2st Spirit, Soul, Body (1)
2004-01-18 | Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee | 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Today, as the first class of the second spiritual and physical education, we will testify about the definition of the flesh and its contents among the fields of the flesh.
Everywhere in the Bible, it tells us that we must throw away the flesh and take on the things of the spirit, which means that we must become people of the spirit, not the flesh. I promise.
However, in order to become a man of spirit worthy of God, we must first know how spiritual we are and how we can become a perfect man of spirit. In other words, we need to know in detail what are the shortcomings or faults in God’s eyes and how to fix them so that we can become perfect before God.
So, if we change into a spiritual form, we will not only have boldness before God, but we will also receive love from God, and we will always be able to receive answers and be blessed so that we can lead a powerful life of faith. To do this, we must keep our hearts and minds on what we understand after hearing the Word, and our hearts and actions must be changed. It’s like a boxer who wants to be good at sports doesn’t mean that he has to study the rules and theories of boxing perfectly, but that he has to practice to get his skills.
The same is true when it comes to living your life of faith. Some people have heard and know the many words that have been testified on the Dan for many years, but they are unable to make them their own. Sometimes, we realize ourselves in the light of the truth, so we try to change for a while, but as time goes on, we return to the way we were before.
Therefore, like a wise person, we should save time and change ourselves quickly to welcome the Lord as the bridegroom of the Lord who is completely holy on the day of the Second Coming (Ephesians 5:15-16).
1. The definition of flesh
If you are living your life of faith at this church, you will often hear the words, ‘You must throw away the flesh and come into the spirit’ or ‘Do not become a man of the flesh, but become a man of the spirit’. So, for those who have come for the first time, when they hear these words, they may think, ‘No, how do I get rid of my body if I throw away the flesh?’
The world defines this ‘flesh’ as ’the flesh or flesh of a beast’. It is a generic term for all parts of a human or animal from head to toe. In this way, in the world, the body we see with our eyes is called flesh, but the flesh in the spiritual sense contains the meaning of ‘untruth as opposed to truth’.
Let’s look at just a few examples of such things in the Bible. 2 Corinthians 14:XNUMX says, “The natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, which to them are foolishness, and they do not understand them, for these things are discerned only spiritually.” Here, it is said that ‘the natural person does not receive the works of the Holy Spirit’. In this case, if ‘flesh’ refers to the human body, it can mean that we cannot receive the works of the Holy Spirit while we are in the body.
But today, although we are clearly in a body, the Holy Spirit has come upon us. In addition, they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit in tongues and other things and experience the works of the Holy Spirit countlessly. So, you can see that ‘flesh’ does not mean our body here (John 3:6, 6:63; Jude 1:19).
This is also true of the body and the body. Romans 8:9 says, “If the Spirit of God dwells in you, you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not of Christ.” Although we have received the Spirit of God, that is, the Holy Spirit, we are still wearing a body that is visible to our eyes, so the body has a different spiritual meaning here, and we should not think that the flesh is our body (Romans 8:8, 8:12-13).
Regarding the flesh, Galatians 5:24 says, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” This does not mean that we have crucified our bodies, our hands and our feet. You need to know the spiritual meaning of the word flesh to understand the text accurately (Galatians 5:13).
Galatians 5:19-21 says, “The works of the flesh are evident: fornication, uncleanness, sensuality, … ” while explaining what the works of the flesh are. Of course, the body, flesh, and flesh in the Bible do not all have a spiritual meaning, but in some cases they simply refer to the body.
Therefore, when we know the spiritual meaning, we can discern which ones are used in the spiritual sense and which are not, so that we can understand the will of God accurately. Then, what is the physical body in the spiritual sense?
‘Flesh’ is a generic term for things that rot, change, and disappear. The opposite of this ‘flesh’ is ‘spirit’, which means ‘eternal and unchanging things, perfect and beautiful things’. Most things in this world are rotten and degenerate. When a person’s body grows old, gets sick, and dies, it rots and becomes a handful of soil, so in the end it is flesh. The flowers, trees, animals, sun, moon, and stars on this earth all deteriorate, rot, and disappear over time.
But not only the visible, but also the invisible. The feelings, thoughts, and values pursued by the people of the world are not eternal and perishable, so this is flesh. Wealth, fame, knowledge, and most of the other things that people value in the world are rotten and vain in the end.
Taking the emotion of love as an example, even if a carnal person does love, it is not spiritual love, but lustful, self-seeking love, and love that changes over time and conditions change. So this is also flesh. Besides hatred, envy, jealousy, pride, self-interest, etc., among the things that people hold in their hearts, everything that is contrary to the eternal truth of God’s Word is flesh.
In this way, the worldly people’s bodies, thoughts, and the things they have in their hearts are eventually degenerate and decaying flesh, so living in the flesh on this earth is nothing but futile and futile flesh (James 4:4, 1 Peter 1:24).
When God created man, he did not create it with flesh from the beginning, but made it a living spirit, that is, a living spirit. At that time, Adam’s body was not a body that grew old, diseased, or rotted away, and He taught Adam only the eternal truth, namely the truth, goodness, and spiritual knowledge.
Of course, Adam at that time was not a perfect spirit. Adam was said to be a living spirit, that is, a living spirit. This word implies that if we fall into the flesh, we can die. Since the perfect spirit never changes, there is no corruption or degeneration into the flesh.
However, because God gave Adam free will, he could have turned into flesh according to his own choice. Adam would surely die if he ate the fruit that God had told him not to eat (Genesis 2:17), but it was up to Adam to choose whether to eat it or not. Adam committed the sin of disobedience because he ate of the forbidden fruit with this free will.
Of course, Adam’s spirit came from God, and since it is immortal, it cannot be completely destroyed. However, after disobedience, the communication with God was cut off, and the spiritual things were not supplied. As the flesh gradually entered, the activity of the spirit God gave us gradually weakened and eventually stopped. The spirit received from God remains only the seed, and is surrounded by untruthful flesh that has come from the world and cannot function at all.
This condition is called ‘the spirit is dead’. Of course, just because Adam sinned does not mean that all the spiritual things in him suddenly disappeared and he was filled with only flesh. However, it was only a matter of time before we were filled with flesh because we were disconnected from God, who is the source of our spirit, from the moment we sinned.
2. Contents of meat
Then, what are the contents of Adam who became flesh, that is, the ‘contents of the flesh’?
God filled Adam, who was created as a living spirit, with the contents of the spirit: goodness, service, gentleness, long-suffering, peace, order, and seeking the interests of others. He also filled with the wisdom and knowledge that belonged to God so that he could rule, rule, and subdue everything under the heavens.
However, when communication with God was cut off due to Adam’s disobedience, the supply of spiritual contents ceased. Instead, it was filled with fleshly contents, which are hate, envy, anger, greed, pride, adultery, self-seeking, rudeness and contempt, speaking of others’ faults, etc. Anything ugly and evil that is contrary to the will.
That is, the enemy devil and Satan, who is the ruler of darkness, supply these fleshly things, so they continue to fill people. Just as Adam and men of spirits receive their spiritual content from God, natural people receive their physical content from the enemy the devil and Satan. That is why we spiritually say, ‘Your father is the devil’ (John 8:44). The fact is that those who become children of the devil, dwell in the flesh, and act only in the flesh will eventually be judged together with the devil on the Day of Judgment and be thrown into the fire of hell.
Therefore, in order for us to be saved and go to heaven, we must take out the contents of the flesh and put the contents of the Spirit that God gives us.
Dear saints,
King Solomon, as a rich and powerful king of Israel, had enjoyed many pleasures on this earth, but in the end he confessed that everything was in vain (Ecclesiastes 1:2-3). Because it was all flesh. On the other hand, when we fill ourselves with the truth that God desires, with love, goodness, and light, that is, with the content of the Spirit, God pours out eternal joy and blessings. Of course, the grace and blessings that God gives are not in vain and do not deteriorate or disappear.
Blessings in the world can disappear in an instant due to disasters or accidents, but the blessings that God gives are unshakable because God protects and protects them. And in the future, it is to allow us to enjoy indescribable glory and reward in the eternal heaven. In order to receive those things of the Spirit, God’s children pray daily and run earnestly to be sanctified and faithful.
Therefore, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will not enjoy the vain things of this earth and eat flesh, but live a life of longing for the spirit and possessing things of the spirit.
