“Crucifying the Flesh; Daily

"...Walk in the Spirits and ye shall not fulfill the lust

of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirits and the

Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the

other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would". (Gal.5:

16 & 17). First, we must understand what is this "flesh"? The

Greek word for flesh and its meaning(s) are as follows: Sarx, by

implication human nature with it's frailties (phys. or mor.)

and passions or spec. a human being(as such)-carnal(-ly + -ly

minded), flesh[-ly]. Derived from the Greek meaning, "flesh"

is our natural man, our sin nature, and fallibleness. The Apostle

Paul, writes in depth on this subject. Unfortunately, the Church

today is "caught in grace", what I mean is this, grace is a

beautiful gift from God which grants eternal life for all who be-

lieve in Jesus Christ as the Son of the living God, who came to

earth in the flesh, as the ultimate sacrifice for the sins of man

(Hebrews 9:1-28). But, the Church has seemingly set aside our

duty as Christians, disregarding our imperative obligation to be

conformed unto Christ(Romans Q;29). As Christians we must realize

that it is our duty to change our bad habits to good habits,

it is our duty to reprioritize our lives, as to place God first.

In Romans 6, Paul is implying our duty to be Christ-like. He

is writing that our "old man is crucified with him(Christ)", and

this is very true, in simplified words, Paul is slating that our

old life has passed away and we have entered a whole new realm of

lifestyle. As in Ephesians, Paul writes, "If so be that ye have

heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus:

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man,

which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed

in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which

after God is created in righteousness and true holiness". (4:21-24)

The key verse in Romans 6 is verse 7, "For he that is dead is

freed from sin". This means we are no longer condemned by our sins,

for the shed blood of Jesus has cleansed us from our old ways and

granted us justification from our sin debt. Consequently, we are

instructed to live a new life, which can be beautiful as we live

in subjection to God's will, obedience will reap joy! Paul writes

in I Corinthians 9:26-27,  "I therefore run, not as uncertainly; so

fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body

and bring it into subjection;..". Paul realized that while serving

the Lord, he will experience a battle between his flesh and his

spirit, that is why the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write so much

scripture based upon our necessity to "fight the good fight of

faith" (I Tim. 6:12). Daily we all must realize that Satan will by

all means do all he can to set stumbling blocks in our way of vic-

tory in Jesus. Yes, we surly do have victory in Jesus, but that

does not mean there is no battle. Our flesh is very real, and

Satan will do all He can to feed into our fleshly lusts, whether

our weakness is covetousness, lying, pornography, hate, or a mul-

titude of other sins. Yes, our old man is crucified with Christ,

but that does not mean our flesh dies, that is our duty. The Holy

Spirit will strengthen us in this battle, but we must be submissive.

I Peter 2:11 reads, "Dearly beloved, I beseech you as stran-

gers and pilgrims' abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against

the soul".  Continuing in chapter 4:1-2, Paul writes, "Forasmuch

then as Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves like-

wise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh

hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of

his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God".

Notice the word "should", that is our duty, we SHOULD live in

the will of God, we SHOULD learn of God's will in the Bible, we

SHOULD fashion ourselves to be Christ-like, we MUST do these things

in order to fully glorify God with our daily lifestyle. God will

most assuredly grant us the strength to do so, but it is impera-

tive that we be willing and persistently put our flesh under sub-

jection to the Spirit of God, which abides within us. Romans 6:6,

" Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the

body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve

sin". Let us forever be aware that we go through a daily battle to

be conformed unto Christ Jesus and to separate ourselves from the

sinful ways of this world, it is our duty to serve God and present

ourselves a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which

is our expected service (Rom. 12:1).

In conclusion Romans 14:7-6,

" For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself.

For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we

die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the

Lord's". This is our duty, to crucify the flesh daily, and live in

full subjection to the will of God and not our own. Next time you

feel hate towards someone, next time you envy someone else’s pos-

sesions, next time you begin to doubt in God's provision, next

time you deny the direction of the Holy Spirit, rebuke Satan in

Jesus' name, for it is your wicked flesh on the rise to supercede

the will of God. "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall

not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Gal. 5;16). Glory to God!!!!!

In faithful service to God,

Jeffrey B. Quanta IV

June 2, 2000

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"Walking in the Spirit, Daily"

" If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit".

(Gal. 5:25). Now that we understand our imperative duty to crucify

our flesh daily, we must know how to counterattack our flesh. In

Galatians 6:7-8, Paul writes, "Be not deceived; God is not mocked:

for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that

soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that

soweth to the Spirit, shall of the Spirit reap everlasting life".

How then, do we sow in the Spirit? It is all concerning what

you plant in the fields of you life. Good seeds or evil seeds. When

we strive daily to present ourselves Christ-like, we are sowing good

seeds, when we disregard compassion for others, when we meditate on

ungodly thoughts, when we act out in conduct unbecoming a Christian,

we are sowing seeds of evil and surly grieving the Holy Spirit. In

I Thessalonians 5:19, Paul writes, "Quench not the Spirit". Paul is

stating that we must not sin, for it grieves the Holy Spirit and

that will send us in a state of restlessness. Ephesians 4:30 says,

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God/ whereby ye are sealed

unto the day of redemption". God hates sin, and when we sin it dis-

honors God, greatly. In I John 3:9, John writes, "Whosoever is born

of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he

cannot sin, because he is born of God". First we must understand

that sinning is one thing, living in sin is another. John is addres-

sing those living in sin, none of us are flawless, we all sin some

time or another, whether it is sins o£ omission(unintentional) or

sins o£ commission(intentional), but when we are born of God, we can-

not live in sin for God will not tolerate it, He will discipline you.

"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every

son whom he receiveth". (Heb. 12:6). A few examples of living in

sin are as follows: Having an affair out of wedlock, alcoholism,

drug addictions, habitual lying, and unforgiveness. We must strive

never to allow these things to reign in our lives, for it grieves

the Spirit, as we are consumed by fleshly desires.

As true believers of Christ, we are all blessed with the fruits

of the Spirit, "...the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,

longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance,

against such there is no law". Too often Christians leave these

fruits dormant in the corners of their hearts. Let us be active in

these gifts, never failing to initiate them when adversity come our

direction. Proclaim victory when someone hurts you with the fruit

of love, when you feel despondent, proclaim the fruit of joy, when

you feel restless, proclaim the fruit o£ peace, and so on. It is our

duty to trust in the Lord, for He has blessed us with these weapons

of spiritual warfare, we must believe in His power greater than our-

selves. "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them:

because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world".

How beautiful God's Word really is for those who activate the

sound instruction within. Be a participant of God's Word, not just

one who reads it in vain. I love the instruction Paul gives to young

Timothy in I Timothy l;16-19, "This I commit unto thee, son Timothy,

according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by

them mightiest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good con-

science;_ which some having put away concerning faith have made ship-

wreck". Let us not sink ourselves into the murky waters of the flesh,

but let us forever remain in the open air of the blessed Spirit of

God, that we may breathe the fresh air of faith undefiled by strang-

ulation of sin. In conclusion I'd like to proclaim the blessed

words which Jesus speaks in John 10:10-11, "The thief cometh not,

but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they

might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am

the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep".

Glorify God with your lives, for He has already given His

life for you, that you may walk daily in the Spirit, in victory!!!

J.B.Q.