The Flesh
I did not realize how misunderstood the flesh was until I started to read this book that convicted me of always being on MY mind. See religion has taught us that if something bad happens or if a person sins, it's the devil who's influencing them or oppressing them. I went along with this ideology until the Lord in all His mercies showed me that that was not so.
The Flesh:
Simply put, the flesh desires what is not of the Lord.
Galatians 5:16-19 says:
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: [d]adultery, [e]fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, [f]murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
From Paul’s letter we can pick up on some key aspects of the flesh. He lists about 17 which are sins against the Lord but one can ask why here he labels them as “works of the flesh” and not sin and I’ll tell you why.
James 1:14-15 says:
But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.
You see here there are TWO criteria for being drawn away; the thought AND the action. You see everything Paul mentioned starts as lust or desires of our flesh. And we know that our flesh lusts after things in this world (1 John 2:15-17) and those desires do not become sin unless they are acted upon. Our unsubmitted and unchecked desires WILL lead to sin.
When Paul said there was no good thing in his flesh, I felt that (Romans 7:18)! I’ll tell you a brief story. For a while I desired so bad to experience supernatural visions and encounters with the Lord. I wanted so badly to be able to hear His voice clearly and to be able to have groundbreaking revelations that one can only get from Father. Little did I know, these were all desires of my flesh, and it may shock you but let me tell you why!
It wasn’t the fact that desiring more of the Lord was bad because believe me, He wants us to do that. But He wants them to come from His Spirit leading us to ask, not our flesh. The Bible reminds us that we don't know what we should pray for (Romans 8:26), which is why the Holy Spirit is so crucial when you are a believer. The Spirit is our direct connection to God. He was the gift Jesus left behind to allow us to receive and commune with Father God (John 16:12-14). If your desires do not come from the Holy Spirit, 11 times out of 10, it comes from the flesh, and that is what happened in my case. The Holy Spirit wasn’t leading me to ask the Lord for these things, my flesh, being amped up from the world and hearing testimonies of other believers desired it.
You see the Holy Spirit TRULY battles with the flesh because the Holy Spirit wants to transform us and make us into the beings we were called to be! He wants to teach us the things of the Lord so that His will can come to and through us (Romans 12:2).
How To Dismantle the Flesh
Jesus said it plainly in Matthew 16:24,
“If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
First we must deny ourselves, and what this means is not an act of self denial i.e. denying yourself from everything to the point where you are missing out on the Lord (remember obedience is better than sacrifice: 1 Samuel 15:22). It means to acknowledge the Lord’s sovereignty and Lordship over your life. We can do nothing apart from Him (John 15:5) and we must be transformed (2 Corinthians 5:17) to let go of our will and what we want, but to accept the Lord's way for each of us to live. And the only way we can accept His Will is through learning how to live by the Spirit (Romans 8:2).
It is also important to note that we cannot fight the flesh and its desires with carnal things (2 Corinthians 10:4-6). To fight our flesh, Paul reminds us that we must rely on the strength of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and His sacrifice (Romans 7:15-18). Remember, we all are tempted, but it’s important that we know Father God to use His Power (HIS WORD) to counter our flesh desires (1 Corinthians 10:13, Luke 4:1-14)
What About the Devil?
One thing about the devil, he has no chill when he is given the RIGHT to act out, whether that be from your sin or granted by God for His Glory.
John 9:1-3 states
Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him.
In this case of the blind man, it wasn’t that someone sinned, it was just because the Lord needed to show His glory.
Now there are other instances when our sin and separation from God can open doors to the devil to wreak havoc in our lives. Without accepting Jesus in our lives or truly repenting for the sin that we’ve done, the enemy is given free-reign into our lives (1 John 5:12, Hebrews 10:26-27). Whatever aspect of our lives we do not allow the Lord to work on becomes a weapon the enemy uses against us. That is why we are to submit ourselves to the Lord meaning every fault, discrepancy, sin, and trouble (James 4:7)
Romans 8:8 says that those who are in the flesh can not please God. It doesn't mention the devil because the enemy is not always the devil; it sometimes is our flesh. The Lord showed me that the reason why people want to blame the enemy is because they have yet to hold themselves accountable for the wrong they’ve done. The moment we stop focusing solely on the enemy we allow the focus to be on us, pushing us to submit our flesh to the Holy Spirit. The devil was already defeated when Jesus died on the cross, so we have to fight our flesh to keep him out of our lives.
If you are ready to be transformed by the Holy Spirit and want to allow Him full dominion over your life say the following prayer with me:
Dear God,
I thank you for opening my eyes to the ways that I have not allowed you to have Lordship over my life. I ask that you forgive me for choosing my flesh over your Spirit and ask that you teach me how to submit to your Spirit. Teach me how to crucify my flesh and live by your Spirit. Teach me how to discern your Spirit more. Teach me to desire the things of your Spirit and all that aligns with your will for me.
In Jesus Name,
Amen