In addition to the external battles Paul fought, he had his hands full with internal battles as well. He was constantly struggling in subduing his flesh:"4Rather, as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; 5in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger;" -- 2 Corinthians 6:4-5
11When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12Before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. 14When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, 'You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?'" -- Galatians 2:11-14
"3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. 6And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete." -- 2 Corinthians 10:3-6
"21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" -- Romans 7:21-24Paul struggled on all fronts, and today, we struggle on all fronts. Be it at work, at home or just driving down the road. It seems life is a constant battle, against the world, against our own flesh, and against an enemy that will stop at nothing to undermine God's Great Plan. Fortunately for us, we have a Savior who is greater than anything the world or the enemy can throw at as.
"Thanks be to God--through Jesus Christ our Lord!" -- Romans 7:25Jesus Christ will save us, for Jesus Christ is inside us, and greater is He who is in us then he who is in the world (1 John 4:4)! On the night Jesus was betrayed, during that fateful walk in the garden, He told His disciples that He had already overcome the world:
"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." -- John 16:33Jesus knew even before He was arrested, tried and killed, that He would be victorious. By submitting His will to the will of our Father, Jesus knew that even though some pretty horrible things were going to happen to Him, He would arise and be victorious. Indeed, He was victorious:
"5As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. 6"Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. 7But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.' " -- Mark 16:5-7I think it is also important to note here, that even though Jesus submitted His will to our Father, He himself was in anguish. Being human, part of Him did not want to go through all the pain and suffering He knew He was about to face:
"39Jesus went out as usual to the Mount of Olives, and his disciples followed him. 40On reaching the place, he said to them, "Pray that you will not fall into temptation." 41He withdrew about a stone's throw beyond them, knelt down and prayed, 42"Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done." 43An angel from heaven appeared to him and strengthened him. 44And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.The awesome thing here is, in spite of the anguish He felt, in spite of the suffering He knew He would face, He fully submitted himself to the will of our Father, and suffered and, died, and rose again!! With His resurrection, Jesus Christ became the Champion, all His enemies will be brought under His feet:
45When he rose from prayer and went back to the disciples, he found them asleep, exhausted from sorrow. 46"Why are you sleeping?" he asked them. "Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation." -- Luke 22:39-46
"25For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. 26The last enemy to be destroyed is death. 27For he "has put everything under his feet." Now when it says that "everything" has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ.Jesus Christ has overcome. Jesus Christ has won. He alone is the Victor, the Champion. It is through Him and Him alone, that we can have victory."Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." -- Isaiah 53:12
"To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne." -- Revelation 3:21
"They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings--and with him will be his called, chosen and faithful followers." -- Revelation 17:14
Who will bring charges against us? Well, Satan tries. He spoke rather badly about Job, the most righteous man of his time:"14Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death--that is, the devil-- 15and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. 16For surely it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants." -- Hebrews 2:14-16
" 56The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain." -- 1 Corinthians 15:56-58
"33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died – more than that, who was raised to life – is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." -- Romans 8:3-34
"6 One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. 7 The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"Satan tries the same thing with us. He is God's enemy, so when we submit ourselves to God, he becomes our enemy, seeking to destroy us whenever and however he can:
Satan answered the LORD , "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
8 Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
9 "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. 10 "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. 11 But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." -- Job 1:6-11
"Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." -- 1 Peter 5:8Now, I am not saying that Satan personally attacks each and every one of us all the time, but he has his forces of evil, and we do fight against those forces (See Eph 6:13 above). However, through Jesus Christ, we have power over the enemy:
"17The seventy-two returned with joy and said, "Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name."With that power, and through Jesus Christ, we will have victory over the same:
18He replied, "I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. 20However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." -- Luke 10:17-20
"And I saw what looked like a sea of glass mixed with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and over the number of his name." -- Revelation 15:2Satan also is known as the prince of this world (John 16:11). The world is, in fact, Satan's kingdom (Luke 4:5-6). As a result, Christians will be fighting against the world as well. People of God and people of the world do not mix. Above, we saw Jesus tell His disciples they would have trouble in the world. But in the same sentence, Jesus told His disciples He had already overcome the world. And through Jesus, we too can and will overcome the world:
"3This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God." -- 1 John 3:3-5 "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?...No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us." -- Romans 35,37Through Jesus. With Jesus. Jesus has already overcome the world, and we belong to Him, so we too will overcome the world. Through Jesus, we will have victory over the world. I don't know about you, but that make we want to jump up and shout "thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ"! (2 Corinthians 2:14a) WE ARE VICTORIOUS!!!!
"13Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. 14Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." -- Romans 13:13-14 "1If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. 3Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.Granted, that is much easier said than done, trust me I know, but with Christ and through Christ, we will be victorious. Even though we may lose some battles along the way, in the end, we will all share in the victory of Christ Jesus our Lord.
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus. -- Philippians 2:1-5