ALAN EASON — The New Testament is full of metaphoric references to the church of Jesus Christ as a militant body. In Philippians 2:25 and Philemon 1:2, the Apostle Paul describes fellow Christians as “fellow soldiers” (in Greek, συστρατιώτῃ). The same apostle told Christians to put on the whole armor of Christ, so that at the end of the battle they will still be standing. (Ephesians 6:10-18)

Bible scholars for centuries have described the first part of the book of Revelation, given in a vision to the Apostle John, as a description of “The church militant.”

There is no doubt about it. The church of the Lord has been — still is — and will be, until the final victory — at war. And it is not just the Lord Jesus, the King of Kings, who wages that war. The church wages it with him.

The fact that it is at its base a spiritual war does not make it any less vicious, but means it is even more deceptive and more destructive than most realize. Even if the battle is relatively hidden at times, throughout history there have been other seasons when the spiritual conflict has manifested itself visibly with tremendous pain and destruction. We may well be headed for one of those eras. But whether more hidden (to the materially-minded), or more overt, the church is facing a tremendous battle.

We must answer this question: “Is the church battle-ready?”

At the height of the Cold War at the end of the 1970’s, I lived near two large U.S. airbases in Germany. It was very interesting. Whenever a Warsaw-Pact plane approached or overflew the border with Germany (which they sometimes did to test western defenses), fighter planes from these bases would be scrambled and launched at full afterburner on a moment’s notice. It was an awesome thing to watch. Readiness for battle was hair-trigger. No time was wasted and no expense spared to get powerful defensive weapons to the incursion point at top speed and make sure the other side knew that we were ready to fight if it came to that.

However, the first year I was there, one of the bases failed a NATO ORI (Operational Readiness Inspection). The consequenses were rough, both for the military and also for their families. For almost a month after the failing grade came in, life was drastically different. Normal life stopped. Training took place non-stop, day and night. Plane crews ate and slept close to their planes on the flight line. Pilots slept in the alert sheds with their helmets and gear next to them. Families did not see their service-member relatives for weeks.

The base had to become battle-ready again. The razor’s edge had to be sharpened and re-established. The mentality had to change from one of complacency to one of watchfulness. They had to be ready to fight at any time.

So it is with the church. The Ephesians chapter 6 passage describes the need to put helmets on and get the breastplate, girdle and leg armor strapped in place. We need to take up our swords and get behind our shields. Flaming darts are already airborne and headed towards us.

There is a particular phrase used in Scripture to describe battle-readiness.

In former days, men wore long, flowing robes for everyday casual dress. But when it came time to fight, or to work really hard, they had to convert their attire. They would pull the robes up, pull the cloth through their thighs and wrap it around the waist and tie it in a knot. This was called “Girding up the loins.” Going through this motion not only made them more agile, but also changed the mentality of the men and those who saw them. Comfort and convenience were gone. They were ready now for the tough fighting or tough work at hand. Nothing else mattered.

The Apostle Peter told Christians to “Gird up the loins of your minds…” (1 Peter 1:13) Jeremiah told the Jews to “Gird up the loins” and God would make them like a fortified city. (Jeremiah 1:17-18) When Job, faithful as he was, started to whine a bit, God told him “Gird up your loins like a man.” (Job 38:3)

God calls us to forsake convenience and comfort and replace them with readiness.

The church was not created to be a convenience for us. Jesus gave his body and blood to purchase and redeem his church, which he stated would be sent on the attack like an army of sheep charging into packs of wolves. (Matthew 10:16) As ridiculous as that sounds, he assured us that it would be so effective that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.” (Matthew 16:18)

In other words, we will win.

Indeed, we live as human beings, but we do not wage war according to human standards; for the weapons of our warfare are not merely human, but they have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every proud obstacle raised up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive to obey Christ. We are ready to punish every disobedience when your obedience is complete. (2 Corinthians 10:3-6)

We must prepare for the battle. We are already in the midst of it, but many of us must prepare better. The good news is that we will taste victory and it will be eternal. We are assured that our weapons of The Spirit (which many ridicule) are divinely powerful and capable of destroying the battlements and high places of our mortal foe.

Yes, prayer and tough love do win battles, even if they are costly. We can and do take captives — the very thoughts themselves. We do change culture and we change the world around us. And the result is a much better world. Ultimately, it will be a world none of us can begin to imagine here. A new heaven and a new earth.

Let us prepare well.