The Inner Spiritual Conflict

The warfare within the heart of a born-again Christian is the great reason for the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The fact that "ye cannot do the things that ye would" should be evidence sufficient to drive people to seek the fullness of the Holy Spirit. Surely such a warfare within the heart of God's child is not the best that God can do for him in this world. There must be something better, something that at least would help him to do the things he desires to do as a Christian. It is not a question of whether one may be a child of God without being baptized with the Spirit; the question is, can he be the child God desires him to be without this baptism? The answer is simple, as long as the warfare between the flesh and Spirit continues in the heart he cannot be the child God wants him to be.

Let us consider this mixed state or carnal condition. It is stated that it is caused by the presence of two warring elements, the flesh and the Spirit. Hence the individual is conscious of a mixture of desires, the flesh endeavoring to pull away from the things of the Spirit and off toward things which would gratify the carnal desires, while the Spirit is urging him to follow the things that are spiritual and to fully glorify God. There is a mixture of emotions, the Spirit would cause him to hate the things he once loved, the flesh would endeavor to inspire some love for them. There is a mixture of purposes, the flesh inclines one to "walk after the flesh," while the Spirit draws him to "walk after the Spirit." It may be well to state that in this condition the Spirit is always the stronger if one will follow Him, but "the flesh" is a troubling element which asserts its presence as a tyrant which "is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). There need not be any outbursts of unholy passion, nor any visible manifestations of this carnal state in order to convince one that it exists. The inner conflict is sufficient to convince one of his need of being fully the Lord's.

No doubt the most apparent evidence of the presence of this inner conflict is that it prevents the Christian from being what he should be. Paul states this, "So that ye cannot do the things that ye would" (Gal. 5:17). The child of God should be concerned not always: with how the presence of the carnal dispositions causes him to feel and act, but he should 'be concerned with the fact that this inner 'warfare keeps him from being what he as a Christian should be. It prevents him from being the victorious, joyous, whole-hearted Christian he desires to be. It saps his spiritual life, it deprives him of power and strength, it darkens his vision, it dulls his spiritual apprehension, it weakens him in the time of stress. What Christian has not at times cried out from the depths of a needy heart, "Oh, that I might be the Christian I want to be!" Or, "Oh, that I might be victorious and joyous as a child of God!" What prevents one from being that Christian he desires to be within his heart? The presence of carnal dispositions or "the flesh." God is never satisfied until this warfare is ended, until His Spirit completely fills the heart and there is no room for the presence of "the flesh." This He will do for the Christian in the baptism with the Holy Spirit.