‘For those who live according to the flesh,
pursue what the body wants;
Those who live according to the Spirit--to what the Spirit desires.“
For the last 2 weeks we have considered the Word of Life from the Letter to the Romans. The truths revealed here are crucial. We do not live to search entertainment, but our life should become the way to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. It is simply a fight for the most crucial – for eternal life! Our earthly life is simply a test of whether we can stay faithful to the Lord Jesus in the fight against our own pride, i.e. to advance our own will, which yet prevents us from achieving the eventual goal of eternal life. In baptism God gave us the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and we ourselves received the same Spirit as the apostles and another Christians--especially those who walked in the Spirit and attained holiness. We besides must attain holiness in the circumstances in which we live. For this intent God gave us the aid of the Holy Spirit, and the dying Jesus gave us his Mother.
Pride is blindness and darkness. Humility is the light and sight, the ability to see things of God. In Romans chapter 8, the Spirit and body are constantly opposed. And not only here, but besides in Galatians chapter 5. The Biblical word “body” means not only our physical body, but besides the manifestations of fleshly thinking, specified as unbridled desires, uncleanness, and manifestations of selfishness. In his letter to the Galatians, the apostle mentions the works of the flesh, that is, human selfishness: fornication, uncleanness, idolatry, witchcraft, occult practices, strife, quarrels, jealousy, malice, etc. All this is related to our reasoning and will, that is, the action of our soul. No 1 needs to learn this, it comes straight from the poisoned root in our soul—from the first sin, which, with its destructive action, we can call "old man" or broken human nature. This is rooted in us, and if we reject the protective barrier of God's law and the commandments of Jesus, the “old man” will secretly dominate our reasoning and blind us spiritually. Then, without even realizing it, we will lose our surviving religion and our surviving relation with Jesus Christ.
But in addition to the “old man”—the “body of sin”—the Holy Spirit besides dwells in us, if we are in the grace of God, and if we have not cast Him out by disbelief or dense sin. Rather, it can be said that he is cast out by the "old man," in whom we are enslaved, giving him our will and mind. This fight between the Spirit and the flesh is yet about eternal life.
Recall the first 2 verses of chapter 8: ‘But now for those in Christ Jesus there is no condemnationIt’s okay. ” ‘For the law of the Spirit, who gives life in Christ Jesus, delivered you from the law of sin and deathIt’s okay. ” We have been repeating this verse for 2 weeks, as has the erstwhile one. We've explained it before, but it's not enough. I believe that erstwhile you were in that word, the Holy Spirit revealed this fact deeper to your head and heart.
Consider now verse 5: "Those who live according to the flesh search what the flesh desires; but those who live according to the Spirit--to what the Spirit desires.". Any translation or explanation can be given: those who do only what they want to do tend to do what is fleshly, while those who let themselves to be guided by the Spirit tend to do what is spiritual.
Many places in the Bible talk of spirit, soul, and body. The strength of the soul is head and will. As a consequence of first sin, the head has difficulty recognizing the essence of truth, and the will is weakened in its ability to do the actual good. This contamination with first sin besides touches the heart of man and causes disharmony in him. As a result, uncontrollable desires enslave the heart with selfishness and same - love. Hence, the Scriptures describe the human heart as the most treacherous of all (Jr 17:9) and as the stone heart (Ez 36:26). God promised to give us a fresh heart (Ez 36,26).
If we carefully read God’s Word and at the same time sincerely observe the subtle differences between spiritual and spiritual manifestations, we find it frequently hard to separate between separate boundaries. But that is not always necessary. It is much more essential and beneficial to know the differences between the flesh and the spirit and their manifestations. God’s Word shows us this for our sake in respective places rather clearly, especially in Romans chapter 8 and Galatians chapter 5. From the Greek first of the Scriptures, it is sometimes hard to separate erstwhile it comes to the spirit of man and erstwhile it comes to the Spirit of God in us.
Quotes from the Epistles to the Romans and the Galatians concerning the contradictions between the spirit and the body and their fruits: Rom 8.4-9 and Ga 5:16-25. Read these verses.
