Ongoing Inner Conflict

[WordSword]

It is essential that we take a moment to consider the inward conflict of the growing child of God.  It may be said, “What if a man knows his sins to be forgiven and more, liberty” (which some call “sanctification,” “deeper life,” etc.), “then, surely, every spiritual desire must be gratified, and thenceforward, till heaven be gained, there can be nothing more to be wished for it.

In things spiritual, as in things natural, when children have grown up to manhood, to ripe age, or, as Scripture says, are “perfect” (1Co 13:10, 11), they do not find that thenceforward there is nothing to do, nothing to suffer.  Quite the contrary; in one sense they may be said to begin life only when perfect (mature—NC). Until the great and terrible “I” be held by grace to have been crucified with Christ, the believer can hardly be said to have begun to live the new life in its liberty (possessing salvation but not yet overcoming the “old man’—NC); but liberty obtained, inner conflict is certain to be entered into.

Before we were brought into Christian liberty, the enabling of the indwelling Spirit was not known, but, being delivered from the thrall of the old man, we are in the moral position which should gain the victory day by day.  Not that the position itself is victory—it is only the vantage ground for victory; freedom from the domination of sin is obtained by the Spirit (Rom 8:13). Still, it is no little good to know what the vantage ground is, and a greater thing to occupy that ground.

The Spirit of God dwelling within us energizes the desire of the new life which He has implanted in us. He leads to humility, gentleness, and courage, and all in a divine way.  We do not mean such qualities apart from the Spirit, which in that case may be merely traits of the Adamic life (the old man mimicking holiness but not genuine—NC).

When our old man stirs us up to desire its old things, the Spirit of God does not remain passive in us, but occasions conflict within: “For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal 5:17).  He restrains the believer from doing the things which the flesh likes, and constrains him to do the things which the Father loves, and effects this by acting upon the new man (Eph 3:16). The believer is not, and never will be, free from having sin in him in this world; nor will he be free from the danger of committing any kind of evil: and he is never, practically, safe except when he realizes his weakness, and walks in dependence upon the Holy Spirit (ever safe in salvation, but in need of growth—NC).

Should he say, “I cannot help doing evil,” then he denies the Spirit of God in him as the enablement for righteous living, and remains in the mire of sin.  Should he say, “I am holy, or spiritual, or heavenly,” and in his heart think of what he is in himself (halted on the thought of being a sinner—NC), then it is the old man at work in another and more dangerous form, and he has denied the Spirit of God in His ability to produce spirituality, and heavenly-mindedness.  This last is worse than the first, for the first is unbelief in God and the last is belief in himself (Gal 6:3—NC).  The truth is, there is constant conflict proceeding within the growing child of God, and the Spirit is continually restraining from evil, as well as leading to good (retaining salvation while growing in Christ (Eph 4:15—NC).

The flesh in its pride would say, “I can live to God by means of law-keeping and religious observances”; and the flesh in its lusts would say, “I am safe for eternity, and thus can live for myself.”  The new life the Father has given us has no affinity for either the one or the other of these evils, and the Spirit of God opposes the flesh in each. 

– Henry Forbes Witherby (1836-1907)

 

 

 

 

MJS daily devotional excerpt for Oct 20

“Faith is dependence upon the Father. And this God-dependence only begins when self-dependence ends. And self-dependence only comes to its end, with most of us, when sorrow, suffering, affliction, broken plans and hopes bring us to that place of self-helplessness where we throw ourselves upon our Father in seeming utter helplessness and defeat. And only then do we find that we have learned the lesson of faith; to find our tiny craft of life rushing onward to a blessed life of fruitfulness and service undreamt of in the days of our fleshly strength and self-reliance.”—Charles Henry Mackintosh (1820-1896)
 

[Who me]

On 11/17/2022 at 1:46 PM, WordSword said:

surely, every spiritual desire must be gratified, and thenceforward, till heaven be gained, there can be nothing more to be wished for it.

Only in heaven will this be true, u till then we have a life to live in the service of God.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Who me said:

Only in heaven will this be true, u till then we have a life to live in the service of God.

Every spiritual desire can be met before going to heaven. Even being there, because the believer is so certain to be there that he is considered there (Eph 2:6); this is positional truth.

 

 

[Who me]

On 11/18/2022 at 8:31 PM, WordSword said:

Every spiritual desire can be met before going to heaven. Even being there, because the believer is so certain to be there that he is considered there (Eph 2:6); this is positional truth.

 

 

Eph 2:6+7 . ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

 

As it says, in the coming ages. Not now but in what is to come.

[Guest]

On 11/19/2022 at 5:19 PM, Who me said:

Eph 2:6+7 . ⁶ And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, ⁷ in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

 

As it says, in the coming ages. Not now but in what is to come.

It's my understanding that "coming ages" refers to eternity, i.e. now and through all the ages to come. Those reborn are as good as there, because nothing will halt us being There! This comes with the surety of being saved, which many do not understand concerning its permanency. Only those reborn are saved, and only the saved continue on.

[Alive]

On 11/18/2022 at 2:31 PM, WordSword said:

Every spiritual desire can be met before going to heaven. Even being there, because the believer is so certain to be there that he is considered there (Eph 2:6); this is positional truth.

 

 

Indeed! Out life is hidden with Christ in God now! Scripture is clear on this.

[Guest]

31 minutes ago, Alive said:

Indeed! Our life is hidden with Christ in God now! Scripture is clear on this.

Amen everything is now, except the rapture and all that follows.

[Mr. M]

On 11/18/2022 at 8:23 AM, Who me said:

Only in heaven will this be true, u till then we have a life to live in the service of God.

2 Peter 1:

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,

through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye

might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

[Who me]

On 11/21/2022 at 1:14 PM, WordSword said:

my understanding that "coming ages" refers to eternity,

Not for the here and now.

[Who me]

On 11/21/2022 at 2:04 PM, Mr. M said:

2 Peter 1:

3 According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness,

through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue:

4 Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye

might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

We are given all we need to live for Jesus. So we may experience him.

Which is why it continues in 5 5o 9 about the effort we are to put into living a godly life.

It is not just handed to us we are to work at it, like a professional soldier or Olympic athlete.