The War Within: An Exposition of Romans 7:15–25

By Given O. Blakely

This book deals with the nature of spiritual life and what takes place when a person is born again. It particularly delineates the result of having a new nature and yet retaining a mortal body. The result of regeneration is that two differing natures reside in the body of the person in Christ. One is adapted to this world and is basically sinful. The new nature, or the new man, is destined to be forever with the Lord in heaven and is righteous. There is a fierce conflict between these natures that must be understood. The new nature is to mature while at the same time doing battle with the old nature, or old man, which cannot enter the kingdom of God. A proper understanding of this war within delivers one from the confusion, self-condemnation, and lack of insight that invariably accompany a fundamental ignorance of this matter.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 6, 2017
• ISBN: 9781543468106

Given O. Blakely

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Given O. Blakely, born in 1935, and a preacher and teacher since 1954. His focus is things that pertain to life and godliness, as made known in Jesus Christ, and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He has ministered in Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, Florida, Missouri, Pakistan, and India. He authored The Word of Truth magazine from 1960-1995, and maintains a web site containing 30,000 page of his writings (http://wotruth.com). Since 1992, he has ministered at The Word of Truth Fellowship in Joplin, Missouri. In addition to this book, He has published four others: Gods Everlasting Kingdom, The Divine Remedy for Distraction volumes one two, and The Decline and Fall of the Church.

Book preview

Copyright © 2017 by Given O. Blakely.

ISBN:                Hardcover                978-1-5434-6812-0

                          Softcover                  978-1-5434-6811-3

                          eBook                       978-1-5434-6810-6

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

Rev. date: 12/06/2017

Xlibris

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

769846

CONTENTS

Bible Versions Referenced

Acknowledgments

Preface

Introduction

PART 1–FAITH LIFE IN VIEW OF

CONFLICT AND STRUGGLE

Chapter 1.     Human Interpretations of Inner Struggle

Chapter 2.     Conflict from the Beginning – Found in God’s Creation

Chapter 3.     The Experience of Enoch and Noah

Chapter 4.     The Experience of Ishmael and Isaac, Jacob And Esau

Chapter 5.     Jesus, the Ultimate Revelation of Conflict

Chapter 6.     Deliverance from this Present Evil World

Chapter 7.     Psalmic Expressions of Conflict – Personal Conflict

Chapter 8.     Psalmic Expressions of Conflict – Conflict with Society

Chapter 9.     Preliminary Observations

PART 2–AN EXPOSITION OF

ROMANS CHAPTER 7:15-25

Chapter 10.   Introduction to the Text

Chapter 11.   Life in Christ

Chapter 12.   Concerning the Present Not the Past

Chapter 13.   Thought Not Deed

Chapter 14.   Spiritual Frustration Requires Spiritual Reasoning

Chapter 15.   Discernment of True Meaning Requires Faith

Chapter 16.   Human Will Not the Seat of Man’s Power

Chapter 17.   Hating the Thought

Chapter 18.   Not Credited to Us as Sin

Chapter 19.   The Old Man and the New Man

Chapter 20.   ‘If I Do’ – Misrepresentation has Occurred

Chapter 21.   No Condemnation to Those in Christ

Chapter 22.   Deviate Thoughts Now an Intrusion

Chapter 23.   Thy Law is Good!

Chapter 24.   It is Not Really Me

Chapter 25.   Free from the Law of Sin and Death

Chapter 26.   Knowing the Flesh

Chapter 27.   Jesus Teaches About the Flesh

Chapter 28.   Once Enemies – Now Reconciled to God

Chapter 29.   Pauls’e Experience Confirmed in Galatians

Chapter 30.   Wanting to Do What is Right

Chapter 31.   The Evil I Do Not Want to Do

Chapter 32.   Knowledge Withheld from the Saints

Chapter 33.   Sound Spiritual Thinking

Chapter 34.   Determination to Do Good

Chapter 35.   The Reconciled Way of Thinking

Chapter 36.   Delight in the Word of the Lord

Chapter 37.   The Inward Man

Chapter 38.   Constant Renewal Within Required

Chapter 39.   A Contrary Principle Within

Chapter 40.   Warring Against the Law of My Mind

Chapter 41.   The Corruption of Human Nature

Chapter 42.   Bringing Me into Captivity

Chapter 43.   Put the Text to the Test

Chapter 44.   Wretched Man Yearns for Deliverance

Chapter 45.   This is Groaning

Chapter 46.   Delivered Through Jesus Christ

Chapter 47.   I Serve Two Laws – Dual Natures, Dual Servitude

Chapter 48.   Serving the Law of God With My Mind

Chapter 49.   Serving the Law of Sin With My Flesh

Chapter 50.   Romans Chapter 7 – A Macro View

Chapter 51.   The Substantiation of James

Chapter 52.   The Conclusion of Our Exposition

PART 3–NEWNESS OF LIFE AND

CONTRASTING VIEWS

Chapter 53.   New Life Introduced

Chapter 54.   Contrasting Views

Chapter 55.   Another View of the Situation

Chapter 56.   Our Reaction to the Struggle

Chapter 57.   The War Within – A Preliminary Conclusion

PART 4–FOUR SPIRITUAL LAWS

Chapter 58.   Introduction

Chapter 59.   The Four Spiritual Laws in Scripture

Chapter 60.   Inclination Does not Equal Involvement

PART 5–TRUTH REQUIRES COMPLETENESS

Chapter 61.   The Consequence of Conversion

Chapter 62.   The Art of Reckoning

Chapter 63.   Concluding Words

BIBLE VERSIONS REFERENCED

The following bible versions (with the abbreviations used) are quoted in this book:

American Standard Version (ASV)

Amplified Bible (AMP)

Amplified Bible Classic Edition (AMPC)

Berean Study Bible (BSB)

Bible in Basic English (BBE)

Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

Darby Translation (DARBY)

Geneva Bible (GNV)

God’s Word Translation (GW)

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)

King James Version (KJV)

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

New International Reader’s Version (NIRV)

New International Version (NIV)

New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)

New King James Version (NKJV)

New Living Translation (NLT)

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)

Revised Standard Version (RSV)

Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible (EBR)

Young’s Literal Translation (YLT)

Bible version copyright notices and permissions:

American Standard Version (ASV) Public Domain.

Amplified Bible (AMP) Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.

Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation.

The Holy Bible, Berean Study Bible (BSB) Copyright ©2016 by Bible Hub. Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Bible in Basic English (BBE) Public Domain.

Complete Jewish Bible (CJB) Copyright © 1998 by David H. Stern. All rights reserved.

Darby Translation (DARBY) Public Domain.

1599 Geneva Bible (GNV) Geneva Bible, 1599 Edition. Published by Tolle Lege Press. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without written permission from the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations in articles, reviews, and broadcasts.

GOD’S WORD Translation (GW) Copyright © 1995 by God’s Word to the Nations. Used by permission of Baker Publishing Group.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB) Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2009 by Holman Bible Publishers, Nashville Tennessee. All rights reserved.

J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS) The New Testament in Modern English by J.B Phillips copyright © 1960, 1972 J. B. Phillips. Administered by The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England. Used by Permission.

King James Version (KJV) Public Domain.

New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

New International Reader’s Version (NIRV) Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

New Jerusalem Bible (NJB) Copyright © 1985 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd. and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc. Reprinted by Permission.

New King James Version (NKJV) Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Revised Standard Version (RSV) Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Rotherham’s Emphasized Bible (EBR) Public Domain.

Young’s Literal Translation (YLT) Public Domain.

Lexical and other references

Strong’s Concordance (Strong’s) Public Domain.

Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (Thayer) Public Domain.

Friberg’s Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament (Friberg) Analytical Lexicon to the Greek New Testament. Copyright © 1994, 2000 Timothy and Barbara Friberg. All rights reserved.

Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains (Louw-Nida). Louw-Nida Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament Based on Semantic Domains, 2nd Edition, Edited by J. P. Louw and E. A. Nida. Copyright © 1988 by the United Bible Societies, New York, NY 10023. Used by permission.

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my beloved wife, as of 2017, of thirty-seven years. She is a true joint-heir of life in Christ Jesus, fellow laborer in the Kingdom of God, gifted teacher, excellent mother, and of great profit to the body of Christ. I also dedicate it to my living children, all mature adults: Michelle, Rochelle, Michael, Mark, Adah, Benjamin, Jonathan, and Eva.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

THE WORD OF TRUTH FELLOWSHIP

A special acknowledgment is made of The Word of Truth Fellowship in Joplin, Missouri, where I have been pleased to fellowship as both teacher and the taught since 1992. In both illness and health, they have faithfully ministered to me. I consider it a special blessing to spend the last leg of my journey to glory with interested, devoted, and advancing brethren in Christ Jesus. The contents of this book are the result of what I have shared with these brethren in both writing and preaching.

MY FATHER AND MOTHER

Fred O. Blakely and Rubye W. Blakely were my godly parents. They taught me as I was growing up, corrected me when needed, and faithfully supported me when I began ministering. My father exemplified an indefatigable spirit, and taught me to labor on, no matter what difficulties were faced from within or from without. My mother taught me to memorize great portions of Scripture, and speak it with expression. In our home, there was never a question about what we were going to do when the saints were meeting together. No competitive interests were knowingly allowed in our family or home.

BROTHER MARTY ELLISON

I am also grateful for brother Marty Ellison, who proof-read this book, and made some very profitable suggestions. He is also a member of the Word of Truth Fellowship.

BROTHER ROBERT COBB

Brother Robert Cobb, a member of the Word of Truth Fellowship, has given me technical assistance with my computers, printers, and website. His help has been invaluable because I am no longer able to work with my hands as required in technicalities associated with computing hardware and software.

BROTHER JUSTIN COBB

I also owe my appreciation to Brother Justin Cobb, a member of the Word of Truth Fellowship, for creating the excellent art work for the front cover of this book.

PREFACE

The Objective Of The Book

This book is not intended to be a retreat into mere academic inquiry. While we will explore various texts, we will focus on identifying the nature of the faith-life, what it means to live by faith (Heb 10:38). If God’s people do not know the nature of the spiritual battle in which they are engaged, Satan will get the upper hand with them. My ultimate purpose is to present to you those eternal things by which God gives the advantage to His people. If God is to be glorified in us, we simply cannot be uninformed about the life we possess in the Son.

Identifying the Cause and Nature of Inward Struggle

Why do we have struggles within? What is it all about? Some think the new birth eliminates inward struggle. Is this so? We will seek to clarify legitimate and very real spiritual struggles, giving you an appreciation for why they are present. The book will also give considerable coverage to identifying that struggle.

Confirming the Souls of Believers

Getting into Christ involves a triumph over the devil. But that is not the end of our exposure to him. The great difficulty is not getting into Christ, but remaining, or abiding, in Him. A good fight of faith is not related to being converted, but to remaining sanctified (1 Tim 6:12). Intense spiritual activities like running (Heb 12:1-2) and wrestling (Eph 6:12) has to do with life after we are born again. I have observed over the last six decades that very little attention is devoted to this subject in the churches and its contemporary literature.

This is why early messengers of God’s word were so involved in confirming and edifying the saints of the Lord. Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22). God’s people must be strong if they are to finish their course and receiveth the prize. (1 Cor 9:24). Understanding the nature of inner conflict will contribute to that strength.

Affirming Inward Struggle is Evidence of Spiritual Life

One of the loftiest insights I ever received was this: struggle is evidence of spiritual life. For years I interpreted inner conflict as a sign of distance from God, spiritual weakness, and Satanic triumph. It is important that you see this is not true. When you have conflict with Satan, it is BECAUSE you no longer belong to him – God …hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son (Col 1:13).

When you experience war within, it is because you have been reconciled to God (Rom 5:10; 2 Cor 5:18, 20). The part of you that remains unregenerate did not go to sleep when you were born again. It remains with you, although it has been made separate from you by means of the circumcision of Christ (Col 2:10-12). There is a part of you that is not yet saved – your body, which is scheduled for redemption at the resurrection of the dead (Rom 8:23; Eph 1:14; 4:30). Until then the body, and everything about you that is inexorably tied to that body, will cause inner conflict. God has, through Jesus Christ, graciously made provisions for this most unpleasant circumstance, which provisions will appear useless until the reality of living in this world (John 17:11; 1 Pet 5:9), but not being of it (John 17:14, 16), bursts upon the soul.

A Word Of Explanation

It is my estimation that the contemporary church body of Christ has received a woefully insufficient emphasis on the preaching and teaching of the subject of this volume, resulting in an ignorance that has led many tender brothers and sisters to suffer unnecessarily in their faith lives. I was provoked by the Spirit to write this book to help more illumine the subject and thereby offer a reason for encouragement and increased gladness and joy in those who heretofore may have been ignorant of the truth.

The greater part of this book has its origin in the texts of a series of my teachings on the book of Romans, chapter 7, wherein the apostle Paul describes the struggle between the ‘old man’ and the ‘new man’ that all believers take on when we are raised to walk in newness of life with the Lord Jesus Christ. As such, I make no apologies for the sometimes conversational nature of my writing – in as much as the subject of this volume is a very present and sobering reality for all believers, so it is my desire and hope that it may be read and received as a personal exhortation and encouragement to all those who hunger for a knowledge of God and Christ unto eternal life.

The book is organized into five main parts, which follow from each other:

Part One introduces the nature of the war within, inner conflict, and competing influences and their implications for the believer’s faith life; we will examine examples of conflict encountered by God’s people in scripture, including our Lord Jesus and King David,

Part Two is an exposition of the book of Romans chapter 7, verses 15-25; here we will look into Paul’s assessment of the inner struggle of the believer in view of the competing influences of light and darkness,

Part Three discusses newness of life, the reality and fierceness of the conflict and our struggle, contrasting views, and the believer’s response,

Part Four is a discourse on ‘four spiritual laws’ (identified by Paul in Romans chapter 7), with which all believers are to be acquainted and which allow men to place inner struggle in the context of salvation and spiritual life,

Part Five having identified the inner conflict, described its manifestations, how and why it originates in our bodies, how we react to and struggle against its effects, and how God through Christ has given us spiritual weaponry and grace to confront it, we may apprehend the truth of the war within, overcome it and attain completeness in the sight of God.

Throughout this book, and unless otherwise noted, scriptural quotations are taken from the Authorized (1769) King James Version (KJV).

INTRODUCTION

Conflict is not a Strange Thing

The desire for favorable and pleasant circumstances is part of our makeup. It is as though we long for the tranquility that characterized the beginnings of our race in Eden. A preference for trouble can be developed, but it is contrary to our nature.

Sin has made us vulnerable to the wicked One. Craftily, the devil persuades people to act out of harmony with even nature. Sodomy is an example of living in contradiction of our basic constitution. Drunkenness is another, with other indulgences that cause the mind to become virtually useless. The enjoyment of pain and trouble are also unnatural propensities.

Made in the image of God, we cannot be truly content with struggle, adversity, and trial. Nevertheless, it may be seen that the effects or results of natural man’s struggles against his conflicting circumstances through the ages have been impotent. To the enlightened, this should be a clear indication that a greater power must be called upon to successfully confront conflict in the earth. However, with few exceptions, men continue to refuse to attend the classroom wherein may be received divine tutelage in these truths.

David expressed the deep-seated desire of all humanity when he said, O, that I had the wings of a dove! for then would I fly away and be at rest (Psa 55:6).