Christians who are serious about living out their faith are often heard describing their battle with the flesh. They often lament how often they lose to such things as lust, fear, greed, selfishness, lying, resentment, etc. It seems that the battle rages constantly, and we often lose because we can’t identity the real enemy. We are grateful that our gracious Father forgives us, but we grow tired of failure and even become embarrassed to come to him again.
We have tried suppressing the flesh. It doesn’t work for long. Our will becomes weak, and eventually we give in to an impulse that seems to have a life of its own. We sometimes try casting out the demons in hope of final liberation, only to finally discover that flesh cannot be cast out. It must be crucified.
Denial is another option. That is always a good choice when nothing seems to work. We just conclude that we don’t have a battle and ignore it. Eventually we get tired of being controlled by the baser impulses of our lives and venture out of denial.
So, what is the flesh? Try this description: It is the perspective and schema of the orphan trying to make sense of life. Remember what happened in the Garden of Eden. When Adam and Eve sinned their perspective changed. They defined reality in terms of providing for themselves, protecting themselves, and promoting themselves. Afraid of God they were fixated on covering their shame and justifying their actions. They saw life as orphans. This is the origin of the “flesh.” Flesh produces some ugly works. The apostle Paul listed some of them.
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these.
Galatians 5:19-21a (ESV)
I have heard some in-depth biblical word studies done of this list, but just knowing what the words mean doesn’t seem to help eliminate them. We might find some solace in discovering that we don’t produce all of the flesh-works, or that there are worse flesh-works than ours. But until the flesh is dead, the works will continue one way or the other.
It becomes the default mode for mankind. It is often demonstrated in the stories of the Old Testament. Even Abraham, the father of faith, had trouble with it. God promised him that he would have a son who would ultimately produce a seed that would bless (instead of curse) the nations. Time passed, and there was no son. As he closed in on 100 years and his wife, Sarah, neared 90, they began to doubt the promise. So they schemed to produce a son. Hagar the slave girl would bear Abraham a son, and by a technicality in the law, he would have an heir.
Abraham began to see God’s promise as an instruction. He felt responsible to produce what God said he would give him. Flesh is like that. It drives. When things are not working out, it will scheme to find a way. It cannot tolerate “failure” or even delay. The orphan mind cannot afford to be unproductive. That might threaten acceptance. So the unmet needs inside produce a pressure to move, make something happen, produce.
The product of Abraham and Sarah’s plan was Ishmael. He is the Old Testament picture of the orphan’s life. He was cast out of Abraham’s home. He wandered in isolation. He was angry and jealous. He and his mother were a source of persecution to Isaac. He felt victimized and vulnerable. Competitive to the point of criminality, he produced a people of hostility. He had lots of land but no sense of being an heir.
It is worthwhile to mention that there is a vast difference in a son’s inheritance and an orphan’s riches. An inheritance is a stewardship that is connected to the past and the future. It is a trust that must be handled according to a purpose greater than we can give it. People who are aware of being heirs don’t consider their resources as ultimately theirs. They are very conscious of using everything to fulfill the purpose for which it was passed down to them. An orphan’s riches on the other hand are a collection of things used as symbols of success and idols for security. Money always trips them up. Absent a clear purpose and sense of destiny, they will become victims of greed and fear.
As I mention in another place, Israel becomes like Ishmael and reveals what flesh looks like when it dons religious garb. Flesh will craft a religious system that is literal. Remember that the orphan’s perspective is primarily on the physical and natural. It will be legalistic because rules are the only way to govern behavior when you don’t have a vital relationship with the Father. It will be litigious. Being right on the details is important to one whose significance is based on performance.
Like the original Ishmael, this fleshy religion promotes victimization. No one really understands the orphan and he capitalizes on it. He is more comfortable in the minority nursing his wounds. He demands respect and uses his mistreatment as leverage to get his way. He is very proud of outward symbols of success, and is devastated when they are taken away. (I have just described Israel in Jesus’ day and thousands of lifeless church-goers today.)
Those caught in this system are always looking for more instructions. In the absence of life, instructions will offer a chance to succeed. They are also zealous in trying to gain adherents to the group, not so much for their benefit, but to authenticate the system. The more they can collect in their group the more they are convinced that they are right, and being right is very important.
Living by a “flesh-perspective” is frustrating. Driven by unmet needs, attracted to perform for acceptance, feeling responsible for meeting our own needs of provision, protection and permanence, and constantly fighting fear of failure and punishment, we grow tired and angry.
Flesh is the default mode for all mankind. It can be managed by religious systems, but it can only be defeated by death. That is why Jesus the Son came and took on the fleshly body of mankind and experienced the separation from the Father that we orphans deserve. When he died on the cross the soldiers crucified him, but he crucified the flesh’s dominance over those who came to him. He then sent the Spirit to indwell the believer so that we could be led by the Spirit rather than driven by our flesh.
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.
Galatians 5:16 (ESV)
Note that the text does not say, “do not gratify the desires of the flesh and you will walk in the Spirit.” That is reversing the order. Only as we are led by the Spirit to experience the intimacy with the Father and enjoy the son’s inheritance, will we ever be willing to give up the flesh. Until there is a legitimate alternative we will always yield to the perspective of the flesh and therefore produce its works. The Spirit is stronger than the flesh and will produce certain fruit. It will be obvious, to those who can see, whether one is living as an orphan or as a son.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with it passions and desires.
Galatians 5:22-24 (ESV)
It is possible to actually be a son and continue to think like an orphan. Spiritual people can operate in the flesh—but they don’t have to. Someone has said, “Flesh is anything we use to make life work without trusting the Spirit of God.” We can become good at finding the substitutes and baptizing them into our system. Hopefully we will soon tire of the fleshy works and run to the Father who sent the Spirit to make our sonship real.
The question is how? How do we access this life of being led by the Spirit rather than driven by the flesh?
Jesus demonstrated what a man filled with the Spirit does. First he rests in his relationship with the Father. Conscious of being unconditionally loved, he is free to explore all the creative impulses in his heart. Confident in the Father’s purpose, he uses every gift to fulfill that purpose. Jesus fulfilled all the roles foreshadowed in the Old Testament where men were anointed by the Spirit. He was the king of all God’s realm, ruling over everything except God the Father himself. He was the ultimate priest since he alone became the mediator between God and man. He was the complete prophet who delivered the full message of God to all of creation.
So Jesus was conscious of his place with the Father and simply acted out of that consciousness. He never tried to do anything to gain position. He was comfortable being the Son of the Father.
Can we do that? Well, let’s see. We have been regenerated by the Spirit. That includes being alive to God in a way that those “in the flesh” are not. The death that separated mankind from God in the Garden has been overcome by the Spirit. The Spirit gives life to our dead spirits. We are alive to God. We can relate to the Father of spirits. We have been given the capacity to see the kingdom of God in a way we could not before. But not only have we been regenerated, we have received the Spirit of Adoption. That means we actually are conscious of being related to God as Father. He (God) is no longer an unknowable sovereign who demands righteousness. He is our Father, and we know it in the deepest part of our being. But there is more. He has gifted us as members of the body of Christ on earth. We have abilities, that when used in mutual submission to other gifted sons, will promote the Kingdom of God and glorify the Father.
Since the Spirit leads, we simply must follow. That is what “led” people do! In an effort to discover what that looks like, let’s look at three words.
Perspective: We must take advantage of the new position we have been given. We are no longer orphans wandering in the wilderness without clear purpose or destiny. We stand in grace.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ Through him we have also obtained access by faith into the grace in which we stand and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
Romans 5:1-2 (ESV)
Imagine that you are a 16 year-old orphan. You have lived your whole life in a poorly run orphanage. You have never had quiet enough food. You have had no possessions of your own. Even your clothes could be taken by others when you were not wearing them. One day a kind, wealthy, fatherly man picks you up and informs you that he has legally adopted you. He shows you the papers and assures you that nothing can reverse your legal position as his child and heir. He then takes you to his home. As you enter he shows you the kitchen with two large refrigerators filled with food. There is a well-stocked pantry. He says that you can eat whenever you are hungry. There are keys lying on the counter. He says they are for your car. He takes you up the stairs and shows you your own room. It is a suite. There is a large bed, desk, computer, large screen TV, and a closet with clothes just your size for every occasion.
What would you do? Would you need a manual to tell you that stealing food and stuffing it beneath your pillow would not be tolerated? Would you need reminding that putting your clothes in bed with you while you slept was frowned upon? You would just need to stand there awhile and get your bearings. When it began to sink in where you were standing, the deviant behavior would be a non-issue.
We can’t make too much of our need to have a son’s perspective rather than the default orphan mentality. The gospel must be preached and repeated often. We are so accustomed to living in the orphanage that the new home is foreign. There is room for large repentance; changing the way we think and therefore act.
The second word is power. We are indwelt by the same Spirit that raised Jesus from the grave. There is hope for transformation. He can change things that we could never change without him. He can heal scars from the past. He can break addictions to substitutes and replace them with passion for God’s glory. He can resurrect love and initiate forgiveness. Actually there is nothing in us caused by sin that cannot be radically affected by the Spirit that lives in us and works through us.
The third word is process. The Holy Spirit leads us by exposing our dependency upon substitutes and showing us the real. He opens our eyes to the real reasons we can’t control our temper or our lusts. He is not embarrassed when we reveal that we live according to the thinking pattern of the flesh. He exposes it so that we can by faith access the grace that replaces it. We don’t have to live in denial when we know that he is actually leading us into those situations that will reveal the bushes we hide behind. Then we get to make a choice. We can believe what God says about us and the situation, or we can continue to play the orphan game. Like Israel when they were led to the edge of Canaan, we have the choice to take what is promised, or yield to fear because of the obstacles our eyes behold. Whatever we choose will determine the level of joy we experience afterward. We can move forward trusting his word and seeing his marvelous works of faithfulness in our behalf. Or we can take another wandering trip around the wilderness. But be assured he will not stop exposing until we respond.
It is a journey! None of us gets rid of the orphan perspective completely at the beginning. We walk our paths of discovery knowing that there is so much more of the inheritance than we have seen yet. Our hope escalates and our faith is tried. We are partners with our Father, and the Holy Spirit continues to reveal to us what an unthinkable treasure that really is. We continue to be exposed so that he can be revealed. The flesh is a real dynamic, but it is defeated by the Spirit sent by the Father and the Son.
|
