Character of The Assailants or Enemies With Whom The Christian is To Wrestle

Character of The Assailants or Enemies With Whom The Christian is To Wrestle

‘Not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places,’   Eph. 6:12.

           The assailants that appear in arms against the Christian, or the enemies with whom he is to wrestle, are described, First, Negatively, ‘not against flesh and blood,’ or rather comparatively, not chiefly against flesh and blood.  Second, Positively, ‘but against principalities and powers,’ &c.

Division First.—The Assailants described negatively.

‘Not against flesh and blood.’

           We are not to take the negative part of the description for a pure negation, as if we had no conflict with flesh and blood, but wholly and solely to engage against Satan; but by way of comparison, not only with flesh and blood, and in some sense not chiefly.  It is usual in Scripture such manner of phrase: Call not thy friends to dinner, but the poor, Luke 14:12; that is, not only those, so as to neglect the poor.  Now, what is meant here by flesh and blood? There is a double interpretation of the words.

[What is meant by flesh and blood.]

           First.  By flesh and blood may be meant our own bosom corruptions; that sin which is in our corrupt nature, so oft called flesh in the Scripture —‘the flesh lusteth against the Spirit;’ and sometimes flesh and blood, ‘Flesh and blood hath not revealed this;’ Matt. 16:17, that is, this confession thou hast made comes from above; thy fleshly corrupt mind could never have found out this supernatural truth, thy sinful will could never have embraced it.  ‘Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God,’ I Cor. 15:50; that is, sinful mortal flesh; as it is expounded in the words following.  I consulted not with flesh and blood, Gal.1:16; that is, carnal reason.  Now this bosom enemy may be called flesh, First. Partly from its derivation, and Second. Partly from its operation.

           First. Partly from its derivation, because it is derived and propagated to us by natural generation. Thus Adam is said to beget a son in his own likeness, sinful as he was, as well as mortal and miserable; yea, the holiest saint on earth having flesh in him, derives this corrupt and sinful nature to his child, as the circumcised Jew begat an uncircumcised child; and the wheat cleansed and fanned, being sown, comes up with a husk.  ‘That which is born of the flesh is flesh,’ John 3:6.

           Second.  It is called flesh, partly from the opera­tions of this corrupt nature, which are fleshly and carnal.  The reasonings of the corrupt mind [are] fleshly; therefore [it is] called the carnal mind, in­capable indeed of the things of God, which it neither doth nor can perceive.  as the sun doth hide the heavens which are above it from us, while it reveals things beneath, so carnal reason leaves the creature in the dark concerning spiritual truths, when it is most able to conceive and discourse of creature excel­lences, and carnal interests here below.  What a child­ish question for so wise a man, did Nicodemus put to Christ! though Christ to help him did wrap his speech in a carnal phrase.  If fleshly reason cannot under­stand spiritual truths when thus accommodated, and the notions of the gospel translated into its own lan­guage, what skill is it like to have of them, if put to read them in their original tongue?  I mean, if this garment of carnal expression were taken off, and spir­itual truths in their naked hue presented to its view. The motions of the natural will are carnal, and therefore ‘they that are after the flesh,’ Rom. 8:5, are said to ‘mind the things of the flesh.’  All its desires, delights, cares, fears, are in, and of, carnal things; it favours spiritual food no more than an angel fleshly. What we cannot relish we will hardly make our daily food.  Every creature hath its proper diet; the lion eats not grass, nor the horse flesh; what is food to the carnal heart, is poison to the gracious; and that which is pleasing to the gracious, is distasteful to the carnal.

           Now according to this interpretation, the sense of the apostle is not as if the Christian had no combat with his corrupt nature, for in another place it is said, the Spirit lusts against the flesh, and the flesh against the Spirit—and this enemy is called the sin that besets the Christian round—but to aggravate his con­flict with this enemy by the access of a foreign power, Satan, who strikes in with this domestic enemy.  As if while a king is fighting with his own mutinous sub­jects, some outlandish troops should join with them; now he may be said, not to fight with his subjects, but with a foreign power.  The Christian wrestles not with his naked corruptions, but with Satan in them.  Were there no devil, yet we should have our hands full, in resisting the corruptions of our own hearts; but the access of this enemy makes the battle more terrible, because he heads them who is a captain so skilful and experienced.  Our sin is the engine, Satan is the engineer; lust the bait, Satan the angler.  When a soul is enticed by his own lust, he is said to be tempted, James 1:14, because Satan and our own lust concur to the completing the sin.

           Use First.  Let us make thee, Christian, ply the work of mortification close.  It is no policy to let thy lusts have arms, which are sure to rise and declare against thee when thine enemy comes.  Achish’s nobles did but wisely, in that they would not trust David in their army when to fight against Israel, lest in the battle he should be an adversary to them; and darest thou go to duty, or engage in any action, where Satan will appear against thee, and not endeavour to make sure of thy pride, unbelief, &c.,that they join not with thine enemy?

           Use Second.  Are Satan and thy own flesh against thee—not single corruption, but edged with his policy, and backed by his power?  See then what need thou hast of more help than thy own grace. Take heed of grappling with him in the strength of thy naked grace; here thou hast two to one against thee.  Satan was too hard for Adam, though he went so well appointed into the field, because left to himself; much more easily will he foil thee.  Cling therefore about thy God for strength; get him with thee, and then, though a worm, thou shalt be able to deal with this serpent.

           Second.  Flesh and blood is interpreted as a periphrasis of man.  ‘We wrestle not with flesh and blood,’ that is, not with man, who is here described by that part which chiefly distinguisheth him from the angelic nature.  Touch me, saith Christ, and handle me, a spirit hath not flesh.  Now, according to this interpretation, [observe these particulars].  First.  How meanly the Spirit of God speaks of man.  Second. Where he lays the stress of the saint's battle; not in resisting flesh and blood, but principalities and powers.  Where the apostle excludes not our combat with man, for the war is against the serpent and his seed; —as wide as the world is, it cannot peaceably hold the saints and wicked together.  But his intent is to show what a complicated enemy—man's wrath and Satan's interwoven together—we have to deal with.