for I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, nothing good dwells! May we keep turning to our spirit!

This week I am so exposed in the time in the morning with the Lord, especially as we’re going through “The Flesh and The Spirit“. Before we were saved, the worst situation would be that the conscience would sometimes bother us, or we realized that we want to do the good and most of the times it doesn’t work out. So we came to the conclusion that there’s something wrong with us, or there’s something wrong with this world. After we got saved though, we realize more and more that, just like Paul, we have Christ in our spirit(1 Cor. 6:17) and we have something evil living in our flesh(Rom. 7:21). Listen to what Paul says in Rom. 7:14-17:

14 For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am fleshy, sold under sin.
15 For what I work out, I do not acknowledge; for what I will, this I do not practice; but what I hate, this I do.
16 But if what I do not will, this I do, I agree with the law that it is good.
17 Now then it is no longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me.

He tried to do what the law says – we agree that the law is good, and we want to do good. But as soon as we try to do good, there’s something evil in us, dwelling in us, that does not allow us to do it! We’re completely powerless in doing what the law says(either the law of good in our mind, or the law of God outside of us). Here’s what Paul continues to say in Rom. 7:19-21,

19 For I do not do the good which I will; but the evil which I do not will, this I practice.
20 But if what I do not will, this I do, it is ano longer I that work it out but sin that dwells in me.
21 I find then the law with me who wills to do the good, that is, the evil is present with me.

Through man’s fall, Satan’s thought, feeling, will – the Satan’s entire being, his personality, was infused into man and became one with man’s soul. Now our soul became the independent self, one with Satan. The Lord is working daily on our soul to saturate us and permeate us with His element – by spreading from our mingled spirit into our soul! When we pray over the word, call on the name of the Lord, sing and sing-read the Bible, and in so many other ways – we are being transformed in our soul!

Also, through man’s fall, Satan as sin came into man. Satan injected man’s body with his evil element and became “the evil” that dwells in man. Sin in Romans is a living person, because sin can kill us, deceive us(Rom. 7:11), and lord it over us(Rom. 6:12, 14). We want to do the good, but sin is present with us and defeats us. Satan as sin is in us as a living person, being alive and active in our flesh – our fallen human being. This is what the book of Romans clearly tells us – Satan, sin, and the result of sin – death – all live in us, in our flesh.

This all makes us the believers to be a very complicated human being – we have Christ as the life-giving Spirit in our spirit and we have Satan as sin bringing in death living and active in our flesh. Also, our soul is fallen and permeated with Satan, being independent from God and simply NOT choosing God by default. Our body is full of death – “wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of this death?” (Rom. 7:24).

What now? What about us? What do we do about this, and what is our decision moment by moment? Even as we see the flesh rising up and defeating us, overpowering us, we can turn to our spirit! As Rom. 8:2 says “… for the law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of the sin and of death“. When we turn to our spirit, we are freed from the law of sin in our flesh – the flesh is spontaneously crucified, and Christ can live in us! Our spirit is the key, and not our any other endeavors! God uses all things, persons, circumstances, and even our ugly fallen flesh – to remind us to turn to our mingled spirit, where He lives! O, Lord, keep us turning to You today – moment by moment!