The Spiritual Life #33 - The World & the Flesh

     By promoting the gospel and biblical teaching, the church disrupts Satan’s domain of darkness by calling out of it a people for God. By learning God’s Word, Christians can identify worldly conversations and activities and either avoid them or seek to redirect them by interjecting biblical truth, which should never be done in hostility. When sharing God’s Word with others it’s proper to know that not everyone wants to hear God’s truth, and even though we may not agree with them, their personal choices should be respected (Matt 10:14; Acts 13:50-51). We should never try to force the gospel or Bible teaching on anyone, but be willing to share when opportunity presents itself. At times this will bring peace, and other times cause disruption and may even offend. In this interaction, the growing Christian must be careful not to fall into the exclusion trap, in which the worldly person (whether saved or lost) controls the content of every conversation, demanding the Christian only talk about worldly issues, as Scripture threatens his pagan presuppositions. Having the biblical worldview, the Christian should insert himself into daily conversations with others, and in so doing, be a light in a dark place. He should always be respectful, conversational, and never have a fist-in-your-face attitude, as arrogance never helps advance biblical truth (2 Tim 2:24-26). The worldly-minded person may not want to hear what the Christian has to say, but he should never be under the false impression that he has the right to quiet the Christian and thereby exclude him from the conversation.

     As we grow spiritually and walk with God, learning and living His Word (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17), we stand in opposition to Satan’s world-system and sow the seeds of spiritual insurrection in the lives of those who live and walk in his kingdom of darkness. We disrupt Satan’s kingdom when we share the gospel, “that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor 15:3-4). When anyone places their faith in Christ, trusting solely in Him as Savior, they are forgiven all their sins (Acts 10:43; Eph 1:7), gifted with eternal life (John 3:16; 10:28), and the righteousness of God (Rom 4:1-5; 5:17; 2 Cor 5:21; Phil 3:9). They are rescued from Satan’s enslaving power, as God liberates them from the “domain of darkness” and transfers them into “the kingdom of His beloved Son” (Col 1:13). The gospel is the only way a person can be delivered from spiritual slavery; “for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). Once saved, we seek to influence the thoughts and lives of other Christians through fellowship (Heb 10:23-25), prayer (Jam 5:16), edification (Eph 4:29), encouragement (1 Th 5:11), love (1 Th 4:9; cf. Eph 4:14-15), and words of grace (Col 4:6).

The Sin Nature Within Us

     If the devil were a broadcaster sending out his signal through the world, the sin nature in every person is that internal receiver that is always tuned to welcome his message. The sin nature, sometimes called “the flesh” (Gal 5:17, 19) or “old self” (Rom 6:6; Col 3:9), has a natural affinity for Satan’s values and his world-system. More so, the sin nature is not eradicated from the believer during his time on earth, nor is it ever reformed, as though it can be made to love God. 

     Everyone knows what it’s like to walk in the flesh, according to the sin nature, but only the Christian knows what it’s like to walk in the Spirit, assuming he’s growing in his walk with the Lord. Paul wrote, “For the flesh [sin nature] sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you [the Christian] may not do the things that you please”  (Gal 5:17). Concerning Galatians 5:17, MacDonald writes:

• "The Spirit and the flesh are in constant conflict. God could have removed the fleshly nature from believers at the time of their conversion, but He did not choose to do so. Why? He wanted to keep them continually reminded of their own weakness; to keep them continually dependent on Christ, their Priest and Advocate; and to cause them to praise unceasingly the One who saved such worms. Instead of removing the old nature, God gave us His own Holy Spirit to indwell us. God’s Spirit and our flesh are perpetually at war, and will continue to be at war until we are taken home to heaven. The believer’s part in the conflict is to yield to the Spirit."^[1]

     The sin nature is resident in every person; both saved and unsaved, and is the source of internal temptation. According to Wiersbe, “The flesh refers to that fallen nature that we were born with, that wants to control the body and the mind and make us disobey God.”[2] Since the fall of Adam, every person is born with a sin nature, and it is this nature that internally motivates men to rebel against all legitimate forms of authority, both human and divine. At the moment of salvation, God the Holy Spirit indwells us and gives us a new nature that, for the first time in our lives, has the capacity and desire to obey God. Because the sin nature is not removed from the believer after salvation, the believer begins to experience conflict within (Gal 5:17; Rom 7:14-23). Chafer states, “The presence of two opposing natures (not two personalities) in one individual results in conflict.”[3] Wiersbe adds:

• "The old nature (which has its origin in our physical birth) fights against the new nature which we receive when we are born again (Gal 5:16–26). No amount of self-discipline, no set of man-made rules and regulations, can control this old nature. Only the Holy Spirit of God can enable us to “put to death” the old nature (Rom 8:12–13) and produce the Spirit’s fruit (Gal 5:22–23) in us through the new nature."[4]

Lightner states:

• "Torn inside with desires to do that which we know is evil and new desires to please God, we experience the rage of the battle. The internal conflict manifests itself in everyday life as the believer is tempted to sin. The source of this conflict is the old sin nature, which is the root cause of the deeds of sin. In the conflict the believer is not passive. He has a vital role in determining to whom he will give allegiance—the old nature or the new nature. From the moment a sinner trusts Christ, there is a conflict in his very being between the powers of darkness and those of light. The one who has become a member of the family of God now faces conflicts and problems that he did not have before."[5]

     As Christians, we are directed to “lay aside the old self…and put on the new self which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth” (Eph 4:22, 24). Since we have been “born again” and given new life (1 Pet 1:3, 23), the sin nature no longer has domineering power over us, and we can choose a life of righteousness (Rom 6:5-13). As we grow spiritually, we will be transformed from the inside out and gradually become more and more righteous as we walk with God. Sinless perfection will not be attained until we leave this world, by death or by Rapture, and are “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29), who will “transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory” (Phil 3:21). Until then, we are commanded to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts” (Rom 13:14). We do this by choosing to live according to the Spirit’s guiding, and starving the monster that is our sin nature. To “make no provision for the flesh” means we stop exposing ourselves to the things of the world that excite the flesh and lead to sinful behavior. The positive action is to grow spiritually with biblical teaching (2 Tim 2:15; 3:16-17; 1 Pet 2:2; 2 Pet 3:18), Christian fellowship (Heb 10:23-25), selfless living (Phil 2:3-4), prayer (1 Th 5:17), worship (Heb 13:15), and doing good (Gal 6:10; Heb 13:16). It is only by spiritual growth and drawing closer to God that we learn to glorify the Lord and live in righteousness.

     Though the Christian will struggle all his life with his two natures, he also knows the victory is already won. The sin nature has been defeated and its strength diminished because of the believer’s union with Christ (Rom 6:6, 11). At his resurrection, the Christian is guaranteed a new body in heaven that is free from the sin nature as it will be just the like body of our Lord Jesus (Phil 3:20-21), for “We know that when He appears, we will be like Him” (1 John 3:2), and “in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5).

     The believer’s focus must be on daily—moment-by-moment—spiritual growth, allowing the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in their life (Gal 5:22-23) while resisting the flesh by making no provision for it (Rom 13:14). This includes guarding against worldly influences that stimulate the sin nature and choosing instead to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord (2 Pet 3:18). While sinless perfection will not be attained until the believer is glorified, we are called to continually pursue righteousness (2 Tim 3:16-17; Tit 2:11-14), relying on the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18; Gal 5:16), who supplies the power to overcome the flesh. Ultimately, the Christian’s victory is secured through ongoing dependence on the Holy Spirit, a willing heart, and a steady focus on spiritual growth.

     In conclusion, though the battle with the flesh rages on, we do not fight alone or without hope. God has equipped us with everything necessary for life and godliness (2 Pet 1:3). We have His indwelling Spirit (Eph 1:13), His inspired Word (2 Tim 2:16-17), the intercession of Christ (1 John 2:1), and the support of fellow believers to help us stand firm. Our sin nature, though still present, no longer reigns; we are no longer its slaves (Rom 6:6, 14). Each step of faith, each moment of obedience, each act of love, reflects the power of God at work within us. The war may be lifelong, but the outcome is certain. So we press on—not in fear or defeat—but in confident expectation of the day when the struggle will end and we shall see our Savior face to face, fully conformed to His image (1 John 3:2). Until then, let us walk by the Spirit (Eph 5:18; Gal 5:16), live by faith (2 Cor 5:7; Heb 10:38), and abound in the good works prepared for us by our gracious God (Gal 6:10; Eph 2:10).

Dr. Steven R. Cook

 

^[1] William MacDonald, Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments, ed. Arthur Farstad (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1995), 1893.

[2] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary: New Testament, Vol. 2 (Colorado Springs, Col., Victor Publishing, 2001), 18.

[3] Lewis S. Chafer, He that is Spiritual (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 1967), 112.

[4] Warren Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, New Testament, Vol. 2, 480.

[5] Robert P. Lightner, Handbook of Evangelical Theology (Grand Rapids, Mich., Kregel Publications, 1995), 206.