What is the enemy within?

But, as believers, redeemed from guilt by the blood of Christ, we are still faced with sin (not sins) as a powerful enemy of the prosperity of our souls. The sad discovery is made by the redeemed soul that the horrible root of sin is still within him, and determined to break out with a power greater than he can overcome. Now it is this power of sin that the apostle deals with thoroughly from Rom. 5:12 to Rom. 8:4. It is made more vivid, and plain by his personifying sin as the enemy of God and man. Let us watch this carefully in reading these chapters.

Though no longer the state of the Christian, yet the flesh is in him, and is antagonistic to the Spirit, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye should not do the things that ye would." Gal. 5:17. Thus the Spirit resists in the Christian the accomplishment of the lusts of the flesh.

We have in ourselves two different powers, the old nature (the flesh) and the Spirit and these two are opposed to each other, "The flesh lusts against the Spirit; and the Spirit against the flesh." The flesh will never like the guidance of the Spirit, a very important thing to realize. For besides new life we still have the flesh, the old and evil nature (the old man, our standing before conversion, has been taken away, but the sinful flesh remains), the power and the guidance of the new life being the Holy Spirit. Flesh and Spirit are opposed to each other. Whenever we wish to be guided by the Spirit to fulfil the will of the Lord, there is the flesh which says 'No'. Whenever we are feeble and weak and tend to follow our flesh there is the Sprit Who says, 'Do not do that. Follow the Lord'. So whatever we do, whether we are liable to sin, or whether we try to live in the new life as guided by the Spirit, there is always a power in us opposite to it, there is always this internal controversy, "that ye should not do those things which ye desire".

Now we find there are two dwelling within us who are utterly opposed to each other. The flesh is passionately opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit is passionately opposed to the flesh; so I find that within me there is a war going on, more bitter, more determined, and lasting longer than any war on earth. The flesh is always wanting to have its own way, and do its own will; the Holy Spirit who dwells in me is always opposed to my flesh. If I listen to the flesh, and yield my members to it, then the flesh quickly makes itself manifest in me; but if I walk by the Spirit, and let the Spirit lead me, then I will not at all listen to the passionate cravings of the flesh.

Scripture sets forth, in the most unmistakable way, the desperately sinful character of the flesh. It is opposed to God - enmity itself (Rom.8:7); it resists the Spirit of God. The flesh lusteth against the Spirit; "it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom.8:7).

However, reasoning from verse 16, there is the conclusion of verse 17. It is not I, as to will and intention, who do the evil, “but sin that dwelleth in me.” Involuntarily, despite my precautions and determination, the evil principle of my nature, like a fretting leprosy, breaks out again and again. Thus sin is at least distinguished as the terrible and powerful enemy of the soul. And this is good, for it were ruinous to fail to recognize an enemy or to underestimate his power. When it is plainly seen what is the true character of our souls' enemies, it may stagger us to compare with it the poverty of our own forces, but it would drive us to seek other refuge — in Him who only is stronger than all enemies.

Now the struggle has begun. We are determined to walk righteously, but we find that we are lame on both our feet. Our determination is to have nothing more to do with sin, but there is something in us that cries out for it with more powerful voice than that which deprecates the committal of it. The good that we would do we do not, and the evil that we abhor we do. There is an evil principle in our members at war with all the good desires of the mind, and it is more powerful than they. We now learn that, however good our intentions may be, we have no power to bring them to pass. We are captive to a power of evil that lives in the members of our body. Sin has the mastery over us, and with every member are we compelled to serve it. Our state is wretched in the extreme, and our good desires only make us all the more miserable. We would like to pursue the path of righteousness, but a terrific force of evil drives us in the opposite direction.

It is however requisite, more particularly to enumerate and consider the enemies, whom the Christian soldier is called to encounter, if we would fully understand the important subject. The apostle, having said, “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;” proceeds to show what are the works of the flesh, and the fruits of the spirit; from which enumeration it is evident, that the flesh signifies our old nature as born of Adam’s fallen race, with all its propensities animal and intellectual, as they are contrary to the spiritual commands of God; and that the spirit as striving against it, signifies the new principle infused and supported by the Holy Spirit, renewing our souls to holiness, and so teaching, disposing, and enabling us to love and serve God: For “that which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit”.

Unconverted persons know they love the things that are not of God. Whence does it all come? From a heart that is contrary to God — a nature at enmity with God. The heart loves the things that suit its own lusts. We all by nature turn away from God, and all are alike in this, those who have been most restrained by natural checks and the most vicious. There may be least care about it in the least vicious, because a very vicious man would be glad to be out of the scrape. When the prodigal left his father's house, he was as wicked as afterwards, he was glad to get away from his father and to do his own will. There may be a desire to please the father from natural affection; but there is the wish to have the opportunity to do one's own will, and this was all the prodigal wanted. What can we say of such a heart as that? The prodigal son was as guilty, though not so degraded, when he crossed his father's threshold as when eating husks in the far country.

In the depth of every human heart there is enmity against God. Whether the veneer that covers it be that of religion or of mere indifference it little matters; at the bottom there is downright hatred of God. “The carnal mind is enmity against God.”