Watchman Nee & T. Austin Sparks

“Direct Inspiration of Satan”

“Wherever the power of natural man dominates, there you have an element in that system which is under the direct inspiration of Satan.”

Watchman Nee

Most serious Christians that I know periodically try to do spiritual conflict with Satan. Life becomes difficult, circumstances go south, and Satan gets blamed. But opening ourselves to trouble and control from Satan can be our own doing.

Rebuke Satan all you want, quote memorized, out of context, verses against the devil all you want. There is something else opening the door to Satan in our lives and that is a thing that is called self-life. The natural man, if I live my life based on my natural man which has some good and some bad attributes then I am opening my life to Satan. The line is not between good and bad, the line is not to be between what I am gifted at and what I am no good at. The line is between my life and the life of Jesus Christ. Apply that to the church and you get an enlightening realization.

The Natural Man Should Never Run a Church

The natural man should never run a church, even if we call him pastor or bishop or father, and pay him a salary to do so. If the church or if Christian groups organize in such a way that the natural man dominates, or must dominate then in a sense, they are asking for Satan’s leadership. The natural man of some gifted person with good motives. Unfortunately Satan can still easily control through one person or groups of persons (and he will if he can). These churches or Christian fellowships make themselves very vulnerable. Even calling it ‘church’ is questionable.

Historically Satan has been able to control denominations and churches that are dominated by one or a few persons. That is a self evident fact for anyone willing to look back into church history. A congregation addicted to clergy hierarchy and one-man authoritative sermons is a congregation that is vulnerable to Satan’s influence. They can quote scripture, rebuke and insult the devil all they want but, how they have organized and refuse to do anything different has already opened the door to Satan at some level.

Christian groups that yield one to another, men and women one by one, That can lay down titles and egos (rather than promote them to dominate everything) and can challenge one another, groups that can and readily engage in conflict, with love and forgiveness.

Groups that can reason through the scriptures together. Who can talk openly together about Jesus and doctrine. A people who can pray together, who can share their lives, share their belongings (and not just pews). Groups where one or a few men don’t get to decide what is true, who is approved or disapproved. But everyone has an open say in those matters.

These types of groups which have been discipled, are taught how to be dominated by the spirit of Jesus Christ. And how to put off the natural man and how not to become dominated by Satan are Jesus’ plan for his church.

Don’t let Satan dominate you or your group through good people with good motives but who are still living by their natural man. Put off the old man, put off worldly ways of organizing, with titles and money and power trips. Instead let the Spirit of Christ rule you and your groups.

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Do The Conflict to Enjoy The Unity

Of all people on planet earth Christians should be able to handle conflict.

I’ve seen otherwise honest Christian people begin to lie and make untrue accusations just to win an argument. Just to avoid and try to quickly end some uncomfortable conflict.

I’ve felt physical pain when facing conflict with people I love, the stress or anger that my body had over the conflict manifested itself physically.

However, despite this uncomfortable reality about myself, conflict and disagreement is normal and necessary in the kingdom of Jesus. It is healthy and is a sign of maturity. My 16 year old can handle conflict better than my 8 year old who can handle it better than my 4 year old.

We CAN learn to do conflict well and not negatively over react to it. Unity and love lies behind a great deal of conflict and trouble. Jesus engaged in conflict often with both his opponents and his followers.

The early churches had constant conflict, the priceless WORLD OVERTURNING epistles were written to help them get through it. How valuable are these conflict resolution letters from mature Christians.

Any church or family that is not able or willing to handle conflict well can quickly become a lonely Jesus-less place. If leaders feel the need to drive out disagree-ers they may be found to be leading a group yo where Jesus himself is just not welcome.

Often Jesus approaches us through our disagreeable brothers and sisters. Listen to them, engage, don’t drive them away and hate them from afar, don’t gossip about them, assuming they are being immature, hear them out in great detail. Have in yourself the attitude of coming to the truth and ask your opponent to do likewise. So you can come to truth together with humility.

Then grind it out, do the awkward work of conflict with an honest heart. Then on the other side of that, watch Jesus bring in real love and unity.

Church leaders who refuse to face this reality are not really even leading, they are occupying a slot. Perhaps just collecting a salary or occupying a place of dominance that they should not be occupying over people. And the prohibition on conflict keeps them there.

Isolating and/or driving out people who disagree with the leaders is often itself disunity. Because it implies they are Lord of the Christian group. And that is an open affront to Jesus himself, within any group that calls itself a church.

A Way To Know If A Group is Following Christ

A test whether a person or group is (or is not) following Christ closely, is that they are able to put up with people they disagree with.

Fleshly, human, religious love just can not tolerate someone who disagrees with them, they want them silenced, ignored, and finally OUT.

Friendships end, the person is pushed away, and it quickly becomes hate if they disagree with them too directly.

Over time in groups any conflict is hated, and greatly feared, submissive compliant non-thinkers become priceless, (and then it evolves into only the compliant ones who bring money who have any value in a group). Compliance and money become the way to favor and promotion with “the leaders.”

This is human religion.

Hence Protestant denominationalism…

These behaviors do not emerge from Jesus Christ!!, instead they come from the evil one.

Over time the type of people promoted within a group determines its culture, more than anything else.

Is your “church” filled with compliant, shallow, unthinking and exclusive people? That should seem strange because our Lord Jesus is thoughtful, independent and accepting and forgiving. He walks right up to conflict without fear and with boldness, so should we. He directly taught against hierarchy.

This post was paraphrased from Dietrich Bonhoeffer in his book Life Together.

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