The Battle Within
“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” (Galatians 5:24)
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the Greco-Turkish War—a war fought between Greece and the Turkish National Movement during the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire in the aftermath of WWI. It was fought between May 1919 and October 1922. The reality of living through such tumultuous and violent days is hard for us in North America to imagine, as we look back from our vantage point of peace and stability. Few of us will have first-hand experience of living through any type of war. But the Apostle Paul tells us that if we belong to Jesus Christ, we are living through a civil war each and every day. Despite our peaceful surroundings, we find ourselves in the midst of a conflict zone. In fact, we are, ourselves, a conflict zone. The battle is raging, and the stakes are high.
A battle is raging within the heart and soul of every believer. Within each believer, the sinful nature – or, literally, the “flesh” – is at war with the Spirit of God. Notice what Paul writes in Galatians 5, “For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other….” (Gal. 5:17). Ever since sin entered the world through Adam and Eve’s rebellion in the Garden, the human nature – the essence of each human person – has been damaged by sin. Each human person is naturally inclined toward rebellion against God and has been given over to self-focused, self-serving and self-destructive patterns of behaviour and thought. There is a force at work within us that constantly and compulsively drives us to sin. And the Bible’s word for that force is “the flesh” – not meaning the physical body – but meaning the sinful nature within us. When a person comes to Christ, the sinful nature still remains and the battle rages on.
In modern military conflicts, satellite imagery gives real-time visual updates on progress on the ground. Satellite imagery can give evidence of the degree of an army’s advance, and the extent of the enemy’s destruction. Victories and losses are plain to see. When it comes to the battle raging within our soul. Paul tells us that there will be clear and plentiful evidence – evidence to us and to others – of which side has the upper hand. Evidence of the sinful nature’s influence includes “…sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies and the like…” (v. 19) The flesh hates being bridled and controlled because it is at war with God—it loves excess and indulgence. But just as the flesh has its own characteristic fruit, so too does the Spirit of God: “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (v. 22).
The stakes in the war of the flesh and the Spirit are very high. The battle raging within our souls really matters because it carries eternal significance. Paul writes, “I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (v. 21). The good news is that there is hope in the midst of this battle—progress is possible. Paul writes, “…walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.” (v. 16). Be encouraged today: victory is possible as you “keep in step with the Spirit” (v. 26) and crucify “the flesh with its passions and desires” (v. 24)