Thus is it also with the Church of God. The victories on which her eternal peace and blessedness are founded were gained, single-handed, by Christ _for_ her. He was alone on the cross, alone in the tomb. The Church had to stand aside, for how could she be there?--how could she vanquish Satan, endure the wrath of God, or rob death of its sting? Impossible. These things lay far beyond the reach of sinners, but not beyond the reach of Him who came to save them, and who alone was able to bear upon His shoulder the ponderous weight of all their sins, and roll the burden away forever, by His infinite sacrifice, so that God the Holy Ghost, proceeding from God the Father, in virtue of the perfect atonement of God the Son, can take up His abode in the Church collectively, and in each member thereof individually. Now it is when the Holy Ghost thus takes up His abode in us, consequent upon Christ's death and resurrection, that our conflict begins. Christ has fought _for_ us; the Holy Ghost fights _in_ us. The very fact of our enjoying this first rich spoil of victory, puts us into direct conflict with the foe; but the comfort is that we are victors ere we enter upon the field of conflict at all. The believer approaches to the battle singing, "Thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (1 Cor. xv. 57.) We do not, therefore, fight uncertainly, or as those that beat the air, while we seek to keep under the body and bring it into subjection. (1 Cor. ix. 26, 27.) "We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us." (Rom. viii. 37.) The grace in which we stand renders the flesh utterly void of power to lord it over us. (See Rom. vi, passim.) If the law is "the strength of sin," grace is the weakness thereof. The former gives sin power over us; the latter gives us power over sin. "And Moses said unto Joshua, 'Choose us out men, and go out, fight with Amalek: to-morrow I will stand on the top of the hill with the rod of God in mine hand.' So Joshua did as Moses had said unto him, and fought with Amalek; and Moses, Aaron, and Hur went up to the top of the hill. And it came to pass; when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses' hands were heavy; and they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua discomfited Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword." (Verses 9-13.) We have here two distinct things, namely, conflict and intercession. Christ is on high _for_ us, while the Holy Ghost carries on the mighty struggle _in_ us. The two things go together. It is as we enter by faith into the prevalency of Christ's intercession on our behalf that we make head against our evil nature.