THE DEVIL; "THE OLD MAN"
The wisdom of the fathers
THE DEVIL; THE '' OLD MAN.''
These names have been confounded and actually made synonymous by a number of people. As stated in a preceding chapter, the devil is no man at all, but was once an angel in heaven; and angels are a different order of beings from human beings. The devil is a fallen archangel; the '' old man" is a fallen human nature. It is a bias or tendency to sin, planted in our race through the work of the devil.
The devil is the father of the old man;'' the ''old man '' is the only begotten child of the devil. The sinner has both the devil and the '' old man in him; the regenerated soul has only the '' old man;'' the sanctified man has neither. With him the devil is on the outside, the ''old man" is dead, and the New Man reigns in the heart without a rival. Regeneration casts out the devil, and he should stay out; sanctification destroys the ''old man," and he should stay dead. The Bible never says, "Resist the 'old man,' or "Put off the devil;" but just the other way, "Resist the devil," and "Put off the 'old man.''' We cannot escape from the presence of Satan, but can from inbred sin.
That Satan, however, can resow his tares in a sanctified heart, both the Bible and life teach. If he could get into the pure heart of Adam in Eden, he can certainly obtain entrance into sanctified souls that are not watchful and obedient, and fail to keep under "the blood." Then is it that the archenemy, taking unto himself seven other spirits, returns unto the house that had been swept and garnished after his ejection, and the last state of that man is worse than the first.
(from "The Old Man" by B. Carradine)