Right from the onset, it was never the will of the LORD to see man live and operate according to the leading of his carnal nature. Before the fall, Adam and Eve were fully functional spiritual beings who were less aware of their carnal nature but much aware of the spiritual. When God brought to Adam the creatures He created for naming, He never told him their names. He only listened while Adam named them and then He confirmed those were their names. Flesh didn't do that through Adam. It was his spirit which was connected to the mind of God.
Adam and Eve were fine with walking the Garden of Eden for hundreds of years without caring to know whether they were clothed or not, UNTIL THE FLESH GOT ACTIVATED THROUGH SIN! Then their awareness gradually shifted from the spiritual to the physical till they lost their connection with God, became normal human beings and we consequently expelled from the Garden!
Man is a spirit being. God made and clothed him with an Earth suit (a flesh) with which he can interact with the physical environment He put him in. The flesh is temporal and shouldn't receive greater attention from us. We were never made to live according to the leading of the flesh, but that of the Spirit. Living by the flesh always results to both spiritual and physical death, like in the case of the first man. "For if ye live by the flesh, ye shall die.." - Romans 8:13.
After the flesh got activated, Adam and Eve did not only lose their connection with God and delegated authority over the physical and spiritual sphere they existed within, they also grew old and died! Living according to the flesh can cause eternal separation from God.
Why We Must Crucify The Flesh
The Adamic, carnal nature did not just end with them. It was passed down to generations after them. Every man carries the DNA of Adam until they eventually receive Jesus Christ as their LORD and Saviour. Even after salvation and reception of the Holy Spirit, the carnal nature isn't totally gone. The Christian has to intentionally get rid of it by the Grace supplied through the indwelling Holy Spirit!
The first enemy we need to deal with isn't the devil, it's the flesh. Many genuine Christians occasionally abandon the leading of the Holy Spirit and go after the suggestions of their carnal senses, simply because they haven't yet crucified their flesh. There are both immediate and eternal consequences attached! Like some brothers in the faith who have lived to regret choosing a partner because she had curves, and some sisters... because he had biceps. They choosing to ignore the leading of the Holy Spirit and making such decisions based on one of the five carnal senses (the physical eyes) is an indication of the presence of uncrucified flesh. We don't walk by sight! (2 Corinthians 5:7).
1 John 2:16 KJV
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.
Adam and Eve activated the flesh and died, we must deactivate it if we must live!
Galatians 5:24 KJV
And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
The flesh is also an enemy of destiny. That is one of the reasons it is also an enemy of God. The LORD wants to give us a great future(Jeremiah 29:11), but that doesn't happen while we still allow our flesh to bring us to a place of rebellion against Him. It's obedience that touches God's heart and opens doors of blessings to us. The flesh prevents us from receiving the fullness of what we should receive from God. Total submission to God is the key that unlocks the door to destiny!
1 Peter 4:2 KJV
That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God.
Do you really desire to walk in the fullness of all that the LORD has for you? Do you desire to have a fulfilled destiny and live a fulfilled life on Earth? Are you determined to succeed in life and ministry? Just start by crucifying the flesh!
How To Crucify The Flesh
1 Corinthians 15:31 KJV
"I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily." - Apostle Paul.
Apostle Paul mastered the act of dying daily, and he's a good example we must learn from. But how did he do that? Definitely not by His own strength! He only learnt to let the desires of the Spirit of God in him suppress the desires of his flesh. He soaked in the Word and Prayer on daily basis and that fired up the Grace of God in him which enabled him live the extra-ordinary life without stress!
The ability to overcome anything that stands between us and God comes from the Grace of our LORD Jesus Christ, made available to us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. We don't need multiple deliverance sessions and casting out of demons. We need to let the Spirit who lives in us to work on us! We've been given Grace(Ephesians 4:7), plus God's Word and Prayer!
Zechariah 4:6-7 KJV
Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord of hosts. [7] Who art thou, O great mountain? before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a plain: and he shall bring forth the headstone thereof with shoutings, crying , Grace, grace unto it.
If you are not saved, you have to accept Jesus Christ as your LORD and Saviour. Let go of striving by human strength to overcome the flesh and let the Holy Spirit do His work. That's one of the reasons for which He was sent.
If you are not baptised in the Holy Spirit, ask the LORD to baptise you. Stay prayed up and stay filled with the Holy Spirit (since the ability comes from Him). Stay in the Word. Enjoy your victory over the flesh through Christ! Amen!
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