The Flesh (Part 1)
One day in the garage, I was backing out a 20-year-old golf cart with brand-new winter doors, and I hit the railing and broke one of the new doors. Out loud, I said, “Eric, you are such an idiot!” My wife heard it and said, “Why do you say that?” I honestly had no idea, but I knew I often said this when I did something stupid.
A few weeks later, I was going through The Steps to Freedom in Christ, and I asked God where this thought originated. He answered me in Step 3, when he reminded me of the first time I felt like an idiot. He took me back to that memory, with all its emotions, and I was able to forgive myself. I also did a stronghold buster, where for 40-days I stated the lie “I am an idiot,” then I repeated Scripture truths that countered it… “I have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). Fast forward a few months when I got the replacement door for my golf cart, and wouldn’t you know it, I did the same thing. I broke the new door. However, this time I looked at it and said, “Well, that’s a bummer.” I was disappointed, but I was not an idiot.
Once we shine a light on the lie, renounce it, and choose to accept the truth, the lie loses its power in our lives.
I didn’t learn this important lesson about the flesh and how to release its hold on my thoughts until my mid-forties when I went through the Freedom in Christ class.
The flesh, as it is used in Galatians 5, does not refer to our physical bodies. Rather, it refers to the tendency to operate independently from God. We all have this tendency as ancestors of Adam and Eve, born in sin and separated from God. However, God did not leave us in this state; he provided a way out through his Son, Jesus Christ. When you put your faith in Jesus, you are free from the penalty of sin, but the battle is not over. Why? Because God does not remove your flesh when you become a follower of Jesus.
An analogy from the Freedom in Christ course really helped me understand this concept. We cannot fly in our own power due to the law of gravity. However, we can fly on an airplane because we are using the power of a higher law, the law of lift and thrust. The law of gravity is not temporarily suspended when we are on an airplane. The law of gravity remains in place, but we do not experience its impact while we operate in this higher law.
The spiritual realm is similar. All humans live with the flesh, our tendency to operate independently from God, but those who believe in Jesus also live with the person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the greater law that enables us to overcome the flesh. We cannot do it in our own power.
Each of us must choose to walk in the spirit, to bear His fruit, and not live in the flesh (Gal 5:16). It should not come as a surprise that nobody does this perfectly. We have days where we stumble, we choose to sin, and we struggle. That is understandable. We are saints who sometime sin. However, Paul does give us a stern warning that “those who practice such things (works of the flesh) will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Gal 5:21). “Practicing” implies the person is comfortable with the sin and keeps on living in sin with no remorse and certainly no repentance. It’s the difference between struggling with sin and surrendering to it. Those who live a life characterized by consistently (and comfortably) living in sin will not experience the eternal life God intends for them and will continue to live in bondage.
So, how do we choose each day to live in the power of the Holy Spirit and not the works of the flesh?
First, we must continually eliminate our footholds and strongholds. A foothold is unrepented sin that gives your enemy grounds to influence you. As we see in Ephesians 4, one possible foothold is anger. A stronghold is a false pattern of belief about yourself, typically from a wound or traumatic event. The “I am an idiot” was a stronghold in my life, but no more.
My second suggestion to help you walk in the Spirit daily is to serve. Serve someone else and/or some cause outside of yourself. Serve your neighbor. Serve your parents. Serve your children. Serve your spouse. Serve your co-worker. Serve your friend. Serve your teacher or coach. Serve someone else as you rely on and operate in the Spirit. The evidence will be a display of love, kindness, goodness, and gentleness.
What would your family, your workplace, and your community look like if you walked in the Spirit daily? Let’s find out… by choosing to live in Freedom more and more!