We Live by Faith by Fighting for the Brother as a Response to Christ’s Interceding

For us as believers in Christ to live by faith as Abraham did, we need to be those fighting for the brother as a response to Christ’s interceding for us and saving us in His life.

On one hand, we need to follow in the steps of that faith of Abraham by living the life of the altar and the tent.

On the other hand, we need to fight for the brother, not accusing or judging our brother when he fails but rather, fight for him and rescue him to bring him back into the enjoyment of Christ. Amen!

Abraham is the father of faith to all those who believe into God; he is the father of the earthly people of God, the Jewish people, and also of the spiritual people of God, the believers in Christ.

On one hand, Abraham is our father as believers in Christ, and we are likened to the stars in the heavens, which are countless to number.

As spiritual descendants of Abraham, we are innumerable, and our function is to shine by reflecting Christ as the real light in the dark age we live in today.

On the other hand, Abraham is the father of the Jewish people, who are likened to the sand on the seashore, also impossible to count.

As earthly descendants of Abraham, the Jewish people hold the faith and the law, and they are to inherit the good land of Canaan and the blessing.

We as believers in Christ inherit the good land in a spiritual sense, for the reality of the good land is Christ, even the all-inclusive Christ who was processed and consummated to be the all-inclusive, life-giving, compound Spirit.

When we turn to the Lord, contact Him, and fellowship with Him, we enter further into the possession of our allotted portion of the good land.

When we say Amen to His word as He speaks to us throughout the day, we take a further step into our allotted possession of Christ.

Also, we inherit the blessing promised to Abraham, which is that God would bless us and make us a blessing.

The reality of this blessing is the Spirit, which was given to us through faith at the time of our believing into Christ.

As we sojourn on this earth, looking forward to our heavenly country, the New Jerusalem, we are on one hand wanderers and strangers here, not being attached to the things of this earth and, on the other hand, we’re enjoying the blessing.

Today we’re learning to enjoy the Lord Jesus as the Spirit, the reality of all the blessings of God, and we take Him as our everything day by day.

He as our good land is everything we need for our existence, and He as our blessing is everything we need for our Christian life and work. Hallelujah, we are a blessed people!

Living by Faith as Abraham Did by Fighting for the Brother as a Response to Christ’s Interceding

For us to live by faith as Abraham did, we need to cooperate with Christ in His heavenly ministry not only by living a life of the altar and the tent but also by fighting for the brother (Gen. 12:7-8; 14:1-24; Rom. 4:12).

As Abraham and Lot had an increasingly larger number of possessions and cattle, they had to separate; Lot make the mistake of separating himself from Abraham and moving his tent as far as Sodom (Gen. 13:5-12).

The men of Sodom were very wicked and sinful toward Jehovah (v. 13), and eventually, Lot moved into the city there with them.

For Lot to leave Abraham was to leave God’s goal and God’s protection (Phil. 3:17; 1 Cor. 4:16-17; Heb. 13:7).

Instead of leaving the brothers, the fellowship, we should remain in God’s goal and stay under God’s protection by meeting with the saints.

We need to join ourselves to and follow the proper persons in God’s economy so that we may remain and be kept in the line of life and in the flow of the Lord’s move today (1 Cor. 15:33; Prov. 13:20; 2 Tim. 1:15-18; 2:22).

It is important who we hang out with, who do we keep company with; we need to be joined to the saints and follow the proper persons in God’s economy in the church life today.

Because the land around Sodom was rich, Lot journeyed toward Sodom and, eventually, he moved into the city, and there he lived and settled.

Under God’s sovereignty, there was a war and the people of Sodom were taken prisoners, including Lot and all he had (Gen. 14:12; cf. Jer. 2:13).

Someone escaped and told Abraham about it, and he immediately prayed and took his trained men to go and rescue his brother.

Instead of thinking that it was Lot’s fault that he was taken captive, instead of blaming or accusing his brother, Abraham was one who lived by faith by fighting for the brother.

Abraham didn’t count the weak point of his brother and didn’t take pleasure in Lot’s suffering and calamity.

As far as he was concerned, it was a shame for Abraham to see that his brother had been captured.

This should be our consideration and feeling today when we see that one of our brothers in Christ is taken captive; we should consider it a shame for us to see that our brother had been captured (1 John 5:16; Prov. 10:12; James 5:19-20).

Instead of blaming our brothers and thinking that it was their choice that led them into the world, we should not take pleasure in their suffering and calamity but fight for the brother, being one with the Lord to rescue him.

We should not tolerate or ignore the fact that our brother or sister was captured by Satan and is now living in sin or in the world; rather, we must pray, rise up, and do something about it.

When Abraham received the information about Lot’s capture, he made a strong decision to fight for Lot; he prayed, lifting up his hand to Jehovah, God the Most High, Possessor of heaven and earth, and he went to fight (Gen. 14:14, 22; 1 Tim. 2:8).

He decided to take his three hundred eighteen men and fight against the four kings and their armies; the kings had great armies, but God was on Abraham’s side, and he had the victory.

Behind the scenes, Melchizedek (meaning “king of righteousness”), king of Salem (meaning “peace”) was interceding for Lot, Abraham, and Abraham’s fighting (Gen. 14:18-20; Heb. 7:1-4, 25-26; 4:14-16; Rom. 8:26-29, 34).

The reason Abraham had the boldness to go and fight against the kings is that Melchizedek was interceding behind the scene.

Abraham risked his life when he fought for his brother, and the victory was given to him by the Lord.

After the defeat of these four kings, Abraham didn’t want anything of the spoil for himself; then, Melchizedek came and gave him bread and wine.

This Melchizedek, having no genealogy and being priest of the Most High, is a type of Christ who intercedes for us behind the scenes and who ministers to us bread and wine to supply us.

Abraham’s brief and bold decision to fight for the brother and rescue lot was stirred up by the intercession of Melchizedek.

May we be such ones; may we be those who live and walk by faith, following in the same steps of that faith of Abraham by fighting for the brother.

When a brother or sister falls and is taken captive by Satan, we should not tolerate this but pray, respond to the intercession of Christ in the heavenlies, and fight for the brother.

When we respond to Christ’s intercession and rise up to fight, the Lord is with us, and He will grant us victory.

All throughout this time of fighting, He is supplying us and ministering Himself as our life supply to fight and gain the victory.

Lord Jesus, we want to cooperate with You in Your heavenly ministry not only by living the life of the altar and the tent but also by fighting for the brother. Amen, Lord, we open to You; embolden us and strengthen us into our inner man to fight for the brother who was taken captive by Satan. Save us from tolerating the fact that Satan takes our brothers and sisters captive. May we not count the weak points of our brothers nor take pleasure in their suffering and calamity. Amen, Lord, we lift up our hands to You, for You are the Possessor of heaven and earth, and You want Your people to return to the full enjoyment of Christ as their portion. We respond to Your intercession, Lord, by fighting for the brother to bring him back to his rightful enjoyment of Christ with the saints.

Christ in His Heavenly Ministry Continually Intercedes for us and for the Saints to Save us to the Uttermost

Melchizedek is a type of Christ as the kingly High Priest in His heavenly ministry, who is continually interceding for us and for the saints to save us to the uttermost (Heb. 5:6, 10; 7:1-3, 25).

Sometimes we or the saints leave God’s goal and His protection by simply being associated with people in the world or with those who make divisions.

If we are not properly yoked in the church life and in the family life, if we yoke ourselves with people who have a different goal than God’s economy, we may end up being in Satan’s captivity.

The Lord Jesus today is in His heavenly ministry as the High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek praying for us, interceding for us, and seeking to save us to the uttermost.

When we see one of the brothers or sisters being taken captive in the world and not being in the meetings but rather, being so busy with the things of the world, even being enslaved with these things, we should pray for them.

Christ is the One interceding, in His heavenly ministry, for us and for all the saints in order to save us to the uttermost.

It is because of His intercession that we are still here on the way and that we still love the Lord and the church. It is because of Christ’s intercession as the High Priest that we are still in the church life.

And it is because of His continual intercession that we are being recovered back to the first love toward the Lord.

As we walk on this earth, many things happen to us and around us; we may think that we have such a difficult situation and that so many difficult things are taking place around us.

Apparently, these things just happen. Apparently, the COVID19 pandemic just happened, the lockdown just happened, and the inflation and recession just happen.

But actually, behind the scene, Christ in His heavenly ministry intercedes for us, and He is looking for those who cooperate with Him by fighting for the brother.

He is looking for those who live by faith by fighting for the brother, responding to His heavenly ministry.

Christ is our Melchizedek, our High Priest, and He still intercedes for us in heaven. His intercession overshadows us and cares for us.

Many things happen to us and around us, but nothing is accidental; everything is under His sovereign care.

Similarly, many things happen in the lives of the saints, and some may seem to be taken captive by Satan either in sin or in the world.

We should not blame the saints, criticize them, or tell them or others that it’s their fault, they should have done this or that.

Instead, we should pray, cooperate with the interceding Christ, and simply respond to His intercession by fighting for the brother.

It is Christ as the High Priest who intercedes for the saints, and we simply join in His intercession.

As a result of His intercession, things happen in our environment, and we become restless with our situation, so we pray and join ourselves to the interceding Christ.

This One is able to save us to the uttermost, for He always lives to intercede for us. Amen, such a High Priest is what we need!

Lord Jesus, thank You for interceding for us as our High Priest. Thank You for being able to save us to the uttermost. We come to You, Lord, and we open to You. We open our whole being with our situation to You. We open to Your overshadowing and Your care for us. We join ourselves to You, Lord, in praying for the saints. We want to be those who are fighting for the brother in prayer. Make us one with You in Your intercession. Amen, Lord, we want to respond to Your interceding for us in heaven. Pray in our prayer for the brothers, and fight in our fighting for the brothers. Lord Jesus, save us to the uttermost. Save the saints to the uttermost.

References and Hymns on this Topic

• Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brothers, and portions from, Life-study of Genesis, pp. 579-584 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, God’s Economy in Faith (2022 spring ITERO), week 8, entitled, Walking in the Steps of that Faith of Our Father Abraham.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – The Lord hath sworn forever / And never will turn back, / “Thou art a priest forever, / As was Melchizedek.” / Oh, Thou hast no beginning / Of days; of life: no end! / And on Thine intercession / We ever do depend. (Hymns #1102)
  – He ever lives above / For me to intercede, / His all-redeeming love, / His precious blood to plead. / His blood was shed for all our race, / And sprinkles now the throne of grace. (Hymns #300)
  – Our Lord was constituted priest / To be a real life-giver; / Life is the nature of this One / Who can from self deliver: / His life is indestructible, / By it He saves us to the full: / Praise God, He’s fully able! (Hymns #1310)