together in mass, a couple of them, and then we're finished for the most part. A key verse that I'm gonna ask you to look or turn to is 1 Peter 2, verse 11. The topic, the article is number, in our confession of faith, is number 33. The topic is the Christian warfare. Lots of things can be said about it, but we're trying to be focused on just a portion of it. The article reads, all believers in this present life are in a continual warfare and combat against sin, self, the world, and the devil. They are liable to all manner of afflictions, tribulations, and persecutions to which they are predestined and appointed. Whatsoever the saints possess or enjoy of God spiritually is by faith. Outward and temporal things are lawfully enjoyed by a civil right by them who have no faith. So I asked you to look at 1 Peter 2, verse 11, and we're gonna approach this in two ways. First of all, internal, an internal conflict or war, and then an external conflict or warfare. 1 Peter 2, verse 11 says, dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, with reference to the world, abstain from or hold yourself from fleshly lusts which war against the soul. So the topic is the Christian warfare, and we've divided it into two parts. There is an internal conflict that the Christian experiences here in the mind. It's a conflict between the flesh and the spirit. There's also an external conflict that the Christian experiences in the world by those around him. that are of the world. The world is against him because he is not of this world. So let's consider the first division of the Christian warfare, that there is a conflict between the flesh and the spirit. And I hope this helps. But it explains something. By flesh, I mean to say that there is in us the children of God. In all men, for that matter, but noted in the children of God, there is a principle by which we would be ruled in our lives if we would yield our bodies to follow after its base lusts. In Romans chapter six, verse 19, And then we'll look at Romans chapter 7 verse 23. In Romans 6 verse 19, Paul says, You'll see the word infirmity. I hope that we have learned by now what that means. It means the weakness of the flesh. It doesn't necessarily mean the sin, okay? It's a weakness that we have, like becoming weak, crying, subject to death, sorrow, and such. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity, the weakness of the flesh. For as you have yielded your members, the members of your bodies, servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity, and it just stopped. The point here was that we have a flesh, a principle of the flesh that wants to drive us in a certain direction. Again, in the next chapter, Romans 7, 23, Paul says it clearly here. He refers to it as a law. It's a principle, a guiding or directing principle in us that we need to be careful about. I see, Paul says, 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. By, that's what we mean by the flesh. There's a principle in us. We're all familiar with it, trust me. Now by spirit, what I mean is that since our spirit, I'm referring to our spirit, It's important. Since our spirit has been enlivened by the Spirit of God, yet it is imperfect. 2 Corinthians 7 verse 1. I want to point this out so we can make this statement. 2 Corinthians 7 verse 1. Again, the Apostle Paul, having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, notice what he says about our spirit. Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, so it is enlivened, our spirits are, when once it was dead, but it is still imperfect. We receive by this, through our spirit, the directives of the Holy Spirit, so that we desire to yield our whole person, our body, our soul, our mind, and our strength to do the will of God. But here's the problem, and why we are so inclined to sin. Brethren, I'm addressing the saints of God. Paul said this in Romans chapter seven, verse 18. Romans seven, verse 18. We wanna point out the problem. He says there, for I know that in me, that is in my flesh, in my body, if you will, dwells no good thing. For to will, and now we're gonna be discussing this about the mind in a moment, but for to will is present with me, but he says, but how to perform that which is good I find not. Now that's important. We need to understand what he means by that. This body and the principle in it, which we call the flesh, My natural senses and the lusts agree together. Now that's not so for the spirit. My spirit that's been enlivened. My spirit finds no senses and lusts in the body to help me do the will of God. But my spirit being led by the Spirit of God would have me to act according to the Word of God by faith. Faith, brethren, it's important because as long as we continue to depend upon the flesh to be able to accomplish the will of God, we'll be frustrated because I can't find it in me. And so what we find is a key to help us in our walk with God. So there is a disconnect between the body with its principle of the flesh and my spirit as a believer. There's nothing in me, in my flesh, to help me do the will of God. The internal conflict, the internal conflict in the mind of the Christian is a consequence of the new birth. I want to explain something and lead us through a couple of examples of something that might be helpful as well. When we were born again, we received a super added nature. a nature that we did not receive when we were born naturally. In effect, we were overlaid with a new nature. If we would consider what the Son of God did in order to be born into human flesh, we might better understand our Christian experience. For example, And I know this is difficult. You need to really think about this for a while. Something like this, not because it's me, but I would, if you believe this is true, if you find it in the scriptures, I would sit down for a while through the next few days and consider them by the word of God. Because this is a key element to really walk with Christ. For example, in order for the second person of the Holy Trinity, the Son of God, to become fashioned as a man, and dwelling among man, he received, you know he did, I hope you know, he received to himself a human body with its uncorrupted nature. He was fashioned as a man, Philippians 2, verse 8. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. John chapter 1 verse 14. He was made of a woman in Galatians 4. So another example which might help us understand the overlaying of a new nature upon us is found when we refer to the tabernacle in the Old Testament, that tent which the Lord had national Israel erect during their sojourn to the land of promise. What a full type there is there if we think about it, the tabernacle or tent. represents a temporal dwelling place and should be compared to a house or a building which represents a permanent dwelling place. If you wanna know more about that, 2 Corinthians chapter five, verses one to four. If you have followed along with us when we were studying through the book of Exodus, you know the Old Testament tabernacle, that tent, represented the person of the Son of God, Jesus Christ, dwelling among his chosen people. That tabernacle was covered with four different coverings, four of them. There was the fine linen, there was the goat's hair, there was the ram's skins dyed red, and the badger skins. All of these communicate something which concerns Christ's human nature. There are four coverings and even that number, most of you know that that number in numerology represents the order of creation, the natural order of things. The tabernacle study teaches us in a type that The Son of God took on a created form when he received a human body. Now consider another thing about that tabernacle, the construction of it. You'll remember the use of the word, a term. There was a certain wood that they used in it, and that was called shidum wood, acacia. This represented the incorruptible nature of Christ's humanity. And I want you to notice about that. As that tabernacle was covered with four coverings, different coverings, it speaks about his humanity. So does this. He was overlaid, that shenum wood was overlaid with gold. In all of those places, it was always overlaid with gold, representing divinity, representing God. For the Son of God to come among men, God added to Him a body with its nature. And in this way, the Son of God could truly, only in this way, show us that he was touched with a feeling of our infirmities, with our weaknesses. He hungered, he thirsted, he wept, he sorrowed, and he even died in his body. All evidences of the weakness of the flesh, yet without sin. When he condescended to take to himself our humanity, he received a nature to himself, a nature that he had not possessed to that time. He remained God and came into the form of a human. Therefore, we reverently say this, that he is the God-man. He's not God and man, two persons. or just God in another person. He is the God-man, remaining who he is, the person of the Son of God coming to a human body. But why discuss this? As our Lord took to himself a human nature, in the new birth, we receive the experience of a new nature. It's a spiritual nature. John said in chapter three, verse six, that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that's your first birth, and that which is born of the spirit, the Holy Spirit, is spirit, referring to the second birth. The spirit, this spiritual nature, grants us, and here it's important, that we might partake of the divine nature, the nature of God. We do not by that become God, no, but we by our spirit may then partake of the divine nature. In 2 Peter 1 verse 4 it says so, but to move on, our life is derived from him. And that's why it's called everlasting life. And here's the point. In the receiving of a new nature, there begins to be If you are not born again, you don't know a thing I'm talking about. Even as difficult as this is, it might be tedious to our minds. Maybe we're not used to stretching our mind enough spiritually to consider these thoughts. I hope that we're learning to do that. But in the receiving of a new nature, there begins to be an internal warfare right here in our minds. That war evidences three things. Mark it down. Don't you dare think otherwise, because it's not correct. First of all, the old nature did not die when we were born again. It's still there just as it ever was. Second, the old nature was not changed in the least bit when I was born of God. Mark it down. I still have in me what I ever had, but I have something since that's been laid upon me. And last, on the third point, the old nature will never be improved. Stop hoping for that. It won't be improved. It's gonna be as ugly as it ever was to me. I talked to a man the other day, he's a believer. Every reason to believe, he knows the Lord, listening to him talk. And he said he came into some really hard times where his health, he was down. One night, he sat down and he drank him something and all of a sudden his stomach started hurting. And in a couple hours, the ambulance was at the house picking up him, taking him to the hospital. And shortly after that, he was on a Learjet going out of state to a hospital of the states. That fast, he said, we think we're something. And he found out real quick there were nothing. The Lord brought him to this place. But the reason I say that was because when he ended up down there, they drugged him. They gave him morphine. And he says, The next thing you know, I was having a heyday. He had the doctor headlocked. He was in a headlock. And the big old hospital bouncers, they're big guys on purpose, because they've got to handle people like this. And he says, they came in there, and I started swinging at them, and they was catching my fists, and they got me all wrapped up, and they got me taken care of. You know what it was? This man knows the Lord. But what that drug did, it released the old man. It was there, just as strong as it ever was. You know, you could play the game of Reformation all you want to. If you don't know the Lord, you're still the same guy you ever were. Under the right circumstances, that thing will pop up and it'll show itself. But even in us, that's why I prefer that we never drink. drank alcohol, beverages, it releases in us that thing that, you know what, by the grace of God, only by the grace of God, it's been subdued to some extent. Not suppressed, but subdued by the grace of God. No, I want you to consider, it'll never be improved. It won't. So look at these few scriptures, and we move to the last of these two parts, which would be external. Galatians 5, verse 16. Galatians 5, verse 16. I just want to read through and very, very briefly narrate a couple of things, but just to read this and see what we're still capable of, what we still are warring against in our minds. And yet, we ought to be different. We ought to be walking after the Spirit. We ought to be following after Christ. And that's only by faith as the Spirit works in us. In Galatians 5 verse 16, read through verse 25. This I say then, walk in the spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that you would. Meaning that there's nothing, I believe is the reason the followers lied, that there's nothing in my flesh that will help me to do the will of God, as long as I look to me, okay? But if we be led of the spirit, we are not under the law. The law says what? Do this in order to live. The spirit rather says, do this because you're alive. I like it. Notice the works of the flesh. This is what's in us naturally. Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, I don't really have to tell you, you already know being the people of God, adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revelings and such like, of the which I tell you before, As I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God. There should have been a marked difference in us, but we still have the propensity to walk after the flesh. So there must be a noted change in our lives at some point. But he says this, but the fruit of the Spirit Here's your conflict. There on one hand, you have this wicked stuff going on. On the other, tell me that you don't have this desire. Tell me. Well, of course we do. The fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. Against such, there's no law. Every child of God wants these in his life. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh. You mortified it, you put it to death moment by moment with the affections and lust. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk. That word walk means to walk orderly, walk principle in the spirit. Let us not be desirous of being glory, provoking one another, envying one another. So there you have it. What's going on in here is internal. Again, look at Ephesians 4, verse 17. Ephesians 4, verse 17. This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord that you henceforth walk not as, notice that, other Gentiles. They were Gentiles, but they weren't other Gentiles. They were Gentile believers. So that you walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened. being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of the heart. You know, they have a reason that they're doing that. We were like that once before Christ, who they are past feeling, have given themselves over to lasciviousness to work on cleanness with greediness, but you have not so learned Christ. And so we see this conflict in our minds. If so, be that you've heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus, that you put off, and it's a middle voice, that you put off of yourselves concerning the former conversation, the old man. which is corrupt or defiled according to the deceitful lust, and be renewed, and even in the septuagint, that's translated as restored in the spirit of your mind. Have your thinking corrected. When we follow after the flesh, have it corrected. It can be corrected. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind that you put on to yourselves the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. Wherefore, putting away from yourselves, all this middle voice stuff, putting away from you as a matter of fact, lying. Speak every man truth with his neighbor, for we are members of one another. Be angry, notice it, be angry, careful. There are times when we will become angry, but, and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath. Take care of this issue in the heart soon. Neither give place to the devil. Delay causes problems. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs. Let no corrupt communication, literally, don't let a single rotten word proceed out of your mouth. Not one, that's a tall order, but that's what we want. Tell me, it is. It is what we want. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good, to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby you're sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away, removed, lifted from us with all malice. Well, and one more when we speak of But in Romans 7, 14, put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof. Now if we know Christ to the saving of the soul, we confess that these things which we have just read about, these issues, are those things which we struggle with every single day. Those wicked things, that's right, we do. We do. Some of us struggle with some points more than others, and others will struggle with other things more than somebody else. But we all have it. We have it. So now the last division of the Christian warfare, which is the external conflict, and it's brief. You know this as well. It's that which the Christian experiences in the world. This concerns the world's hatred of the Christian because he's not of the world. Our Lord said that he was not of the world in John 8, 23. Ye are from beneath, speaking to those false teachers, Pharisees and such that had come around him and tried to trip him up and catch him in his words and had the desire to murder him. You're from beneath. I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world. And the Christian used to walk according to the course of the world, in Ephesians 2 verse 2, wherein in time past ye, Gentiles, walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the children of disobedience. But, let me say this much, Because that Christian was chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, he was never in the truest sense of the word of the world. John 15 verse 19, our Lord said, if ye were of the world, the world would love his own. but because you're not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. John 17, 16, they are of the world, he was speaking to the lost or the dying, those in unbelief, even as I am not of the world. I'm sorry, he's speaking of his people, the elect. The hatred that the world has for the children of God is first evidenced when they come to faith in Christ. But we've seen this a number of times. This hatred increases the closer the child of God draws to Christ. How many times, there's been a couple anyway that I've noticed, it was one thing for a child of God to come to faith in Christ, but quite another when he got baptized in water. There seems to be something there, I mean a spiritual thing. Many times families will cut off children because they, not because they had faith in Christ, but they also obeyed the commandment to be baptized and suddenly that drew out their ire against them. There's an external conflict. There's an external war taking place. And if they'll come to one of the Lord's churches, if they'll come and serve the Lord there and grow in the knowledge and grace of our Lord, it becomes heated just because he's not of the world. It's an external warfare. It's a warfare that the world brings to the Christian. And it's comparable to how wolves respond to sheep. In Matthew 10, verse 16, he was speaking to his disciples. Jesus said, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves. Be ye therefore wise as serpents and harmless as doves. And he goes on to verse 21, the brother shall deliver up brother, his own flesh and blood to death, and father, the child, and children shall rise up against their parents and cause them to be put to death. Not because of any wickedness. No, it's not because of those kinds of, but because they are Christ's. He says that ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. So, as we did with the other, look at these scriptures, beginning with Revelation 2, verses 9 and 10. And some of these are, by the way, part of the footnoted references. This is one of them. Revelation 2, verses 9 and 10, when we speak about external warfare. Jesus saying to one of his churches, I can't remember which one, I know thy works, and tribulation and poverty, but thou art rich. And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews and are not, but are of the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer. Behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that you may be tried. And you shall have tribulation 10 days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life. Notice in 2 Timothy chapter three, just verse 12, you know this, it's external. You know what, if you don't see that, something's wrong. Yea, all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. Mark it down. And it's not that, again, you've not done anything. They just respond that way. It's something spiritual they're not aware of. But I do wanna spend this last little bit here reading through 1 Thessalonians chapter two, beginning at verse 14. And it goes through chapter three, verse five. It's so good when you, I get to enjoy the way that Paul so loved this congregation. He was so concerned about their welfare and that they might become discouraged and such because they, as soon as Paul left that little congregation, he wasn't there much time at all. I think, roughly speaking, if he were there a couple of weeks, I'd be surprised, but in that time, They came to Christ at the preaching of the gospel, and he was so afraid they would become disheartened and discouraged because they don't know enough to withstand these assaults that come against them. And so he wrote this part here, beginning at verse 14, for ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen. Your own countrymen have persecuted you like the Jews have persecuted us, the believing Jews. You also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews, who both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets. and have persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles. that they might be saved to fill up their sin always, for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. They tried everything they could to stop Paul from doing the ministry of Christ. And that's what he's talking about here. And he saw this fruit come up in Thessalonica. But we, brethren, being taken from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, the more abundantly to see your face with great desire. Wherefore, we would have come unto you, even I, Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing, are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? That's what we're hoping for. For you are our glory and joy. When we could no longer forbear, we thought, no, I can't hold back anymore. This is what I will do. We thought it good. To be left at Athens alone and sent to Maltheus, Paul stayed at Athens and he sent Timothy on up, our brother and minister of God and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to what? This is so important, to establish you, to set you up, to ordain you upon the doctrines, to comfort you concerning your faith. that no man should be moved by these afflictions or tribulations. We want you to be able to endure them for yourselves know how that we are appointed thereto to these such tribulations. For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation even as it came to pass and ye know for this cause when I could no longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter have tempted you, and our labor be in vain. So, closing this, the conflict in the mind and in the world is great. Undoubtedly, it is great. The Christian does not, that does not, understand that his flesh and the world are opposed to him is at a great disadvantage to wage a successful campaign against them. This explains the discouragement and defeat that we see in some. I didn't know it would be like this. How can we say that but we don't know the word of God? Many Christians today simply don't know the Word of God as they ought to know it. The Christian that knows and applies the truths of God's Word will be a victorious Christian. He combats the lust of the flesh in him and withstands the oppositions of the world that the world directs against him. So, in closing, I need to give you a Scripture to help us to wage this successful campaign against both that which is going into mind and that the world brings to us. Turn to Ephesians chapter 10, chapter 6, verse 10. Begin there, reading through verse 18. You already know it's the chapter of the Christian armor. Of course it is. There's not a better place to find out how to stand against the flesh and that seen and unseen, that within and without conflict, no other better text. In chapter six, verse 10, Ephesians, finally my brethren, Be strong. And what does he say? Become empowered in the Lord by him and in the power of his might. Put on, clothe yourself with the whole armor of God that in order that you may be able to stand, to hold up against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities or authorities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places or in the unseen realm in the heavenlies. Wherefore, on account of that, Take unto you the whole armor, not taking just a piece of it, but take it all up. Take unto you the whole armor, for what purpose? That ye may be able to withstand, to hold up against that in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore. having, or hold up, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on to yourselves the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above or upon all of it, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all of the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplications for all saints, for yourselves and for your brethren. At all times, we have need of this armor of God. Sometimes, brother, I think of you, Marv, sometimes the fighting that goes on in the mind against the flesh and the oppositions of the darkness of this world is intense. It just don't seem to ever let up. It seemed like it's just one thing after another. And at other times, it seemed like the Lord grants a reprieve, but it'll resume. With our Lord in Luke 4, 13, when the devil had ended all that temptation for 40 days, the Lord was out there and fasted, and then the devil came and tempted him. When it was all done, the scripture says he departed from them for a season, but he came back with another plan, another scheme. So finally, my old nature will be with me until I'm clothed upon with my house from heaven. It will, at this time, until then, it will never change or improve. Until then, my only recourse is to watch and pray. In Mark 14, 38, I think it's significant. Simple, watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. Brethren, you know it's true, the spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And that is a two-part, what I see as a two-part exposition on the Christian warfare. I hope that it will be a help to you. I need to, I really need to consider this more and more. Really be in prayer about this. We need it to be on our minds at all times. What a blessing to consider it again. I hope you'll find help to walk with him more and more day by day, moment by moment. Thank you for your attention.