Intercession

Matthew Arnold wrote, “Let the victors when they come, find thy body near the wall.”

The wall is where the hottest part of the battle is.

Then, Charles Spurgeon, the great prince of preachers, said, “Jesus did not pray that you should be taken out of the world, and what He did not pray for you need not desire… Where is honor to be won by the soldier but in the hottest fire of the battle?”

Jesus Christ is the perfect example of this Spurgeon quote. Hebrews 2: 14 describes how He went into the hottest part of the battle. “Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”

According to Philippians 2, Jesus was in the form of God (this word ‘form’ means ‘the whole nature and essence of deity’ and is inseparable from it. It does not include anything accidental in it.). However, Jesus completely emptied Himself of His reputation, willing to forego being ‘known’ as God by those around Him. He took upon Himself the form (same word) of a servant, the lowest place of servitude and wholly gave Himself up to another’s will. He bound Himself to do only the Father’s will. He was made in the likeness of men (this word has an added notion of weakness). Jesus didn’t just stop at being a man, though. He humbled Himself even further and died for these weak, sinful, men who completely scorned Him. And not only did He die for them, He died the worst death ever.

This is what it means to enter the hottest part of the battle. Philippians 2 commands that we take on this same attitude that Jesus took on. How do we enter the hottest part of the battle? We die to ourselves. We pick up our crosses. We follow Jesus. We take on the lowest form of a servant and put others’ needs before our own.

We, as Christians are made strong, not to spend our strength on ourselves. We are made strong that we might spend our strength for those that are weak. This is the principle of intercession.

Our battle is not against flesh and flood. Our battle is against the powers behind flesh and blood, controlling people, and we enter the hottest part of the battle against those powers by interceding on behalf of those who are weaker. Jesus, the most mighty man, interceded for us, when we were weak and loaded down with our sin. Now, we are called to spend the strength He has given us.