“For we do not wrestle againest flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against rulers of darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places” – Ephesians 6:12
We are beaten back by three main enemies: the world, satan, and our flesh. The visible enemy we face is the world and the cultural system that lies in rebellion against God. The world seeks to redefine what the Lord has called good and evil. We experience satan who is the supreme enemy of all people causing us to fall because of snares (traps) and temptations. The final enemy is our flesh which resides inside of us and has been there since birth. The flesh isn’t something you can kill. Instead, you deny and glee from it.
I’ve always been a person who seeks to understand things. If we don’t understand what we are dealing with we can’t change or fight the things that come against us whether it be illness, struggle, or evil.
We were born with an old nature that yields to the fleshly desires within us. When we commit our lives to follow Jesus and accept His salvation, we are given a new nature and new desires. Our old nature is to live in subjection to the new person we become. However, living as a new person with Jesus doesn’t mean that the old us will not try to resurface. Just because the old you may still be present, doesn’t mean the new you is not there also. The presence of temptation is not a sign we have not been transformed. The reason for temptation is that we have been made righteous and no longer practicing sin without conscience. The Holy Spirit within us resists the flesh. Becoming a new creation in Christ Jesus does not remove our flesh, but it creates a struggle against sin which helps us depend on God.
We should walk through every day recognizing some of the things that can keep us from complete intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Whenever we are met with any instance where we could react in the flesh and indulge in what it wants to do, stop and think about the consequences, and then flee from whatever tries to stunt our growth with God.
It’s important to know that dealing with our flesh requires a constant manual approach to see victory over it. We don’t ever reach a point where it is automatic to overcome temptation when we become born again, we will always have to, crucify, and commit our desires of the flesh to God.
Hebrews 2:14 tells us,
“For since the children share in flesh and blood, Hr himself partook of the same, that through death He might destroy the one who had power of death, that is, the devil.”
This is saying that when Jesus died the power of the flesh died with Him. We don’t start the war against the enemy fighting in victory, we fight from a victorious stance because that has already been claimed for us by Jesus. We overcome the flesh by coming to an agreement in our minds and hearts about what God says about us. Our identity is found in Him and not in what we are currently struggling with.
When we are born we identify with Adam’s sinful nature, but by being renewed and baptism, we can identify with Jesus. When we align with Jesus, the battle we fight is already won against the enemy, and from the point of His death and resurrection, it is just a matter of us daily killing the lust of our flesh.
When Jesus was crucified, the power of sin over us was also crucified once and for all. It is now our responsibility to take up our cross and follow Him.
God has not made religion to be made up of rules and regulations, instead, healthy boundaries are needed to protect us against falling into sin. Without controlling the flesh we will never be successful in God.
Walking in the Holy Spirit is the only way to become an overcomer. Our calling is not supposed to be stagnant and stationary. We are called to be constantly progressing in all areas of our life. The keys to our growth are communion, covenant, and commitment to the Holy Spirit. And to have steady growth we must learn to remove the things in life that hinder our full commitment. The presence of the Holy Spirit does not guarantee the victory of the flesh, but yielding to the Holy Spirit does.
We all had times in our lives when we felt unworthy and overwhelmed because of our past and that our failures made us feel unrighteous. Maybe even felt as though Jesus couldn’t possibly love you, or you don’t deserve forgiveness. But, regardless of how bad you feel, it contradicts the truth because God wants to strengthen and empower all of us to live a full and free life in Christ Jesus.
When we begin to renounce all doubt that God will and has forgiven our sins we can say, “I identify with Jesus my Savior, Lord Jesus. And thank Him because He had made it possible for us to crucify the cravings of our flesh because the Holy Spirit lives within us.
Every day ask God to give you strength and thank Him for the revelation of who you are in Jesus, and His Holy Spirit is in you.
“Don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what is good, well-pleasing, and perfect will of God” – Romans 12:2
The flesh in contrast to the spirit:
From Pity to Praise 