THE HOLY SPIRIT and SONSHIP Devotion 2 of 30 Lest the children of God take the matter of "the flesh" too lightly, the Spirit expounds on its nature, and how it affects those who follow its dictates. Paul has declared that, even though he has been freed from the law to be married to Christ (Rom 7:4), he knew "that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing" (7:18). Other versions read, "For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh" (NASB) "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature" (NIV) and " know of nothing good living in me -- in my natural self, that is" (NJB). Ponder the strength of the those words. They are insightful words. They are inspired words. They are instructive words. – Tomorrow: –
"Therefore, brethren, we are debtors; not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father." The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together." (Romans 8:12-17, NKJV)
The "flesh" is the natural part of us. Jesus called it, "that which is born of the flesh." In a strong statement of the case, our Lord said, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh" (John 3:6). Flesh gives birth to flesh, nothing more. Ultimately, all flesh is traced back to Adam, and the word "flesh" stands for that generation – the Adamic generation. It has been corrupted through sin, and rendered unacceptable to the Lord. It cannot be changed, nor can it give birth to anything superior to the flesh.
Speaking of humanity without Christ – just as it has descended from Adam – the Lord speaks with alarming candor. What He says is unvarnished, and presents the picture precisely as it is. "There is NONE righteous, no, NOT ONE: there is NONE that understandeth, there is NONE that seeketh after God. They are ALL gone out of the way, they are TOGETHER become unprofitable; there is NONE that doeth good, no, NOT ONE. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is FULL of cursing and bitterness: their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known: there is NO fear of God before their eyes" (Rom 3:10-18).
That is a strong assessment, indeed, and some will find it difficult to accept. Perhaps they will imagine that because some of these things are not apparent to them they do not exist at all. Such people must adjust their thinking, for God has declared these conditions ARE apparent to Him. This is how He sees humanity apart from Christ – and He beholds things as they really are. When this perspective registered upon the heart of Paul, he saw his natural self as it really was and confessed he knew nothing good dwelt in his flesh. That is precisely what the Lord had seen: "there is none that doeth good, no, not one!"
No person who remains in the body is beyond the border of danger. To put it another way, as long as we are in this world there will be battles to be fought, and jeopardy with which to contend. Every believer is shackled to a body that is "vile" (Phil 3:21). It is a body appropriately called "the body of this death," and there is a sense in which we are wretched because we have to deal with it. For this cause, deliverance from it is fervently sought. "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom 7:24).
It should be apparent to every child of God that the body has not yet been redeemed. That is a part of you that is not yet saved. Faith moves us to look forward to the body being saved in the resurrection. In fact, that desire is stated in these words, "even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body" (Rom 8:23).
Even though "now we are the sons of God" (1 John 3:2), there is a part of us that cannot enter into the kingdom of God. As it is written, "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption" (1 Cor 15:50). We must have a different body, for the one we presently possess is subject to mortality.
The words "the flesh" include the body, and the nature that goes along with it. That includes a mind and a soul, both of which tend to vacillate. Every believer is a miniature cosmos in which both light and darkness exist, good and evil. The darkness and evil are the remnants of the old nature that remain with us. The light and the good are resident in the new creation that is realized in the new birth (2 Cor 5:17). These conflicting natures are referred to as the "old man" and the "new man" (Eph 4:22-24; Col 3:9-10). One is to be repudiated, the other embraced. One is to be put off, and the other put on.
Because of these competing influences, our sonship can be brought into question. Thus many believers begin to wonder whether they are in Christ or not. In order to assist us in this dilemma, the Holy Spirit is given to us. There are promptings that come from Him that are to be heeded, while the promptings of the flesh are to be rejected.
Knowing that some will not take this matter seriously, the Spirit speaks with great power to our hearts. "For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh . . . For to be carnally minded is death . . . the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be . . . those who are in the flesh cannot please God" (8:5,6,7,8). Those words are like a Divine trumpet blast, piercing into the heart of man, dividing the spirit from the soul, and unveiling the thoughts and intents of the heart (Heb 4:12).
No person can receive the Spirit's diagnosis of the flesh and remain indifferent to the solemn obligation of subduing it. The absence of condemnation is only confirmed in those who "walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (8:1,4). The flesh in its totality has been rejected by God, and nothing that emits from it is accepted by Him. Those are just the facts in the case, and they are sobering ones. This series of devotions will confirm how effective the Spirit is in leading us to victory under these circumstances.
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I seek for wisdom and strength to resist the appeals of my flesh, and yield to those of Your Holy Spirit.