"The mature children of God are those who are moved by the impulses of the Holy Spirit.And you did not receive the 'spirit of religious duty,' leading you back into the fear of never being good enough. But you have received the 'Spirit of full acceptance,' enfolding you into the family of God. And you will never feel orphaned, for as he rises up within us, our spirits join him in saying the words of tender affection, 'Beloved Father!'” - Luke 10.27 (TPT)
Each of us is made up of both Spirit and Flesh. Our Spirit is dead until we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior because our Spirit can only awaken in the presence of our Creator God. In our sinful state, we are separated from God; however, when we are given Jesus' righteousness by grace and we receive it gladly by faith, our Spirit becomes alive and is in the presence of a Holy God. We now can have a relationship with the Holy Spirit (God with us despite the sinful nature of our flesh) in this life on earth. And once our bodies die, that relationship with God will continue into eternity, which is Heaven. If we do not accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we do not gain His righteousness and we cannot have a relationship with a perfect God. Our Spirit remains dead in sin and our lack of relationship with God will continue into eternity, which is called Hell. Once our Spirit becomes alive by accepting and receiving the Finished Work of Jesus on the Cross, a war between our Flesh and Spirit commences.
"For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want." - Galatians 5.17 (NIV)
The enemy of this world has the right to prey upon our flesh when it is not submitted to the Spirit (Genesis 3.14 AMP). However, if our Spirit is found in Christ at the right-hand side of God, our Spirit becomes untouchable to the enemy (Colossians 3.1 NLT). God is all powerful and the enemy only receives power when we submit to our Flesh--the very place the devil is allowed to feast. However, God gave us authority over Satan when we are submitted to His Spirit, so we must not give that authority away by stepping outside of our protection in Christ.
"He replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.'" - Luke 10.18-19 (NIV)
For this reason, we want to learn to submit our Flesh to our Spirit and to not allow driving forces of this world--fear, bitterness, jealousy, condemnation, disappointment, worry, trauma, etc.--to push our Flesh out of submission to the Spirit. The enemy will look at any way to lead us into walking in the Flesh rather than the Spirit. And our main compass point to lead us back into the Spirit is to remember that we are fully accepted by our Father Who loves us. There is nothing that can snatch our Spirit from His Hands, so we must aggressively remain in the safety of His presence.
"I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else.No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. The Father and I are one.” - John 10.28-30 (NLT)
Our flesh is made up of two main parts: 1) our body 2) our soul, which is our mind, heart and will.
- Our body has appetites, hormones and functions.
- Our soul has three things: the mind with its thoughts and imaginings; the heart with its feelings and emotions and the will with its habits, decisions and drive.
All of these aspects of our Flesh have amazing qualities. Our purpose, design and destiny on earth would be incomplete without both our Spirit and Flesh. However, the Flesh should never be in the driver's seat. The Bible says that above all else the heart (our feelings and emotions) is the most deceitful thing (Jeremiah 17.9). Yes, feelings and emotions add color and beauty to life, but they should never dictate because they will lead us astray if we allow them to lead.
Therefore, what we must decide every day to be found in Christ Who is at the right-hand side of God in the Heavenly Courts. It is here that the enemy can't touch us. It is here that we can hear and be heard by God. It is here that our prayers, longings and desires are received. It is here that God can fill us with His unending supply of goodness. And we cannot step into holy place of God's throne room if we are led by the Flesh.
How do we stay in the Spirit: We form a daily habit of verbally tucking our Flesh into the gentle folds of our Spirit.
- Confess that your mind with its imaginings and thoughts is submitted to the Spirit.
- Confess that your heart with its emotions and feelings is submitted to the Spirit.
- Confess that your will with its habits, decisions and drive is submitted to the Spirit.
- And confess that your body with its appetites, hormones and functions is submitted to the Spirit.
In this way, we can think as God thinks; feel as God feels; decide at God decides and remain whole as God is whole. Plus, we will become untouchable to the enemy. He will try to cause us to fear, covet, worry, strive and fester, but we can hold fast to the peace, joy and healing of God. When trauma strikes and fear threatens us, we can ask God to give us the supernatural peace of Jesus. We can remain in God's peace no matter the storm threatening around us, so we can be Spirit led and safe in the Father's hands.
"Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" - John 14.27 (NIV)
Remember that you tongue has the power of life and death, so start speaking God's promises today.
"The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." - Proverbs 18.21 (NIV)
