3st Spirit, Soul, Body (12)
2005-02-20 | Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee | 1 John 2:24-25 Roman 8:5-8
Today, we are going to look at what the mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit are, examples of the mind of the flesh that can be found in our lives, and how they work.
1. The mind of the spirit and the mind of the flesh
Because human beings have a soul, they can learn something, recall what they have learned, and use it wisely. In the last time, it was said that these actions of the soul can be divided into those of the spirit and those of the flesh, that is, the mind of the spirit and the mind of the flesh.
The ‘mind of the spirit’ is when the heart of truth comes out through the action of the soul belonging to the spirit. In spirit, soul, and body, the spirit becomes the master and controls the soul, and to the extent that the heart is cultivated with the spirit, that is, to the extent that it is filled with the truth, the truth in the heart controls the soul.
For example, when it is said that there is a person who vaguely curses himself, the heart of truth responds first before the soul of a person who has cultivated his heart with the spirit. Love, forgiveness, and peace come into play, and that heart controls the soul. When you say, ‘I need to calm my mind without bumping into that person, and clear up his misunderstandings’, the action of the soul becomes the truth.
Also, the Holy Spirit controls the heart and tells us how to make peace with the other person and even the methodology. Then, as the heart of the truth takes control, the soul obeys and the body moves. With a soft face, a gentle voice, and with words and actions that move the other person’s heart, you will answer the other person.
On the other hand, the ‘thinking of the flesh’ is when the untruth in the heart comes out through the action of the soul. At this time, the soul becomes the main one among the spirit and the soul, and the soul makes the heart fluctuate through the untruth in the heart. If you hear someone swearing at you, the first thing that happens is the soul action. ‘That person is rude, unpleasant, and hurts my self-esteem’ It makes me think of the flesh. In this case, it is Satan who controls the soul, and Satan is blowing in evil thoughts. Following the action of the soul, the heart of untruth within oneself fluctuates, and blood, emotions, hate, pride, and these things fluctuate and boil from within. Then, you will obey the heart of the six untruths and your face will turn red. They swear with a harsh voice and use violence such as throwing or hitting something. In this way, the human body, that is, the body, is like a shell, and moves according to the control of the spirit and soul, which are the kernels.
Among the spirit and the soul, the spirit should originally rule the soul, and the soul should obey the spirit to move the body, but most people do not. The spirit of a person who has not received the Lord is dead and can’t do its job. Since the spirit cannot take over, the soul becomes the master and takes charge of the body. Even if you receive the Lord and your spirit is revived, you must fill your heart with the truth diligently so that your spirit can gain more and more strength and take control of your soul.
So, when the spirit controls the soul, no matter what it touches, it has the mind of the truth and the mind of the spirit. On the other hand, when the spirit does not function properly, the soul works first, and the body thinks through the untruth in the heart. Of course, even people of the world whose spirit is dead sometimes have thoughts that belong to the truth according to the good that remains in their conscience, but in most cases, they think of the flesh through untruth.
If we think of the flesh like this, we become enemies of God and cannot please God (Romans 8:7-8). As I said before, it is Satan who controls the soul and makes the mind think of the flesh. Therefore, when we obey Satan, who opposes God, and we think of the flesh, we think that we are hostile to God. Therefore, you cannot have faith with the mind of the flesh, you cannot experience the work of God, and it is even more difficult to enter into the spirit.
2. Examples and operations of the mind of the flesh
1) They do not believe and obey God’s Word according to their own theories and interests.
The words of the Bible are the words of God who is the Spirit, and explain the laws of the spirit world, and most of them cannot be understood with general knowledge, theories, and frameworks of the flesh.
When you hear the words “a virgin conceived of Jesus” or “Jesus walked on water,” those who think in the flesh will ask, “How can a virgin conceive a child?”, “How can a person walk on water?” would you? Jesus must have come to the shallows.” He mobilizes his own theory. However, if you receive the Holy Spirit and hear it through the Spirit, you will be able to understand and believe these spiritual words. It is to accept that “Almighty God is capable of anything, so that these things can happen.”
But the problem is that even though they say they believe in God, they can’t believe God’s word by mobilizing their fleshly thoughts in matters related to their own interests. For example, God says, “He who serves is the greatest” and “Seek the other’s interests, not your own,” but those who mobilize their carnal thoughts do not understand these words and cannot obey them. “In a world where everyone seeks their own, if you seek the other’s benefit, you will only lose” and mobilize your carnal thoughts and say, “It is God’s will to pay tithing. It is difficult,” and they act stingy with their fleshly thoughts.
If you obey the word of God, God will surely guarantee you according to the word. If you serve others with faith in God and humble yourself, you will be recognized by all people and become your head. If you sow God with faith, you will surely be blessed with more than enough blessings both physically and spiritually. However, unless we throw away our carnal thoughts, we cannot obey the Word and receive blessings from God.
2) If you have a carnal mind, you limit the work of God within your own frame.
For example, a person knows that God is omnipotent because he has heard numerous testimonies. I am well aware of the God who can cure both cancer and AIDS and heal a broken leg immediately. However, one day, if a foreign substance like a thorn is deeply embedded in your body and cannot fall out, you are thinking of the flesh. They say, ‘The thorn in the body is different from disease or weakness.
If you are blocked by these carnal thoughts, you will not have faith to receive prayer, and even if you receive prayer, faith will not come. Since spiritual faith does not come, we cannot even experience the work of God. However, if you think in the spirit, you can believe that “God is Almighty and He can solve this too.” As long as you fully trust and entrust it like that, God will surely work in God’s way.
As I testified a while ago, there was a person who had a sharp piece of acrylic about 2 centimeters penetrated into a blood vessel. In this case, the physical thought is that surgery will be done to rip the blood vessels and remove the foreign substances. However, when this man continued to apply sweet water with faith, he was able to experience the work of God who was able to perform surgery. In other words, God made one part of the arm sting, causing an acrylic piece to protrude through that part, and then heal the bruised part again.
3) The carnal mind also becomes an obstacle on the way to the spirit.
For example, there are cases when you think of everything negatively and pessimistically, so you can’t even look at yourself with faith. When a person makes a certain mistake or error, or when he discovers his own shortcomings, he naturally apologizes to God and his heart aches. However, those who think of the Spirit give strength to themselves, saying, “Thank you for making me discover my shortcomings” and “I have to do that in the future, but I have to change quickly and please God.”
However, people who think in the flesh have negative thoughts like, “Because I am like this, God cannot love me. In doing so, you lose your strength, you can’t pray, you don’t fulfill your mission, and you don’t see where you should be.
If so, how big of a difference will there be in the fruit of the two? As it is said in Romans 8:6, “The mind of the Spirit is life and peace.” Even if you go through the same pain, a person who has the mind of the Spirit can be changed into the Spirit more quickly in peace and joy, while being frustrated through the mind of the flesh. And those who are discouraged will lag behind and be delayed by that much.
In addition, there are countless instances of mobilizing the thoughts of the flesh in your daily life. There are many reasons for mobilizing the thoughts of the flesh, such as putting one’s own experiences and theories first, not being able to break the mold of one’s own, or because of a negative personality. However, the most fundamental cause of these thoughts of the flesh is the untruth of the heart, that is, the flesh.
Romans 8:5 says, “Those who are after the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are after the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” It was said before that the thought of the flesh is ‘the untruth in the heart comes out through the action of the soul’. No matter how much you try to think with the truth and think with the spirit, if you do not forsake the flesh in your heart, the thoughts of the flesh will follow the flesh.
However, if you put off your body and form the heart of the spirit, the Holy Spirit already controls your heart before you can think about anything with your soul, and the thoughts of the spirit come to mind first. In the next section, we will look at specific ways to hear and be guided by the voice of the Holy Spirit when we think of the Spirit.
Dear saints,
In 5 Kings XNUMX, we see a scene where General Naaman goes to Elisha to be cured of his leprosy. But Elisha tells him to go to the Jordan River and wash himself seven times without ever leaving the house. Naaman was angry and wanted to just go back, but when his servants begged him to obey the prophet’s words, he was healed of leprosy by obedience with a good heart. Not only that, but I also enjoyed the spiritual blessing of meeting and serving God, who is the true God.
As such, it is a fact that choosing between the mind of the flesh and the mind of the spirit determines not only whether or not to receive blessings, but also the matter of the soul. Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will be guided only by the blessing God has prepared and the path to eternal life by examining yourself every moment, putting off your carnal thoughts, and following the truth in everything you do to fulfill your spiritual thoughts.
