War on the Flesh
An excerpt from Chapter 3 of the Book
"A to Z"
This is a study of the two natures of the Christian.
Why there is conflict and what to do about it.
The SPIRIT VS. the FLESH.
There is warfare going on in the life of the Christian that prevents the Christian from doing what he desires to do. Only faith in Christ and His promises enable us to overcome the opposition of the flesh.
The reason for the war:
The believer has two opposing natures:
The human, fallen flesh nature
The Holy, Divine nature.
These two are always at war. The Bible puts is like this:
For the cravings of our earthly nature fight against the Spirit, and the desire of the Spirit conflicts with the flesh. They are contrary to each other, so that you cannot do all that you desire to do
. Galatians 5:17Half the people who profess Christ as Savior never evidence any spiritual growth beyond the first two years of their conversion. They drift right back into the old way of living.
THE NATURE OF THE FLESH
The Bible teaches that the human nature with which we are born has become contaminated with evil through sin. By one man, (Adam), sin entered into the world. (Romans 5:12). Everyone is directly affected. We have all inherited that corruption. We have all deliberately participated in the attitude of evil. We habitually prove that fact by our daily actions.
The Bible calls this human nature, or sin nature, the flesh. Sometimes the word flesh refers to our body of flesh and bone. But at other times, it is clearly a reference to a spiritual power within us that is out and out against God! It is also against us – especially if we have any intention of giving place to the Lord Jesus Christ as our Master. Refer to the following Scriptures: Ephesians 2:2; Romans 8:5-8; Jeremiah 17:9
GOD’S ANSWER FOR THE FLESH
When Jesus, the Son of God, came from Heaven and was born of a woman. He did not receive a sinful nature from Mary, His earthly mother. That is why He had to be born of a virgin, and God was His Father. Through this beautiful but mysterious miracle, Jesus had a human nature like that which Adam had in the Garden of Eden before he sinned. When Adam sinned, his flesh nature became the same as that of the devil. Jesus had a pure, undefiled human nature. When the devil came to tempt Jesus, he did not find the same wicked nature corresponding to his.
THE HUMAN SPIRIT
Every person is born with a dead human spirit. That is why it needs to be born again, made alive by The Holy Spirit of God. It is the spirit of man that enables us to communicate with God Who is Spirit. Only the saved person, the Christian, has a living human spirit. The human spirit in the sinner is dead.
THE HUMAN BODY
Likewise, we have a body. When a person dies, it is obvious that he isn’t there any more.. "He" is gone, yet his body remains. We tend to think of a person in terms of his body. But the real
him is not a body. He merely has a body to live in for a while. The Christian will receive a new body at the resurrection. It will be a glorious body like that of Christ.The above material has been taken with permission from the book "A to Z" as written by Pastor Jerry Irvan Smith
Other books written by Pastor Smith are:
Marriage Preparation - with help for married couples
Making It Plain - The urgency, priority, simplicity, and results of believing the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ
Beginning At Pentecost - The Holy Spirit: His Coming, Baptism, Filling, and Evidence
You can reach Pastor Smith at: The Open Bible Ministries, Inc; 12739 Tammarack Dr.; Houston, Tx. 77013; 713-455-6636