The Combat of the Flesh and Spirit

Galatians 5:17. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary one to another, so that you cannot do the things which you would.

The Apostle Paul from the beginning of this chapter to the 13th verse exhorts the Galatians to maintain their Christian liberty, and from there to the end of the chapter he persuades them to other special duties of godliness. In the 13th verse he stirs them up to be serviceable one to another by love. In the 15th verse he dissuades them from contentions and doing of injuries. In the 16th verse he shows the remedy of the former sins, which is to walk according to the spirit. In this 17th verse he renders a reason of the remedy, the force of which is this: the flesh and the spirit are contrary; therefore if you walk according to the spirit, it will hinder the flesh, that it shall not carry you forward to do injuries and live in contentions, as otherwise it would.

In this verse we have to observe 5 points. The first is that there is a combat between the flesh and the spirit in these words: the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. The second is the manner of this combat, which stands in the contrary lusting of the flesh and the spirit. The third is the cause of the combat in these words: and these are contrary. The fourth is the subject or person in whom this combat is, noted in these words: so that you, the Galatians. The last is the effect of the combat, in the last words, that they cannot do, etc.

Touching the combat itself, diverse points are to be considered. The first is what these two which make combat — namely, the flesh and the spirit — are. They have diverse significations. First of all, the spirit is taken for the soul, and the flesh for the body. But so they are not taken in this place, for there is no such combat between the body and the soul, both which agree together to make the person of one man. Secondly, the spirit signifies natural reason and the flesh the natural appetite or concupiscence. But they cannot be so understood in this place, for the spirit here mentioned does fight even against natural reason, which though it serves to make a man without excuse, yet is it an enemy to the spirit. Thirdly, the spirit signifies the Godhead of Christ and the flesh the manhood, but it must not be so taken here, for then every man regenerate should be deified. Lastly, the spirit signifies a created quality of holiness which by the Holy Spirit is wrought in the mind, will, and affections of man; and the flesh, the natural corruption or inclination of the mind, will, and affections to that which is against the law. In this last sense these two are taken in this place.

Secondly, it is to be considered how these two — the flesh and the spirit — can fight together, being but mere qualities. And we must know that they are not severed asunder as though the flesh were placed in one part of the soul and the spirit in another, but they are joined and mingled together in all the faculties of the soul. The mind or understanding part is not one part flesh and another part spirit, but the whole mind is flesh and the whole mind is spirit, partly one and partly the other. The whole will is partly flesh and partly spirit; the flesh and the spirit — that is, grace and corruption — not severed in place but distinguished. As the air in the dawning of the day is not wholly light or wholly dark as at midnight and at noonday, neither is it in one part light and in another part dark, but the whole air is partly light and partly dark throughout. In a vessel of lukewarm water, the water itself is not only hot or only cold, or in one part hot and in another part cold, but heat and cold are mixed together in every part of the water. So is the flesh and the spirit mingled together in the soul of man, and this is the cause why these two contrary qualities fight together.

Thirdly, in this combat we are to consider what equality there is between these two combatants, the flesh and the spirit. And we must know that the flesh usually is more in measure than the spirit. The flesh is like the mighty giant Goliath, and the spirit is little and small like young David. Hence it is that Paul calls the Corinthians — who were men justified and sanctified — carnal. I could not, says he, brothers, speak to you as to spiritual, but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. And none can come to be full-grown men in Christ according to the age of the fullness of Christ till after this life. And the speech which is used by some divines — that the man regenerate has but the relics of sin in him — must be understood cautiously, else it may admit an untruth. As for the measure of grace, it can be but small in respect, since we receive but the first fruits of the Spirit in this life and must wait for the accomplishment of our redemption till the life to come. For all this, the power and efficacy of the spirit is such that it is able to prevail ordinarily against the flesh. For the flesh receives his deadly wound at the first instant of a man's conversion and continually dies after by little and little; and therefore it fights but as a maimed soldier. And the spirit is continually confirmed and increased by the Holy Spirit; also it is lively and stirring, and the virtue of it is like musk — one grain of which will give a stronger smell than many ounces of other perfumes. Some may say that the godly man does more feel the flesh than the spirit, and therefore that the flesh is every way more than the spirit. I answer that we must not measure our estate by feeling, which may easily deceive us. A man shall feel a pain which is but in the tip of his finger more sensibly than the health of his whole body, yet the health of the body is more than the pain of a finger. Secondly, we feel corruption not by corruption but by grace, and therefore men, the more they feel their inward corruptions, the more grace they have (1 Corinthians 3:1; Ephesians 4; Romans 8:23).

This much of the combat itself; now let us come to the manner of this fight.

It is fought by lusting. To lust in this place signifies to bring forth and to stir up motions and inclinations in the heart, either to good or evil.

Lusting is twofold: the lusting of the flesh and the lusting of the spirit.

The lusting of the flesh has two actions. The first is to engender evil motions and passions of self-love, envy, pride, unbelief, anger, etc. Saint James says that men are enticed and drawn away by their own concupiscence. Now this enticing is only by the suggestion of bad cogitations and desires. This action of the flesh made Paul say that he was carnal, sold under sin (James 1:14; Romans 7:14).

The second action of the flesh is to hinder and quench and overwhelm all the good motions of the spirit. Paul found this in himself when he said: I see another law in my members rebelling against the law of the mind and leading me captive to the law of sin. By reason of this action of the flesh, the man regenerate is like one in a slumber troubled with the disease called the nightmare, who thinks that he feels something lying on his breast as heavy as a mountain and would fain have it away, whereupon he strives and labors by hands and voice to remove it, but for his life cannot do it (Romans 7:23).

On the contrary, the lusting of the spirit contains two other actions. The first is to beget good motions, inclinations, and desires in the mind, will, and affections. Of this David speaks: my reins teach me in the night season. That is, my mind, affection, and will, and my whole soul being sanctified and guided by the Spirit of God, do minister to me considerations of the way in which I ought to walk. Isaiah, prophesying of the Church of the New Testament, says: when a man goes to the right hand or to the left, he shall hear a voice saying, here is the way, walk in it. Which voice is not only the outward preaching of the ministers but also the inward voice of the spirit (Psalm 16:8; Isaiah 30:22).

The second action of the spirit is to hinder and suppress the bad motions and suggestions of the flesh. Saint John says: he that is born of God sins not, because his seed remains in him — that is, grace wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit, which resists the rebellious desires of the flesh (1 John 3:9).

That the manner of this fight may more clearly appear, we must examine it more particularly. In the soul of man there are two special parts: the mind and the will.

In the mind there is a double combat. The first is between knowledge of the word of God and natural ignorance or blindness. For seeing we do in this life know but in part, therefore knowledge of the truth must needs be joined with ignorance in all that are enlightened, and one of these being contrary to another, they strive to overshadow and overcast each other.

Hence we may learn the cause why excellent divines do vary in diverse points of religion: and it is because in this combat, natural blindness yet remaining, prevails more or less. Men that are dim-sighted and cannot discern without spectacles, if they should be set to descry a thing far off, the most of them would be of diverse opinions of it. And men enlightened and regenerate in this life do but see as in a glass darkly. Again, this must teach all students of divinity often to suspect themselves in their opinions and defenses, seeing in them that are of soundest judgment the light of their understanding is mixed with darkness of ignorance. And they can in many points see but as the man in the Gospel, who when our Savior Christ had in part opened his eyes, saw men walking not as men but in the form of trees. Also this must teach all that read the scriptures to call upon the name of God that he would enlighten them by his Spirit and abolish the mist of natural blindness. The prophet David was worthily enlightened with the knowledge of God's word, so that he excelled the ancient and his own teachers in wisdom; yet being aware in himself of his own blindness, he often prays in the Psalms: enlighten my eyes, that I may understand the wonders of your law (1 Corinthians 13).

By reason of this fight, when natural blindness prevails, the child of God truly enlightened with knowledge to life everlasting may err not only in lighter points but even in the very foundation of religion, as the Corinthians and the Galatians did. And as one man may err, so a hundred men may also; indeed a whole particular Church. And as one Church may err, so a hundred more may. For in respect of this combat, the estate and condition of all men is alike. From which it appears that the Church militant upon earth is subject to error. But yet as the diseases of the body are of two sorts — some curable and some incurable which are to death — so likewise errors are. And the Church, though it be subject to sundry falls, yet it cannot err in foundation to death; the errors of God's children are curable. Some may here say: if all men and Churches are subject to error, then it shall not be good to join with any of them but to separate from them all. I answer: though they may and do err, yet we must not separate from them so long as they do not separate from Christ.

The second combat in the mind is between faith and unbelief. For faith is imperfect and mixed with the contrary unbelief, presuming, doubting, etc. As the man in the Gospel says: Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.

By reason of this fight, when unbelief prevails, the very child of God may fall into fits and pangs of despair, as Job and David in their temptations did. For David once, considering the prosperity of the wicked, broke out into this speech: certainly I have cleansed my heart in vain and washed my hands in innocence. Indeed, this despair may be so extreme that it shall weaken the body and consume it more than any sickness. No man is to think this strange in the child of God. For though he despair of his election and salvation in Christ, yet his desperation is neither total nor final. It is not total, because he does not despair with his whole heart, faith even at that instant lusting against despair. It is not final, because he shall recover before the last end of his life (Psalm 73:13).

To proceed, the combat in the will is this. The will partly wills and partly rejects that which is good at the same instant, and so likewise it wills and rejects that which is evil, because it is partly regenerate and partly unregenerate. The affections likewise, which are placed in the will, partly embrace and partly eschew their objects. As love partly loves and partly does not love God and things to be loved. Fear is mixed and not pure (as the schoolmen have dreamed) but partly filial, partly servile, causing the child of God to stand in awe of God not only for his mercies but also for his judgments and punishments. The will of a man regenerate is like him that has one leg sound and the other lame, who in every step which he makes does not wholly halt or wholly go upright, but partly go upright and partly halt. Or like a man in a boat on the water, who goes upward because he is carried upward by the vessel, and at the same time goes downward because he walks downward in the same vessel at the same instant. If any shall say that contraries cannot be in the same subject, the answer is that they cannot if one of them be in its full strength in the highest degree, but if the force of them both be reduced and weakened, they may be joined together.

By reason of this combat, when corruption prevails against grace in the will and affections, there arises in the godly a certain deadness or hardness of heart, which is nothing else but a want of sense or feeling. Some may say that this is a fearful judgment; but the answer is that there are 2 kinds of hardness of heart. One which possesses the heart and is never felt — this is in them who have their consciences seared with a hot iron, who by reason of custom in sin are past all feeling, who likewise despise the means of softening their hearts. And indeed this is a fearful judgment. There is another hardness of heart which is felt, and this is not so dangerous as the former; for as we feel our sickness by contrary life and health, so hardness of heart when it is felt argues quickness of grace and softness of heart. Of this David often complained in the Psalms; of this the children of Israel speak when they say: why have you hardened our hearts from your ways (Ephesians 4:19; Zechariah 7:11; Isaiah 65:17)?

This much of the manner of the combat in particular; before we proceed any further, let us mark the issue of it, which is this.

The spirit prevails against the flesh at two times: in the course of a man's life, and at his end; but yet with some foils received.

I say the spirit prevails not in one instant but in the whole course of a man's life. So Saint John says: he which is begotten of God sins not, for he preserves himself, the grace of God in his heart ordinarily prevailing in him. And Paul makes it the property of the regenerate man to walk according to the spirit, which is not now and then to make a step forward but to keep his ordinary course in the way of godliness. As in going from Berwick to London, it may be a man now and then will go amiss, but he speedily returns to the way again and his course generally shall be right (1 John 5:19; Romans 8:1).

Again, the spirit prevails in the end of a man's life, for then the flesh is utterly abolished and sanctification accomplished, because no unclean thing can enter into the kingdom of heaven.

This further must be conceived: that when the spirit prevails, it is not without resistance and striving. As Paul testifies: I do not the good which I would, but the evil which I would not, that do I. Which place is not to be understood only of thoughts and inward motions (as some would have it) nor of particular offenses, but of the general practice of his duty or calling through the whole course of his life. And it is like the practice of a sick man who, having recovered of some grievous disease, walks a turn or two about his chamber, saying: ah, I would fain walk up and down but I cannot — meaning not that he cannot walk at all, but signifying that he cannot walk as he would, being soon wearied through faintness.

I add further that this prevailing is with foils. A foil is when the flesh for the time vanquishes and subdues the spirit. In this case, the man regenerate is like a soldier that with a blow has his skull cracked, so that he lies groveling astonished, not able to fight; or like him that has a fit of the falling sickness, who for a time lies like a dead man. Hence the question may be moved whether the flesh prevailing does not extinguish the spirit and so cut off a man from Christ till such time as he be grafted in again. The answer is this. There are two sorts of Christians: one who does only in show and name profess Christ, and such a one is no otherwise a member of Christ's mystical body than a wooden leg set to the body is a member of the body. The second is he that in name and deed is a lively part and member of Christ. If the first fall, he cannot be said to be cut off, because he was never grafted in. If the second fall, he may be and is cut off from Christ. But mark how: he is not wholly cut off but in some part, namely in respect of the inward fellowship and communion with Christ, but not in respect of union with him. A man's arm taken with the dead palsy hangs by and receives no heat, life, or sense from the rest of the members or from the head, yet for all this it remains still united and coupled to the body and may again be recovered by plasters and medicine. So after a grievous fall the child of God feels no inward peace and comfort but is smitten in conscience with the trembling of a spiritual palsy for his offense; and yet indeed remains before God a member of Christ which shall be restored to his former estate after serious repentance.

And God permits these foils for weighty causes. First, that men might be abashed and confounded in themselves with the consideration of their vile natures and learn not to swell with pride because of God's grace. Paul says that after he had been caught up into the third heaven, the angel Satan was sent to buffet him — and as we said, to beat him black and blue — that he might not be exalted out of measure. The second, that we may learn to deny ourselves and cleave to the Lord from the bottom of our hearts. Paul says that he was sick to death, that he might not trust in himself but in God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9).

This much of the manner of the combat; now follows the cause of it.

The cause is the contrariety that is between the flesh and the spirit. As Paul says: the wisdom of the flesh is enmity to God (Romans 8:5).

Hence we are taught that since the fall, there is no free will in man in spiritual matters concerning either the worship of God or life everlasting. For flesh is nothing else but our natural disposition, and man is nothing else but flesh by nature; for the spirit comes afterward by grace. And yet flesh is flat contrary to the spirit which makes us do that which is pleasing to God. Therefore the will naturally is a flat bondservant to sin.

Again, hence we may learn that it is not an easy matter to practice religion, which is to live according to the spirit, to which our natural disposition is as contrary as fire to water. Therefore if we will obey God, we must learn to force our natures to the duties of godliness; indeed, even sweat and take pains therein.

Lastly, here we may learn the nature of sin. The spirit is not a substance but a quality; and therefore the flesh, which is nothing else but original sin and is contrary to the spirit, must also be a quality, for such as the nature of one contrary is, such is the other. There is in every man the substance of body and soul; this cannot be sin, for then the spirit also should be the substance of man. There is also in the substance the faculties of body and soul, and they cannot be sin, for then every man should have lost the faculties of his soul by Adam's fall. Lastly, in the faculties there is a contagion or corruption which carries them against the law; and that is properly sin and the flesh, which is contrary to the spirit.

The fourth point is touching the persons in whom this combat is. Paul shows who they are when he says: so that you cannot, etc. Where it appears that such as have this combat in them must be as the Galatians, men justified and sanctified. And yet not all such, but only they that are of years; for the infants of the faithful, however we must account them to belong to the kingdom of heaven and therefore to be justified and sanctified, yet because they do not commit actual sin, they lack this combat of the flesh and spirit, which stands in action. As for those which are unregenerate, they never felt this fight. If any say that the worst man in the world, when he is about to commit any sin, has a strife and fight in him — it is true indeed, but that is another kind of combat, which is between the conscience and the heart. The conscience on the one part terrifying the man from sin; the will and the affections hauling and pulling him to it; the will and the affections wishing and desiring that sin were no sin and God's commandment abolished; whereas contrariwise the conscience with a shrill voice proclaims sin to be sin. This fight was in Pilate, who by the force of his conscience feared to condemn Christ, and yet was willing and yielded to condemn him that he might please the people.

Furthermore, this combat is in the regenerate but during the time of this life, for they which are perfectly sanctified feel no strife. If any shall say that this combat was in Christ when he said: Father, if it be your will, let this cup pass from me, yet not my will but yours be done — indeed here is a combat, but of another sort, namely the fight of two diverse desires. The one was a desire to do his Father's will in suffering the death of the cross. The other a natural desire (which was no sin but a mere infirmity of human nature) by which he in his manhood desired (as the manner of nature is to seek the preservation of itself) to have the accursed death of the cross removed from him.

The fifth point is the effect of this combat, which is to make the man regenerate unable to do the things which he would, and this must be understood in things both good and ill.

And first he cannot do the evil which he would for two causes. First, because he cannot commit sin at whatever time he would. Saint John says: he that is born of God sins not, neither can he sin, because he is born of God — that is, he cannot sin at his pleasure or when he will. Joseph when he was assaulted by Potiphar's wife to adultery, because the grace of God abounded in him by which he answered her saying, shall I do this and sin against God, he could not then sin. Lot, because his righteous heart was grieved in seeing and hearing the abominations of Sodom, could not then sin as they of Sodom did. Hence it appears that such persons as live in the daily practice of sin against their own consciences (though they be professors of the true religion of Christ) have no soundness of grace in them (1 John 3:9).

Secondly, the man regenerate cannot sin in what manner he would. And there are two reasons for this. First, he cannot sin with full consent of will or with all his heart, because the will, so far as it is regenerate, resists and draws back. Indeed, even then when a man is carried headlong by the passions of the flesh, he feels some contrary motions of a regenerate conscience. It is a true rule that sin does not reign in the regenerate. For so much grace as is wrought in the mind, will, affections, so much is abated proportionally of the strength of the flesh. Therefore when he commits any sin, he does it partly willingly and partly against his will. As the mariners in the tempest cast Jonah into the sea willingly — for otherwise they had not done it — and yet against their wills too, which appears because they prayed and cast their goods out of the ship and labored in rowing against the tempest, and that very long before they cast him out. And in this lies the difference between two men committing one and the same sin, the one of them being regenerate and the other unregenerate. For the latter sins with all his heart and with full consent, and so does not the first. Secondly, though he fall into any sin, yet he does not lie long in it but speedily recovers himself by reason of grace in his heart.

Hence it is manifest that sins of infirmity are committed only by such as are regenerate. As for the man unregenerate, he cannot sin of infirmity, whatever some falsely think. For he is not weak but stark dead in sin. And sins of infirmity are such only as rise of constraint, fear, hastiness, and such like sudden passions in the regenerate. And though they sin of weakness often by reason of this spiritual combat, yet they do not always; for they may sin against knowledge and conscience of presumption.

To come to the second point: the regenerate man cannot do the good which he would, because he cannot do it perfectly and soundly according to God's will as he would. Paul says: to will is present with me, but I find no means to perfectly do that which I would. In this point the godly man is like a prisoner that has gotten forth of the jail, and that he might escape the hand of the keeper, desires and strives with all his heart to run a hundred miles in a day; but because he has tight and weighty bolts on his legs, cannot for his life creep past a mile or two, and that with chafing his flesh and tormenting himself. So the servants of God do heartily desire and endeavor to obey God in all his commandments, as it is said of King Josiah, that he turned to God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his might, according to all the laws of Moses, etc. Yet because they are clogged with the bolts of the flesh, they perform obedience both slowly and weakly, with diverse slips and falls (Romans 7:18; 2 Kings 23:25).

This much of the combat; now let us see what use may be made of it.

First of all, by it we learn what is the estate of a Christian man in this life. A Christian is not one that is free from all evil cogitations, from rebellious inclinations and motions of will and affections, from all manner of slips in his life and conversation; for such a one is a mere device of man's brain and not to be found upon earth. But indeed he is the sound Christian that feeling himself laden with the corruptions of his vile and rebellious nature, bewails them from his heart and with might and main fights against them by the grace of God's Spirit. Again, here is overthrown the Popish opinion of merit and justification by works of grace, on this manner. Such as the cause of works is, such are works themselves. The cause of works in man is the mind, will, and affections sanctified, in which the flesh and the spirit are mixed together, as has been showed before. Therefore works of grace — even the best of them — are mixed works, partly holy and partly sinful. By which it is evident to a man that has but common sense that they are not answerable to the righteousness of the law, and that therefore they can neither merit life nor any way justify a man before God. If any reply that good works are the works of God's Spirit and for that cause perfectly righteous, I answer it is true indeed they come from the Holy Spirit that cannot sin, but not only or immediately. For they come also from the corrupt mind and will of man, and in that respect become sinful, as sweet water issuing out of a pure fountain is by a filthy channel made corrupt.

Thirdly, we do hence learn that concupiscence or original sin is properly and indeed sin after baptism, though it please the Council of Trent to decree otherwise. For after baptism it is flat contrary to the spirit and rebels against it. Papists object that it is taken away by baptism. Answer: original sin or the flesh is taken away in the regenerate thus. In it there are 3 things: the guilt, the punishment, the corruption. The first 2 are quite abolished by the merit of Christ's death in baptism. The third — that is, the corruption — remains still; but mark in what manner: it remains weakened; it remains not imputed to the person of the believer.

Lastly, by this we are taught to be watchful in prayer. Watch and pray, says Christ, etc., for the spirit is ready but the flesh is weak. Rebecca, when 2 twins strove in her womb, was troubled and said, why am I so? Therefore she went to ask the Lord, namely by some prophet. So when we feel this inward fight, the best thing is to have recourse to God by prayer and to his word, that the spirit may be strengthened against the flesh. As the children of Israel by compassing the city of Jericho 7 days and by sounding rams' horns overturned the walls thereof, so by serious invocation of God's name the spirit is confirmed and the turrets and towers of the rebellious flesh battered.

The voice of a man: - 1. Carnal: of evil — I do that which is evil and I will do it. Of good — I do not that which is good and I will not do it. - 2. Regenerate: of evil — I do the evil which I would not. Of good — I do not do the good which I would. - 3. Glorified: of evil — I do not that which is evil, and I will not do it. Of good — I do that which is good and I will do it.

Galatians 5:17. For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you cannot do the things which you would.

The Apostle Paul, from the beginning of this chapter through verse 12, urges the Galatians to maintain their Christian freedom. From there to the end of the chapter he calls them to other specific duties of godliness. In verse 13 he stirs them up to serve one another in love. In verse 15 he warns them against quarreling and doing harm to one another. In verse 16 he shows the remedy for these sins — walk according to the spirit. In verse 17 he gives the reason for that remedy, and the argument is this: the flesh and the spirit are opposed to one another; therefore, if you walk according to the spirit, it will restrain the flesh from driving you toward injury and quarreling, which it would otherwise do.

In this verse there are five points to observe. The first is that there is a combat between the flesh and the spirit, as expressed in the words: 'the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.' The second is the nature of this combat, which consists in the opposing desires of the flesh and the spirit. The third is the cause of the combat — expressed in the words: 'and these are contrary.' The fourth is who experiences this combat — indicated by the words: 'so that you,' meaning the Galatians. The fifth is the effect of the combat — in the final words, that they cannot do what they would.

Regarding the combat itself, several points need to be considered. The first is the identity of the two combatants — namely, the flesh and the spirit. Both terms have several different meanings. First, 'spirit' can mean the soul and 'flesh' can mean the body. But they are not used this way here, because there is no such combat between body and soul — both work together to make one person. Second, 'spirit' can mean natural reason and 'flesh' can mean natural appetite or desire. But they cannot be understood this way here, because the spirit described in this passage fights even against natural reason — which, though it leaves people without excuse, is still an enemy to the spirit. Third, 'spirit' can refer to Christ's divine nature and 'flesh' to His human nature. But it cannot mean that here — for then every regenerate person would be deified. Finally, 'spirit' refers to a created quality of holiness that the Holy Spirit works into the mind, will, and affections of a person; and 'flesh' refers to the natural corruption or inclination of the mind, will, and affections toward what is against the law. It is this last sense in which these two terms are used in this passage.

Second, we need to understand how these two — the flesh and the spirit — can fight together, since both are mere qualities. We must understand that they are not separated into different compartments — as though the flesh were located in one part of the soul and the spirit in another. Rather, they are joined and mingled throughout every faculty of the soul. The mind or understanding is not part flesh and part spirit — the entire mind is both flesh and spirit at once, partly one and partly the other. The entire will is partly flesh and partly spirit — with grace and corruption not separated in location but distinguished in kind. Think of the air at dawn: it is neither entirely light as at noon nor entirely dark as at midnight, yet it is not light in one part and dark in another — the whole air is partly light and partly dark throughout. Or consider a container of lukewarm water: the water is neither entirely hot nor entirely cold, nor is one part hot and another cold — heat and cold are mixed together throughout every part. In the same way, flesh and spirit are mingled together throughout the soul of man, and this is why these two opposing qualities fight with each other.

Third, in this combat we need to consider the relative strength of the two opponents — the flesh and the spirit. We must understand that the flesh is generally greater in measure than the spirit. The flesh is like the mighty giant Goliath, and the spirit is small and weak like young David. This is why Paul calls the Corinthians — who were justified and sanctified men — carnal: 'I could not speak to you, brothers, as to spiritual people but as to fleshly people, as to infants in Christ.' And no one can become a mature adult in Christ according to the full measure of Christ until after this life. The saying used by some theologians — that the regenerate person has only the remnants of sin in him — must be understood with care, or it may lead to error. As for the measure of grace, it can only be small in proportion, since in this life we receive only the first fruits of the Spirit and must wait for the completion of our redemption in the life to come. Even so, the power of the spirit is great enough to ordinarily prevail against the flesh. For the flesh received its mortal wound at the first moment of a person's conversion and continues to die little by little from that point on — so it fights like a wounded soldier. And the spirit is continually strengthened and increased by the Holy Spirit. It is also active and vigorous — its power is like musk, where a single grain gives a stronger scent than many ounces of other perfumes. Some may say that the godly person feels the flesh more strongly than the spirit, and therefore that the flesh is in every way stronger. My answer is that we must not measure our condition by feeling, which can easily mislead us. A person may feel a pain in the tip of a finger more acutely than the health of his whole body, yet the health of the body is greater than the pain of a finger. Furthermore, we feel our corruption not by the corruption itself but by grace — so the more a person feels his inner corruptions, the more grace he actually has (1 Corinthians 3:1; Ephesians 4; Romans 8:23).

That covers the combat itself. Now let us turn to the nature of this fight.

The fight is carried on through lusting. To lust in this passage means to bring forth and stir up impulses and inclinations in the heart, either toward good or evil.

Lusting is of two kinds: the lusting of the flesh and the lusting of the spirit.

The lusting of the flesh has two actions. The first is to generate evil impulses and desires — such as self-love, envy, pride, unbelief, anger, and so on. James says that people are enticed and drawn away by their own desires. This enticement consists entirely in the suggestion of sinful thoughts and cravings. It was this action of the flesh that made Paul say he was carnal, sold under sin (James 1:14; Romans 7:14).

The second action of the flesh is to hinder, quench, and overwhelm all the good impulses of the spirit. Paul experienced this when he said: 'I see a different law in my members, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin.' Because of this action of the flesh, the regenerate person is like someone in a disturbed sleep suffering from sleep paralysis — who feels as though something as heavy as a mountain is pressing on his chest and desperately wants it removed, so that he strains and struggles to push it away, but is completely unable to (Romans 7:23).

On the other side, the lusting of the spirit contains two opposing actions. The first is to produce good impulses, inclinations, and desires in the mind, will, and affections. David speaks of this: 'My conscience instructs me in the night.' That is, his mind, affections, will, and entire soul — being sanctified and guided by the Spirit of God — bring before him considerations about the path he should walk. Isaiah, prophesying of the church of the New Testament, says: 'Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way, walk in it.' This voice is not only the outward preaching of ministers but also the inward voice of the spirit (Psalm 16:8; Isaiah 30:22).

The second action of the spirit is to hinder and suppress the evil impulses and suggestions of the flesh. John says: 'Whoever is born of God does not practice sin, because His seed abides in him' — that is, the grace worked in the heart by the Holy Spirit resists the rebellious desires of the flesh (1 John 3:9).

To make the nature of this fight clearer, we need to examine it more specifically. The soul of man has two primary faculties: the mind and the will.

In the mind there is a double combat. The first is between knowledge of God's word and natural ignorance or blindness. Since we know only in part in this life, the knowledge of truth is always accompanied by ignorance in all who are enlightened. These two are contrary to one another and continually strive to overshadow and overwhelm each other.

This explains why even excellent theologians disagree on various points of religion — it is because natural blindness, still remaining, prevails more or less in each of them. If people with poor eyesight who cannot see without glasses were asked to identify something in the distance, most of them would give different descriptions of it. Enlightened and regenerate people in this life see only as in a mirror dimly. This should teach all students of theology to regularly question their own opinions and arguments, since even in those with the soundest judgment, the light of understanding is mixed with the darkness of ignorance. In many points they can see only as the man in the Gospel who, after Christ had partially opened his eyes, saw people walking but not as people — rather in the shape of trees. This should also teach all who read Scripture to call upon God to enlighten them by His Spirit and remove the haze of natural blindness. David was richly enlightened with the knowledge of God's word — surpassing even the ancient wise men and his own teachers — yet being aware of his own blindness, he often prays in the Psalms: 'Open my eyes, that I may behold wondrous things from Your law' (1 Corinthians 13).

Because of this combat, when natural blindness prevails, a child of God who is truly enlightened for eternal life may err — not only in minor points but even in foundational matters of religion, as the Corinthians and the Galatians did. And as one person may err, so may a hundred. Indeed, an entire particular church may err. And as one church may err, so may a hundred more. In this respect, the condition of all people is the same. From this it is clear that the church militant on earth is subject to error. But just as physical diseases are of two kinds — some curable and some incurable, leading to death — so also are errors. The church, though subject to various falls, cannot err in foundational matters unto death. The errors of God's children are curable. Some may say: if all people and churches are subject to error, then it must not be right to join any of them — we should separate from all of them. My answer is: though they may and do err, we must not separate from them as long as they do not separate from Christ.

The second combat in the mind is between faith and unbelief. For faith is imperfect and mixed with its contrary — unbelief, presumption, doubt, and so on. As the man in the Gospel says: 'Lord, I believe; help my unbelief.'

Because of this combat, when unbelief prevails, even a true child of God may fall into fits and bouts of despair, as Job and David did in their times of trial. David once, reflecting on the prosperity of the wicked, broke out in these words: 'Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and washed my hands in innocence.' This despair can become so extreme that it weakens and consumes the body more than any physical illness. No one should find this strange when it happens to a child of God. For though he may despair of his election and salvation in Christ, his despair is neither total nor final. It is not total, because he does not despair with his whole heart — faith is even at that moment striving against despair. It is not final, because he will recover before the end of his life (Psalm 73:13).

Moving on, the combat in the will works like this. The will partly chooses and partly rejects what is good at the very same moment, and likewise partly wills and partly rejects what is evil — because it is partly regenerate and partly unregenerate. The affections, which reside in the will, also partly embrace and partly avoid their objects. Love, for instance, partly loves and partly does not love God and the things that ought to be loved. Fear is mixed — not purely one kind, as some have imagined — but partly the reverent fear of a child and partly the fearful dread of a slave, causing the child of God to stand in awe of God not only for His mercies but also for His judgments and punishments. The will of a regenerate person is like a man who has one sound leg and one lame — every step he takes is neither a full limp nor a fully upright stride, but somewhere between the two. Or he is like a man in a boat on the river who moves upstream because the vessel carries him up, while at the same time walking toward the stern at the exact same moment. If someone objects that opposites cannot exist together in the same subject, the answer is that they cannot if either one is at full strength in the highest degree — but if both are weakened and reduced, they can coexist.

When corruption gains the upper hand over grace in the will and affections, a certain deadness or hardness of heart arises in the godly — which is simply a lack of feeling or spiritual sensitivity. Some may say this is a fearful judgment, but the answer is that there are two kinds of hardness of heart. The first kind takes complete possession of the heart and is never felt — this is the condition of those whose consciences have been seared, who through long habit in sin are past all feeling, and who despise the means God uses to soften hearts. That kind is indeed a fearful judgment. There is another kind of hardness that is felt — and this is not as dangerous as the first. Just as we recognize our sickness by contrast with life and health, a hardness of heart that is felt is evidence of the presence of grace and a soft heart. David often complained of this in the Psalms, and the Israelites speak of it when they say: 'Why have You hardened our heart from Your ways?' (Ephesians 4:19; Zechariah 7:11; Isaiah 65:17).

That covers the specific nature of the combat. Before we go further, let us note what its outcome is.

The spirit prevails over the flesh at two times: throughout the course of a person's life, and at its end — though not without receiving some blows along the way.

The spirit prevails not in a single moment but over the whole course of a person's life. John says: 'He who is born of God does not sin, for he keeps himself, and the grace of God in his heart ordinarily prevails in him.' And Paul identifies the characteristic of the regenerate person as walking according to the spirit — which means not just taking an occasional step forward but maintaining a steady course in the way of godliness. It is like traveling from one end of the country to the other: a person may go off course now and then, but he quickly returns to the road and his overall direction is right (1 John 5:19; Romans 8:1).

The spirit also prevails at the end of a person's life, for at that point the flesh is completely abolished and sanctification is fully accomplished — because nothing unclean can enter the kingdom of heaven.

We must also understand that when the spirit prevails, it is not without resistance and struggle. As Paul testifies: 'For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want.' This passage should not be understood only as referring to inward thoughts and impulses, as some would have it, nor only to particular failings — but to the general pattern of his duty and calling throughout the course of his whole life. It is like a person recovering from a serious illness who walks a few turns around the room and says: 'I wish I could walk more, but I cannot' — meaning not that he cannot walk at all, but that he cannot walk as much or as freely as he would like, since he tires quickly from his weakness.

I add further that this prevailing comes with blows received. A blow is when the flesh for a time conquers and subdues the spirit. In such a case, the regenerate person is like a soldier who has taken a blow that cracks his skull and lies dazed on the ground, unable to fight — or like someone having a seizure who lies temporarily motionless like a dead person. This raises the question of whether the flesh, when it prevails, does not extinguish the spirit entirely and cut a person off from Christ — so that he must be grafted in again. The answer is this. There are two kinds of Christians: the first professes Christ in name and outward appearance only — such a person is connected to Christ's mystical body no more genuinely than a wooden leg attached to a body is a true member of that body. The second is one who is in name and reality a living part and member of Christ. If the first kind falls, he cannot be said to be cut off, because he was never truly grafted in. If the second falls, he may be and is cut off from Christ — but note the way in which this happens. He is not completely cut off, but only in part — specifically with respect to the inner fellowship and communion with Christ, but not with respect to his union with Him. A person's arm that has gone completely numb hangs there receiving no warmth, life, or feeling from the rest of the body or the head. Yet it remains attached to the body and can be restored through treatment. In the same way, after a serious fall, the child of God feels no inward peace or comfort and is struck in his conscience with the trembling of a spiritual paralysis for his sin — yet he remains before God a member of Christ, and will be restored to his former state through genuine repentance.

God permits these blows for weighty reasons. First, so that people may be humbled and broken before themselves by the awareness of their corrupt natures, and learn not to become proud on account of God's grace. Paul says that after he had been caught up into the third heaven, a messenger of Satan was sent to buffet him — to beat him severely — so that he would not become conceited. Second, so that we may learn to deny ourselves and hold to the Lord from the bottom of our hearts. Paul says that he was brought to the point of death so that he might not trust in himself but in God, who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1:9).

That covers the nature of the combat. Now we come to its cause.

The cause is the opposition that exists between the flesh and the spirit. As Paul says: 'The mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God' (Romans 8:5).

From this we learn that since the fall, there is no free will in man in spiritual matters — whether concerning the worship of God or eternal life. For flesh is simply our natural disposition, and by nature man is nothing but flesh. The spirit comes only afterward, by grace. And yet the flesh is directly opposed to the spirit, which is what enables us to do what is pleasing to God. Therefore the will by nature is wholly enslaved to sin.

From this we also learn that practicing true religion — living according to the spirit — is no easy thing, since our natural disposition is as opposed to it as fire is to water. Therefore, if we will obey God, we must learn to force our natures to the duties of godliness, and put real effort and sweat into it.

Finally, we can also learn here the nature of sin. The spirit is not a substance but a quality. Therefore the flesh — which is nothing other than original sin and is contrary to the spirit — must also be a quality, since the nature of one contrary matches the nature of the other. In every person there is the substance of body and soul, and that substance cannot be sin — for if it were, then the spirit would also be a substance of man. There are also the faculties of body and soul, and they cannot be sin either — for then every person would have lost his faculties through Adam's fall. Finally, there is in the faculties a corruption or defilement that drives them against the law. That is properly what sin is — it is the flesh, which is contrary to the spirit.

The fourth point concerns who experiences this combat. Paul identifies them when he says: 'so that you cannot,' etc. From this it is clear that those who have this combat in them must be like the Galatians — people who are justified and sanctified. Yet not all such people, but only those who have reached the age of reason. The infants of believers, though we rightly consider them to belong to the kingdom of heaven and therefore to be justified and sanctified, have not yet committed actual sin, and therefore they do not yet experience this combat between flesh and spirit, which is an active struggle. As for those who are unregenerate, they have never felt this kind of fight. Someone may say that even the worst person in the world, when he is about to commit a sin, has some inner conflict — and that is true, but it is a different kind of combat, one between conscience and the heart. On one side, the conscience frightens the person away from sin. On the other side, the will and affections drag and pull him toward it. The will and affections wish that sin were not sin and that God's commandment did not exist, while the conscience with a clear voice insists that sin is sin. This was the fight in Pilate, who was driven by his conscience to fear condemning Christ, yet was willing and yielded to condemning Him in order to please the people.

Furthermore, this combat exists in the regenerate only during the present life — those who are perfectly sanctified feel no such conflict. If someone says that this combat was present in Christ when He said, 'Father, if it is Your will, let this cup pass from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done' — there is indeed a conflict here, but of a different kind: the conflict between two distinct desires. The first was His desire to do His Father's will by suffering the death of the cross. The second was a natural human desire — which was no sin, but simply the weakness of human nature — by which He in His humanity desired, as it is natural for any creature to desire its own preservation, to be spared the accursed death of the cross.

The fifth point is the effect of this combat — which is to make the regenerate person unable to do what he would, both in matters of good and evil.

First, he cannot do the evil he would like to, for two reasons. The first is that he cannot commit sin whenever he chooses. John says: 'He who is born of God does not sin, and cannot sin, because he is born of God' — meaning he cannot sin whenever he pleases or at will. When Joseph was tempted by Potiphar's wife to commit adultery, the grace of God abounded in him and he answered her: 'How then could I do this great evil and sin against God?' — he could not sin at that moment. Lot, because his righteous soul was tormented by the wickedness he saw and heard in Sodom, could not sin as the people of Sodom did. From this it is clear that those who live in the daily practice of sin against their own consciences — even if they profess the true religion of Christ — have no sound grace within them (1 John 3:9).

Second, the regenerate person cannot sin in whatever manner he would. There are two reasons for this. First, he cannot sin with the full consent of his will or with his whole heart, because the will, insofar as it is regenerate, resists and pulls back. Even when a person is swept along by the passions of the flesh, he still feels some contrary impulses from a regenerate conscience. It is a true principle that sin does not reign in the regenerate. For just as grace is worked into the mind, will, and affections, the power of the flesh is proportionally reduced. Therefore when he commits any sin, he does it partly willingly and partly against his will. It is like the sailors in the storm who threw Jonah into the sea willingly — they chose to do it — and yet against their wills too, which is evident because they prayed, threw their goods overboard, and labored at the oars against the storm for a long time before they finally threw him out. This is the difference between two people committing the same sin — one regenerate and one unregenerate. The unregenerate person sins with his whole heart and full consent. The regenerate person does not. Second, though the regenerate person falls into sin, he does not stay in it long but quickly recovers by the power of grace in his heart.

From this it is clear that sins of weakness are committed only by those who are regenerate. The unregenerate person cannot sin out of weakness — whatever some falsely imagine. He is not weak in sin but completely dead in it. Sins of weakness are only those that arise from compulsion, fear, suddenness of emotion, and similar sudden passions in the regenerate. And though the regenerate often sin out of weakness because of this spiritual combat, they do not always — they can also sin knowingly and deliberately, against their conscience.

Now to the second point: the regenerate person cannot do the good he would like, because he cannot do it perfectly and completely according to God's will as he desires. Paul says: 'Willing is present with me, but the doing of the good is not.' In this respect the godly person is like a prisoner who has escaped from jail and, desperate to flee the keeper's reach, wants nothing more than to run a great distance in a single day. But because he has heavy chains on his legs, he can barely drag himself a mile or two — and that only by cutting his flesh and tormenting himself. So the servants of God genuinely desire and strive to obey God in all His commandments. As King Josiah 'turned to the Lord with all his heart and with all his soul and with all his might, according to all the law of Moses.' Yet because they are weighed down by the chains of the flesh, they perform obedience both slowly and weakly, with various stumbles and falls (Romans 7:18; 2 Kings 23:25).

That is enough on the combat itself. Now let us consider what use may be made of it.

First, from this we learn what the condition of a Christian is in this life. A Christian is not someone who is free from all evil thoughts, from rebellious impulses and desires in the will and affections, from all stumbles in his life and conduct — for such a person is a pure fantasy of the human mind, not found anywhere on earth. Rather, the true Christian is one who, feeling himself weighed down by the corruptions of his corrupt and rebellious nature, mourns them from his heart and fights against them with all his might through the grace of God's Spirit. From this, the Roman Catholic doctrine of merit and justification by works of grace is also overturned, like this. Works are only as good as their source. The source of a person's works is the mind, will, and affections — which have been sanctified, but in which flesh and spirit are still mixed together, as we have shown. Therefore even the best works of grace are mixed works — partly holy and partly sinful. It is plain to anyone with common sense that such works do not meet the standard of the law's righteousness, and therefore cannot earn life or justify a person before God. If someone replies that good works are the works of God's Spirit and are therefore perfectly righteous, my answer is: it is true that they proceed from the Holy Spirit, who cannot sin — but not directly or exclusively. They also proceed from the corrupt mind and will of the person, and in that respect become sinful — just as pure water flowing from a clean spring is made foul by a dirty channel.

Third, from this we learn that desire — or original sin — is truly and properly sin after baptism, whatever the Council of Trent has decreed. For after baptism it is directly opposed to the spirit and rebels against it. Roman Catholics object that it is removed by baptism. Answer: original sin, or the flesh, is removed in the regenerate in the following way. It contains three elements: the guilt, the punishment, and the corruption. The first two are completely abolished by the merit of Christ's death in baptism. The third — the corruption — remains, but note in what condition: it remains weakened, and it remains unimputed to the believer's account.

Finally, from this we learn to be watchful in prayer. 'Watch and pray,' says Christ, 'for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.' When Rebecca felt two twins struggling in her womb, she was troubled and said, 'Why is this happening to me?' She went to ask the Lord — that is, through a prophet. So when we feel this inner battle, the best response is to turn to God in prayer and to His word, so that the spirit may be strengthened against the flesh. Just as the Israelites brought down the walls of Jericho by marching around the city for seven days and sounding the rams' horns, so through earnest calling on God's name the spirit is strengthened and the strongholds of the rebellious flesh are torn down.

The voice of a person in three conditions: - 1. Carnal: of evil — I do what is evil and I will do it. Of good — I do not do what is good and I will not do it. - 2. Regenerate: of evil — I do the evil I do not want to do. Of good — I do not do the good I want to do. - 3. Glorified: of evil — I do not do what is evil, and I will not do it. Of good — I do what is good and I will do it.