I don’t know whether preachers still point at people and tell them they are “in the flesh” these days as I have not set foot in a church service for over 7 years now. But back then and for a long time before that it was common to hear the phrase thrown at people –
“YOU ARE IN THE FLESH!”
Let me tell you something which is straight from Scripture, okay?
Rom 8:8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
Rom 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.
There you have it folks. Not much more needs to be said.
Tell the Accuser of the brethren the truth. Tell your self the truth.
Personalise it. Say…declare out loud…
I am not in the flesh but in the Spirit.
I please God for I am in the Spirit.
The Spirit of God dwells in me, therefore I am His
What God is saying through Paul is that EVERY BORN AGAIN SPIRIT FILLED CHRISTIAN is IN THE SPIRIT.
Those not born of the Spirit of Christ are not in the Spirit, but remain in the flesh. They cannot please God no matter how hard they may try. They cannot understand Scripture either. They need to believe in Jesus Christ and receive the Spirit of God–THEN…they will be in the Spirit too.
Preachers make out that we Christians can go from being “in the flesh” to “in the Spirit” all of the time. But the Truth declares to you that if you have the Spirit of God(of Christ, of Jesus) dwelling in you then you ARE in the Spirit.
Your flesh is His Flesh. Your mind is His mind. Your spirit is His Spirit.
His flesh is your flesh. His mind is your mind. His Spirit is your spirit. (Read Eph 5:30-32 and 1 Cor 6:17, Eph 4:4)
You see, God put you to death in Christ and raised Christ up in you- a new creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works.
You please God.
You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
If you have the Spirit of God dwelling –making His home in you–then you are His.
And if you are His—then all of you–spirit, soul and body–are His!
Believe it. Speak it. And rest in it.
The other choice
The other option is to tell yourself you are in the flesh sometimes, and the spirit sometimes–all depending upon your efforts to “get there.” This is confusion and double mindedness. It also causes us to boast and exalt our selves above others who we deem to be “in the flesh.” It breeds elitism. It is not what God reveals. (This lie started in the Garden)
Gal 2:20
I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.
If we have the Spirit of God dwelling in our spirit then Galatians 2:20 is our true condition. It was not just something for Paul!
We are in Christ and Christ is in us. We are the visible manifestation of Jesus Christ just as we are. The Accuser tells us this is not so. The Word tells us it is so.
The Accuser would have us hate ourselves.
Preachers also think we must treat our flesh as the enemy.
The Gospel message –the good news- is that God has saved you.
Our starting position is -I AM IN THE SPIRIT.
Does not matter how you feel. Maybe you wake up in the morning feeling lustful—no matter–declare to yourself the truth, – “I am in the Spirit.”
We put on the Lord Jesus Christ –which automatically makes no provision for the flesh.
Maybe you exploded in anger at someone or some situation….again–don’t beat yourself up by declaring “I am in the flesh again!”. The truth remains – “I AM IN THE SPIRIT FOR THE SPIRIT OF GOD DWELLS IN ME.”
If you will believe God’s word and declare it at these crucial times you are putting on Jesus Christ by faith. Soon the accuser backs off and our minds are renewed to His mind in us.
God declares you righteous and holy and blameless. What about you? What do you declare about yourself?
I encourage you to declare what He says about you….about your spirit, your soul and your flesh.
