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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Blow the Trumpet in Zion, #7
Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Romans 8:12-14)
Unclean spirits use human weaknesses as beachheads, as vantage points from which they can fulfill their evil inclinations.
The preceding passage describes the correct response to the trumpet call of the Lord. We are to be led by the Spirit of the Lord in combat against the works of the devil in the earth, particularly against the "deeds of the body"—the lusting, coveting, backbiting, hatred, and other satanic actions that we Christians practice.
When we are led by the Holy Spirit we can overcome the law of sin that binds our mortal body. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves" (I John 1:8). Sin dwells in our flesh (Romans 7:20). We practice sinful acts to which we do not consent and of which we do not approve (Romans 7:19). Such is the condition of the worshiper under the Law of Moses, and of the beginning Christian.
However, according to Scripture the Holy Spirit is ready to go to war against the evil in our life and to remove it from us.
A double wielding. We must cooperate with the Spirit of God in the battle for the control of our sinful flesh and our self-will. It is "The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon." It is the Lord's sword and also Gideon's that drive the enemy from our land.
The Word of God is the sword of the Spirit, it is true, but it is wielded in the hands of the Christian.
This double control and responsibility (the Spirit and the Christian) is an important principle of living and fighting in the Spirit. It is a principle that sometimes is rejected by Christians in favor of, "The Lord will do it (or has done it) by Himself"; or, "The Lord depends on us to do it."
Listen to the Spirit of God speaking through Gideon:
When I blow with a trumpet, I and all that are with me, then blow ye the trumpets also on every side of all the camp, and say, The sword of the Lord, and of Gideon. (Judges 7:18)
The Lord would not do it alone and Gideon could not do it alone. The Lord will not overcome sin in our life by Himself alone and we cannot overcome sin in our life by ourselves alone.
Although in the final analysis it can be shown that in reality God is the One who begins and carries out the plan of redemption in an individual, yet in the day-to-day working out of righteous and holy behavior a great deal depends on the will and efforts of the Christian believer.
We overcome our sins "through the Spirit." We must learn to live, walk, and fight in the Spirit. It is we who do it, but we do it through the Spirit.
To be continued.