April 23, 2017- Fruit or Works – Fruit vs Flesh – Part 1

Works of Flesh vs. Fruit of Spirit

Galatians 5:1, 16-26

: I begin a new series today that I have had in mind and heart for a few months now.

(NLT)

Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

[Stand fast, therefore] Be firm and unwavering. This verse properly belongs to the previous chapter, and should not have been separated from it. The sense is, that they were to be firm and unyielding in maintaining the great principles of Christian liberty. They had been freed from the bondage of rites and ceremonies; and they should by no means, and in no form, yield to them again.

[And be not entangled again] Tyndale renders this, “And wrap not yourselves again.” The sense is, do not again allow such a yoke to be put on you; do not again become slaves to any rites, and customs, and habits.

[The yoke of bondage] Of servitude to the Jewish laws.

(NLT)

: Part 1 today will address the sinful nature; I call this

“Sinful nature” (NIV) or “flesh” (KJV, NRSV, NASB), 

 in Greek, is a key term in Romans 7 and 8. But at first glance it is confusing. This is because the word “flesh” is used in at least four different ways: The first three are morally neutral:

But perhaps Paul’s most characteristic use of 

 is with reference to

The word appears with this fourth definition in Romans 6:19; 7:5, 18, 25, and 13 times in the first 13 verses of Romans 8. It is central to our study.

As we will see in Romans 8, we now have the Spirit within us who is strong enough to keep the flesh from getting the upper hand. What kinds of things does the flesh cause us to do?

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.” (Galatians 5:19-21)

The flesh motivates the selfishness we sometimes feel, the whining about our circumstances, the petty jealousies, the jockeying for power in the office and in our marriages, the lure of pornography, the desire for money and possessions, and all the rest. In 7:14-25 we’ll explore our struggle with the flesh. In 8:1-17 we’ll see how the Spirit can enable us to live free of the flesh.

As we seek to understand the flesh, it’s important to see that this is no benign competition. It is war against our spirits.

(Rom 7:22-23 NLT)

This term “waging war” (NIV, NASB), “warring” (KJV), “at war” (NRSV) is

, “to be at war with,”from anti, “over against, hostile opposition” + “strateuō, “to engage in a conflict, wage battle, fight.”

In chapter 8 of Romans we read,

(Rom 8:7 NLT).

This concurs with several other New Testament references that characterize the Christian life as conflict:

(Gal 5:17 NLT)

.”

Note: The scope of spiritual warfare is the world, the flesh, and the devil. These verses refer primarily to the war with the flesh, though these realms do interact with each other.

If we pamper the flesh and give into its desires, we are merely feeding a monster that will grow that much stronger. The flesh is the enemy of our soul and wages war against it. The answer to the flesh, of course, is the power of the Spirit, which we’ll explore fully in Romans 8.

: Connceted to the battle is also the understanding that the human (natural) heart is corrupt/sinsul.

Jeremiah put it this way:

(Jeremiah 17:9)

Man in his present fallen state is not basically good, the Scripture teaches. He is deceitful and conniving. Yes, there is good in him — the remnant of God’s image in which he was formed. But the good is corrupted. No part of man is any longer perfectly good. All is a mixture of good and evil. And certainly man’s “flesh” is corrupt: “I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature (flesh, 

)” (Romans 7:18).

All is somewhat corrupt and therefore, even the “good” in us cannot be trusted. Jesus recognized this when he taught on the heart or core of man:

(Matthew 15:18-20a)

(Above) Written by Dr. Ralph F. Wilson

Of course, this is just what Paul is teaching about the flesh. Theologians have framed this as the Doctrine of Total Depravity. Not that man has absolutely no good in him. But that in every aspect man is flawed. Even the good that a person may intend may come from mixed motives, etc.

If we pamper the flesh and give into its desires, we are merely feeding a monster that will grow that much stronger. The flesh is the enemy of our soul and wages war against it. The answer to the flesh, of course, is the power of the Spirit, which we explore fully in 

.

What are the cravings of the sinful nature? What kinds of strong desire does the sinful nature produce? What does the intense longing that comes from your sinful nature look like?

Here are 10 examples. You’ll recognize them immediately.

: Well today I deal with the struggle and or battle of the flesh because It’s who we are and need to contend with.