Introduction:
Destructive:
this means tending
to
destroy; causing
destruction or
much
damage;
tending to overthrow, disprove,
or
discredit.
When man broke fellowship with God, the
judgement of God rested on all mankind: “Wherefore,
as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Rom. 5:12). Today all the
world walks in the image and likeness of Satan, because they all have this
cursed nature. Everyone loves their selfish nature until the sight of the
glorious Gospel of Jesus Christ is seen and repentance proceeds. The
flesh nature and the nature of Satan are the same, hence, they are in total
agreement. When our heart loved this
flesh nature, our motives were the same as Satan’s, such as: selfishness and
self-love.
The deeds or fruit of the flesh represent the
character and nature of Satan. Because this nature is rooted deeply in the
hearts of all mankind, their only motive will be to satisfy the desires of
their flesh and live for themselves. This is why the Spirit of God leads us to
put to death the deeds of the rebellious flesh which shall serve
as the bulk part of our discussion today. (Rom. 8:13, 14; Gal. 5:16,24).
The moment a person accepts Jesus Christ as his
Lord and Savior, and then moves forward to receive the Holy Spirit, that person is instantly and literally translated from
the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of God's light by God's Holy Spirit of
truth. The Apostle Paul describes this process as the "mystery"
revealed, which is "Christ in you" the hope of glory.
God rescued us from the power and bondage of
the world,
the flesh,
the devil,
and supernaturally empowered us with the light of His truth, love,
and Holy
Spirit. God draws humanity from enmity towards Him to an illumination
of truth that leads to salvation in Christ by the cross, preaching of His Word,
and the conviction of His Holy Spirit. The world represents people, religions,
governments, or worldly systems that oppose Christ.
1. The Spiritual Man and the
"Flesh"
1Jo 2:16 “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of
the world”.
What is meant by the flesh? In this context,
the flesh is the fallen, natural, carnal state in which we are born, or our
sinful nature that seeks to satisfy its own lusts and expresses itself in our
thoughts and actions in a way that opposes the spiritual nature and life of
God.
Rom 7:25 “I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with
the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin”.
When we walk according to our fleshly lusts
we are walking according to the law of sin from which we have been liberated in
Christ as become saints.
The inclination to sin is present in our
flesh and we continue more or less to struggle in some of these areas. The
flesh spoken of here is not about experiencing the good things that God has
given to us for our enjoyment. When we walk according to God's truth we bear
the fruit of God's Spirit (love, peace, joy, long suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance; against such there is no law, Gal.
5:23.
If we sow according to the flesh we will reap
dead works, but the fruit of the Spirit gives life to the soul. Abiding in the
realm of the flesh renders us powerless against our spiritual enemies, the
devil and his kingdom. At this juncture, we are on his territory and not
God's.
2. Overcoming Our Own Fleshly Nature.
Gal 5:17 “For the flesh lusteth
against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary
the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would”.
Gal 6:8 “For he that soweth
to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the
Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting”.
The life of God that is given to every
believer is made manifest in our hearts and lives when we walk in the
Spirit. But if we live according to the lusts of the flesh
we continue to reap corruption.
Gal 5:19-21 “Now the works of the flesh
are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
seditions, heresies. envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, . . ."
The battleground between the flesh and the
Spirit is between the life of the Spirit and the fruit of the flesh which is
spiritual death, therefore our spiritual warfare also takes place in the realm
of the flesh to be overcome by the power of God's Holy Spirit on a daily basis.
This is also a battle between love and hate; truth and lies.
To be more than a conqueror in Christ over
the powers of darkness, those who have accepted Christ as their Savior, must
first understand that they are saved by grace and not by works. When we receive
God’s Holy Spirit we are given spiritual life, a new nature. We can never
redeem ourselves or make ourselves good enough to be saved. This is a life
giving gift from God and God alone, and is freely given to those who ask Christ
to save them. Salvation is a one time act.
Eph 6:12 “For our wrestling is
not against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the
powers, against the world-rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual hosts
of wickedness in the heavenly places”.
Reflection: Is it any
wonder why Scripture says, "Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ
Jesus shall suffer persecution, 2Ti 3:12. We are in conflict with sinful
flesh, the world systems, and the god of this world, the devil. But, God
is more powerful than all of these.
1Jo
4:4 “Ye are of God, little children,
and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is
in the world”.
2Co
4:17 “For our light affliction, which
is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of
glory;”
2Co
4:18 “While we look not at the things
which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are
seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal”.