Treasures of Truth

6 The Waging War

THE WAGING WAR

Scripture teaches that even though

I’m a new creation in Christ,

I have a law within my members waging war . . .

For I delight in the law of God

according to the inward man. Romans 7:22

But I see another law in my members,

warring against the law of my mind,

and bringing me into captivity

to the law of sin which is in my members. Romans 7:23

For the flesh lusts against the Spirit,

the Spirit against the flesh;

and these are contrary to one another,

so that you do not do

the things that you wish. Galatians 5:17

The unregenerate person is an “in the flesh” person

who is in bondage to the power of sin.

He walks “in the flesh” and “after the flesh.”

All that he can do is sin

because he is “in Adam” (Rom 5:12)

and therefore has no spiritual life.

By nature, he is a “child of wrath” (Eph 2:3).

At salvation, the believer is taken out of Adam

and placed into Christ.

Having been born of the Spirit,

the regenerate person is no longer “in the flesh” -

that is in the past tense in Romans 7:5.

The regenerate person is an “in the Spirit” person:

holy, righteous, and a new creation.

Yet, the Christian continues to live in this mortal body.

This mortal body contains within

a law or principle of sin

residing in the members

that is always vying for attention and fulfillment of its own.

The Christian who is “in the Spirit”

can temporarily walk “after the flesh”

by yielding his members to the power of sin.

This produces the condition

called “flesh” (Galatians 5:19-21).

The Christian at this point

is walking contrary to his true nature

and is therefore

walking contrary to who he really is.