppressive, and depressive wiles and schemes of the Devil.
The Warrior Bride cannot and will not be lured into the riches and opulence which defines the materialistic values of the world. In her “poverty” she has found the true riches that define the divine nature of Christ. The Warrior Bride refuses to be tempted with the wealth of this present world. She knows and understands that nothing can compare with the wealth and riches she has found in Christ Jesus.
The Warrior Bride understands all the principles of spiritual warfare. She has been through “Boot Camp” and learned the strategies that have enabled her to defeat the enemy of her soul. She graduated from Boot Camp after her “Basic Training” in the Art of Spiritual Warfare and she has become a Mighty Warrior for Christ. The Warrior Bride understands that her relationship with Christ is her greatest strength, and her flesh is her greatest weakness. Therefore, she daily denies the flesh and picks up her cross in order to follow the Bridegroom onto the Battlefield of Life.
AN ARMY OF ONE
When we come together in the unity of the Spirit and the unity of the faith, we become an Army of One. When we become one in Christ we become more than a match for the Forces of Darkness. When we come together in the “oneness” of the spirit, there is no foe that can defeat us. The Army of God is an Army of One. None of us are capable of fighting as “separate soldiers on the Battlefield of Life.” We all need each other in order to perform the duties and fill our place in the ranks where God has chosen to place us. We need each other, and the talents and gifts God has given to each of us. Our talents and gifts are our weapons that we use against our enemies.
There are no Lone Rangers in the Body of Christ. A Lone Ranger will be “seperated” from the rest of the body and cannot fight side by side with the rest of the Brethren. If we fight alone, we lose. If we fight together we win. Our prayers for one another are the weapons we use to defeat the enemy.
We need to see each other as “fellow soldiers” in the Army of God, not as the enemy. Divisions and schisms in the body of Christ can only lead to defeat and demoralization. When we come together in the unity of the Spirit with each member utilizing the gifts and talents they have been awarded, we become an Army of One and the enemy cannot penetrate our ranks.
If we are not fighting together as a unit in the Army of God, we are not fighting the type of warfare the Bible admonishes us to fight. We need each member of the Army of God to utilize the weapons of warfare God has entrusted them with to protect one another. If we are not fighting together in “the unity of the faith,” we will end up fighting against one another alongside the enemy.
An effective fighting force in the Church is a force that has been trained in the “art of spiritual warfare.” A disciplined army is an army that has been “properly trained” to fight, think, and act as a unit. They have been trained how to use their weapons properly against the enemy. They are trained not to turn on their “fellow soldiers” with their “weapons of warfare.” A disciplined army will not “retreat in fear” in the face of the enemy, regardless of the odds they are facing.
When the enemy comes in like a flood, a disciplined Christian Soldier will stand wearing and bearing the “whole armor of God.” He knows the enemy has no weapon he can use to defeat him. The disciplined Christian Soldier knows who he is in Christ and who Christ is in him. He knows the “dunamis power” that resides within him is more than a match than any weapon the enemy can use against him.
When Christians fight together in one mind and in one accord in Christ, they form a formidable army that cannot be defeated. When we put our faith in Christ and the weapons He has entrusted us with, we cannot be defeated. In Christ we have the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the Forces of Darkness. In Christ we have the power to destroy “all the works of the enemy.”
AND THEY OVERCAME HIM BY THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB, AND BY THE WORD OF THEIR TESTIMONY; AND THEY LOVED NOT THEIR LIVES UNTO THE DEATH. Revelation 12:11.
The Warrior Bride knows that if she dies in battle she will be with her Lord. In death she finds total victory—not defeat. In Christ the Warrior Bride lives, and moves, and has her being. In Christ the Warrior Bride stands against her foes with the Sword of the Spirit in her hand and the Lord in her heart. She has accumulated all the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding she needs to “fight the good fight of faith” and become more than a conqueror over her enemies.
The Warrior Bride knows who she is in Christ, as well as who Christ is in her. Faith is her victory and Christ in her is her “raison d'être” (most important reason she exists). Christ is the only reason she is successful on the “battlefield of life.” Because she “surrenders her will to Him” she becomes a “mighty warrior” even in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds. She vanquishes every foe on the “Battlefield of Life.” In the death of self she finds victory. Even the physical “sting of death” has no power over her because her Lord told her that if she believed in Him she would never die.