This may not sound like a pleasant subject, but it is one that is vital to understand. It’s important for Christians to be aware of any obstacles that get in the way of us attempting to pursue our destiny in Christ. A part of that is misunderstanding what the real problem is when we are struggling to do so. And of course, we have an enemy who wants us to remain in the dark about this topic, and actively works to do so. But, like Paul told the Corinthians, “We are not ignorant of his schemes,” (2 Corinthians 2:11). And ignorance IS one of his schemes.
You see, satan doesn't care if we are ignorant about why we can't gain victory in some area of our life, blaming him when the problem is elsewhere. He will not expose truth to us--he can't for he is the father of lies (John 8:44). He will do whatever he can to keep us believing a lie, so we remain in bondage, blaming him when the problem often lies in our own flesh--the sinful nature of it.
Let’s see what Paul said about this to the Romans.
Romans 8:3
3 For what
the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh,
God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in
the flesh,
The Law of Moses, which the Jews were given as a way to try and attain righteousness before God, never justified anyone due to the sinful nature of man. The Law could not make anyone righteous because no one could keep it. It became powerless to bring people into righteousness with God because the flesh is sinful. Only Jesus kept the Law without sin. Which is why He was able to become the sacrifice for us.
What exactly is the flesh?
Romans 8:5a AMPC
5 For
those who are according to the flesh and are controlled
by its unholy desires set their minds on and pursue
those things which gratify the flesh, . . .
The flesh is the sinful nature of mankind with inborn, unholy desires and thought patterns. The flesh is sinful, and weak in its attempt to resist sin (Matthew 26:41). So those who are controlled by the flesh intentionally pursue the gratification of the flesh’s unholy desires. Whether aware of it or not, they allow their flesh to control their minds and, as a result, make decisions that oppose the righteousness of God.
The end result of this is not good.
Romans 8:6a AMPC
6 Now
the mind of the flesh [which is sense and reason without the Holy
Spirit] is death [death that comprises all the miseries arising
from sin, both here and hereafter], . . .
So, the flesh is sinful, weak, and the reasoning of the fleshly mind results in death, to include eternal death or separation from God, who is life.
In fact,
Romans 8:7-8
7 .
. .the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does
not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to
do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot
please God.
The mind of the flesh does not lead to life, or to righteousness. It cannot keep the law of God, in fact its hostile toward Him—opposes Him. The law of God referenced here is not just talking about the Law of Moses, but His ultimate standard of righteousness—which is written in our hearts.
So those in the flesh—those who have allowed their flesh to dominate their mind and control their decisions—are not pleasing God, they are not on a path of maturing in Christ, and not on a path of life.
So what do we see so far?
The flesh is weak and sinful, and if you allow it to dictate your choices you will pursue that which gratifies your fleshly appetites, not please the Holy Spirit. In fact, you will be in opposition—hostile—toward God, not subjecting yourself to His Word, and therefore not pleasing Him. Is this how a Christian should live? God forbid. (Bear with me, good news is coming!)
What about when we do want to do good and live right, we have the Holy Spirit in us, but still struggle in the flesh? Paul explains.
Romans 7:18
18 For
I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh;
for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.
Paul says that in his flesh (and in ours too) there is nothing good. Which is why we might want to do what’s right, but in our flesh we don’t have the ability to do so. Remember, those in the flesh CANNOT please God.
Paul goes on—
Romans 7:22-23
22 For
I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but
I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war
against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the
law of sin which is in my members.
So the flesh wages war against your mind in order to bring your entire being into a prison of sin. Your flesh seeks to influence your mind so as to dominate it and get what it wants, The “law of sin” is in our flesh—our bodies—and like a spoiled brat, it is in opposition to God. We may agree with God’s way of living in our inner man, our spirit, while our flesh is warring against our mind.
I’m driving home the point that being led by our fleshly desires is not just displeasing to God, but outright dangerous for ourselves. Your flesh is waging war against you and your destiny! It’s warring against your mind to try and gain control.
So, how do we overcome?
2 Corinthians 10:3-5.
3 For
though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, 4 for
the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely
powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 We
are destroying speculations and every lofty
thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking
every thought captive to the obedience of Christ,
A broader definition of verse five in the Amplified Bible:
2 Corinthians 10:5 AMPC
5 [Inasmuch
as we] refute arguments and theories and reasonings
and every proud and lofty thing that sets itself
up against the [true] knowledge of God; and we lead every thought and
purpose away captive into the obedience of Christ (the Messiah, the
Anointed One),
The “fortresses” that need to be destroyed in order for us to gain victory in our spiritual battles are our thoughts—those reasonings, theories, arguments, etc. that oppose Christ. The battle is in our mind and over our mind. And these are not just thoughts from the enemy, or from the world around us, although that’s a part of it, but these are thoughts of our OWN FLESH.
Your own flesh is waging war against your mind, to try and control it, for the purpose of self-gratification. The flesh and the Spirit of God are in opposition to one another.
Galatians 5:16-18
16 But
I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the
desire of the flesh. 17 For the
flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit
against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you
may not do the things that you please. 18 But
if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.
It’s vital we understand this because, though there is a time to rebuke the devil and demons, if we are doing so when it’s our flesh waging war against us, then we will be directing our attention to the wrong place and we will not gain victory, while the devil just laughs at us. He doesn’t mind taking the blame if our ignorance will keep us in bondage—unable to pursue God’s destiny for us. God’s destiny for us means trouble for him.
We fight by gaining victory in our minds, our thoughts, and that is done through walking by the Spirit of God. We don’t fight our flesh in the flesh.
So is your body bad?
There is a deception out there that tells you that you must severely mistreat your body to bring it under control. This kind of teaching may give an appearance of some kind of sacrificial religious behavior, but it too is a fleshly mindset. It is of no value against fleshly indulgence. Abusing your body will not stop your flesh from trying to take control. It is a spiritual battle, even though it involves the flesh.
Paul explains this to the Colossians:
Colossians 2:18, 23
18 Let
no one keep defrauding you of your prize by delighting in self-abasement
and the worship of the angels, taking his stand on visions he
has seen, inflated without cause by his fleshly mind,
23 These are matters which have, to be sure, the appearance of wisdom in self-made religion and self-abasement and severe treatment of the body, but are of no value against fleshly indulgence.
God does not want us to engage in severe (mis)treatment of the body, or to abuse our bodies, that is not how we war against fleshly appetites. I want to make that clear, that is an extreme.
God has a purpose for your body—
Your body was made to house the Spirit of God. When it does, and you welcome and yield to His Spirit, then His glory shines in and through you. Consider these Scriptures:
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Or do
you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is
in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? 20 For you
have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
2 Corinthians 4:6-7
6 For
God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who
has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the
glory of God in the face of Christ.
7 But
we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing
greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves;
James 4:5 AMPC
5 Or
do you suppose that the Scripture is speaking to no purpose that says, The
Spirit Whom He has caused to dwell in us yearns over us and He
yearns for the Spirit [to be welcome] with a jealous love?
These are just few of the Scriptures which speak of our bodies, which house our spirit, also housing the Holy Spirit who is in us who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord. Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Our earthen vessels contain the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. God yearns over us, and He yearns for us to welcome His Spirit within us. What an honor and a privilege to house the Holy Spirit of the living God in our bodies! See also Psalm 139:13-17
So, again, how do we not give in to our fleshly appetites and gain victory over them in our mind? Let’s look again, with more detail this time, at what Paul wrote to the Romans.
Romans 8:1-2
Therefore
there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. 2 For the
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from
the law of sin and of death.
There is a greater law than the Law of Moses, or any law that we might try and use to gain freedom from sin and it’s consequence—death. This greater law is the, “law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus.” This law has set us free from the law of sin and death!
Romans 8:3-4
3 For what
the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did:
sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an
offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 so
that the requirement of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who do not
walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
God did, through Jesus, what the Law couldn’t do due to the weakness of our flesh. Now, as we walk according to the Spirit, and not the flesh, we fulfil the requirement of the Law.
Romans 8:5-6
5 For
those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the
flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the
Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death,
but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,
As we pursue the things of the Spirit—setting our mind to do so—the result is life and peace, not death.
Romans 8:9-11
9 However,
you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of
God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ,
he does not belong to Him. 10 If Christ is in you,
though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of
righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him
who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who
raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal
bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.
We are not “in the flesh” but “in the Spirit” if we have the Spirit of God in us. Our spirit is alive because of the righteousness we have in Christ Jesus. His Spirit in us gives life to our mortal bodies.
HOWEVER, we can still get “in the flesh” by allowing it to win battles against our mind. When we have the Spirit of God in us, we have the ability to overcome sin, but we have to walk it out. It’s not enough to have Him in us, and then ignore Him and still listen to the flesh. (That’s like jumping out of an airplane holding your parachute but never opening it up).
Romans 8:12-13
12 So
then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you
are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the
Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For
all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
We are not under obligation, as Christians, to live according to the flesh—which brings death. But, we are under obligation to, by the Spirit of God within us, put down the fleshly appetites, desires, cravings, etc. that try and control our decision making and therefore our actions, words, thoughts, desires, pursuits etc.
It is only by the Spirit of God that we can “put to death the deeds of the body.” Of course, this is not killing your physical body, but bringing your fleshly appetites, impulses, and sinful desires to a halt. (See 1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
Remember, the flesh wants your mind, so it can control your body.
It’s not always demons bringing you thoughts, it’s your
own flesh.
You don’t rebuke, resist, or cast out your flesh like you
do demons, you bring it under subjection.
Fasting is a great example of bringing fleshly appetites under control. If you want to know the voice of God, go on a fast and you’ll hear the difference! The flesh will either scream or pout to get its way (food) or will talk sweetly to you, and rationalize why God says it’s okay to eat now.
There is a certain amount of “suffering” that brings discipline to your flesh.
Romans 8:16-17
16 The
Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and
if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if
indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be
glorified with Him.
1 Peter 4:1-2
Therefore,
since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm
yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who
has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 so
as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts
of men, but for the will of God.
Jesus didn’t just suffer in the flesh when He died on the cross. He resisted sin His entire life, just like we are to do throughout our life. Peter said, “He who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.” Again, not by abuse, but disciplining your flesh like you would a child—not giving it everything it wants. The rest of our time here on earth in the flesh, should be done for the will of God, not the pleasures of our flesh, and this, by the way, will bring the greatest satisfaction. Far beyond temporary sinful pleasures.
I know this may be hard to hear, but if we don’t learn to bring our flesh under subjection, it may get such advantage over us that we are unable to do the will of God and fulfill the purposes He sent us here for. Remember, the flesh is weak, sinful, cannot please God, and is waging war against your mind.
Something like fasting will help you discern between the voice of your flesh and the Spirit of God. Your flesh has a voice. You will hear it when you fast! Let that help you learn to discern the voice of the Spirit of God.
And remember, It’s not the letter of the Law, or any law, that gives life, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6). The purpose of the Law was to reveal that mankind was unable to keep it. We can’t keep God’s law on our own. It revealed the sinful passions working in our bodies, and that all of us fall short of God’s holy standards and are deserving of death. The Law was good, but it was beyond what man could keep.
Romans 7:5
5 For
while we were in the flesh, the sinful passions, which were aroused by
the Law, were at work in the members of our body to bear
fruit for death.
The Law was like a light shining to reveal that the cravings of the flesh oppose the ways of God.
Romans 7:13
13 Therefore
did that which is good become a cause of death for
me? May it never be! Rather it was sin, in order that it might be shown
to be sin by effecting my death through that which is good, so that through
the commandment sin would become utterly sinful.
The Law was revealing sin—exposing it. Both what sin is AND that our flesh craves for it.
Romans 6:22-23
22 But
now having been freed from sin and enslaved to God, you derive
your benefit, resulting in sanctification,
and the outcome, eternal life. 23 For
the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
As believers in Christ Jesus, having made Him our Lord, we are freed from sin and enslaved to God. The result is for our own benefit—sanctification, which results in eternal life. This “enslavement” brings a new level of freedom. Sin enslaves to result in death, but God’s enslavement leads to life and fulfillment of our destiny and purpose.
You have a choice not to yield to sin
Romans 6:12-14
12 Therefore
do not let sin reign in your mortal body so
that you obey its lusts, 13 and do not go
on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments
of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the
dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. 14 For sin
shall not be master over you, for you are not under law
but under grace.
Paul goes on to make sure they understood that just because you are not under the law, but under grace, doesn’t mean you can continue in sin. Absolutely not, just the opposite; which is why he went into the whole discussion in chapters 7 and 8 which we just covered.
The point is, you have a choice, meaning that you don’t have to be overcome with sin. It’s not a choice in the sense that you can sin if you want and get away with it not affecting you; it’s a choice, and an opportunity, to overcome it by not yielding to it. The assumption is that you WANT to overcome it.
When its all said and done, the Bible was written for those who want to live righteously and please God. However, if you are living for yourself, your own pursuits and pleasures, the Bible is not for you, until you want to change. Do we want to be good people, or not? The Bible is the only way.
There is a deceptive aspect of giving in to the lures of the flesh.
Giving in to the appetites of the flesh will affect your thinking. These appetites are not just about satisfying a physical desire, but are ultimately after your mind. The more you yield to them, they gain a place in your thinking—to control you. It works much like an addiction. At first, it’s fun, then it enslaves you, and finally destroys you.
The deceptive aspect to it, is the justifications and reasonings, which open the door to sins of the mind—pride, vanity, selfish ambition & recognition, laziness. The longer it goes on, the more you think you’re “getting away with it,” and the bigger hook it has in you.
The flesh and the fleshly mind want to be fed—entertained, catered to
etc. which is a self-centered “kingdom.”
The mind of the Spirit leads
you into creativity, purpose, that which gives and builds the kingdom of God.
There is a connection between the appetites of the flesh and the deception of the mind.
Key
Points:
Your
flesh is opposed to God and wages war against your mind to try and control your thinking & actions.
Though there
is a time to rebuke the devil and demons, if we are doing so when it’s our
flesh waging war against us, then we will be directing our attention to the wrong
thing and we will not gain victory. We need discernment, for your flesh
will try and hide behind the demon thing.
Abusing
your body will not stop your flesh from trying to take control. It is a spiritual battle, even though it involves the
flesh. Your body is a beautiful creation by God, made to house the Holy Spirit.
We are
not “in the flesh” but “in the Spirit” if
we have the Spirit of God in us. HOWEVER, we can still get “in the
flesh” by allowing it to win battles against our mind. Don’t give in. Don’t
compromise.
It is
our obligation that, by the Spirit of God within us, we put down the fleshly
appetites that try and control our decision
making and therefore our actions, words, thoughts, desires, pursuits etc.
Fasting
is an excellent way to bring your fleshly appetites under control, and to help you discern between the voice of the flesh
and the Voice of God.
If we
don’t learn to bring our flesh under subjection, it may gain such advantage
over us that we are unable to do the
will of God and fulfill the purposes He sent us here for.
The law
revealed both what sin is AND that our flesh craves for it. However, don’t
try and force your behavior through a set of rules, but be led and controlled
by the Spirit of God.
As
believers in Christ Jesus, having made Him our Lord, we are freed from sin and
enslaved to God. The result is for our own
benefit—sanctification, which results in eternal life.
You
have a choice, meaning that you don’t have to
be overcome with sin. The assumption is that you WANT to overcome it.
There
is a deceptive aspect of giving in to the lures of the flesh. It will affect your thinking, giving sin a foothold, and
eventually a stronghold.
Prayer—
Father God, we’re serious about You, our relationship
with You, and the salvation You’ve given us.
Jesus, we want You as Lord. Not just as a catchy phrase,
but we seriously want You to rule over us—all of us—spirit, soul and body.
Holy Spirit, we welcome You. Come, fill us, fall on us.
Lead us, guide us, teach us.
We tear down all strongholds of thinking that oppose
Christ, and bring every thought captive to Him.
Give us wisdom and reveal the schemes of, not only the
devil and his cohorts, but our own flesh.
We do not want to oppose You in any way.
God, please forgive us and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Lead us in the paths of righteousness.
We determine not to compromise with sin, or with our ungodly fleshly appetites.
Show us when and how and what to fast.
Help us learn to discern Your voice from all others.
We want Your righteousness.
We want to overcome sin and the weakness and sinfulness
of our flesh.
We thank You for our physical bodies, we will not abuse them, yet we know we can’t gain righteousness or victory over sin through forcing a law upon our bodies.
We yield to You, Holy Spirit, and choose to walk in the
Spirit, after the Spirit, after Your heart.
Thank You Jesus for the victory You bought and paid for
us with Your own suffering. We follow You and Your ways in all that we do.
We thank You that You always cause us to triumph in You,
and we are more than conquerors through You who loved us.
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