Spirit vs. flesh?

 

Lately I’ve noticed in myself and in others the contrast between two ways to live. It is described in the NT like this:

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:16–18)

While the Bible is filled with information to help us know the difference, the Lord gave me a new thought about this by a question: What does perfect obedience look like? 

I was with a few Christian women earlier this week who were unlike most people that I’ve ever met. It is hard to explain, but they were without pretense, ego issues, guilt, malice, resentment, nor any other negatives. However, they could tease one another, boast in their own weaknesses, and laugh about everything. These women were like children in joyful play, yet profound in their wisdom. 

As I think about them and about other experiences, I realize that God is showing me how to define what it is like to walk in the Spirit. It isn’t about choice, because He does it, but there are no desires of the flesh. Sin simply does not enter the mind, and if it does, it is quickly recognized and rejected. Love flows instead.

This morning, God raised another question. This one is related to His first command:
And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Genesis 2:16–17)

Why that one? The fruit itself was not evil. Charnock says, “Adam was prohibited nothing else but this one, as a sign of his subjection. Now for this no reason can be rendered by any man but merely the will of God; this was merely a fruit of his dominion.”

In other words, God told Adam to do what He said, without making any judgment on it or having any reason to see why. A similar command was made to Abram when he was told to sacrifice his son. That man just did it, without asking why, or protesting, or offering a ‘better’ idea. Obedience is not so much a conscious choice but a spontaneous positive response to what God said. So is walking by the Spirit.

In the garden, God gave that one rule to show the only boundary I have for the freedom God gives. That boundary is: “Did God give me the thought? Or is it my idea?” What highlights His sovereignty? Is there self-reliance in this idea, my words, or my actions? Or is it pure God?

Unfortunately, many learn (or not) by trial and error. Mostly error. I follow a fleshy idea without being Spirit-filled and crash. Had I been Spirit-filled, that idea would not have entered my head in the first place.

This is the difference between the old life and the childlike innocence that Jesus gives. A Spirit-filled life replaces the ‘death’ of being useless, separated from God, self-glorying and driving by personal effort. The flesh might seem okay, even good, but its source is rooted in the knowledge of good and evil and making a choice, rather than in the spontaneous response to the Holy Spirit, regardless of what He asks of me. There is so much trust that disobedience or even questioning God is not even a thought.

The commands of the Law all have reasons. Caring about others keeps the world in peace. Being thankful produces contentment. Prayer keeps me connected to the Lord. But knowing good and evil draws me into a life of making choices instead of simply living only to do what God puts in my heart. And out of that life flows “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.” (Galatians 5:22–23)

 PRAY: Lord, You are telling me to simply love and trust You, to focus on Your kingdom and righteousness, to be filled with Your Spirit — and You will lead me along the way everlasting. While explaining this ‘walk in the Spirit’ to others, may each of us enjoy a return to Eden before sin threw us out — and may You receive great glory. Amen!

Not my will…

 
Today’s devotional is about the human will and encourages readers to choose to obey God by exercising their will. Emphasis is put on the power of our will. This is a common theme in this devotional book ironically titled “God is Enough.”

Every time I read the statements that say our power to live the Christian life is in the will, I think of what Jesus said in the garden: “Not my will but Thine be done” and have to assume that there is a difference between my will and the will of God. Jesus had no problem with His will because He didn’t think about Himself or what He wanted that might be contrary to the will of the Father, but I do. My will, which is a strong part of my old nature, wants what I want when I want it.

When Jesus came into my heart, I became aware that His nature and mine were not the same. I too can say, “not my will but Thine be done” — particularly when the conflict is obvious and I’m walking in the Spirit. Even though my old nature wants whatever it wants, the Spirit alerts me to the will of God and the difference. 

For instance, when driving in heavy traffic, I’ve noticed that I can choose patience. That is, this attitude is in me, the attitude of the Spirit of God, and because of Him I choose to live by it instead of the old way. Even in that ordinary situation, this applies:

Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain. (Philippians 2:14–16)

God wants me to choose to “Walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do…” (Galatians 5:16–18)

However, there is another part of this that is often overlooked; I also need the Spirit of God to even make that choice. Without Jesus in my life, there is only one will — mine. With Jesus, there are two, and enabling me to choose His will is part of what He does — simply because my old nature, which died with Him, is persistent to crawl off the altar and live. Again, Jesus comes to the rescue:

Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now…. work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. (Philippians 2:12–13)

God works in me to enable me to want His will as well as do it. He knows the weakness of human flesh. A Christian once said that this weakness is a problem, not because it is weak but because it should be considered dead, not able to function at all, never mind interfere with our decisions.

Yes, God is enough. Relying on Him may seem like my choice, but without Him, I would not see the choice, never mind be able to make it. The human will left untouched by the power of redemption will never say “not my will” but will always insist on having its own way. This is why Jesus came and had to die, that He could change hearts and give sinners a new way to live.

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:14–18)

PRAY: The older I get and the longer this walk through time with You, Jesus, the more I realize that You alone are my Savior and the One who enables me to follow You. In all of life, my will needs to be ignored and Your will totally relied on, and to make that choice, I also need Your Spirit and Your grace.


 

I fight yet the victory belongs to God . . .

 

After a distressing dream, I rose today feeling terrible. After singing a few worship songs and yielding my feelings to God, I began to experience His joy and presence. I know He is with me and I know that He loves me. A dream is only a dream, even though dreams often show me attitudes that I need to deal with when awake.

Today’s devotional is about those attitudes. How am I to think when the enemy does such things as trying to use a dream to challenge my faith in God? The NT says:

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. (Ephesians 6:10–11)

While MacArthur makes a case that spiritual victory is not passive and involves the discipline of daily obedience to Christ and His Word, that Word also says:

For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account. (Hebrews 4:12–13, italics mine)

If I am to be strong “in the Lord and in the strength of His might” then I need to know what it means to be in Him and relying on His strength. The NT also says:

Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Galatians 3:2–3)

I’m to put off the deeds of the flesh in full awareness of what they are. That is, the spirit is to be directed by the Spirit of God, not by my fleshy faculties that desire whatever will glorify me or make me feel in control, etc. I can praise God each morning then turn around and mentally belittle others who fail in that spiritual discipline like the Pharisee did concerning the publican (Luke 18:9-14). Praise is from the Holy Spirit, but my critical spirit is fleshy.

The flesh can elbow its way in when I pray for others too, or when engaged in spiritual warfare. I am not strong “in the Lord” if I’m doing anything for my own glory. I’m not strong in Him if I am feeling powerful in myself. Because of this, “waiting on the Lord” is vital, not a passive exercise or an evidence of “quietism” as suggested by some as wimping out, but in my life, it is not that at all. In fact, waiting on the Lord takes all the self-control that the Holy Spirit can give me. When bad things happen, if the Spirit motivates me to act, my flesh will resist, but if the Spirit does not tell me to do something, my flesh will be anxious to “just do something” and go ahead of God’s leading. This is about obedience, not about my efforts fitting in with God’s efforts.

The movement called “quietism” refers to Christians doing nothing after claiming to wait on God. If I’m truly waiting for His instruction, He gives it to me. It can be to speak up or act, but it can also be to sit down and shut up. This isn’t about my skills; it is about obeying God. It is also about being in the Word so I know what He is apt to tell me, and never about supposing or assuming. The Word exposes my motives.

As MacArthur says, my life is like a war, a race, and a fight, yet the battle is often between me and God, not me and the devil.

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. (Galatians 5:16–18)

Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. (James 4:7)

I need to submit first to God before resisting the Devil. Even though the Bible says to work out my salvation with fear and trembling, it adds, “yet it is God who works in me, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13) I cannot take credit for any good I do, for the power to resist or to submit. This salvation is about Jesus Christ, not about me. Yes, God supplies the resources, and He also supplies the effort.

PRAY: Thank You Jesus for all that You provide for spiritual victory. Even as I pray and do what You say, it is You on the throne of my heart. May that old fleshy nature stay dead and not be stirred up to interfere with what You want for my life.

PONDER: What qualities does God give me to live for Him? See 2 Peter 1:3–7. Can I do any of this without His supply? If I could, who would I boast about?