12/14/25

Two Churches. One Mission.

 Training now forms glory later.

The Bible presents training as a lifelong, multigenerational work that spans from the Church Militant to the Church Triumphant. Discipline, instruction, and endurance are not temporary tools. They are eternal investments. The Christian Code of Conduct for the Church Militant

I. The Church Militant

Purpose: Formation, readiness, faithfulness in conflict

The Church Militant lives in contested space. Training is essential.

The Church Militant is the Church alive on the battlefield of history. It is not defined by aggression, but by faithfulness under pressure. It is the Church being trained, formed, corrected, and sent while the war still rages. Scripture never presents this season as accidental or optional. It is purposeful preparation for eternal glory.

At the heart of the Church Militant is relationship before movement. Robert Coleman’s The Master Plan of Evangelism reminds us that Jesus did not begin with crowds but with individuals. One-on-one life investment was not a strategy. It was the strategy. Christ formed disciples by walking with them, correcting them, loving them, and entrusting them with responsibility. The Church Militant advances not through programs alone, but through faithful people who know Christ personally and help others do the same.

This formation requires true worship, not emotional escape. Warren Wiersbe describes worship as a battleground, not a playground. Worship realigns allegiance. It dethrones self and enthrones Christ. In worship, the Church Militant learns who God is and who it is not. This is why worship strengthens us for conflict. It reminds us that the battle belongs to the Lord and that victory flows from obedience, not striving.

Spiritual formation must become practical and disciplined. Donald Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life grounds the believer in habits that train the soul for godliness. Scripture intake, prayer, fasting, worship, service, confession, and fellowship are not religious extras. They are training tools. Paul calls believers to train themselves for godliness because godliness has value both now and forever. Discipline does not earn grace. It positions us to live in it.

Peter describes the progression of faith in 2 Peter 1:3–11 as intentional growth. Faith begins personally but never remains self-focused. Moral excellence, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly affection, and love form a ladder that moves the believer outward. Mature faith becomes others-focused love. This is the heartbeat of the Church Militant. Formation always leads to mission.

Yet Scripture warns that the battlefield is not only external. John Bevere exposes offense as one of Satan’s most effective traps. Offense hardens the heart and blinds the eyes. Warren Wiersbe shows how Satan builds strongholds through deception and discouragement. Many believers are not defeated by sin, but by unresolved offense and unchallenged lies. The Church Militant must learn to forgive quickly, discern wisely, and submit humbly to truth.

Jesus invites us into a lighter yoke, not a heavier fight. His yoke is easy because it aligns us with His will. Fighting against the goads only exhausts us. When we resist God’s formation, we suffer needlessly. When we submit, we learn to see Jesus clearly. We see Him on earth in the least of these, calling us to love faithfully. We see Him in heaven, enthroned, reigning, and cheering us onward.

The Church Militant exists between the battlefield and the throne room. Trained now. Faithful now. Watching and working until the King returns.

1. Training the Inner Person

Aim: Godliness, discernment, maturity

  • 1 Timothy 4:7–8
    Godliness holds promise for the present life and the life to come.

  • Romans 12:1–2
    Transformation begins with renewed thinking.

  • Hebrews 5:14
    Discernment is trained through constant practice.

  • 2 Timothy 3:16–17
    Scripture trains, corrects, and equips for every good work.

  • Hebrews 4:12
    The Word trains the conscience and motives.

Militant truth: Spiritual maturity is trained, not assumed.

2. Discipline as Love, Not Punishment

Aim: Righteousness, endurance, hope

  • Hebrews 12:5–11
    God disciplines those He loves. Training yields righteousness later.

  • Proverbs 19:18; 22:15; 29:15
    Discipline preserves life and wisdom.

  • Psalm 23
    The rod comforts because it corrects.

Militant truth: Discipline is evidence of sonship, not rejection.

3. Training for Battle and Endurance

Aim: Faithful perseverance

  • Psalm 144:1
    God trains hands for war.

  • 2 Timothy 2:3
    Share in suffering as a good soldier.

  • 1 Corinthians 9:24–27
    Athletes discipline themselves for imperishable reward.

  • Hebrews 12:1–2
    Run with endurance, eyes fixed on Jesus.

Militant truth: Training prepares believers to endure, not escape.

4. Scripture as the Primary Training Ground

Aim: Wisdom, hope, stability

  • Romans 15:4
    Scripture trains endurance and hope.

  • Colossians 3:16
    The Word dwelling richly forms wisdom and worship.

  • John 14:26
    The Spirit trains remembrance and truth.

Militant truth: The Word shapes how we think before it shapes what we do.

5. Training Through Community and Discipleship

Aim: Multiplication and continuity

  • Matthew 28:19–20
    Teaching obedience is central to mission.

  • 2 Timothy 2:2
    Truth is entrusted to faithful teachers.

  • Hebrews 10:25
    Mutual encouragement strengthens endurance.

  • 1 Thessalonians 5:11
    Training happens through building one another up.

Militant truth: Formation is communal, not individualistic.

6. Generational Training

Aim: Long-term faithfulness

  • Proverbs 22:6
    Early training shapes lifelong direction.

  • Deuteronomy 6:7; 4:9
    Instruction is daily and generational.

  • Genesis 18:19
    God chooses households to preserve righteousness.

  • Psalm 127:3–5
    Children are arrows prepared for future battles.

Militant truth: Training now shapes faithfulness beyond your lifetime.

II. The Church Triumphant

Purpose: Completion, reward, eternal glory

Training does not end at death. It culminates.

The Church Triumphant is the Church brought home. It is the same people who carried the cross in time, now gathered in glory, perfected, and fully alive to God. What was trained through faith, endurance, and obedience in the Church Militant is completed in the presence of God. The Church Triumphant is not an escape from creation, but the fulfillment of God’s purpose for it.

At the center of the Church Triumphant is unhindered relationship. Believers now know fully what they once knew by faith. Relationship with God the Father is no longer mediated by weakness or distraction. Relationship with God the Son is no longer shaped by suffering and misunderstanding, but by sight and shared glory. Relationship with God the Holy Spirit is no longer partial guidance, but complete communion. The Triune God is experienced not as distant help in conflict, but as present joy in victory.

Scripture presents this consummation as the final act of Christ’s redemptive mission. In 1 Corinthians 15:24–28, Paul describes the end when Christ, having defeated every enemy, delivers the kingdom to the Father so that God may be “all in all.” This does not diminish the Son. It reveals the perfect unity of Father and Son. Jesus, who already possesses all authority as declared in John 13:3 and Matthew 11:27, joyfully completes His mission by presenting the redeemed kingdom back to the Father. What was entrusted to Him is returned in perfect obedience and love.

The Church Triumphant participates in this moment not as spectators, but as worshipers. In Revelation 4:10–11, the elders cast their crowns before the throne. These crowns represent real reward, real faithfulness, and real victory. Yet they are not clutched. They are surrendered. This act reveals the true purpose of reward. God honors His people, and His people respond by glorifying Him. There is no self-exaltation in eternity, only deeper worship.

This perspective reshapes how rewards are understood. Jesus taught in Matthew 6:1–4 that good deeds done in secret are seen and rewarded by the Father. Paul affirms in Romans 2:6 and 2 Corinthians 5:10 that each will be repaid according to what they have done. The Church Triumphant does not deny accountability. It fulfills it. Judgment leads not to shame, but to clarity. All that was done in faith becomes fuel for worship.

The path to this glory passes through obedience in time. The Church Militant carries the cross in agreement with God’s will, in the life and circumstances God has assigned. That same Church now stands where Hebrews 12:22–29 describes. We come to Mount Zion. We come to the heavenly Jerusalem. We come to joyful angels, to the church of the firstborn, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant. What could be shaken has been removed. What remains is unshakable.

Therefore, the Church Triumphant is marked by gratitude, reverence, and awe. We receive a kingdom that cannot be shaken. We worship God acceptably. We stand in the presence of a holy God who is a consuming fire. The Church Triumphant exists for one purpose. To delight forever in the glory of God, and to reflect that glory back to Him without end.

1. Completion and Perfection

Aim: Fulfillment of formation

  • Hebrews 12:22–24
    The righteous are made perfect.

  • Colossians 3:4
    We appear with Christ in glory.

  • 2 Timothy 4:7–8
    Faithfulness results in a crown.

Triumphant truth: What was trained in weakness is perfected in glory.

2. Eternal Reward and Reign

Aim: Authority with Christ

  • Revelation 17:14
    Those with Christ are called, chosen, faithful.

  • Revelation 3:21
    Overcomers reign with Him.

  • John 14:3
    Christ prepares a place for His trained people.

Triumphant truth: Training prepares believers not just to arrive, but to reign.

III. Certainty of Victory

Christ destroys the works of the devil

  • John 3:16–17
    Salvation, not condemnation, is the mission.

  • 1 John 3:8
    Christ destroys the works of the devil.

  • Romans 8:2
    The law of the Spirit frees from sin and death.

  • Romans 8:28
    God uses all things for His redemptive purpose.

Victory truth: The battle outcome is settled. Faithfulness is the calling.

IV. Living Between the Battlefield and the Throne Room

Ambassadors in time. Citizens of eternity.

Salt and Light

  • Matthew 5:13–16
    Influence requires presence in darkness.

Ambassadors

  • 2 Corinthians 5:20
    We represent a reigning King in enemy territory.

Present calling: Live now as citizens of a coming Kingdom.

V. Chosen, Called, and Faithful

Repentance as long-range vision

  • Romans 12:2
    Renewed thinking aligns present life with eternal reality.

  • Revelation 17:14
    Faithfulness defines those who share Christ’s victory.

  • Jeremiah 29:11
    God’s plans extend beyond immediate horizons.

Repentance defined: Change how you think. Think in centuries. 10 centuries is a thousand years. Live for the age to come.

Final Synthesis

Church Militant

  • Trained through Scripture, discipline, suffering, and community.

  • Faithful under pressure.

  • Formed for endurance.

Church Triumphant

  • Perfected, rewarded, assembled.

  • Reigning with Christ.

  • Fulfillment of training.

One Mission

  • Destroy the works of the devil.

  • Bear witness to the Kingdom.

  • Remain faithful until victory is fully revealed.

Final truth
Training is never wasted.
What God forms in time, He crowns in eternity.

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