Tag Archives: Flesh vs. Spirit

Natural Doesn’t Equal Good

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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

More than meets the eyes

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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

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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.

Supporting evil

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My good friend Mark Edge (we were roommates in college and co-workers in Argentina) posted an excellent article yesterday: “What To Do About Evil.” I’d encourage you to take a few moments and read that post.

While a discussion of the problem of evil would definitely be an interesting one, I wanted to comment on something that Mark mentioned along the way. He referred to an article from CNN which said that

“If the church stopped consuming [porn], we would put a huge dent in it,” he [XXXchurch founder Craig Gross] said, referring to individual churchgoers.

Wow! The above statement is obviously opinion and probably a bit of an exaggeration, yet it still should give us pause for thought. How many other evils could that be said for? To what degree have church members allowed themselves to be sucked into the things of this world, helping to sustain the very things that war against God’s Holy Spirit?

It certainly made me think. I remember discussing Ephesians 6 with a group of teenagers, seeing that, because of the nature of spiritual warfare, our actions promote the cause of one of two bands: the forces of good and the power of evil. In the West, we don’t like to think of things in those terms, but it’s true. What can seem like an “innocent” sin to us is really part of a larger chain of effects that affect many people.

I think that’s why Paul and other New Testament writers put such an emphasis on fleeing evil and pursuing holiness. Our actions have consequences, some far beyond what we can visualize.

Wrestling with our human nature

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Dovetailing with my last post, this seems like a good opportunity to share some thoughts on the end of chapter 7 of Romans. I was recently reading an article by one of our brotherhood scholars who mentioned having changed his views on this section. It got me to looking at why I see things as I do as regards Romans 7:14-25. If you don’t remember, this is the section where Paul talks about a struggle between what he knows is right and what he finds himself doing. I know of three basic interpretations to this passage:

(1) Paul is talking about his own struggle before becoming a Christian.
(2) Paul is talking about the struggle of non-Christians.
(3) Paul is talking about his own struggle as a Christian.

There may be other interpretations, but these seem to be the big three. From what I can see, the third interpretation is “the plain meaning of the text,” so you have to come up with a good reason for rejecting that interpretation before you can accept the other two. We can look to the Burton Coffman commentary for a good argument as to why this is done: “Paul’s experience as a Christian is the last thing that could be considered as the topic here. “I am carnal, sold under sin …” Are such words as these any fit comment of any child of God who has been redeemed by the blood of Christ? To use Paul’s words, God forbid! To refer these words to Paul’s status as a Christian, or to the status of any other Christian, is to torture the word of God. Such a construction upon these words approaches blasphemy Paul had just finished saying that Christians are “dead to sin” and “alive unto God” in Christ Jesus (Romans 6:11); and to apply these words to Christians is to contradict what had just been stated.” Coffman favors a combination of the first two interpretations above.

So why do I think Paul is talking about himself as a Christian? First off, the word “carnal” here is a Greek word that is only used four times in the New Testament: Romans 7:14, 1 Corinthians 3:1, 2 Corinthians 3:3 and Hebrews 7:16. It doesn’t refer to “carnality” as we think of it, but to humanness. Paul says, “The law is spiritual; I am human.” Note that there is no mention of the Spirit in these verses; Paul is talking about the Christian as a human, trying to fulfill God’s demands by his own power. Our flesh is not capable of that.

Chapters 5-8 of Romans describe the Christian life. The first part of chapter 7, there is some discussion of Paul’s former life, and it is all in the past tense. Would Paul now use the present tense to discuss his former life? That makes no sense. And the idea that Paul could be speaking of his former life contradicts what he says about his former life in Philippians 3 — “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.” (Philippians 3:4-6). Paul kept the Law very well before becoming a Christian. There is nothing in Paul’s writings to suggest that he felt that he could now keep the Law’s commands better than before. In fact, he says in 1 Corinthians 9:26-27: “Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” Paul continued to struggle with sin, a struggle that he describes in Romans 7.

Paul, in Romans 7:14-25 is saying the same thing he says in Galatians 5:16-18: “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” Our natural self wants to do what is wrong; we have to follow the Spirit to be able to do what is right. Without God’s help, our human nature will not allow us to do what we know to be right.

There’s no reason to reject the plain reading of this passage. Over the years, every Christian with whom I’ve read this passage could identify with Paul’s struggle. Our only hope for doing what is right is to deny the flesh and follow the Spirit. Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord—that He has delivered us from our own selves.