(_b_) That the existence in the believer of these two opposing principles gives rise to a conflict which lasts through life. _Gal. 5:17_—“_For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are contrary the one to the other; that ye may not do the things that ye would_”—not, as the A. V. had it, “_so that ye cannot do the things that ye would_”; the Spirit who dwells in believers is represented as enabling them successfully to resist those tendencies to evil which naturally exist within them; _James 4:5_ (the marginal and better reading)—“_That spirit which he made to dwell in us yearneth for us even unto jealous envy_”—_i. e._, God’s love, like all true love, longs to have its objects wholly for its own. The Christian is two men in one; but he is to “_put away the old man_” and “_put on the new man_” (_Eph. 4:22, 23_). Compare Ecclesiasticus 2:1—“My son, if thou dost set out to serve the Lord, prepare thy soul for temptation.” _1 Tim. 6:12_—“_fight the good fight of the faith_”—ἀγωνίζου τὸν καλὸν ἀγῶνα τῆς πίστεως = the beautiful, honorable, glorious fight; since it has a noble helper, incentive, and reward. It is the commonest of all struggles, but the issue determines our destiny. An Indian received as a gift some tobacco in which he found a half dollar hidden. He brought it back next day, saying that good Indian had fought all night with bad Indian, one telling him to keep, the other telling him to return. (_c_) That in this conflict the Holy Spirit enables the Christian, through increasing faith, more fully and consciously to appropriate Christ, and thus progressively to make conquest of the remaining sinfulness of his nature. _Rom. 8:13, 14_—“_for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God_”; _1 Cor. 6:11_—“_but ye were washed, but ye were sanctified, but ye were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and in the Spirit of our God_”; _James 1:26_—“_If any man thinketh himself to be religious, while he bridleth not his tongue but deceiveth his heart, this man’s religion is vain_”—see Com. of Neander, _in loco_—“That religion is merely imaginary, seeming, unreal, which allows the continuance of the moral defects originally predominant in the character.” The Christian is “_crucified with Christ_” (_Gal. 2:20_); but the crucified man does not die at once. Yet he is as good as dead. Even after the old man is crucified we are still to mortify him, or put him to death (_Rom. 8:13; Col. 3:5_). We are to cut down the old rosebush and cultivate only the new shoot that is grafted into it. Here is our probation as Christians. So “die Scene wird zum Tribunal”—the play of life becomes God’s judgment.