August 09, 2002
CONTRASTING CHARACTERS. Too often both are resident and in conflict in the heart of the Christian. The flesh, the carnal man, will always resist the desires of the spiritual man, thus creating a warfare within the spiritual nature of man. The flesh shows interest only in the things that are fleshly and of this sinful world. In contrast, the spiritual man turns his thoughts and desires toward the Lord and those things that are of the Spirit of God. Rom. 8:5 The value of possessing a spiritual mind in comparison with the carnal, is the difference between life and death. Both are eternal and utterly final. Death is not simply the dying of the body, but is eternity without the Lord and the eternal life that He proffers. Rom. 8:6 Here is a challenge! What is the measure of our commitment to Christ? It is to be measured by our willingness and fulfillment of His will and Law. The carnal mind neither will nor can it be in subjection to the will of the Lord. That is why the person with a mind of the flesh is lost or unsaved. Those who live after the flesh are displeasing to the Lord. Rom. 8:7- 8.
IF THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES IN YOU. There is no equivocation in the Word of the Lord. If His Spirit dwells in one then they are not in the flesh. The two cannot mix. There will be one or the other, for without the Spirit we do not belong to Christ. Hard words perhaps, but true. Rom. 8:9 Here is the solution. It is Christ in you, in preeminence and predominantly, He rules without opposition from the flesh. The flesh is dead, overwhelmed by the Spirit of Christ. The life and righteousness of the Christ will be manifest in His church. He has set and established certain criteria for the body of Christ and they must be met. Rom. 8:10 The Spirit of the Lord is the Spirit of resurrection. When that Spirit is welcomed into our spirit there is a quickening, a revitalization of the mortal body. New strength and healing are found here in the power of the Spirit of resurrection. How much better we feel and what quickening is evident when we gather together to worship the Lord. Rom. 8:11
BEING PUT TO DEATH. As in the natural, so with the Spiritual man. few want to die. When the Spirit dwells within He will lead us to mortify, put to death the old man, the carnal, the fleshly. Then, and only then can we know the purity of the working of the Spirit and His manifestations in our midst. Rom. 8:13 Crucifixion to the carnal man will accomplish that which is desirable to the Lord. This is separation from worldliness or the sinful and wicked things of this life. Little of this is evident in the church of today. However, before the conclusion of this world there will be drastic changes seen in the church. A visit to the cross where there is a death to the old man is most beneficial. Gal. 6:14 The crucifixion of the fleshly lusts and our sinful nature is a sign that we are indeed followers of Christ. Gal. 5:24