"Fleshly"

If there is anything that will destroy our spiritual lives, it will be our own fleshliness. It is a struggle I know in my life. What is the scariest thought is most do not recognize when they are being fleshly! Fleshliness is nothing more than walking after your own thoughts and feelings and allowing them to determine things. That's where we can easily go wrong. We get stirred emotionally and those emotions determine our response for the good or bad.

The easiest way to spot fleshliness is when there is strife or jealousy among brethren (I Cor. 3:3). When people are at odds with one another, that's fleshly. Many a congregation has split over fleshly people, who claim they are defending the truth. Things become so obscure that what they call defending the truth is nothing more than walking over the opinions and thoughts of another. Disagreements become a mountain, feelings get hurt and off we go.

How did the Jews who came to Jesus and the Gentiles get along in the first century? The Jews came from a strict background of Scriptures while the Gentiles came from a background of idols and loose living. How were they going to live in harmony? It began by being converted to Jesus (Eph. 2)! Jesus had to be the focus and center of their heart. Jesus had to be the only one to have a say so about life and what is proper. It would be easy for the Jewish Christian to point to the Law of Moses saying this is what God wants done and condemn the Gentile. It led to division and hard feelings. That is what the book of Galatians is about. The Jewish Christians were trying to bind the Old Testament laws along side of Christ and it was creating all types of disharmony. Paul pointed to one thing: "But I say walk by the Spirit and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh." (Gal. 5:16) We must surrender to the Spirit of God and let Him lead us away from our fleshliness. If we don't, there will be strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes and many more things like this that will cause us to divide from one another. Love is a spiritual power that unites and embraces, even when we have differences of opinions. Learning how to serve one another from love is what will keep us from devouring one another. Our flesh is strong and only by submission to the Spirit of God will we overcome.

If you belong to Jesus, what have you done with your personal desires and passions? "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." (Gal. 5:24) Who is leading your life?