WAR WITHIN! From the beginning, conflict has existed: the abrasive hostility of order and disorder, light and darkness, good and evil, truth and the lie, life and death. The Word of God opens with an introduction to conflict. "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And THE SPIRIT OF GOD moved (brooded) upon the face of the waters" (Gen 1:2). -- Tomorrow:
"But I see another law in my members, WARRING against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members" (Rom 7:23).
Devotion 4 of 23
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND CHAOS
Think of the Spirit of God, moving within the framework of a Divinely ordered, precise, and determinate objective, brooding upon the face of the chaotic deep. Deity is averse to chaos and disorder, as is shown in creation. The extent of the conflict of that ancient chaos with God's Spirit transcends our imagination. The effect that disorder has upon you is only a very faint reflection of that circumstance. Disorder, disruption, conflict, struggle – they are antithetical to the Divine imagery that is found in humanity, even though it is in a marred condition.
LIGHT AND DARKNESS
The first creative work of God summoned light into existence: "Let there be light!" (Gen 1:3). With that word, the marvelous work of creation as we know it commenced. But even then, there was conflict. Light did not dissipate darkness, nor could it be merged with it. They are conflicting orders. What illuminates and what obscures cannot be joined together. What reveals and what hides cannot be conjoined. You cannot make a "threefold cord" out of light, darkness, and the Spirit of God.
Thus it is written, "And God saw the light, that it was good: and God DIVIDED the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day" (Gen 1:4,5). There is a divinely appointed line of demarcation between what illuminates and what obscures, between what clarifies and what beclouds. They can never be merged or blended. They are, by their very nature, in conflict. In order for there to be ultimate peace, conflicting influences must at last be removed.
That is precisely why time will finally run its course. It is why the "bondage of corruption," or mortality, has been passed upon mankind, and all of creation as well. Not only is man consigned to death, but the environment in which he has been placed has also been cursed with mortality, or corruption. The reason ought to be obvious: God does not intend for there to be conflict throughout eternity. Conflict is connected with time, and is the reason why time itself must at last yield to eternity, and mortality must finally yield to life.
ADAM, EVE, AND SATAN
The crowning work of God's creation was man. Everything led up to the creation of humanity. The Lord's observation at the conclusion of each creative act was, "and God saw that it was good" (Gen 1:10,12,18,21,25). But following His crowning work, the observation was, "behold, it was very good" (Gen 1:30).
The earth was created to be inhabited by man, not merely populated by the impersonal and brute creation. The ecologists are wrong in placing their emphasis upon the creation, or "mother earth," as they are wont to call it. Were it not for mankind, there would be no universe – not so much as a single celestial or terrestrial body. The world is a stage upon which the drama of redemption is being played out to the glory of God. It is an environment especially tailored for the bringing in, maintaining, and finally consummating the salvation of God.
No sooner was man created, "male and female" (Gen 5:1), than hostility was introduced. Eve was confronted with moral conflict. She had to weigh something that God said against a contrary statement. The result of that confrontation is found in the reign of sin and death that has followed (Rom 5:12-21). With the introduction of "the knowledge of good and evil" came conflict, not known in the sweetness of innocence. Here is the first record of man confronting conflicting gods! Man lost the battle. He could not survive a single confrontation of the wicked one, much less destroy him.
Thus the stage for redemption was set. Now it was needed, and it will be worked out within the context of struggle, conflict, warfare, and competing influences.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, grant me grace to survive conflict. I know that cannot altogether avoid it.