Perishing Under the Weight of Spiritual Resistance
The concept of "perishing under the weight of spiritual resistance" describes a state where an individual or community suffers spiritual decline or destruction due to their opposition to divine influence or their inability to withstand spiritual adversaries. This resistance can manifest in various forms, from actively grieving the Holy Spirit to succumbing to temptation or failing to endure in faith against spiritual forces.
Biblical texts frequently depict individuals and groups facing dire consequences when they resist God's will or fail to engage in spiritual vigilance. Job 4:9 states, "Perishing by the blast of God, and consumed by the spirit of his wrath," illustrating a direct divine judgment against resistance [1]. Similarly, Psalm 39:10 laments, "Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand," indicating a sense of being overwhelmed by God's disciplinary actions [3]. These passages suggest that resistance to God's power or correction can lead to a state of perishing, whether physically or spiritually.
The New Testament further elaborates on the nature of spiritual resistance. Ephesians 6:12 identifies the true adversaries as "not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" [2]. This verse highlights that believers are engaged in a spiritual battle, and resistance in this context means standing firm against these unseen forces. Failure to do so can lead to spiritual defeat.
One form of spiritual resistance involves grieving the Holy Spirit. Matthew Henry, commenting on Genesis 6:3, suggests that God's Spirit can be provoked by resistance to its motions. one tradition notes that "fleshly lusts are often punished with spiritual judgments, the sorest of all judgments," and that when the Spirit "ceased to strive with them," all religion was soon lost [6]. This interpretation implies that persistent resistance to the Holy Spirit's promptings can lead to its withdrawal, leaving individuals vulnerable to spiritual decay.
The idea of perishing under the weight of spiritual resistance also encompasses the struggle against temptation and sin. John Gill, in his commentary on Mark 14:37, interprets Jesus's admonition to "Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation" as a warning against denying Christ and falling away from him [4]. He suggests that the "spirit truly is ready," referring either to the evil spirit (Satan) who is eager to attack, or to the renewed spirit of the disciples, which is disposed to watch and pray [4]. This highlights the internal and external pressures that can lead to spiritual failure if not resisted through vigilance and prayer.
The concept of resistance is also tied to the idea of endurance in faith. The author of Hebrews encourages believers to "lay aside every weight, and the sin that did so easily beset them, and run with patience the race set before them" [10]. Matthew Henry interprets "every weight" as "all inordinate affection and concern for the body, and the present life and world," suggesting that such attachments can hinder spiritual progress and make one susceptible to spiritual defeat [10]. John Gill, commenting on Hebrews 12:4, notes that the audience had "not yet resisted unto blood," meaning they had not faced martyrdom for their faith, unlike some Old Testament saints and Christ himself [9]. This implies that there are varying degrees of spiritual resistance, and the ultimate test involves enduring even to the point of death.
The consequences of failing to resist spiritual adversaries or divine promptings can be severe. John Chrysostom, an Eastern Orthodox father, discusses the limitations of Old Testament purifications, noting that they were "not a perfect purification, nor a perfect remission, but half-complete and in a very small degree" [5]. He contrasts this with the perfect purification offered through Christ's passion, implying that reliance on incomplete means of purification or resistance to the ultimate sacrifice can leave one spiritually vulnerable [5]. The "shedding of blood" is presented as essential for remission, underscoring the gravity of spiritual matters [5].
The theme of purification and cleansing is central to overcoming spiritual resistance. David's prayer in Psalm 51:7, "Purge me with hyssop," is understood by Matthew Henry as a plea for pardon and restoration from the defilement of sin [8]. This alludes to ceremonial cleansing practices, suggesting that spiritual purification is necessary to counteract the effects of sin and resistance [8]. The efficacy of such purification is amplified in the New Covenant, where the blood of Christ is presented as far superior to the blood of animals. Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, commenting on Hebrews 9:13, argue that if the blood of mere animals could purify to some degree, "how much more shall inward purification, and complete and eternal salvation, be wrought by the blood of Christ" [7]. This highlights that true and lasting victory over spiritual resistance comes through Christ's atoning work.
Sources
- Job “Job 4:9 (DRC) — Perishing by the blast of God, and consumed by the spirit of his wrath.”
- Ephesians “Ephesians 6:12 (KJV) — For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
- Psalms “Psalms 39:10 (BSB) — Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand.”
- Mark (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Mark 14:37: Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation,.... Of denying Christ, and falling off from him, which would quickly offer to them, when they should see him apprehended, bound, and led away. The spirit truly is ready. The Persic version renders it, "my mind"; as if the Spirit or soul of Christ was meant; whereas it is either to be understood of the evil spirit, Satan, who was disposed to attack them, and especially Peter, whom he desired to have, and sift as wheat; or else the spirit of the disciples, their renewed spirit, which was ready and disposed watching and ”
- CCEL/NPNF (Eastern Orthodox) “John Chrysostom, Homilies on John & Hebrews: and water are the same thing.” for baptism is His passion. 3085 3085 See above on ch. vi. 6. [4.] Ver. 21, 22 . “Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry. And almost 3086 3086 or, “and we may almost say that according,” c. all things are by the law purged with blood, and without shedding of blood is no remission.” Why the “almost”? why did he qualify it? Because those [ordinances] were not a perfect purification, nor a perfect remission, but half-complete and in a very small degree. But in this case He”
- Genesis (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Genesis 6:3: This comes in here as a token of God's displeasure at those who married strange wives; he threatens to withdraw from them his Spirit, whom they had grieved by such marriages, contrary to their convictions: fleshly lusts are often punished with spiritual judgments, the sorest of all judgments. Or as another occasion of the great wickedness of the old world; the Spirit of the Lord, being provoked by their resistance of his motions, ceased to strive with them, and then all religion was soon lost among them. This he warns them of before, that they might not further ve”
- Hebrews (Presbyterian) “Jamieson, Fausset & Brown on Hebrews 9:13: PROOF OF AND ENLARGEMENT ON, THE "ETERNAL REDEMPTION" MENTIONED IN Heb 9:12. (Heb. 9:13-28) if--as we know is the case; so the Greek indicative means. Argument from the less to the greater. If the blood of mere brutes could purify in any, however small a degree, how much more shall inward purification, and complete and eternal salvation, be wrought by the blood of Christ, in whom dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead? ashes of an heifer-- (Num 19:16-18). The type is full of comfort for us. The water of separation, made of the ashes of the red heifer”
- Psalms (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Psalms 51:7: I. See here what David prays for. Many excellent petitions he here puts up, to which if we do but add, "for Christ's sake," they are as evangelical as any other. 1. He prays that God would cleanse him from his sins and the defilement he had contracted by them (Psa 51:7): "Purge me with hyssop; that is, pardon my sins, and let me know that they are pardoned, that I may be restored to those privileges which by sin I have forfeited and lost." The expression here alludes to a ceremonial distinction, that of cleansing the leper, or those that were unclean by the touch ”
- Hebrews (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Hebrews 12:4: Ye have not yet resisted unto blood,.... They had resisted sin, and Satan, and the world, the men of it, and the lusts of it, and its frowns and flatteries, and also false teachers, even every adversary of Christ, and their souls; but they had not, as yet, resisted unto blood, or to the shedding of their blood, as some of the Old Testament saints had done; as some in the times of the Maccabees, and as James the apostle of Christ, and as Christ himself: wherefore the apostle suggests, that they ought to consider, that they had been indulged; and what they had been eng”
- Hebrews (Nonconformist/Puritan) “Matthew Henry on Hebrews 12:1: Here observe what is the great duty which the apostle urges upon the Hebrews, and which he so much desires they would comply with, and that is, to lay aside every weight, and the sin that did so easily beset them, and run with patience the race set before them. The duty consists of two parts, the one preparatory, the other perfective. I. Preparatory: Lay aside every weight, and the sin, etc. 1. Every weight, that is, all inordinate affection and concern for the body, and the present life and world. Inordinate care for the present life, or fondness for it, is a de”