WEEK 17
TOPIC: Victory over the Flesh.
TEXT: Prov. 25:4, Matt. 26:41, 1 John 2:15-16.
The believer in Christ is a new man with the life of God in him. He came from the finished work of Jesus in salvation. His spirit is one with God and he is to live the life of Christ on earth. He however has an enemy to contend with in his earth walk. This enemy is called the flesh. We already have authority over the devil and all his demonic networks and we are to exercise this authority over them as they show up in our lives. But as far as the flesh is concerned, we will have to keep dealing with it while we are in this earth. Until you come into real conflict with your flesh, your spiritual walk is not yet serious.
What is The Flesh?
The flesh is not a physical body as many think. There is nothing evil about our physical bodies because it is God’s property given to us to live on earth. The erroneous belief that the body is evil has made some folks to debase, destroy and mutilate their bodies deliberately thinking that by so doing, they are subduing their flesh. Paul in 1 Cor. 9:27 said “I put my body under subjection” not “I destroy my body..” To put your body under subjection means you are putting it in check so we can understand how to deal with it.
The flesh is a mindset, a sub-conscious state of a man’s personality that opposes, resists, rebels against the way of the word and of the spirit (Gal. 5:16-17). The word has principles for living and any thinking and reasoning system that conflicts with the principles of the word is the flesh. You can debase your body and refuse to eat well for example, yet you still look up to men for help, you are operating in the flesh. This is because the word says to love men but look up to God for help and your mind is at variance with that. That is what the flesh is; a mindset at war with the word.
By the above definition, you can see that many holy, well behaved, nice Christians are living and walking in the flesh. Flesh has nothing primarily to do with sin, even though it is eventually the template for sin to come up. Until your whole thinking is lined up with the word on every issue of life, you are still walking in the flesh at least in that area where your thinking is in conflict with the word.
Some Things to know About The Flesh
- The flesh issue is the strongest and most complex battle we will ever fight in our quest to maximizing destiny.
- Every demonic assault you will ever experience in life, your flesh is a determining factor on whether or not you will be victorious.
- Your flesh is a major ally the kingdom of darkness has to work within their entire onslaught against your life.
- Satan is the god of the flesh realm, therefore to live in the flesh (carnality) is to be subjugated to demonic operations, no matter your status in Christ.
- If you keep giving in to the flesh, you empower it in the flesh and it will be positioned to make your life difficult (Prov. 13:15).
- When you enslave your flesh, you release your life to destiny. But when you release your flesh, you enslave your life.
- On a sincere retrospective evaluation, you will discover that every major battle you lost is traceable to failure to subdue the flesh and take charge in the spirit either by you or by someone else who has a responsibility on the issue.
- You secure victory in the battles of life when your spirit is in command, hence when the flesh is in control of your life, on the day of battle, your victimization is certain (Prov. 24:10).
- Every believer is assaulted by the devil. The spirit controlled ones come out victorious at the end while the flesh controlled ones lose out.
- The anointing on your life does not eliminate your flesh, you still have to put your flesh in check otherwise you can walk in the flesh even when under the anointing.
The Flesh and Demonic Influence
Demonic influences manifest as oppression, depression, obsession, etc. They are responsible for all kinds of bondages in people’s lives. The truth is no demonic influence manifests in isolation, they work through the leverage of your flesh. Therefore when you subdue your flesh, you eliminate or at least limit the chances of demonic influences in your life. Demons always partner with your flesh to put your spirit in bondage per time. Until you tame your flesh so to speak, demons will always have leverage from time to time to operate in your life.
Unforgiveness for example is the flesh at work. But a demon can latch in on that and make it a bondage in your life such that unforgiveness becomes entrenched in your personality. This can result to unanswered prayers, sickness that wouldn’t respond to anything, etc. You will then require deliverance by casting the demon out and renewing your mind to be free again. That is how demons work through the leverage of your flesh to put you in bondage. Refuse this evil by putting your flesh in check so you will not be cheated out of the blessings of salvation.
Points to Note
- Though we are born again, we will have to contend with the flesh in our earth walk.
- The flesh is a mindset that opposes the work of God on any issue of life.
- The anointing on your life does not eliminate your responsibility of putting your flesh to check.
- Demons seldom have a hold on you except through the leverage of your flesh.
Prayers/Declaration
Father, I declare that my spirit is in control of my life. I put my flesh under check and declare its cravings are destroyed from my system. My mind is subjected to the principles of the word and I am walking in victory daily in Jesus’ Name.
Questions for Meditation
- Differentiate between the flesh and the body?
- Why is the flesh still a factor in our earth walk even though we are born again?
- What is the connection between our flesh and demonic influences?