3月7日 圣徒最主要的攻击者是邪灵
圣徒最主要的攻击者是邪灵
邪灵不是“血气”，乃是一大群恶灵，受魔鬼亲自指挥，被差遣来与圣徒争战。
若圣徒的争战只是血肉对血肉，有些人或许还能靠自己的努力取胜；但当保罗将我们最强大的仇敌的性质描述出来，那种愚昧的“靠己得胜”就彻底粉碎了：邪灵不是“血气”，乃是一大群恶灵，受魔鬼亲自指挥，被差遣来与圣徒争战。
既然撒但永远无法位居众星之上，牠就决意要在众星之下称雄。自从牠被赶出天上那日起，牠和牠的跟随者就不知疲倦地在地上建立牠们的国度。以弗所书把牠们影响的范围揭示了出来：第一，牠们的政权体系；第二，牠们权势的规模；第三，牠们的疆域；第四，牠们本性的邪恶；第五，牠们与神争执的焦点。
他们的政权体系超出了我们天然的理解。“执政的”，这个词用来特指那篡夺者撒但宣称的归其所属的领域。在这现今邪恶的世界里，若你否认魔鬼在高位上的现实，就是与神自己的话相抵触；基督称牠为“这世界的王”（约14:30）。正如君王有他所统治的人民与疆土，撒但也有牠的。
地上的暴君若能有少数可信的臣民就算是他的幸运。其余的人，他必须依靠武力控制，否则他顷刻间就会失去王位，甚至性命不保。但撒但无需担忧刺客的子弹。牠可以信任牠所有的臣民，从来不用担心叛变——除非圣灵介入。事实上，恶人对魔鬼不仅是顺服，更是甘心屈膝低头去敬拜牠（启13:4）。然而，这也只不过正是撒但所要求的。
麦琴（麦克谦）读经计划进度
家庭敬拜：出18章，路21章，
个人灵修：伯36章，林后6章
MARCH 7, SATURDAY
THE SAINTS’ CHIEF ASSAILANTS ARE EVIL SPIRITS
They are not “flesh and blood,” but a host of evil spirits directed by the devil himself, and sent out to war against the saints.
If the saints’ battle only pitted flesh against flesh, some might be able to win it by their own efforts. But Paul dashes any silly notion of an independent victory when he describes the character of our greatest enemies. They are not “flesh and blood,” but a host of evil spirits directed by the devil himself, and sent out to war against the saints.
Having been forever denied preeminence above the stars, Satan has determined to have it beneath them. Since the day he was thrown out of heaven, he and his followers have worked tirelessly to establish their dominion on earth. The epistle to the Ephesians reveals the scope of their influence: first, their system of government; second, the magnitude of their power; third, their territory; fourth, their inherent nature; and fifth, the subject of their dispute with God.
Their system of government is beyond our natural understanding. The word principalities is used to designate the territory which that usurper Satan has claimed belongs to him. To deny the devil’s exalted position in the present wicked world is to contradict God Himself. Christ referred to him as “the prince of this world” (John 14:30). And as princes have a people and a province which they rule, so Satan has his.
An earthly dictator is fortunate if he has a handful of subjects he can trust. The rest he must control by force, or he may shortly lose his throne as well as his head. But Satan has no reason to fear an assassin’s bullet. He can trust all his subjects and never has to worry about rebellion—except when the Holy Spirit intervenes. As a matter of fact, the wicked go beyond mere obedience to the devil; they willingly bend their knees and bow their heads to worship him (Revelation 13:4). It is, nonetheless, no more than he demands.