Galatians 5:16. This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
And it’s a wet and cloudy Thursday morning, the sunshine we’ve had the last few days has disappeared, but life is still great, because we still have Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, and with Him we have everything we could ever need or want! Glory be! Now, as promised yesterday, if God saved life today, we’d continue looking at Bruh Paul’s words as he explains his struggles with his sin nature. And since we’re alive and kicking, through God’s great and daily compassions, let’s keep that promise. (smile)
So, yesterday we saw how Bruh Paul struggled to overcome the carnality of his flesh, not understanding why he did things he didn’t want to do and didn’t do the things he desired to do, claiming that there was nothing good in his flesh, and that fact caused his predicament. And he goes on to further say: ‘Now if I do that I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find then a law, that, when I would (want to) do good, evil is present with me. For I delight in the law of God after (according to) the inward man: But I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.’ (Rom. 7:20-23)
And so it is with us; our flesh and our hearts play a constant tug-of-war with each other. Our hearts longing after the law of God, while our flesh longs for the law of sin. And thus, many of us cry out like Bruh Paul: ‘O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death (this body of death)? 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.’ (Rom. 7:24-25)
And the scholars explain that ‘the law of my mind refers to the influence of the Holy Spirit in the believer’s life to obedience and good works; which in Rom. 8:2 he refers to as: “the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” The law of sin meanwhile refers to that in man which is sold under sin. It is the “law of sin and death” in Rom. 8:2. So, apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit, the law of sin would dominate Paul’s life.’ Just as certainly as it would do ours!
Then, as per verse 24, ‘O wretched man: The reference here is to Paul’s tragic condition of defeat and frustration. The body of this death is not the physical body, but the inherited sin nature from Adam. It is that in him which is continually inclined towards thoughts and deeds that yield only to death.’
Yes friends, although Bruh Paul was a great and zealous apostle, he was also a man, just like us, which means he had all the same weaknesses that we have, and had to fight, just like we do, to stay on the straight and narrow path. That means to stop berating ourselves when we act carnally. However, to mitigate or lessen those carnal acts, we need to grow spiritually by more studying of and meditation on God’s Word, while also paying closer attention to the voice and guidance of the Holy Spirit. That’s the only way we will ever turn down the cries of the flesh for its base desires.
And Bruh Paul offers these words of advice in his letter to the Galatians. ‘This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 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. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.’ (Gal. 5:16-18)
Oh friends, our lives are indeed battlefields between the flesh and the Spirit, because they both have yearnings and desires either to do good or to do evil. Consequently, they thwart each other and thus cause us to do things we don’t want to do. However, the situation is not hopeless, for when we are led by the Spirit and yield to His good wishes and desires, then we turn away from the flesh’s evil yearnings and keep sin out of our lives. But we need to consciously make that decision to be led by the Spirit, and when we do, we’re not under the law because then we don’t need the restraints of the law, since our moral lives are then governed by the Holy Spirit.
And as Bruh Paul said to Timothy: ‘But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully; Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane…etc. etc… and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine;’ (1Tim. 1:8-10) Yes my brethren, the law is made for those irresponsible and disobedient people, not we faithful believers in Christ Jesus.
Now, here’s one last interesting piece of advice in the war against the flesh. The scholars tell us that ‘By contrasting the works of the flesh (Gal. 5:19-21) with the fruit of the Spirit (vs. 22-23) the believer can know whether he is walking by the Spirit or being controlled by the flesh.’ Now that’s an exercise we can all spend some valuable time on today. (smile)
But that’s not all! Our great God has, in His amazing generosity, also bestowed undeserved blessings on us to help do His earthly work. We call them our Thursday Blessings, which we can activate right now by simply declaring (steups!!!) them in all sincerity and truth. As one strong voice: ‘I declare that I am blessed with God’s supernatural wisdom and receive clear direction for my life! I declare today that I am blessed with creativity, courage, talent and abundance! I am blessed with a strong will, self-control and self-discipline!
I am blessed with a great family, good friends, good health, faith, favour and fulfillment! I am blessed with success, supernatural strength, promotion and divine protection! I am blessed with a compassionate heart and a positive outlook on life! I declare that any curse or negative word that’s ever been spoken over me is broken right now in the name of Jesus! I declare that everything I put my hands to, will prosper and succeed! I declare it today and every day! Amen!’
And with that declaration (yesss!!!) we are now duty bound to go out and use those blessings on behalf of others, just as generously as the Lord shared them with us, so that they too can come to know and LOVE Him like we do! Much LOVE!
…the sins of the flesh…are no match for the power of the Holy Spirit…
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