SEPTEMBER 8 so then they who are in the flesh cannot please God (Rom. 8:8). Paul uses the terms, “the flesh” or “in the flesh,” quite often. What does he mean? He is speaking of a person’s own natural ability, our natural strength, our own efforts, in other words, what we as a human being can do. We cannot do anything within our own strength and power that will gain anything with the Lord, no matter how noble our efforts might be. In other words, the Lord cannot accept our efforts, our ability, our personal power, etc. So to have what we must receive from the Lord, that is, if we are to live as we ought to live, then we will have to depend totally, and I mean totally, on Christ and what Christ has done for us at the Cross. To help us understand it better, anything we try to do, any way we attempt to go, any effort we attempt to make, other than by Faith in Christ and the Cross, is labeled by the Holy Spirit as “the flesh,” which is displeasing to God, and which will never bring victory. Why not? In the first place, what needs to be done, no matter how strong we are, no matter how courageous we are, no matter our great effort, no matter the willpower, what is needed is beyond the scope of humanity. That being the case, God became Man, and, as the Lord Jesus Christ, did for man what man could not do for himself. The price, to be sure, was high, and we speak of the Cross. But He gladly paid it! So when we ignore that, we are in essence saying that the Sacrifice of Christ is insufficient, or else it needs something which we can add to it, which is a tremendous insult to Christ, as should be overly obvious. As the Scripture plainly proclaims here, such a direction seriously displeases God. Many Believers have the erroneous idea that when they are baptized with the Holy Spirit, then the Lord will give them greater willpower, greater fortitude, and greater courage, thus enabling them to say “No!” to the world, the flesh, and the Devil. Let the following ever be understood: The Holy Spirit will never give victories to the flesh. In other words, He does not strengthen the willpower of the Believer, or our own natural ability, etc. That would only glorify the flesh, which would tend to increase pride in the heart and life of such a person, which the Lord will never do. The “power” He speaks of giving us (Acts 1:8) is His Power manifested in our lives, as we evidence Faith in Christ and the Cross. Then, and only then, will His Power be manifested. Unfortunately, far too many Christians think that the Holy Spirit makes them stronger. He doesn’t! Concerning this very thing, Paul said, “When I am weak, then am I strong” (II Cor. 12:10). Truly, every Christian is weak; they just won’t admit it. When we recognize that we are weak, which means that we can’t do what needs to be done, and then we correctly place our Faith in Christ and the Cross, then the Holy Spirit will do for us what only He can do. Swaggart, J. (2005). The Expositors Word For Every Day (571). Baton Rouge, LA: World Evangelism Press.
Posted on: Mon, 08 Sep 2014 09:33:32 +0000
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