HOW TO DEAL WITH THE FLESH!

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Having seen how terrible “Self” is, it becomes clear that to make it to Heaven in the life to come, you MUST first of all deal with “Mr. Self” in this present world. If you don’t deal with “Self,” “Self” will surely deal with you. So, today we want to look at “HOW TO DEAL WITH THE FLESH!”

In Mark 8:34 Jesus said, “Whosoever will come after Me (be like Me, make it to heaven), (1) let him deny himself, and (2) take up his cross, and (3) follow Me.”

“Self” is the impossible road to Heaven. “Self” is like a stubborn and rebellious son. A stubborn and rebellious son means a son that is strong-willed, unyielding, and incorrigible. He delights in insisting on his own way. His habits are hard to break, hard and unbending.

He is not only stubborn, he is rebellious as well. He opposes everything. He rebels against every instruction of the father. He struggles always against the will and wishes of the father. He does not obey them; indeed he cannot.

His ways are different from the ways of the father. Chastening and discipline including 40 days dry fasting with prayer cannot help the matter. He is bent on having things his own way.

This description fits the nature of “Self or Mr. Flesh.” It is very stubborn and rebellious. Chastisement and discipline cannot change “the flesh” from being a rebel against God, and against His will.

Romans 8:7-9 says, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

No matter what you do to “the flesh,” it remains stubborn and rebellious. Pampering, taming and training cannot tame it either.

Look at an example of such a stubborn and rebellious son in the Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 21:18-21 says, “If a man has a stubborn and rebellious son, which will not obey the voice of his father, or the voice of his mother, and that, when they have chastened him, will not hearken unto them:

19 Then shall his father and his mother lay hold on him, and bring him out unto the elders of his city, and unto the gate of his place; 20 And they shall say unto the elders of his city, This our son is stubborn and rebellious, he will not obey our voice; he is a glutton, and a drunkard.

21 And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he dies: so shalt thou put evil away from among you; and all Israel shall hear, and fear.”

Here, we see the case of a hopeless situation. Every corrective measure has failed to yield any positive result. Every disciplinary action has been applied to no avail. The only option remaining is death.

These parents came to the conclusion that their son is good for nothing. He is a problem to them, to the family and to the entire community. He were better dead than alive. Even though he is still alive, they have removed him from their hearts, renounced him and have counted him as mere rubbish. He is a menace.

Whatever help he has been rendering to them in the past they are willing to forfeit. They may have had some good useful qualities in him; he may have been of help at some point in the family, but his stubborn, untamable nature is so overwhelming that even his positive attributes are better discarded along with him completely.

In Deuteronomy 21:21 God said, “…so shall thou put evil away from among you…”

Here is the point: Many believers do not understand God’s way of dealing with “the flesh.” So they try to overcome the flesh by making war against it.

What the believers pay attention to and what God pays attention to are completely different. The believers are concerned about “the works or manifestations of the flesh” (Gal. 5:19-21).

What does God pay attention to? God primarily pays attention to “the flesh” and not “the works of the flesh.” This is because once “the flesh” is dealt with, it is no longer there to manifest its works through the physical body.

Galatians 5:24 says, “And they that are Christ's HAVE crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (its practices).”

Romans 6:6 says, “Knowing this, that our old man (“the flesh or Self”) is (has been) crucified with Him (Christ), that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

Apostle Paul recognizing God’s way of salvation said, “I am (my flesh is) crucified with Christ: nevertheless I (the flesh) live; yet not I (the flesh), but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I (the flesh) now live in the flesh (the physical body) I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me” (Gal. 2:20).

“The flesh” is closely linked with lust. So, the Bible often speaks of the “lusts of the flesh.”

2 Peter 2:18 says, “For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.”

“…Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh“(Gal.5:16).

1 John 2:15-17 says, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.

16 For all that is in the world, THE LUST OF THE FLESH, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.

17 And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth forever.”

In Jude 23, God warns his children saying, “…hate even the inner garment spotted from the flesh.”

What is God’s view about the flesh? In God’s view, the flesh is absolutely corrupt.

Nothing can ever change the nature of the flesh! You cannot mend or educate the flesh. No matter the spiritual method you employ, it cannot change the nature of the flesh in any way and by any measure. God knows that the flesh cannot be changed, improved or reformed.

So, even if you set out to improve your flesh through fasting, or making resolutions so as to help the flesh to change for the better, you are bound to fail.

Then what is to be done to the flesh? The only way out is to kill “the flesh.” The flesh must go to the cross. This is the only way appointed by God to deal with the flesh.

Truly, we should not try to mend the flesh so as to make it cooperate with the Spirit of God. The predestined end of the flesh is death.

Since we are born of the flesh, we are of the flesh. If we die, then we are delivered from the flesh. Death is the one and only way to deal with “Mr. Flesh.” Once the flesh is dead, you will be free from sin.

“For he who has died is justified (free) from sin” (Rom. 6:7).

The source of sin is “the flesh.” For instance, when you go into a room full of cobwebs, it will be foolishness to remove the cobwebs without locating the spider because the spider is the source of the cobwebs. So, the right thing to do is to locate and kill the spider first. Then you can remove the cobwebs, and the room will be free of cobwebs.

Similarly, first kill the flesh by crucifying it. Then cleanse yourself from all the filthiness of the flesh by going to God in total repentance.

The flesh must go to the cross! Anything short of death will not do. Death is the only way to get the flesh out of the way. The flesh must be CRUCIFIED.

I have good news for you. And the good news is that God Himself has done this for us in Christ. The work of God is to crucify the believer’s old man with Christ so that those who are of Christ, have crucified the flesh with its affections and lusts.

Both the flesh and its practices have been crucified on the Cross! Whether it is the flesh or the strong lust in the flesh, both have been crucified on the Cross. That is to say, that “the flesh” and the fruits (manifestations) of the flesh have been both crucified on the Cross.

Galatians 5:24 says, “And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts (its practices).”

Romans 6:6 says, “Knowing this, that our old man (“the flesh”) is (has been) crucified with Him (Christ), that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.”

Freedom from the domination of the flesh is through the Cross only! It is through the Cross that the babyish, carnal Christian – perhaps already regenerated for many years – can obtain salvation and be freed from the domination of the flesh. By so doing, they may walk according to the suggestions of the Holy Spirit, and no longer walk according to the suggestions (dictates) of the flesh.

Notice that:

1. On one hand, the Saviour died for the sinner on the Cross to redeem him/her from sin so that God can forgive him/her.

2. On the other hand, having died with the Saviour on the Cross, the sinner is no longer ruled by the flesh. Rather his spirit-man remains in control, the physical body becomes the servant on the outside, and the soul is the medium in between.

Everyone who has believed in Christ and accepted Him as personal Lord and Saviour belongs to Christ.

In Galatians 5:24, “And they that are Christ’s…” refers to everyone who believes in the Lord Jesus.

Does a person’s spiritual level matter in this case? No matter the spiritual level of this person, he belongs to the Lord. No matter what his present spiritual condition is, whether he is victorious or failing, this person’s flesh has been “crucified” on the Cross together with Jesus Christ.

“And they that are Christ’s,” whether strong or weak have crucified the flesh with its affections and its lusts.

What of if the person is still sinning? You may say, “But you are still sinning.” But God says, “You have been crucified on the Cross.”

You say your lust is strong; but God says, “Your flesh has been crucified on the Cross.”

What then should one really pay attention to? You should not pay attention to your experience now. Rather pay attention first to what God has said in His Word concerning you. And God’s Word to you is that no matter how you feel, your flesh has been crucified on the Cross.

How can one have the experience of the crucifixion of his flesh? If you merely look at your own experience every day, instead of looking at what God has said in His Word about you, you will never have the experience of the crucifixion of your flesh, because you are walking by sight.

Do not pay any attention to your feelings and experiences. Since God said that your flesh has been crucified, then it has indeed been crucified. That’s the truth!

Therefore, you must hear and believe God’s Word first, then thereafter you will have the experience. God says to you, “Your flesh has been crucified.” All you need to do is to answer “Amen! Yes, my flesh has been crucified on the Cross.”

For instance, the believers at Corinth were committing adultery, had jealousy, strife, divisions and lawsuits. They were babes in Christ. However, they were still of Christ. Can it be true with even this kind of believer that their flesh has been crucified? Yes! Even the flesh of this carnal Corinthian believers has been crucified.

“For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” (1 Cor. 3:3)

How can this be? Realize that the Bible does not tell us to be crucified. Rather, it tells us that we are those who have been crucified already, because it is not that we are to be crucified by ourselves, but that we have already been crucified with our Lord Jesus Christ. God did it Himself for us.

In Galatians 2:20 Apostle Paul said, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.”

Romans 6:6 says, “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.”

We were crucified with Christ! Since we were crucified the very moment Christ was crucified on the Cross, our flesh also was crucified.

Also, our being crucified does not mean that we were crucified by ourselves, but that the Lord Jesus, at the time when He was crucified, also carried us with Him to the Cross.

Therefore, in God’s eyes, our flesh “has been crucified on the Cross.” In the sight of God this matter is already accomplished and it has become a fact.

That means that whether you have the experience or not, God’s Word says, “And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts” (Gal. 5:24).

We just need to believe God’s Word that this has been accomplished. That is how easy God has made it. God’s Word says, “My flesh has been crucified.” So, I believe that my flesh has really been crucified. God said, “My flesh has been crucified on the Cross.” So, I confess that God’s Word is true. And in this way I will have the experience.

The flesh of those Corinthian believers in the eyes of God has been crucified with Christ on the Cross. But they did not have the experience yet, in that they were still sinning (doing things that were contrary to God’s Word).

It is not that the flesh is going to be crucified on the Cross, but that it has already been crucified, not according to what we see, but according to what God has said, and that is what we believe (2 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 11:6).

If you are firm on this point – that the flesh has been crucified – you will be able to go on and deal with the practices of the flesh in your experience. You must believe and stand firm in what God has said, and then you can obtain the experience.

Watch out for the next edition of Good News from the Pulpit!

• Your friend: I. I. MADUBUNYI (Senior Pastor)                                                               

Promise of the week: This week, “The Lord shall open unto thee His good treasure, the Heaven to give the rain unto thy land in his season, and to bless all the work of thine hand: and thou shalt lend unto many nations, and thou shalt not borrow” (Deut. 28:12).

Thanks wonderful friends for reading. Feel free to drop your comments below and be a part of the conversation.