278 The Spiritual Man
his inner man waxes that much stronger. He comes to realize that by
applying the law of the spirit he not only can overcome sin but also
Satan.
From that part of the Scriptures in which the Apostle touches on
spiritual warfare we can readily estimate how important strength is in
such conflict. Before he mentions the problem of spiritual warfare
(Eph. 6.11-18), Paul first exhorts his readers to “be strong in the Lord
and in the strength of his might” (v.10). Where should there be this
strength of which he speaks? Paul tells us in Chapter 3:
“strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man” (v.16).
The inner man is man’s center, the spirit of man. And right there is
where the powers of darkness attack the man. Now if the inner man
is weak everything else becomes weak. A frail spirit produces fear in
the heart which automatically weakens the believers stand in the day
of evil. What he needs pre-eminently is a firm spirit. Except he
understands the nature of the conflict a believer is not capable of
resisting in his spirit against the principalities and the powers.
Many Christians find their spirit feathery and free when all is
sweetness and light; but just let there be eruptive war, and their spirit
becomes disturbed, fearful, and worried, until finally it is submerged.
They do not know why they are defeated. Satan’s aim is victory, and
to this end he attempts to remove believers from their ascension
position by causing their spirit to sink so that he can ascend. Position
is a primary factor in battle. When the saint’s spirit tumbles, he loses
his heavenly position. Christians must consequently maintain a
strong spirit and yield no ground to the enemy.
Upon realizing how his inner man is strengthened with might
through God’s Holy Spirit, a spiritual child of God learns the
absolute necessity of overcoming the enemy. His inner man grows
sturdier as he attacks the foe with prayer and wrestling. In the same
manner that the muscles of the wrestler develop in physical combat,
just so the strength of the believer’s spirit increases as he battles the