Category: Walking in the New Nature

The Apostle Paul gives a succinct summary of our war with the flesh in Galatians 5:16-25, “But I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh.  For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please.  But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law” (Gal 5:16-18).

Your flesh, your old self, your body of sin was put to death; “crucified with Christ” (Rom 6:6).  But like the bad guy in a horror movie, he never quite goes away for good.  He somehow keeps coming back from the dead, as it were, to wage war with our new Spirit; the Spirit of God living in us.  This ongoing war between our flesh and our Spirit is one of the main sources of our struggle with sin.

Paul writes in Galatians 5 that because the flesh and the Spirit are in such strong opposition, we cannot serve these two influences at the same time.  If we are walking in the Spirit, following the influence of the Spirit, we will not serve the flesh, we will not continue in sin.  We will not engage in sin as our normal practice.  How can we tell which influence we are walking in?  Paul goes on to explain.

“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are:  immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envyings, drunkenness, carousings, and things like these, of which I forewarn you just as I have forewarned you that those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:19-21).

Paul is not saying that anyone who has done these things will not enter heaven.  He is listing these things as a picture of what a lost person looks like.  The one who is not a member of the kingdom of God is characterized by these kinds of activities.  This is what the flesh – “deeds of the flesh” – look like.  And if you participate in these desires of the flesh, you will look like a lost person.

But you, the redeemed, do not need to look like this.  Because this is not the fruit of the Spirit who lives inside you.  This is not your “natural look” as a believer.  What is the fruit, the “natural look” of the believer in Christ?  Let’s read on.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law”(Gal 5:22-23).

Notice the last phrase, “against such things there is no law”.  How many times have we memorized these verses with no idea of what that last phrase means?  This phrase hearkens back to verse 18, “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law.”  The Law is basically a flesh-based system.  That is, keeping the Law was a willpower effort to keep the commands.  It was drumming up enough good effort to overcome the deeds of the flesh that were condemned by the Law.  And that is what the Law was, a ministry of condemnation that said, “Don’t do that; don’t do this; don’t touch, etc.”  It was all condemnation without power.

But this all changed with the coming of the New Covenant.  “Therefore, my brethren, you were also made to die to the Law, through the body of Christ…But now we have been released from the Law, having died to that by which we were bound, so that we serve in newness of the Spirit and not in oldness of the letter” (Rom 7:4,6).  We must not fall back into a law-based system of condemnation, “for there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1).  Trying to live the victorious Christian life by the effort of the flesh is a return to the Law of which we have been set free (Gal 5:18).

Being led by the Spirit is the exact opposite of keeping the Law.  It is going from negative injunctions with no power to positive qualities implanted by God’s Spirit.  There is no law involved in practicing the fruits of the Spirit because they are not commands to keep, but qualities to unwrap; fruit that is already in you, ready for display.

A fruit tree is genetically bound to produce a certain kind of fruit.  It cannot produce any other.  We are genetically bound by our new birth to produce a certain kind of fruit, the fruit of the Spirit; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.  But our fruit production is not automatic.  Just as a fruit tree’s production can be diminished by disease, our practice of the Spirit’s fruit can be hindered by our war with the flesh.  What can we do when the flesh attacks our fruit tree like aphids on steroids?  Let’s read on.

“Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit” (Gal 5:24-25).  Our fruit tree will be productive because our flesh was crucified once and for all at the cross and we are continuing to crucify the flesh daily by choosing to walk in the Spirit.  It is a paradox, but true.  Our flesh was killed once for all and we must continue to crucify the flesh each day by our choices.  How can “once for all” and “every day” both be true?  Welcome to the beauty of the mystery of God!

And part of that beauty is that God, having killed the flesh once and for all at the cross, has also given you incredible resurrection power to continue crucifying the flesh when needed.  It is called “walking by the Spirit” (vs 25).  “But since the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who lives in you.  So then, brethren, we are under no obligation to live according to the flesh” (Rom 8:11-12).  As Dwight Edwards has summarized, “Resurrection power is always greater than the dysfunctionality of our past, the wounds of abuse or neglect, the power of sin, the pressure of outward circumstances, or the phobias of our personal inadequacies.”

Resurrection power!  May you walk in that power today.

 

In my continuing study of Scripture, I have become more comfortable holding apparently competing spiritual concepts in my head.  Whereas previously I wanted to track spiritual ideas down to a concrete and logical conclusion that fit neatly into a theological system, I have come to realize that much of God and His ways lie beyond easy compartmentalization.

For example, Paul writes of the Jews of his day, “But their minds were hardened; for until this very day at the reading of the old covenant the same veil remains unlifted, because it is removed in Christ.  But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; but whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away” (II Cor 3:14-16).

Think about the phrase, “their minds were hardened…and a veil lies over their heart.”  In this specific case, who hardened Israel’s heart?  Since we have a record of God hardening the heart of Pharaoh, could God be responsible for hardening Israel’s heart?

Or what if we look a few verses ahead to II Corinthians 4:3-4, “If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.”  We recognize the “god of this world” as Satan and here he is identified as the mind-blinder of the lost.  Since lost would certainly apply to modern day Israel, is Satan responsible for hardening their hearts?

Or how about option three?  The Jews themselves are responsible.  After all, since “the veil is removed in Christ” and “whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away”, could it be that anyone who rejects Christ is responsible themselves for their spiritual blindness?

What I am getting at is this.  In the case of II Corinthians 3:14-16, we know Israel’s heart is hardened, but I don’t think the Scripture is clear as to the responsible party; God, Satan, or themselves.  It is a spiritual ambiguity.  Likewise, our flesh – pronounced dead at the crucifixion of Christ and subsequently replaced by a new nature by Christ’s resurrection power – still carries some influence in our lives.  And that influence can be awfully strong.  The tarnish on the silver can get pretty thick.  How is that possible?  How can a “dead nature” manipulate us so?  It is a spiritual ambiguity.

And because of this ambiguity, it is a difficult task to reconcile God’s “dead to sin” promise with my experience with sin.  So we are tempted to downplay the promise.  We are tempted to twist Scripture to fit our experience.  We are tempted to interpret God’s view about our war with the flesh solely based on our experience with sin.  But when I trust God with being bigger than the ambiguity, I can come to His Word without a preconceived notion of what God says about the believer’s relationship with sin.  Our goal is to let Scripture speak for itself regarding our war with the flesh.  A goal we will pursue next time.

One of the paradoxes I face in my own life and a source of discussion in our community of believers is how to reconcile my label of righteous and saintly with my experience with sin.  That is, if holiness is my new default mode, why is sin the first thing that crosses my mind when I face a moral situation?  Let me give you a small example, recently shared with me by a friend.

My friend was in the produce section of the local grocery store when she noticed an unattended cart complete with an open purse and wallet sitting on top.  Her first thought was, “I could take that wallet and no one would know.  I think I could get away with it.”  Her question to me was, “If my new nature is so powerful, why is this my first reaction?”  A legitimate question.  My response to her was a question in return.  “What did you do?  Did you take the wallet?”  She answered, “Of course not.  In fact, I stood close by making sure no one else took it until the customer returned to her cart.”  So was the thought sinful, but the action holy?

Based on the biblical progression of sin, I believe the first thought was a temptation, not a sin.  Now the action we take next based on that thought is either a holy response or a sin.  My friend’s first thought about the wallet was a temptation.  The decision to stand guard over the wallet was a holy response.

The Bible explains it this way.  “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He Himself does not tempt anyone.  But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust.  Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished it brings forth death” (Jas 1:13-15).

Do you see the progression?  The temptation is not sin.  The first thought is not sin.  Sin is what we do next.  When we resist the temptation, all is well.  When we fertilize the temptation – “lust has conceived” – we enter into sin.  Our two enemies, the flesh (enticed by our own lust) and the devil (ruler of this fallen world) are the authors of temptation.  And if we “walk by the Spirit”, i.e. make choices in line with the Holy Spirit who indwells us, “we will not carry out the desire of the flesh” (Gal 5:16), i.e. not succumb to the temptations of the flesh.  Similarly, if we “resist the devil” (Jas 4:7), his temptations will not lead to sin.  (I realize this is way too short of an explanation of our spiritual enemies, but hopefully it is a helpful start.)

This distinction between temptation and sin is an important one.  If you think of these initial reactions as sin, you will feel discouraged and weighed down and find difficulty experiencing the power of your new nature.  But if you see these reactions for what they are; temptations that you have the power to resist, you will experience the power and the joy of the Christian life.

When our children were young, Rhonda came up with a child training idea that was golden.  We took our older kids aside and said, “Look, you are the pacesetters for your brother and sisters.  They look up to you.  They imitate your good behavior.  So we need you to join us in being a good example to your younger siblings.”

Setting up this expectation for our children accomplished at least two things.  First, our older kids became our partners in training our younger children by their positive example. They felt the respect of being singled out for some degree of maturity above their siblings.  Second, it helped to lessen sibling rivalry.  Their younger brother and sisters were no longer competitors, they were younger teammates; teammates that needed their encouragement.

Did it make our home life perfect?  No, we had plenty of the typical child training challenges.  But it sure made life better for the Lehman household.  Why?  Because we had set some positive expectations for our kids to live into.

Now we can debate all we want the pluses and minuses of instilling a positive self-image in children.  I am likely to error on the positive side and know it can be over done.  But on your Christian self-image there is no debate.  In God’s eyes, you are deeply loved, totally forgiven, fully pleasing, totally accepted, and complete in Christ.  This is who you are.  And the New Testament expectation is to walk in it.