Why do human beings have strong inclinations towards competitive contests? The drive draws many into all-out competitive contests like wrestling, football – and even war.
Football is appealing today as a modern surrogate for war in our culture. Guys can’t watch a game without picking one side to identify with and root for, psychologically and emotionally entering into the contest as the struggle goes back and forth. In the end, one team usually ends up in the lead and is declared the victor. At the end of the season, only one team prevails to win the championship.
Politics in America are the same way. There are two, not three, or more parties that voters choose to side with. One contests and opposes the other. You’ve seen the news. The competition in politics can be intense!
The Scriptures call for us to pray for righteousness to prevail in positions of authority.
Competition Right From the Womb
Starting within the womb of Rebecca, Jacob, and Esau were in all-out competition.
But the children struggled together within her; and she said, “If it is so, why then am I this way?” So she went to inquire of YHWH. YHWH said to her, “Two nations are in your womb, and two peoples will be separated from your body; and one people shall be stronger than the other, and the older shall serve the younger.” Gen 25:22-23
The Hebrew word for ‘struggle’ is ‘ratsats’ – to oppress, to crush each other with violence’ The paleo Hebrew shows two sides going head to head (resh) opposing one another with force issued from their bodies (tsade, tsade).
The first occurrence of competition right out of the womb was when YHWH said this to the first woman, Eve:
“I will put animosity between you and the woman – between your seed and her seed. He will crush your head, and you will crush his heel.” Gen 3:15
Nothing new – the competition between the seed of the Messiah and the seed of His arch-enemy, ha’satan, the serpent, has been ongoing until this day, starting with Adam and Eve. Throughout history, the people of Israel see-sawed between righteous and evil priests, prophets, judges, and kings. We’ve seen that in American leadership in our day.
More real than football games and political campaigns, two sides in every soul compete hard for the dominion, one side dominating, then the other gaining, in a see-saw struggle.
Before they were even born, Rebecca could feel the struggle going on with her two sons in the womb. Then during birth, Jacob came out of the womb holding the heel of Esau to keep him from kicking in his head (Gen 25:26). The name ‘Ya’aqov’ literally means `heel grabber, holder’ or `restrainer.’ He had to grab hold of his brother’s foot to restrain him from crushing his head, just as was prophesied to the first mother, Eve.
Was Jacob righteous and spiritual coming out of the womb? No, because the Word says we were all conceived in the womb and born in trespasses and sins (Psalm 51:5). Jacob had to wrestle with his own fleshly sinful nature all of his life, which culminated with him wrestling with the Angel of YHWH for the Spirit to have supremacy over his flesh. (Gen 32:24-31) Our forefather’s struggle is the same struggle each one of us experiences in our lives. What can we learn from the Word to win the competition?
Competition Between the Flesh and the Spirit
Hey guys! We don’t need to look any further than in the mirror to find competition. The competition is going on all the time! Our adversary wants to kick our heads in today!
The truth is, no matter how righteous our parents may have been, nor how good of a home a child was raised in, there’s an old man Esau nature contending with the Yisra’el (Israel) spirit within each believer. Which one is going to win the ongoing battle that we face every day? Will the carnal, old man nature prevail, or will the new creation of the born-again spirit prevail, united and empowered by the Holy Spirit?
Raising children in righteousness matters. Children need to be taught how to master the sin that crouches at their door (Gen 4:7) and how to walk in victory by faith by the power of the blood of our Savior. Children need to be trained and equipped to become overcomers (Ephesians 6) – victorious warriors for King Yeshua!
Whether we like it or not, we are part of the cosmic struggle. We see it all around the world, Muslim vs Jew, conservative vs liberal, nation vs nation, religion vs religion, you name it.
But by the wisdom of our Elohim, YHWH gave Ya’aqov (Jacob) competition with his opposing brother to make Ya’aqov stronger and to develop him into a champion in the Spirit renamed `Yisra’el (Israel).’ That’s true for us as well. Abba chastens those He loves, so let’s be thankful we don’t have it so easy in life. No coincidence, it was the Messiah’s brother, Ya’aqov (James), the apostle, who wrote:
Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. James 1:2-3
Where was Dad?
Where was the father in the story of raising the two boys? I wonder if Isaac got a little soft and a little too comfortable in his old age. After the Mount Moriah incident and then marrying Rebecca, he seemed to have an easier life than any other patriarch.
Was Isaac losing the battle over his own flesh? Interestingly enough, the Scriptures say Isaac loved his son whom YHWH said he hated. Why?
Now Isaac loved Esau because he had a taste for wild game, but Rebecca loved Jacob. Genesis 25:28
Was Isaac relaxing too much in the battle between his flesh and his spirit and just giving in to his taste buds, a craving of the flesh? I think Isaac foreshadowed many Americans.
Two Opposing Natures
It is a fact of life – each one of us has an evil inclination in our fallen flesh that day by day we must master – the old Adam Esau nature. We are instructed to take dominion over carnality by taking it to the cross, to mortify the deeds of the flesh. Romans 8:13
The psalmist declared that we were all conceived in the womb with the nature of Cain:
Behold, I was born in iniquity and sin, when my mother conceived me. Psalms 51:5
Remember YHWH commanded Cain to master the sin that was laying in wait to take him down:
“If you do well, it (your face) will lift. But if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the doorway. Its desire is for you, but you must master it.” Genesis 4:7
“Master it,” or your dead meat – for the wages of sin is death. Winning is the only option. With that in mind, let’s hear from Paul, who often taught believers like a spiritual father:
But I say, ‘Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts (sets its desire) against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another; lest whatever you may will, these things you do…’ Galatians 5:16-17
Paul explained this cosmic struggle that goes on with each one of us to be a war between the spirit and the flesh. Winning takes willpower, empowered by the Spirit.
The Competition of Romans 7
As Israel, how do we prevail as mighty ones in the Holy Spirit over the fallen nature of the flesh? Let’s enter into the competition, play-by-play, as described in the Scriptures, a see-saw analogy in Romans Chapter 7 between Ya’aqov – Spirit vs. Esau – Flesh:
Romans 7:14 For we know that the Torah is Spiritual (Spirit, Ya’aqov), but I am fleshly, having been sold under sin (Flesh, Esau).
Esau sold his birthright, his first-born right to the spiritual and physical blessings of his fathers Abraham and Isaac for a bowl of red stuff (Gen 25:30). What’s translated as ‘red stew’ in English are the two words ‘ha’adam ha’adam’ in Hebrew, a double reference to the old man Adam. Esau had sold himself out to the flesh, his carnal appetite, the old Adam, the old Adam sin nature. Esau was carnal, emphatically ‘sold under sin.’
Flesh: Romans 7:15 For I do not know what I do. For I do not do the thing that I want; but I do the thing which I hate, this is what I do.
Spirit: 16 But if I do what I do not wish to, I agree with the Torah, that it is good.
Flesh: Romans 7:17 Now then, it is not I who do it, but the sin which dominates in me.
Even though a mental ascent is made by merely agreeing with the mind by the intellect that the Torah is good, the Esau/fleshly nature is still getting the upper hand in this see-saw struggle, isn’t it? Not the Spirit, but the flesh still dominates the competition.
Spirit: Romans 7:18 For I know that it does not fully dominate me, (that is in my flesh) but as far as good is concerned, the choice is easy for me to make, but to do it is difficult for me.
Come on! Cheer on the spirit man to win the fight! Yes, it’s difficult, but rise up man of the Spirit and go for it! There’s a big prize to go for! Esau’s nature is losing momentum and the Ya’aqov nature is beginning to take hold of the heart. It’s just not demonstrated with action yet. To do good is tougher than just choosing to do it in my mind.
Flesh: Romans 7:19-20 For it is not the good that I desire to do, that I do. But it is the evil that I do not desire, that I do. But if I do what I do not desire, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin which dominates me.
Oy vey! Losing again to that old Adam sin nature! So if we end up not doing what the spirit within us wants to do, we go back to sinning and the flesh gets the upper hand.
Spirit: Romans 7:21 I find therefore that the Torah agrees with my conscience, when I desire to do good,
Flesh: but evil is always near, distracting me.
Now the soul wakes up to the truth that the sin that dominates is not who we are as children of YHWH. The conscience awakens to our real spiritual identity as one who does good rising up inside of me. Let’s not let evil distract us from the goal of the Torah (Rom 10:4). We are now about to see the momentum shift in this competitive struggle!
Spirit: Romans 7:22 For I delight in the Torah of Elohim according to the inward man;
The born-again spirit inside of a man delights in the Torah and desires to walk in obedience to the Word – by the Spirit, not by the flesh. We delight to do His commandments because the spirit within us loves the Messiah (John 14:15).
Flesh: Romans 7:23 but I see another law in my members having warred against the law of my mind, and taking me captive by the law of sin being in my members. 24 O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this mortal body?
Even with a made-up mind renewed by the Word, the Torah, the members of the flesh are at war in a struggle that man in and of himself cannot win. He just can’t do it. Keeping Torah in the flesh and not by the Spirit, a man finds himself ending up a mere mortal man in religious bondage, losing the battle. So how do we win this war?
Victory in Yeshua!
Spirit: Romans 7:25 I thank Elohim through Yeshua Messiah our Master! So then I myself with the mind truly serve the Torah of Elohim
Flesh: and with the flesh the law of sin.
Praise YHWH for the Gospel! The Good News is that Yeshua saves the day and our Messiah gives us mastery over the flesh. Thank Yah! Only by the Spirit of Yeshua can we win the war and truly serve Him according to the Torah. Any attempt to do the Torah in the flesh or just by figuring it out by our intellect ends up missing the mark of the Torah, which is going back under the law of sin.
There’s victory in One Champion only – Yeshua HaMashiyach!
Spirit: Romans 8:1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Messiah Yeshua.
Not even our conscience can condemn us and bring us down, when we live, move, and have our being in the Messiah. In Yeshua, we have victory over the accuser of the brethren who accuses like a heckler day and night of missing the mark of the Torah.
Spirit: 2 For the law of the Spirit of Life in Messiah Yeshua has set you free from
Flesh: the law of sin and death.
In other words, living by the Torah according to the Spirit, Who lives in us by Messiah, sets us free from having to live in subjection to the old man’s sinful nature. True freedom is to not live as a slave to sin but to live by the Spirit of Life, by the Messiah living inside.
Flesh: 3 For what was impossible for the Torah – since it was weakened on account of the flesh
Spirit: Elohim has done. Sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as a sin offering, He condemned
Flesh: sin in the flesh –
There’s the knockout punch! The victory is ours in the finished work of the cross! Living the crucified life, living dead to self and alive in Messiah by faith in Him, is the way we can ‘reckon ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Messiah Yeshua. Romans 6:11
Spirit: So that the requirement of the Torah might be fulfilled in us who do not walk
Flesh: according to the flesh,
Spirit: but according to the Ruach. Romans 8:4
The Spirit now has the upper hand, that’s the way to live victoriously, keeping the Torah righteously! There’s no other way than through the cross of our Messiah, where His flesh was put to death and the deeds of our flesh are mortified. We must pick up our crosses and follow Yeshua every day.
Paul wrote it this way: ‘I die daily.’ 1 Corinthians 15:31
And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.” Mark 8:34
That is how `Ya’aqov,’ the heel-grabbing wrestler under the foot of his brother, became `Yisra’el,’ one who prevails over the flesh by the Spirit of Elohim. After all the struggles of his life, he became conformed to the Messiah, the Angel that he wrestled with that long night in Bethel. By the blessing of the Messiah, Ya’aqov was able to finally have victory over his flesh and his manipulating, conniving intellect. He then became a man submitted to and led by the Spirit. That’s how the blessings of Abraham come in life.
Our Elohim resurrects us to overcome the flesh by the Spirit of Life as His people ‘Yisra’el’, the name meaning ‘the one who prevails as a prince of God, the Mighty One.’
Am Yisra’el chai! The people of Israel live – live by the Spirit of Life, live by faith in the Son of God, Who lived and died for us so that we may be victorious in the battles of life!
Living Life as a Champ!
Once a man wins the war of mastery by the Spirit over the flesh, Paul continues in Romans Chapter 8 declaring that all of creation eagerly desires the inner man of the spirit to win out and be revealed as mature sons of Elohim, champions in the Spirit.
For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us. For the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of Elohim. Romans 8:18-19
All glory be to our Elohim! Coming up soon is the revealing of the glory of the Son of Man manifested through mature, overcoming sons of Elohim! The children of Ya’aqov in Messiah Yeshua are rising up to be the real `Yisra’el – prevailing as a prince with the Mighty One’ – the overcomers!
How can we ever live out that kind of victorious life? Let’s hear from Coach Paul!
Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? So run, that you may obtain. And every man that strives for mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown, but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so I fight, not as one that beats the air: But I keep under my body and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 1 Corinthians 9:24-27
I press on toward the goal for the reward of the upward calling of Elohim in Messiah Yeshua. Philippians 3:14
As with any athletic endeavor, discipline, diligence, and determination are musts in striving for mastery by the Spirit. Relaxing too much, being selfish and lazy, just ends us up back in the flesh and in defeat. Press on, brother!
How do we know that we’re on the right path to victory in Yeshua and glory as sons of God? Paul ends Romans 8 with the primary characteristic of a true champion – the love of Yeshua:
But in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him Who loved us. Romans 8:37
Isn’t his passion what a champion declares when he receives the prize of the championship? “I love my wife, I love my coach, I love my teammates, I love the fans, etc.” If he’s a bold believer like World Series champ Evan Carter of the Texas Rangers, he proclaims: “Jesus Won!’
Although the forces of darkness are in all-out rebellion against the Kingdom of Elohim, the beloved children of Light will win out and Yeshua Ha’Mashiyach will be the reigning champion in the end!
There is no greater power than the Love of Yeshua. Reject hate and bitterness, walk in His Love, and by His sweet Holy Spirit, you will walk victoriously as ‘more than a conqueror’.
Thank YHWH for His awesome love by which He promised that nothing, nobody, no Ishmael nor Esau, antichrist nor false prophet, no New World Order nor beast system, could ever separate us from the unfathomable, never-failing, never-ending, totally trustworthy, overcoming, covenant love of the Messiah Yeshua for His people!
YHWH is with you – a mighty warrior! (Judges 6:12) What? You don’t think you’re mighty in battle? Do you see yourselves as incapable and outnumbered? Read the story of Gideon.
Let’s find ourselves walking in the Word as more than conquerors. For the battle belongs to YHWH!
Once the Holy Spirit has dominion, perfect peace prevails. Shalom to you.
BaShem Yeshua HaMashiyach, Who knows no defeat!
David Klug