Galatians 5:16 (NKJV) - 16 I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
God created man with a spirit, a soul, and a body so man could contain God and express things to Him. Every part of man was pure, including his body. But when Adam and Eve ate of the tree of knowledge, good, and evil, they took on the sinful nature of the devil. This deadened their spirits, damaged their souls, and corrupted their pure bodies, changing them into sinful flesh.
We feel the pull of the Holy Spirit in our heart, and the pull from our very own flesh. How can we overcome the desires of the flesh and follow the Spirit?
I remember that before I was a Christian I was in the world but I never looked at the world. After I received Jesus Christ in my life, my spiritual eyes were opened. Then I noticed all the beauty and wonder of the world. It is a new birth because you are born into a different world. It may be the same world, but the world looks a lot different after receiving the Holy Spirit.
When we become born-again Christians, God places His seal of ownership upon us. The seal of God’s ownership is the Holy Spirit indwelling in our hearts. After the Holy Spirit has regenerated our hearts and the life of Christ has been imparted, the Holy Spirit will never leave us or forsake us. The Holy Spirit makes such a radical change in us that our whole personality is focused on doing the will of God.
The Holy Spirit is our ultimate helper and sanctifier. When we yield to the leading of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has the power to help us resist sin and make a positive change in our lives. When we become born-again Christians the Spirit of God comes in and joins with our spirit. This "indwelling Spirit" reproduces the life of Jesus in us.
We must always yield to the Holy Spirit. If you want God to be in control of your life you must be willing to let go of your plans and be willing to use God's plans. You must be willing to let the Holy Spirit make the necessary changes in your life to turn you around from the world’s way of thinking to God's plans and purpose for your life.
| We must quit holding onto our own plans. Ask yourself this question: Are you willing to let the Holy Spirit lead you and guide you? Are you willing to trust that God will lead you through all situations? We must truly believe that the Holy Spirit is the power of God. The Holy Spirit helps us develop fully into being what our Lord Jesus wants us to be, and equips us to do the work of the ministry that Jesus has for our purpose in this world. It is only the Holy Spirit that can change us into a more mature Christian. It does not happen because of our cleverness, education, charisma, or will power. We cannot come into full Christian maturity without the help of the Holy Spirit. | |
| Romans 7:18 (NKJV) - 18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. | |
The flesh always called you to do the natural things of man, which is contrary to God. The flesh is the fallen and corrupted human body with all its lusts. This flesh was not created by God, but is a mixture of God’s creature and sin, which is the life of Satan, the evil one. God created man’s body a pure vessel, but this vessel was corrupted and transmuted into the flesh by Satan’s injecting himself into it at the time of the fall. Now Satan as sin personified is in man’s flesh, making his home there and ruling as an illegal master, overruling man and forcing him to do things that he dislikes. It is this indwelling sin, which is the unchangeable evil nature that constitutes all sinners.
The rebellious, unruly, and obstinate part of our inner self that is operational all the time. It is that part of us that does not want to be told what to do. It is stubborn, refuses correction, and does not want to have a thing to do with God. It bristles at limits and rules.
The flesh hates to be under the authority, or to have to yield to anything other than its own wishes and desires. The flesh often desires something simply because it is forbidden. The Protestants often call the flesh our “sin nature” which is not a bad term in summarizing what the flesh is. In the Catholic tradition the flesh is where concupiscence sets up shop. Concupiscence refers to the string inclination to sin that is in us as a result of the wound of the original sin. If you do not think that your flesh is strong, just try to pray for five minutes and watch how quickly your mind wants to think of anything but God. Just try to fast or be less selfish and watch how your flesh goes to war.
Written by Henry Miranda
