Day 96: What Is Our Internal Enemy?
The Scriptures indicate that every human being is born spiritually dead, hostile to God and enslaved to the power of sin by nature. In the Rebellion and Fall of Adam, two terrible things happened to us: 1) We have each been declared guilty before God because of Adam’s sinful “vote” on our behalf, and 2) We have each inherited the corruption of sin that has marred our ability to think and act in a godly way. Understanding who we are “in Adam” is the first step in comprehending how Christ has set us free and empowered us to live an entirely new KIND of life.
Our Internal Enemy: What is The Sin that dwells within?
Now is a good time to talk a little more deeply about sin and give a general definition for it. In the Hebrew Scriptures, the most commonly used root term for “sin” is chata which carries the idea of “missing the mark” or “straying from the goal.” In the Greek Scriptures, the term hamartia carries the same idea and is the most often used and translated as “sin.” There are many other terms in the Scriptures used to convey the ideas of sin and evil. At the root, though, there is the basic idea of not “aiming for” or turning away from or twisting the good and beautiful desires and purposes of the Lord God. Paul sums it up this way,
Romans 3:23
…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
As human beings, we were designed and created to reveal and reflect the glory—the profound beauty—of the Lord God. And yet, we have rebelled against Him and reject His Way.
KEY Definition: Sin
The basic idea of sin is any idea, thought, or action that is not shaped by or in line with the Truth, Goodness, or Glory (Beauty) of the Lord God. This is rooted in the power of sin that has corrupted the whole world.
Christ summarily dealt with the issue of our guilt on The Cross—we have been forgiven, we are freed from the tyranny of guilt. The issue of inherited, indwelling sin in our fallen physical bodies remains, however, and this will not be fully dealt with until The Resurrection. In our present, unredeemed bodies, the power of sin still lives within us.
The Sin That Lives In You Is Real And It Will Never Be Tamed. Paul speaks about this inherited sin as “the sin that lives in” us:
Romans 7:16-20, 24
Now if I do what I don’t want to do, I agree that the law is good. But now it is no longer me doing it, but the sin that lives in me. For I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but the sin that lives in me. . . Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
You are probably familiar with Paul’s struggle with sin as he discusses in Romans 7:13-25. If not, review that passage. Can you sympathize with Paul’s plight here? What has been similar in your own experience? Even thought we are now “in Christ” the power of sin has not been completely eradicated from us. It can come to life and take control of us, if we give it the right things to feed on.
We can all sympathize with Paul’s predicament in Romans 7. He knows the good that he should do, but he realizes that he his powerless to do it. He desires to do the good, but he finds that he actually winds up doing the evil that he does not want to do. He is seemingly out of control. Why does this happen!? Paul tells us this:
Galatians 5:17
For the flesh has desires that are opposed to the Spirit, and the Spirit has desires that are opposed to the flesh, for these are in opposition to each other, so that you cannot do what you want.
The sin that lives in your flesh constantly wars against the Holy Spirit who lives in your heart. This Sin that lives in your flesh will never be tamed. It will not grow old. It will not get tired. It will not relent. It will never submit itself willingly to the goodness and instruction of God:
Romans 8:5-8
…the mindset that has its basis in the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to the law of God, nor is it able to do so. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
You, like Paul, will never be able to overcome this Indwelling Sin on your own terms. And make no mistake: the sin that dwells in you desires to kill you.
The Context of Indwelling Sin’s influence: What is our Flesh?
But notice very carefully that Paul says this power of sin lives within him, in his “flesh.” The concept of our “flesh” is a “big idea” in Paul’s theology. It is beyond the scope of this study to get into this in detail. Let’s just make a couple of key observations about it now and we will seek to understand this better as we go along:
Your “flesh” is connected to your fallen physical body that serves as the “headquarters” for the Sin that still lives in you.
Your “flesh” is not just your physical body because it is connected to a spiritual reality as well.
If you read Romans 7 very carefully, Paul uses other terms to refer to his “flesh.” Consider this:
Romans 7:22–23
For I delight in the law of God in my inner being. But I see a different law in my members waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that is in my members.
“Members” is a term referring to the different parts of the body. Notice, Paul sees this sin dwelling in his physical body: “Who will set me free from the body of this death!?” (7:24) So why is this important? Why are we making a big deal out of this?
We need to realize that this sin that still lives within us no longer controls the core of who we are; it no longer dominates our hearts. Remember, Christ through the power and presence of the Holy Spirit now lives there. When Paul says, “I know that nothing good lives in me,” he very quickly qualifies it with, “that is in my flesh…” Paul knows that Christ dwells within him. Christ dwells within us, in the core of our beings, in our hearts. The Sin that dwells in us only remains in our “outskirts”—our fallen physical bodies.
Even though we have been made “complete” in Christ spiritually, there are still parts of us that have not been redeemed to fully reflect the glory of Father God as He purposed. Father God will redeem us fully spiritually and physically, but not yet. In our present state, we are still “broken.” Part of our “brokenness” is the sin that still indwells our flesh. This problem will not be dealt with until the Resurrection when our physical bodies are freed from its corruption. There are ways to deal with it in our present lives, but first we must admit our own defeat before its power. We, like Paul, must first cry out, “Wretched people that we are!!! Who can free us from this body of death?”
Do you understand the difference between the “sin that dwells in you” and your “flesh”?
If not, read over this section again.
*You can find a complete list of all the MilktoMeat readings here.
