Category Archives: Flesh vs. Spirit

Natural Doesn’t Equal Good

12 Replies

file6871239401075Not everything that is natural is good. We see that in natural remedies and natural food. And we especially see it in humans.

The Bible refers to natural human tendencies as carnal tendencies. Human nature is often called “the flesh” (except in a few translations which try to explain what “flesh” means) Following the flesh leads to death; following the Spirit of God leads to life.

There are lots of natural things in all of us that we recognize as bad: anger, jealousy, lust, pride. Galatians 5 has a nice list of them. Then it lists things that are produced by the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22–23)

To say “that’s just the way I am” is not a good excuse; it’s merely an admission that you need to be transformed by God’s Spirit!

Rather than putting a stamp of approval on natural, let’s call ourselves and others to a higher goal: Spiritual.

photo courtesy of MorgueFile.com

Spiritual realities and the true church

2 Replies

In my travels, I often run across literature with titles like “The marks of a true church” or “How to recognize a New Testament church.” I won’t claim to have read all of them, but the ones I’ve seen fail to do what they claim to do. That is, they don’t focus on the things the Bible says about what makes a church a true church.

Yesterday we talked about online behavior and spiritual realities, how our behavior on the Internet affects us spiritually. That doesn’t just go for what we do on the computer; I think we need to see that how we treat others affects who we are, as well as making a statement about who we are.

The big “mark” to look for, of course, is love. That can sound trite, yet the Bible repeatedly identifies that as the most important thing. If what we’re doing doesn’t lead us to love, doesn’t produce love, doesn’t reflect love, then what we’re doing isn’t godly. It’s that simple. Again, I know that Jesus got angry and Paul wrote some harsh things, but none of that gives us license to proceed in a way that doesn’t reflect God’s nature. God is love.

We also need to be looking for the rest of the fruit of the Spirit. A Spirit-led life will produce the things listed in Galatians 5:22-23. And we will pursue those things, as a church, or we will be a carnal, worldly church.

None of that impedes our obeying God and seeking to do His will. But if in that pursuit of God pleasing we quit following the Spirit, we will never achieve our goal. You can’t “do the right things” without the fruit of the Spirit.

That’s why we need the big picture. That’s why we need theology. Focusing merely on behaviors won’t get us there. We need to look at the spiritual realities behind the behaviors.

Online spirituality, online carnality

2 Replies

I want to revisit the discussion about spiritual realities from last week. As I read the comments and thought more about this issue, I realized that one obvious application of all of this is right here. The Internet. Our cyberdiscussions.

Thinking about how the spiritual world surrounds all that we do, I think we need to take a hard look at our online interactions. What do they say about us? Do we see love and generosity, grace and peace? Do we see the bonds of the Spirit uniting us, even as we disagree? Or is there anger and judgmentalness, grudges and bitterness? Is it truth or is it falsehood?

“I have a right to get angry. Look at what he said.” That’s one of my favorite lines to tell myself. “Even Jesus got angry.” Yes he did, but I’m not sure that everything I feel can be titled righteous indignation. “We have to expose error.” Error is best exposed by shining truth on it, not by trying to bury it under criticism and ridicule.

When I give in to my carnal nature in online discussions, I’m ignoring the Spirit’s lead. When I use the ways of the world, I become more a part of the world and less a part of the Kingdom.

It all adds up. It’s a weakness of mine. Maybe by writing all of this, I can remind myself to do better. Better yet, I can remind myself to let God lead, not my pride.

More than meets the eyes

2 Replies

In general, the Jewish world of ancient times saw a direct relation between many things on earth and in the supernatural world. We hear Jesus speak of how children’s angels are constantly in the presence of God. The seven letters of Revelation are addressed to the angels of the churches. As Joshua prepared to begin the conquest of the Promised Land, he was met by the commander of the army of the Lord.

In the ancient world, many peoples saw their kings as divine. The Bible often speaks of rulers in spiritual terms, even using the term “gods” in Psalms 82 and 138, although that’s probably a bit of sarcasm. They are called “sons of gods,” recognizing their human nature with a link to the spiritual world. I did a study of Genesis 6 when I was in grad school, coming to the conclusion that the passage was talking about human kings. I would probably modify my view a bit now; I still believe they were human kings, but the terminology used probably indicates a demonic rebellion against God as well.

An interesting passage is Deuteronomy 32:8. Most versions follow the reading from the Masoretic text. The ESV chose to follow the Septuagint (and a text from the Dead Sea Scrolls) which reads: “When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God.” (Deuteronomy 32:8) [Masoretic text says “sons of Israel”] The passage goes on to read: “But the LORD’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage.” (Deuteronomy 32:9) This reading reflects the idea that the nations of the world were divided up. God kept Israel for himself and gave the rest to “the sons of God.” While God was king over Israel, others would rule the rest of the nations. Whether or not this reading is the original one, it reflects an ancient Jewish understanding of the relationship between the nations and the spiritual powers.

That helps us understand apocalyptic literature. Physical problems on earth are solved through cosmic warfare, heavenly beings defeating demonic forces. We read Revelation, for example, and wonder why John would describe the fall of Rome in such terms. If we were immersed in the Jewish milieu, we wouldn’t ask that question. The tie between earthly powers and unearthly ones would be assumed and expected.

All of this to remind us that as we look at the world around us, we need to remember that there’s much more than meets the eye. Our physical world is the tip of the iceberg. That’s one reason we have to place complete trust in God, for only He can navigate us through situations that are bigger than we can possibly comprehend.

Living out spiritual realities

10 Replies

Following up on yesterday’s discussion (thanks for the great comments!), I want to think about how we can view the world with more spiritual eyes. As someone who takes a high view of Scripture, I have to believe that the world it portrays is a reality. Because of this, I believe there is more to Creation than what meets the eye. There are spiritual realities that need to be recognized.

I think we need to see that our physical actions can have spiritual consequences. There are “deeds of darkness” and “works of light.” When we choose to do evil, we are partnering with evil. We are doing its bidding, allowing it to be our master. We are weakening ourselves spiritually.

We choose between carnal and spiritual, flesh and spirit. Each choice we make shapes us and affects us. Giving in to sin makes it easier to give in the next time. Resisting temptation makes it easier to follow the Spirit in the future.

Even sins that “don’t hurt anybody” hurt me. They weaken me, because we’re not just talking about superficial actions; we’re talking about placing ourself in the camp of evil or the kingdom of good. Paul put it this way: “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16)

I think that we need to help people see that we are in a spiritual struggle, an all-out war between the forces of heaven and the forces of evil. Far too much of our thinking about sin has to do with “will I still get to heaven or not?” That kind of thinking misses the point, fails to see the realities of the world in which we live.

Or am I missing the point? As always, feel free to correct me or steer me in the right direction.